DAR chapter honors Revolutionary War patriot at Connelly Springs gravesite

A Burke County Revolutionary War patriot was honored in Connelly Springs on Nov. 22 when the John Hoyle Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution placed a bronze plaque at John Rockett’s gravesite.

The graveside ceremony, held at the private Hudson Cook Cemetery near Connelly Springs, recognized Rockett’s service during the American Revolution as part of the DAR’s America 250 commemoration. Two of Rockett’s direct descendants attended, including Tina Rockett and chapter regent Gina Abernethy. The Guilford Courthouse Fife and Drum Corps provided colonial era music.

Rockett enlisted at age 17 as a volunteer from Edgefield County, S.C, and served three years and seven months, from 1778 to 1781. He served under Brig. Gen. Andrew Williamson, later moving with his regiment into Georgia. By 1781, Rockett was stationed near Savannah at a site known as “The Cupboard,” and marched across South Carolina before joining forces led by Gen. Andrew Pickens and Gen. Nathanael Greene.

In a pension application filed in 1834, Rockett recalled the Battle of Eutaw Springs in September 1781, describing intense fighting and heavy losses on both sides. Two weeks after that battle, he completed his military service.

Rockett later moved to Western North Carolina, settling in what was then Lincoln County. He married Sarah Abernathy in 1787 and became known locally as “Gentleman John.” The couple raised 10 children. Rockett lived with his youngest daughter, Jane, and her husband, Daniel Hudson, until his death in 1848. All three are buried in the Hudson Cook Cemetery.

The DAR is a federally chartered nonprofit for women who can document descent from an American Revolution patriot. Founded in 1890, the organization promotes patriotism, historic preservation, and education through local chapters.

Based in Hickory, the John Hoyle Chapter welcomes prospective members who can prove lineage to a patriot who supported the American cause between 1775 and 1783.