This summer, Shepherdstown has taken great pride in commemorating the 250th anniversary of one of the most extraordinary acts of service in our nation’s early history: the Bee Line March. This Saturday, July 19, 2025 (10am-3pm), the final chapter of our ongoing tribute will take place with a Revolutionary War encampment at Morgan’s Grove Park.
 
Shepherdstown has hosted two additional commemorative events this summer, including a special ceremony at the park on June 14, and a museum exhibit featuring colonial-era longrifles crafted by the renowned Sheetz family and other local gunsmiths.
 
The family-friendly event this Saturday will offer a vivid and engaging look at how colonial soldiers trained, lived, and fought. Attendees will have the opportunity to learn about the local men who made the historic march to Boston, explore period-authentic displays, view drill and flintlock demonstrations, listen to talks about Revolutionary War history, and connect with the roots of America’s military story.
 
Live music will be provided by the Old Line Fife and Drum Corps from Frederick, Maryland, bringing to life the sounds that once accompanied soldiers into battle. Additionally, children will enjoy 18th Century games—while food trucks will also offer BBQ, soft drinks, and ice cream.
 
At 3pm, the reenactors and the fife and drum corps will march from the park to downtown Shepherdstown, and the reenactors will disperse themselves there to engage townspeople and visitors in conversation about the War. At 5pm, they will gather in front of McMurran Hall downtown where Travis Shaw, the director of education for the Virginia Piedmont Heritage Area organization, will present some remarks about the significance of the Bee Line March and what the reenactors have been trying to accomplish by gathering in Shepherdstown for the day.
 
Admission is free and all are welcome.
 
This event is made possible by a partnership of dedicated local organizations, including the Historic Shepherdstown Commission, Shepherd University, local chapters of the Daughters and Sons of the American Revolution, the Jefferson County Historic Landmarks Commission, the Jefferson County Historical Society, the Jefferson County Museum, the Rotary Club of Shepherdstown, the Shepherdstown Community Club, and the Virginia Piedmont Heritage Area Association.
 
We invite you to come walk in the footsteps of history—right here in Shepherdstown.
 
For a full schedule of the day’s events and more information, visit the Beeline March 250th Anniversary on Facebook.

— On June 14, 1775, the Second Continental Congress called for ten companies of riflemen from Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania to aid General George Washington at the Siege of Boston. Among those who answered the call were 98 men from in and around what is now Shepherdstown, recruited under the command of Captain Hugh Stephenson. They gathered near Morgan’s Spring (what is now Morgan’s Grove Park) and, on July 17, began a 600-mile march on foot to Massachusetts—arriving in just 25 days. Their effort would become known as the Bee Line March and is widely regarded as the symbolic beginning of what would later become the United States Army.

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Mayor James Gatz
Town of Shepherdstown
www.shepherdstown.gov