An American Revolutionary War hero from Bermuda was honoured in a special graveside ceremony in Virginia this month.

The ceremony recognising Southampton-born St George Tucker was organised by the Sons of the American Revolution, the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) and the Children of the American Revolution (CAR), a series of associated clubs for descendants of people involved in the American Revolution. There is a chapter of the DAR in Bermuda.

“The graveside ceremony was part of a two-year programme designed to bring attention to Bermuda’s role in the American Revolutionary War,” said Michael Elston, Chancellor of the Virginia Society of the SAR.

“The programme started with an event at the Tucker House Museum in St George’s, Bermuda, in March of this year in the presence of the Governor and United States Counsel General.”

St George Tucker was born near Port Royal, Bermuda to Anne Butterfield and Henry Tucker in 1752.

As a young man, he followed his brother, Thomas Tudor Tucker to the United States, where he studied law at the College of William and Mary in Virginia.

He left the college after a time and studied privately, passing the bar shortly before the beginning of the American Revolution.

Because of difficulties brought about by the approaching war, he returned to Bermuda to practice.

Business was slow, and he supplemented his income by helping his brother and father smuggle goods between the West Indies and Virginia and South Carolina.

He eventually enlisted in the Virginia militia as a major under the command of General Robert Lawson.

He distinguished himself at the Battle of Guilford Court House, in Guilford County, North Carolina where he was wounded in the leg while trying to stop a fleeing Virginian soldier.

After recovering, Mr Tucker returned as a lieutenant colonel under General Lawson.

At the Siege of Yorktown (1781), an exploding shell injured him again, as he was interpreting between Governor and General Thomas Nelson and French allies.

“St George Tucker is important, because he and his brother came to the United States, when it was just the 13 colonies, to make a new life,” Mr Elston said. “They supported the cause, helped establish the United States and went on to contribute to the life of the new nation.

Mr Tucker became a professor of Law at College of William and Mary. He was very influential as a lawyer. His annotations of early cases, and his summaries are still studied today. He went on to be a judge in the Virginia Court of Appeals and a federal-district court Judge.”

He said that Mr Tucker even proposed a plan for ending slavery in the United States, although it wasn’t a particularly good plan.

“He suggested that over a long period of time, children born into slavery be freed when they reached a certain age, but only the female children,” he said. “Then there were going to be incentives for freed people to move out of Virginia. It was not a very progressive plan by today’s standards, but he was still far ahead of his time.”

Mr Tucker died in Virginia on November 10, 1827 and is buried in Edgewood Cabell Family Cemetery, Wingina, Nelson County, Virginia.

To honour Mr Tucker, the SAR, DAR and CAR dedicated a grave marker to him on November 2.

Representatives of the various organisations made speeches and placed a wreath on his grave.

Rev Mark Furlow, rector of Trinity Episcopal Church in Arrington in western Virginia, gave the invocation, and Professor Phillip Hamilton of Christopher Newport University, the author “The Making and Unmaking of a Revolutionary Family: The Tuckers of Virginia”, also spoke.

Unfortunately, there was no Bermuda representative at the ceremony, but it is hoped a few people from the Island might attend their next event to be held in Washington DC in May honouring St George’s brother Thomas Tudor Tucker.

“We have two goals,” Mr Elston said, “to bring attention to Bermuda’s role in the revolution; and to promote Bermuda as a historical tourism destination.”

Mr Elston has been working with Peter Frith of the Bermuda National Trust and Nancy Arton, President of the Bermuda chapter of the DAR, to meet this mission.

To fund raise, a commemorative pin is being sold with the money divided between Bermuda charities and CAR in the United States.

On May 31, 2014 they will have a similar graveside ceremony for Thomas Tudor Tucker, who became, among other things, a physician in South Carolina. He supported the Bermuda Gunpowder Plot by providing information about gunpowder in Bermuda to Patriot leaders. In the gunpowder plot, gunpowder from Bermuda’s own stores was secretly transported to the Patriots.

“After the American Revolution, Thomas Tudor Tucker represented South Carolina in the United States Congress and was appointed Treasurer of the United States,” said Mr Elston. “He held that post between 1801 and 1828, over the course of four presidents.

“He died in office. To this day, he held that office longer than any other person. He is buried in the Congressional Cemetery in Washington DC.”

In 2015, his organisation hopes to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the Gunpowder Plot, in Bermuda.

“We might dedicate a monument to the Tuckers near their birthplace,” said Mr Elston. “It is still half a year and a half away.”

Mr Elston is a lawyer with the US Postal Service and also collects stamps. He has a number of rare Bermuda stamps in his collection.

“I have been to Bermuda three times,” he said. “I love it. People have always been wonderfully welcoming. I have been able to learn a lot more about Bermuda through this project.”

For information, contact Mr Elston at elston.sar@gmail.com.