On Saturday, two Sampson County patriots of the American Revolutionary War were honored with wreath-laying ceremonies.
Captain David Dodd and Lieutenant Colonel Richard Clinton helped bring the freedom that Americans were able to achieve in 1776. Now, 250 years later, the Sampson County History Museum and members of the Richard Clinton Chapter Daughters of the American Revolution reflected and gave appreciation for what these two men accomplished.
The wreath for Dodd was laid at his grave at Beulah Baptist Church in Turkey, while Clinton’s was laid at his historical marker in front of the Sampson County Courthouse in Clinton.
“Captain Dodd not only served as a corporal in the North Carolina Continental Line, but when his term of service was over in May 1779, he was elected captain and active member of the local Duplin militia,” Sampson County History Museum Director Joel Rose said. “It was with the militia that he did most of his damage, harassing British soldiers as far away as Wilmington.”
Dodd was born around the year 1741. His family came from Scotland and settled within the lower lands of the Roanoke River. He married his wife, Elizabeth Boykin, around 1767 and had three kids, Willie, Nancy and Elizabeth. One of the notable skirmishes that Dodd was involved in happened when he fought off British Loyalists near Clinton on Highway 403, now known as Bradshaw’s Pond. It is here that Dodd’s friend John Thomson was killed. Dodd also represented Sampson County in the General Assembly from 1785-1787 following the end of the Revolution.
Clinton was also born around 1741, as the son of John Sampson (for whom Sampson County is named) and Rachael Clinton. Inheriting 700 acres of land from Sampson, Clinton built a gristmill and plantation. He also served justice of the peace for Duplin County in the 1760s. In 1763, Clinton married Penelope, the daughter of Thomas Kenan, who was an important Duplin County politician and militia leader. Together, Clinton and Penelope had nine children. Clinton also led a company of the Duplin County militia in the Moore’s Creek Bridge campaign, despite not fighting in the battle himself.
“After the Revolutionary War ended, Clinton maintained a political career after the organization of Sampson County happened in 1784,” Rose explained. “He served as the first state senator for the area, which was a position he held until his death in 1795. He also sat as Sampson County’s delegate to the Hillsborough Constitutional Conventions of 1788 and 1789.”
The Richard Clinton Chapter National Society of the DAR was organized in 1949, named after the man himself, which promotes patriotism across the country in efforts of recognizing Revolutionary War patriots who helped the United States gain its independence and their descendants who live on today.
“(Clinton and Dodd) are two of our local patriots,” Richard Clinton Chapter of the North Carolina DAR Regent Penny Lockerman said. “With America 250, we’re trying to do special events because it’s the 250th anniversary of our liberty. We were just talking and it came up that we should do a wreath. (Sampson County History Museum President Kay Raynor) and I were talking about it and it was something that we should do as the DAR group. We jumped in together, made plans and a date, and it got done.”
Members of the DAR group gave their overall thoughts about the wreath laying ceremonies.
“I thought it was very respectful and very American,” Lockerman emphasized. “Joel (Rose) is the main historian that is local right now. He just has a wealth of knowledge about all of these families and all of ours. You wouldn’t believe what that man knows. It was very humble and respectful and patriotic, these people should be honored. One of our goals as a chapter if we can gain enough money, is to have bronze plaque dedicated in honor of our patriots of 1776. It may take a while just to get the finances together. The cost is about $2,500. That’s our next goal.”
“It was patriotic, as Lockerman said,” said Richard Clinton Chapter DAR Chaplain Libby Zaccardi. “It was also emotional to me, personally thinking about my ancestor.”
“They fought hard for us in 1776, and a lot of them died back then of course,” former Regent of the Richard Clinton Chapter DAR Joan Carr said. “I think it’s something that we should do, honoring them. This was one way of doing that, and I thought that the ceremony was beautiful.”
Lockerman highlighted the importance of America being established over 250 years, and why it matters for both older and younger generations to know the Constitution.
“It’s extremely important. I’m on the America 250 committee for Sampson County,” Lockerman explained. “It’s a diverse group of people from all different backgrounds, but on that committee are the superintendents for Clinton City Schools (Dr. Wesley Johnson) and Sampson County Schools (Dr. Jamie King). One of our goals is to educate the students, particularly the fifth graders, because that’s when they’re really interested in history. It’s important for them that they know our Constitution. If you look at what’s going on in our country. there is a lot of unconstitutional behavior going on, and what makes America great is our Constitution. We need to tell everybody we can.”
She added that over the last year, the DAR handed out over 150 copies of the Constitution in Sampson County at different events. “It’s not just one set thing, but it’s absolutely integral to know our Constitution and what it entails, what’s legal, what’s illegal and what’s going on,” she said. “Those are some of the things we do to try to help educate people without stepping on toes.”
As the society nationally grows, so does the Richard Clinton Chapter DAR group.
“We’ve got seven patriots that I’ve got pins for and I’ve got some more to go out,” Carr said. “But anyone over 18 years old that is a woman, and has a patriot can go back to their patriot and trace their heritage back to 1776. We’ll help them go back and look; we have a registrar who helps us. It has to trace back to the Revolutionary War, but we welcome new members all the time.”
“The more people we have, the more we can do,” Lockerman added.
The DAR chapter holds meetings once a month, usually on the second Tuesday of the month with the exception of the months of June, July and August at 11 a.m. at Ted’s Steakhouse. For more information regarding the DAR group, you can visit the chapter’s website at www.ncdar.org/RichardClinton.