HARD on the heels of a very close election for the mayoralship of the ancient capital of St. George's in the nether reaches of eastern Bermuda, the Redcoats invaded the town.

Unlike their counterparts of old, this task force of four from the Williamsburg Fife and Drum Band was here to commemorate the end of the last war between the United States and Great Britain, rather than to start another one.

That engagement became known as the War of 1812 and the Williamsburg military kindly agreed to be present to reinstitute the "Midshipman Dale Ceremony", long an annual feature in the life of St. George's.

The Band brought a lot of colour and good music to the resurrection of this commemoration, which was for a junior officer, the son of Commodore Dale of Philadelphia. Midshipman Richard Dale was the last victim of the War. He was buried in Bermuda after his ship, the USS President, was captured by the British in January 1815. Most unfortunately, his death occurred three weeks after the war had ended.

The renewal of the Midshipman Dale Ceremony was instigated by the Friends of St. Peter's, a new charity being established to support St. Peter's Church. The ceremony took place on a wild winter day, heavily overcast but without rain.

As the crowd gathered in the Town Square, the ceremony was enhanced by the appearance of a corps of Sea Cadets from TS Admiral Somers, who marched in with fine form, carrying the Union flag and the Stars and Stripes.

The elder statesman of Bermudian historians, William Zuill, told the audience of the War of 1812 and the demise of Midshipman Dale. Town Crier Ed Christopher then led the Fife and Drums, the Sea Cadets and the crowd through the streets to the graveyard of St. Peter's. A ceremony of prayer and thanksgiving with the Mayor of St. George's, her Worship Mariea Caisey, US Consul General W. Gregory Slayton, Rev. Dr. Erskine Simmons and Rector W. David Raths subsequently ensued at the grave of Midshipman Dale.

The Fife and Drum Band and the Sea Cadets then marched through the town to the new Heritage Centre at Penno's Wharf, where an inaugural dinner had been arranged for the Friends of St. Peter's. The guest speaker was an outsider from Somerset, but the former Mayor, Mr. E. Michael Jones, with his usual humour, introduced him.

IN his introductory remarks, the speaker trod the usual minefield in acknowledging the 'who's who' in the audience, before setting to sea on the main raft of his speech. Noting the presence of the Williamsburg Band, he reminded them that if some Bermudians had not stolen the Governor of Bermuda's gunpowder and sent it to George Washington's army back in the 1770s, that they might be playing a different tune today. The speaker then set sail into the sometimes contrary winds of the easternmost parish, in his speech which follows.

"Some Bermudians who think we have nothing in common, if of differing backgrounds, have not visited St. George's. This heritage site is so replete with the common heritage of Bermudians that even the unseeing must sense such connectedness with the past among us as a people. One of the earliest things we have in common is the heritage graveyard of St. Peter's Church.

One of the duties of the new Friends of St. Peter's would be to care for the graveyard. It probably contains the most significant collection of graves of Bermudians who were slaves, and lately a ceremony was held by some of their descendants to honour them.

Many of the graveyard monuments are unique and of local design in Bermuda stone. Vegetation has been taking its toll in this graveyard and others throughout the island, as respect for the dead often does not generally encompass the care and preservation of the gravestones and sepulchres.

When we are reduced to ashes and dust, we become part of the archaeological heritage of these islands, which is perhaps the major item we all have in common. The stratification of the earth, which we join in burial, knows no form of discrimination whatsoever and the archaeological evidence thus formed belongs to all of us.

FOR this reason, calls were often made for the protection of archaeological resources on shipwrecks; thanks to the Progressive Labour Party Government, there is now a law protecting that heritage. At present there is little by way of legislation to protect land archaeology, and in this great town we continue to alter and build without the due process of archaeological research beforehand.

To its credit, the Government has now appointed a Heritage Officer, Dr. William DeGrace, so that hopefully new protective measures will be at hand. I would propose to the Friends of St. Peter's that the conservation of the graveyard be undertaken only after an archaeological research project has determined to the fullest the nature of the graveyard and the disposition of its revered occupants and their monuments.

We came to our World Heritage town this day to honour a young man who now lies in a foreign field, in this instance at St. Peter's Churchyard. In commemorating his memory, this occasion is also one of looking ahead to the necessity of preserving the heritage that those who now lie in that hallowed ground have left for us in the form of the outstanding monument that is St. Peter's Church.

Throughout Bermuda, there will be many who will assist the Friend's of St. Peter's in accomplishing its noble aims: we owe much to our forebears and this is a chance to repay some of that debt."

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Dr. Edward Harris, MBE, JP, FSA, Bermudian, is the Executive Director of the Bermuda Maritime Museum. The views expressed here are his opinion and not necessarily those of the trustees or staff of the Museum. Comments can be sent to drharrislogic.bm, to PO Box MA 133, Sandys MABX, or by telephone at 734-1298.