April 19 Foley flag raising to remember start of Revolutionary War

April 19 Foley flag raising to remember start of Revolutionary War
SAR hosted Battle of Lexington talk will follow at Foley Library

The South Baldwin (General Galvez) chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution and the City of Foley will host a flag ceremony to raise a 13 star American flag at the veterans commemorative flagpole in Centennial Park at the corner of Hwy. 59 & Hwy. 98 on Saturday, April 19 at 3 p.m.
The ceremony will include an SAR color guard dressed in American Revolutionary War uniforms and other members in colonial era clothing. The City of Foley will present a proclamation honoring the Battle of Lexington, the first armed confrontation in the battle against Britain for American independence that was fought on April 19, 1775.
At 4 p.m. in the meeting room of the Foley City Library (walking distance from the ceremony), there will be a talk on the Battle of Lexington from James Corum (PhD, Lt. Col. US Army ret), author of 17 books on military history. The public is welcome and refreshments will be provided at the Library talk.
On April 19, 1775, a British Army force fired on an American militia company in Lexington, killing eight militiamen and forcing the Americans to retreat. However, when the British brigade reached Concord and faced a far larger militia, the British were defeated and forced into a retreat. On their way back to Lexington in the early afternoon, the Lexington militia reformed and confronted the retreating British column just outside Lexington. This time, they inflicted heavy casualties on the British. These events began the eight year war that ended with the recognition of the United States as an independent nation.
The SAR’s purpose is to educate the public about the people, ideas, groups and nations that played roles in the establishment of the United States as an independent nation. Foley recently was recognized as a World War II Heritage City.