This is Al Metts of San Antonio, I have been absent from the list for a long time, but the problem about the desecration of the grave of John Hodges of Abbeville, Revolutionary hero, has continued. Governor Hodges of South Carolina, not of our family, would do nothing for us. Lloyd Benson, SC Senator has been no helper, but he is even older than I am (80 years!) So----, today, I received the message which I am forwarding to you. I answered it right away. Part of my answer: Good morning, Bruce, I appreciate your message and I am grateful for your interest and your actions about the Hodges grave. I am glad that you gave them my name as a contact. I tried to get Governor Hodges of South Carolina to take corrective action. He would do nothing. Fortunately, he descends from a different Hodges family - the ones from Marlboro County, SC. Ours are from Abbeville. Since you are a lawyer, can you find out whether there is a federal law that would apply to our case? That is one possibility that has not been researched. We tried to get help from the local authorities to no avail. The SAR was contacted and they did nothing. It is a sad situation. I have proved 42 Revolutionary ancestors to the SAR, the record at this time. The attached pictures show the tombstone of John Hodges and his wife, Frances Anderson Hodges. The first was made before the graves were desecrated. The second picture is of the John Hodges grave today. The pieces were scattered. The descendants rearranged them as you see, but did not try to reassemble them because further breakage would occur. The rectangular stone at the bottom is a marker giving him credit for his Revolutionary service. ------------------------------------------------------------- --------- Forwarded message ---------- From: "bruce cobb" <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Date: Tue, 26 Jun 2001 03:42:59 -0500 Subject: Hodges cemetery Message-ID: <[email protected]> Dear Colonel Metts: I read your item in the Summer 2001 issue of GRAB on the desecration of a Revolutionary Soldier's grave. It upset the h-ll out of me. I understand further that John Hodges was your ancestor. My Revolutionary War ancestor John Cobb,1743-1781 lies somewhere in either Laurens or Greenwood County S.C. maybe in an unmarked grave. I found the following web site: www.savinggraves.com I took the liberty of submitting an endangered cemetery report for you. You were listed as the contact person. These people at the Saving Graves website appear helpful to the cause of saving old gravesites. One thing: this cemetery may be eligible for the National Register of Historic Places particularly as the grave of a Revolutionary War soldier. Federal law may prohibit the de- secretion of such a site. Please let me know if I can help. I reside in Beaumont,Texas and am an "old San Antonio boy" as well as a former Captain USAR. I now quietly practice law in Beaumont. Feel free to drop a line when you can. Bruce W. Cobb __________________________________________________________ Al Metts [email protected]