WHAT WE DO
Events
UPCOMING EVENTS
2024 Annual Meeting
The Commandery will be hosting the 2024 Annual Meetings of the Loyal Legion and of the Dames of the Loyal Legion (DOLLUS) October 11-13 at Pamplin Historical Park in Dinwiddie County. For registration and other information, contact us or see our national website: https://loyallegion.org/
PAST PROJECTS
Prisoner of War Marker in Shockoe Hill Cemetery
Placed by the Virginia Commandery
Hopwood Marker at Lynchburg College
Placed by the Virginia Commandery
CURRENT & PAST EVENTS
ROTC Awards
2024
The Virginia Commandery continues to maintain one of the most active ROTC award programs in the Order. In 2024, the Commandery was proud to present the ROTC Medal of Merit and copies of Union Blue to:
Cadets Leland Blanchard and Caroline Drumm — University of Richmond "Spider Battalion"
Cadets Kevin Ernst and Rachel Freeman — William & Mary/Christopher Newport University "Revolutionary Guards Battalion"
Cadet Danica Goulding — Virginia Women's Institute for Leadership at Mary Baldwin University
Cadet Justin Schmidt — University of Tennesse-Chattanooga "Mocs Battalion"
ROTC Awards
May 20, 2019
Congratulations to the six ROTC cadets who received a 2019 ROTC Medal of Merit from the Virginia Commandery! They received their awards (also including a certificate and copy of "Union Blue") in ceremonies around the region last month, recognizing their "Academic Achievement and Demonstrated Leadership Potential." They include:
-Cadet Lane Harwell of the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga "Mocs Battalion";
-Cadet Diamond Webb of the Virginia Women's Institute for Leadership at Mary Baldwin University in Staunton, Virginia;
-Cadets Luis Figueroa of the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg and Jared R. Decker of Christopher Newport University in Newport News, members of the "Revolutionary Guards Battalion" at those two schools; and
-Cadets Sunmbal Rose Shahid of Virginia Commonwealth University and Joseph Walton of the University of Richmond, members of the "Spider Battalion" in Richmond.
Companion Meeting
May 18, 2019
The Virginia Commandery met on Saturday, 18 May at Noon at the
Patrick Henry Pub and Grill, 2300 E. Broad Street in Richmond's historic
Church Hill. Companions and guests were in attendance to share fellowship and discuss upcoming projects and initiatives.
Shockoe Hill Cemetery
April 28, 2019
"In Memory" markers for two Union soldiers have been installed in Richmond's Shockoe Hill Cemetery, near where they were originally buried.
Private Samuel Sweetland, Company "D", 3rd Vermont Infantry, was wounded and captured near Yorktown on 16 April 1862. Private Samuel E. Stiteler, Company "E", 61st Pennsylvania Infantry, was wounded and captured at the Battle of Seven Pines near Richmond on 31 May 1862. Both were taken to General Hospital #1, across the street from the Cemetery, and both died shortly after arriving there. Their remains were moved to Richmond National Cemetery in 1866, where they rest today under "Unknown" markers.
With the assistance of the "Friends of Shockoe Hill Cemetery," relatives of both soldiers requested the markers. These and 19 other military and civilian monuments installed at Shockoe Hill in the past year were recognized today. Stiteler's great-grandson William L. Stiteler, Jr. and great-great-grandson Hugh Stiteler attended the ceremony, where William was presented a Pennsylvania state flag to honor his ancestor's service and sacrifice.
