This America 250 summer has been one to remember for me. Wow – I have been everywhere. But, a phone call that I received from a woman is DC last week was the cherry on top!

She said, “…when I was walking in Freedom Plaza and saw the Jude Hall statue, I got very curious about his story, which led me to calling you.”

Wait, back up – a statue of Jude Hall in DC??? What? When? My mind was blown away. After I hung up with this wonderful woman I looked it up, and OMG there it was. HUGE. POWERFUL.

When you look at that statue, can you feel the pride, the sorrow, and the resilience of the Hall family?

For seven years I have been singing the song for Jude to whoever will listen – like a cricket by the hearth that won’t go away 🙂

The very first chirp was here in town when I made a “Did You Know?” poster with a bio of Jude and stapled it to the downtown phone poles in Exeter, NH.

Over the years, I started singing louder; I learned how to do Wikipedia and made a page for him. (It got denied twice due to lack of references – there was not much of a paper trail back then – now thanks to folks from EVERYWHERE it is loaded with info.) I presented him to the Daughters of the American Revolution magazine, to poets, historians, actors, teachers and more. I recently proposed him for inclusion in American Ancestor’s “10 Million Names” America 250 project detailing the family trees of 75 Black soldiers. (Again, I thank the scores who have helped along the way, I am just the steady chirper.)

This project is at the point where it is beginning to LOUDLY sing with its own chorus now, and I rejoice!! I especially rejoice for the people who learn about Jude and suddenly see themselves in the founding of this country. That can’t be taken away.

This new bronze statue is one of “12 Soldiers of the American Revolution” placed as a traveling exhibit in Freedom Plaza in Washington, DC by the National Park Service in June 2026. Let’s see if we can’t get it to travel to Bunker Hill National Park, where Jude fought in the very first campaign of his eight years of service.

What’s next? I’d like to see Jude Hall become a household name. Please lend your skills to this matter.

Chirp, chirp, chirp….

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Published by nhgoddess

RM Allen is the author of The New Hampshire Goddess Chronicles series, small but effective books on the intersection of spirituality & environmentalism. She continues the small but effective theme in her newest writing project: the Maryvonne Mini-Mystery series, which tell a more inclusive history of New Hampshire: Incident at Exeter Tavern. Incident at Ioka, Incident at Exeter Depot and Yuletide at Exeter. All profits donated. Available at Amazon/Kindle or Water Street Bookstore. Thanks for your support!