Alpharetta American Legion Post 201
201 Wills Road
Alpharetta, Georgia 30004
Phone Number (770) 475-9023
Fax Number (770) 740-0380
E-Mail ... ala201@bellsouth.net
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Alpharetta American Legion Post 201
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The Old Soldiers Day Celebration Spans The Years
An Historical event is celebrated on the first Saturday of August in Alpharetta, Georgia, known as Old Soldiers Day. This is sponsored by The American Legion, Department of Georgia, Post #201, Alpharetta. Present day veterans are privileged to participate in and carry on the heritage established by old soldiers.
Soon after guns were silenced in the War Between the States, Confederate soldiers living in and around old Milton County, now apart of Fulton County, established a time during each year when they could bivouac for several days to remember the fellowship founded during the tragic time when families became divided over different philosophies. They came by horse back, horse and wagon, and on foot, meeting in a small town called Alpharetta.
Many were bivouacking in Alpharetta when the young soldiers of World War I returned home. Best evidence indicates that during 1920, an elderly Confederate soldier invited these "younguns" to assemble to the rear and parade with them down Alpharetta's main street.
The days went swiftly by, and soon the old soldiers' physical capabilities lagged far behind their spirit and desire to continue the tradition. In 1924, the reunion was abandoned.
Twenty eight years later on a Sunday afternoon in June, 1952, a group of men who were vitally concerned with veterans and their loved ones, unanimously agreed that Old Soldiers Day should be more then a memory. These gentlemen, themselves veterans, sounded the bugle that would again rededicate the first Saturday in August, as a living memorial to veterans of all wars. This historical significance is why this day will always remain personal to all veterans.
Website Editor
Kelly Shertenlieb
e-mail address is wks41@alltel.net
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