On National Wreaths Across America Day—Saturday, December 13, 2025—W3R-Delaware (W3R-DE) gathered with partners and neighbors in Colonial Brandywine Village along the Washington–Rochambeau Revolutionary Route (W3R) National Historic Trail in Wilmington to honor the service and sacrifice of America’s veterans.
Wreaths Across America (WAA) is a national nonprofit best known for its mission to “Remember the fallen. Honor those who serve. Teach the next generation the value of freedom.” The organization’s modern program grew from an effort begun by wreath-maker Morrill Worcester—first bringing wreaths to Arlington National Cemetery in 1992, and later establishing WAA as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit in 2007.
W3R-DE President Bill Conley (LTC, U.S. Army, Ret.) addressed those assembled, sharing the meaning behind the Wreaths Across America tradition and why it resonates so strongly in Trail communities—places where the nation’s founding-era story and later generations of service often overlap in the same streets, churchyards, and cemeteries.
A highlight of the program was the participation of American Legion Post 10 (Wilmington), including a moving wreath procession carried in by veterans. W3R-DE also recognized Post 10’s leadership and support of the event.
Conley presented a W3R Award to Col. Scott Christensen, U.S. Army (Ret.), Commander of American Legion Post 10, who served as the ceremony’s guest speaker. The program also included special recognition of 2 members of the St. Joseph Church Choir, whose fathers both served aboard B-24 bombers during World War II—an intergenerational reminder that military service is often a family story as much as a national one.
St. Joseph Church itself is deeply significant in Delaware history: Delaware Public Archives notes it as “the cradle of African-American Catholicism in Delaware,” organized in 1889.
Wreaths Placed At Old Swedes’ Burial Grounds
Following the ceremony, the commemorative wreaths were carried to nearby Old Swedes Church Cemetery, where they were placed on the graves of 28 Colonial Soldiers buried there, as part of W3R-DE’s local remembrance observance.
Old Swedes’ burial grounds are among Delaware’s most historic landscapes—described by the National Park Service as the final resting place for an estimated 8,000 people, with burials dating back to the earliest Swedish settlement era and continuing into the present.
Following the ceremony, the commemorative wreaths were carried to nearby Old Swedes Church Cemetery, where they were placed on the graves of 28 Colonial Soldiers buried there, as part of W3R-DE’s local remembrance observance.
Old Swedes’ burial grounds are among Delaware’s most historic landscapes—described by the National Park Service as the final resting place for an estimated 8,000 people, with burials dating back to the earliest Swedish settlement era and continuing into the present.
Linking Revolutionary-Era Sacrifice To Future Commemoration
During his remarks, Conley also shared a powerful Wilmington-centered story connected to the Revolutionary era: the passage of soldiers associated with the First Rhode Island Regiment through Wilmington in 1781 and 1782, and W3R-DE’s ongoing research into soldiers who died during a smallpox epidemic while traveling home—described as being buried in an unmarked mass grave. Conley noted that W3R-DE has identified names and the location and is envisioning a future interpretive project in 2027 to ensure that sacrifice is formally recognized.
All event photographs by Chad Carmack of American Legion Post 10.
