A not-so-revolutionary idea brings history to life

The British weren’t coming!

The British weren’t coming!

More’s the pity, because Georgia’s State Capitol was amply prepared for an invasion of Redcoats earlier this month. A door to the governor’s office opened and out spilled a group of men dressed in authentic Colonial-era garb, from their tri-corner-hatted heads to their buckle-shod toes.

Had they come to Atlanta on this next-to-last day of the 2009 General Assembly session to lobby against stricter musket control laws? To make sure those rascally state legislators would actually leave town?

Maybe, just maybe, they’d been sent to remind us that democracy —- for all its messiness and sparring over stuff like property taxes and Sunday liquor sales —- is still a beautiful thing.

“Are you from Revolutionary War time?” a wide-eyed third-grader from Decatur wondered breathlessly when his class trip happened to cross paths with these blasts from the past in the Capitol rotunda.

Paul Prescott of the Georgia Society-Sons of the American Revolution groomed the gold fringe on his shoulder epaulets and decided to play along.

“George Washington,” the Woodstock man drawled, extending a white-gloved hand of introduction to his youthful questioner.

The illusion lasted about as long as it took a passer-by to whip out his cellphone and snap a photo of the group.

Prescott was among a dozen members of the statewide historical organization who’d donned their uniforms earlier that morning, mounted their trusty steeds (actually, they’d mostly carpooled, doubtless attracting some odd looks in the HOV lanes) and mustered at the Capitol to advance the cause of Georgia Patriots Day.

Don’t worry, you haven’t missed it! Sponsored by the Georgia Society and its melodically named “Marshes of Glynn” chapter (there are also the less melodically named “Casimir Pulaski” and “Button Gwinnett” chapters), this year’s fifth annual Georgia Patriots Day celebration takes place later this week on St. Simons Island.

That puts Georgia well behind Massachusetts —- Patriots Day has been a legal holiday there since 1894 —- but ahead of some of the other original 13 Colonies, which don’t even note the anniversary of the battles of Lexington and Concord fought on April 19, 1775.

Three years later to the day, the Georgia Navy wrangled with and ultimately captured three British ships on the Frederica River. That should be reason enough to celebrate Georgia Patriots Day —- which this year encompasses an entire weekend of events, beginning with a Friday talk, “Spies and Espionage in the Revolutionary War,” and running straight through Sunday’s “interpretative program” on the fateful naval battle at Fort Frederica National Monument.

But there’s an even better reason. A century before the Civil War nearly tore us apart, the Revolutionary War gave permanent life to America and its democratic ideals. Yet its significance sometimes gets overlooked, particularly in the South, where “more Revolutionary War battles were fought than anywhere else,” said Col. Robert F. Towns, an Athens resident and president of the Georgia Society.

That’s why his group was here getting Gov. Sonny Perdue’s John Hancock on a proclamation of April 19 as Georgia Patriots Day.

“Patriots Day should be officially recognized in each and every state that fought in the Revolution to emphasize the importance of learning about it,” Towns said with quiet satisfaction as he stood outside the Capitol, a hand anchoring the tricornered hat to his head in the gusty wind. Any minute now, back inside, the Decatur third-graders he’d crossed paths with would smile and say “Democracy!” while posing for a group photo.

“Now,” Towns said, “it’s official in Georgia.”

Milestones covers significant events and times in the lives of metro Atlantans. Big or small, hugely celebrated or known only to a few —- tell us of a milestone we should write about at: jvejnoska@ajc.com or mail it to Milestones, c/o Jill Vejnoska, 72 Marietta St. N.W., Atlanta, GA 30303. Please include your phone number and/or e-mail address.