Revolutionary War markers target for cleanup at North Huntingdon, West Mifflin cemeteries

Some 240 years after soldiers fought for the nation’s freedom, the local chapter of an organization devoted to patriotism and historic preservation wants to clean the markers of those buried in North Huntingdon and West Mifflin.

The Queen Alliquippa Daughters of the American Revolution wants to clean the bronze markers of 50 Revolutionary War soldiers buried in the Long Run Presbyterian Cemetery in North Huntingdon and the Lebanon Church Cemetery in West Mifflin.

Rebecca Caligiuri of Elizabeth Township, a member of the nonprofit McKeesport-based DAR chapter, said the cleaning of the markers at the Lebanon cemetery is set for Oct. 21 and the cleanup at Long Run along Lincoln Way is planned for Oct. 26.

“We are looking for anybody to help — friends and family can participate,” Caligiuri said.

Since the DAR was founded in 1890, the organization’s members have placed thousands of markers at the grave sites of Revolutionary War soldiers and their wives and daughters, according to the organization’s website.

The DAR chapter wants to start on its historic preservation mission on Oct. 10, which is the National Day of Service, by cleaning a bronze DAR marker at Angora Gardens along Muse Lane in White Oak, Caligiuri said. Other markers targeted for a cleaning are at Heritage Hill Pool in White Oak and at the White Oak Municipal Pool along Lincoln Way.

Caligiuri, who traces her link to the Revolutionary War back seven generations to a soldier who fought in upstate New York, was not certain how many Revolutionary War soldiers are buried at Long Run.

The church, which was organized in 1790, has burials in its adjacent cemetery that date to 1796, according to a North Huntingdon history published in 1906. The Revolutionary War began in 1775 and fighting did not cease until 1781, when British forces surrendered to Gen. George Washington at Yorktown, Va. The formal peace treaty was signed in 1783.