By Steve Huffman

shuffman@salisburypost.com

CHINA GROVE — On a fall afternoon so gorgeous it appeared God himself was watching and smiling, they remembered Revolutionary War soldier Jacob Diel.

They remembered him with prayers and salutes and a rendition of "Taps" played by a solitary bugler.

They studied his grave and its marker and paid tribute to a man who died long before any of them drew a breath.

And when it was over, they filed quietly from the cemetery, ending a service that would surely have made Diel proud.

"This is a real moving experience," said Thelma Corriher, Diel's great-great-great-granddaughter. "There are lots of Diel descendants in this area."

The service held Sunday at the church along Main Street between China Grove and Landis included the placement of a simple — but beautiful — metal marker.

"SAR Patriot, 1775," it reads.

"SAR" stands for "Sons of the American Revolution," the group whose members led Sunday's service.

The year 1775 denotes the date of the firing of "The shot heard 'round the world" that marked the beginning of the American Revolution.

Sam Powell, a Burlington resident and president of the N.C. Chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution, said club members are working to place markers at more such graves to honor those who played important roles in the nation's founding.

Earlier Sunday, another grave marker dedication was held in the cemetery at Grace Lower Stone Church in Rockwell to honor Johann Leonhard Kluttz, also a Revolutionary War soldier.

"I'm constantly shocked at how little the general population knows of the Revolutionary War that formed our country," Powell said.

He and a couple more participants were dressed Sunday in Revolutionary War attire, snazzy outfits that made them look as if they were ready to step back in time and take on the British Red Coats.

A wind blew slightly across the grounds of the cemetery, whipping flags and adding to the majesty of the moment.

Powell said part of the reason for the general population's ignorance of the Revolutionary War is that no questions pertaining to it are included on end-of-grade testing.

"People learn what's on the state test," Powell said. "The teachers aren't teaching any of this, and we need to get them to."

Grady Hall, a Salisbury resident and former state president of the Sons of the American Revolution, said the Revolutionary War needs to be remembered.

He noted that six Revolutionary War soldiers are buried in the Mount Zion cemetery and said each time a service like the one conducted Sunday is held, more such graves are discovered.

"It was a fascinating time in our nation's history," Hall said. "We shouldn't forget these men."

Jacob Diel was by all accounts an interesting person.

He was 92 when he died on April 30, 1855. He fathered seven children.

Alan Deal — the name has gone through several changes over the years, from "Diel" to "Diehl" and later to its current spelling, "Deal" — one of Diel's descendants, read a history of the family patriarch during Sunday's service.

Diel traveled to North Carolina from Pennsylvania, settling in Mecklenburg County before moving to Rowan County.

During the American Revolution, Diel fought in the North Carolina line as a substitute for his father. In 1779, he served as a guard at the Salisbury prison where British prisoners were held.

Following the war, Diel became a successful farmer.

"I speak for all of his descendants in the celebration of his life and his contribution to American freedom," Alan Deal said.

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