A concurrent RESOLUTION

to acknowledge, with great pride and greater gratitude, the enormity of the sacrifice and personal conviction expressed by thousands of men and women who fought the Revolutionary War on the plains and valleys, rivers and coast, mountains and swamps, fields and forests, throughout the backcountry and lowlands in South Carolina and to proclaim April 22, 2023, "CAMDEN BURIALS DAY" throughout the State.

Whereas, the American Revolution was fought on hundreds of battlefields throughout the State of South Carolina from 1775 through 1782; and

Whereas, the ground of these battlefields is hallowed by the supreme sacrifice of Revolutionary War veterans who fought, bled, and died on these sacred parcels of land; and

Whereas, the sacrifice of these men and thousands of others is bled into the soil throughout South Carolina.  They did this first for their own liberty, for the liberty of their people in their time, and then for the liberty of their posterity.  Because they died, liberty lives here today; and

Whereas, the South Carolina Battleground Preservation Trust and the American Battlefield Trust spearhead a monumental preservation and conservation movement known as the Liberty Trail to save, secure, and interpret Revolutionary War battlefields across the State, transitioning them to become authentic historic sites, outdoor classrooms of natural resources, and recreational parks; and

Whereas, ordinary men from South Carolina, Maryland, Delaware, North Carolina, and Virginia and from several countries answered the call and performed extraordinary measures on the Camden Battlefield on August 16, 1780; and

Whereas, the Camden Battlefield is actually a national cemetery and final resting place for hundreds of departed Revolutionary War soldiers; and

Whereas, Revolutionary War soldiers recovered on the Camden Battlefield will be reinterred in an honorable ceremony with full military honors on April 22, 2023; and

Whereas, the members of the South Carolina General Assembly affirm that these honored dead did not die in vain, and that all the diverse citizens of our great State owe our liberty, in part and portion, to the culmination of what these unsung heroes did then for all of those who have followed in their train.  Now, therefore,

Be it resolved by the Senate, the House of Representatives concurring:

That the members of the South Carolina General Assembly, by this resolution, acknowledge, with great pride and greater gratitude, the enormity of the sacrifice and personal conviction expressed by thousands of men and women who fought the Revolutionary War on the plains and valleys, rivers and coast, mountains and swamps, fields and forests, throughout the backcountry and lowlands in South Carolina and proclaim April 22, 2023, "Camden Burials Day" throughout the State.

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