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The article "1775: Good year for a little revolution" on the Opinion page (July 10) is a reminder to honor the men on the central Pennsylvania frontier who in the summer of 1775 answered the call of the 2nd Continental Congress to form rifle companies and march directly to Boston to support New England's Army of Observation in the Siege of Boston.
Men living in what are today, Bedford, Huntingdon and Blair counties answered that call.
John Holliday was commissioned Second Lieutenant in Captain Robert Cluggage's Company of Riflemen, one of the original six rifle companies under Colonel William Thompson.
His brother James, who enlisted as a Sergeant, was killed in action at the Battle of Brandywine on Sept. 11, 1777.
John and James were the sons of William and Mary (McClellen) Holliday, early settlers in Frankstown Township.
James Van Zandt of Canoe Valley enlisted as a Private. His brother George also had Revolutionary War military service. George's great, great, grandson was Congressman James E. Van Zandt (1898-1996), for whom the VA Medical Center in Altoona is named in honor of his military service in both WWI and WWII.
The muster roll for Robert Cluggage's Company of Riflemen can be found in "Soldiers of Blair County" by Floyd Hoenstine.
Karen K. Morrow
Tyrone
Retired, Historic Site Assistant, Fort Roberdeau Historic Site