NEWS RELEASE
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Sergeant Lawrence Everhart Chapter
Contact:
Richard A. Foot
Maryland Society
Chair, Public Affairs Committee
Sons of the American Revolution
1209 Volunteer Drive
Suite 1776
Brunswick, MD 21716-9715
19 East Church Street
Mobile: 203-505-7088
Frederick, MD 21701
E-Mail:
E-mail: Lawrence-everhart@mdssar.org
dickandsusanfoot@gmail.com
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For Immediate Release
October 13, 2015
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Parade, Protest, and Patriots to Mark
250th Anniversary of Repudiation Act
A victory parade will be conducted in downtown Frederick on Saturday, November 21st to
celebrate the 250th anniversary of the repudiation of the British Stamp Act by “Twelve Immortal
Justices” of the Frederick County Court. Wearing 18th century dress, the marchers, consistent
with custom of the time, will stage a mock funeral, carrying a coffin bearing a sign – “The Stamp
Act, expired of a mortal stab received from the Genius of Liberty in Frederick County Court”.
Adding revolutionary drama to the street scene, the Colonials – all members of the local chapters
of the Sons of the American Revolution and the Daughters of the American Revolution – will
carry an effigy of Zachariah Hood, tax collector for England’s King George III. Historical
records indicate that the coffin and effigy were buried near the gallows on the old Frederick
County courthouse lawn.
In a grave step on November 23, 1765, ten years before the “shot heard ‘round the world” at the
“rude bridge that arched the flood” in Lexington, Massachusetts, twelve Frederick County
justices directed the clerk of the Frederick County Court, John Darnall, to carry out his official
duties on paper not bearing the seal of Great Britain, thus avoiding the onerous Stamp Tax. In
March of 1765 the British Parliament had imposed a Stamp Tax, requiring that all newspapers,
almanacs, playing cards, legal documents (deeds, liquor licenses, mortgages, etc.), and business
papers bear a stamp of the British Crown. The British Parliament had imposed the Stamp Act to
pay for the costs of maintaining British troops in America following the French and Indian War
and the acquisition of Canada in 1763.
The act of defiance by the Frederick County justices is regarded as one of the first flames of
liberty of the American Revolution. That same year the Maryland legislature passed resolutions
grounding the Colonial protest in the original Calvert Charter of Maryland. SAR Compatriot Pat
Barron, Vice President and Secretary of the Sergeant Lawrence Everhart Chapter of the Sons of
the American Revolution, notes that “as defiant as the Justices’ actions were, the Frederick
County Court’s act of repudiation fell short of declaring the Colonies would disobey the King’s
decree. Allegiance to The Crown was still strong and most citizens were not inclined to break
the law.”
The Stamp Act was repudiated in Frederick County for two reasons: No official notification of
the onerous tax had been published legally by the British Crown; and as a practical matter, no
stamps or stamped paper had arrived in Frederick County and the justices wanted business in the
County to proceed as usual.
Initially, Frederick County Clerk of Court John Darnall refused the court order by the twelve
justices - Thomas Beatty / Peter Bainbridge / David Lynn / Captain David Lynn / William
Luckett / Joseph Smith / William Blair / Samuel Beall / James Dickson / Josiah Beall /
Thomas Price / Charles Jones / Andrew Heugh – resulting in Darnall’s arrest. Shortly
thereafter, Darnall accommodated the justices and the work of the court advanced.
In 1894 the General Assembly of Maryland proclaimed and Governor Frank Brown signed a law
declaring November 23 a bank half-holiday in Frederick County, under the title “Repudiation
Day”. Notably, in March of 1965 US Congressman Charles Mathias introduced a resolution in
Congress to make November 23rd a national holiday. The resolution failed in the Senate.
REPUDIATION DAY PARADE ROUTE
Colonial re-enactors from the local chapters of the Sons of the American Revolution and the
Daughters of the American Revolution will step off at 11:00 AM from City Hall, with coffin and
effigy held high. The Fredericktowne Fife & Drum Corps will accompany the celebrants on a
walk south on North Court Street, east on West Patrick Street, north two blocks on North Market
Street, south on North Market Street, and west on West Church Street, returning to City Hall.
POST-PARADE OUTSIDE (weather permitting)
Frederick Mayor Randy McClement will open the commemorative ceremonies at Noon on City
Hall steps. The Sons of the American Revolution Color Guard will present the Colors, followed
by the Pledge of Allegiance.
DEDICATION OF AN INTERPRETIVE PLAQUE
An interpretive plaque, commemorating The Repudiation Act, will be dedicated by the Tourism
Council of Frederick County. The dedication ceremony will be held on the lawn in front of
Frederick City Hall at 12:15 PM.
HISTORIC and EDUCATIONAL PRESENTATIONS
Following the plaque dedication, a series of educational presentations will be offered inside City
Hall.
+ The Stamp Act of 1765 – The reasons Parliament passed the Act and what the Act stated
+ Resistance – The forms of colonial resistance to the Stamp Act
+ Reading of The Repudiation Act
+ Twelve Immortal Justices – The colonial Frederick County court and the men who sat on
the bench in 1765
+ Repudiation & Aftermath – The legal decision of the judges and the road to revolution
BIOGRAPHICAL PROFILES of THE TWELVE IMMORTAL JUSTICES
Mary Mannix, Director of the Maryland Room of the C. Burr Artz Public Library, and Ryan
Bass, Research Associate at the Maryland Room, have produced biographies of the twelve
justices of the Frederick County Court, who issued the Repudiation Act. These are being
compiled into a booklet that will be avaiable at no charge at the Repudiation Day event.
MARYLAND STATE ARCHIVES SHOWCASES ORIGINAL COURT ACT
Clerk of the Court Sandra Dalton will display the original court book , on loan from the
Maryland State Archives, in which is memorialized the justices’ momentous decision. The book
will be available for viewing.
The Twelve Immortal Justices declared: “that all proceedings shall be valid without the use of
stamps . . . . and ordering all sheriffs, clerks, counsellors, and officers of the Court to proceed
with their several avocations as usual, without delay occasionded from the want of stamped
paper, parchment or vellum.”
“TWELVE IMMORTALS ALE” at BREWER’S ALLEY
To commemorate the 250th anniversary of the Repudiation of the British Stamp Act in Frederick
County, Brewer’s Alley and the Sergeant Lawrence Everhart Chapter of the Sons of the
American Revolution announce the collaborative release of The Twelve Immortals Ale. Inspired
by the beers of the 18th Century, this release commemorates the declaration on November 23,
1765, made by twelve Frederick County judges, repudiating the British Stamp Tax, sparking the
first flames of liberty in the American colonies. The action by these twelve men earned them the
moniker “The Twelve Immortal Justices”.
Phil Bowers, President of Brewer’s Alley, indicates that the Twelve Immortals Ale will be sold
in bottles and on draught at Brewer’s Alley Restaurant as well as at craft beer destinations
throughout Frederick County.
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The Sergeant Lawrence Everhart Chapter of the Maryland Society of the Sons of the American
Revolution and the Frederick and Carrollton Manor Chapters of the Daughters of the American
Revolution are national patriotic, historical and educational societies, whose members are direct
descendants of the Patriots who earned our nation’s independence.
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For more information and in-depth interviews, contact:
Pat Barron
Chair
The Repudiation Day Celebration
Planning Committee
301-401-9929
pat.barron@xecu.net