Photo By Esther Garcia | Organizations from throughout San Antonio presented wreaths to honor those who had...... read more read more
SAN ANTONIO, Texas - Musket fire signaled the start of the war for American independence and musket fire began the Fourth of July Patriotic Ceremony at the Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery, hosted by the Granaderos y Damas de Galvez.
The July 4 ceremony celebrated the nation’s 236th birthday and Spain’s contributions to the American Revolution.
The Order of Granaderos de Galvez was founded in 1975 by Charles E. Barrera and Henry Guerra of San Antonio. The mission of the organization is to inform the public about Spain’s substantial, although generally little known, contributions to the success of the American Revolution.
During the first two years of the American Revolution, Spain – though not at war with England – was sending covert assistance to the American colonists. Spain sent clothing, muskets, ammunition, medicine and large sums of money to the Americans.
In 1779, Spain formally declared war on England, and two months later, General Bernardo de Galvez began a successful campaign against the British along the Gulf Coast.
Galvez captured all the British strongholds along the Mississippi River Valley. The following year he captured Fort Charlotte in Mobile and in 1781, Galvez captured Fort George at the Battle of Pensacola.
The ceremony at the cemetery included comments from the commanding general of the Mission and Installation Contracting Command, Brig. Gen. Kirk Vollmecke, as well as the unveiling of a patriotic stamp by San Antonio Postmaster Robert Carr, a roll call of the 13 colonies followed by volley fire by the Musket Detail and Fife & Drum Corps, all dressed in period uniform.
The Fife & Drum Corps performed patriotic songs such as “Yankee Doodle,” “Chester,” and “The Girl I Left Behind Me.”
Several civic, military, historical, and veterans’ organizations presented wreaths as a symbol of gratitude to the Soldiers who have given their lives from the American Revolution to today.
“I am just one soldier, but I represent more than 2.2 million soldiers, sailors, Marines, airmen, and Coast guardsmen today, as well as the millions of patriots that have served since the American Revolution,” Vollmecke said.
“The dedication of our soldiers demonstrated in the American Revolution is the same dedication our soldiers demonstrate today around the world as we are in our eleventh year of combat operations to preserve freedom and democracy for this generation and for generations to come.”
| Date Taken: | 07.04.2012 |
| Date Posted: | 07.19.2012 13:26 |
| Story ID: | 91823 |
| Location: | SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS, US |
| Web Views: | 104 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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