Revolutionary War Plaque Honoring Harford County Residents Who Served Installed In Bel Air

BEL AIR, MD — The local Daughters of the American Revolution chapter has installed a plaque outside the Bel Air Armory that honors the soldiers who fought in the Revolutionary War. The plaque has been posted in advance of the 250th anniversary of the United States in 2026.

“It took a lot of people -- not just the soldiers,” said Carol Johnson, regent for the Gov. William Paca Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution. “It took the rest of the community supporting the effort [in order] to succeed.”

Johnson said people who supported the Revolution were “risking everything.” About 3,600 Harford County residents served during the war and the county was a transit corridor for British troops as well as French troops led by Marquis the Lafayette who fought on the side of the Americans, according to a 2014 article published in "The Dagger."

“If we hadn’t won, they certainly would paid for their support,” she added.

The marker was unveiled in later April during the “Then and Now” celebration of Bel Air’s 150th anniversary. It can be found near the entrance to Armory Park, adjacent to the Armory building on Main Street.

“We thought celebrating the town [anniversary] would be a good time to present the marker,” Johnson said.

According to town officials, 34 elected members of the Committee of Harford County signed the Bush River Declaration in March of 1775 to express their support for the people of Boston. That city had been blockaded by the British as Patriots fighting for American independence protested what they considered excessive taxes imposed by the British Crown on American colonists. The Bush River Declaration was signed several weeks before the war started at Lexington and Concord.