Our Chapter

The Colonel Daniel Appling Chapter in Baxley was organized with 19 charter members (four of whom were Juniors) on June 9, 1972. Mrs. Joseph Hamilton Keels was the Organizing Regent. The chapter, located in Appling County, is named after Georgia’s most prominent soldier in the War of 1812.

Daniel Appling was born in 1787 in Columbia County, Georgia, to John Appling and Rebecca Carter. He enlisted in the United States Army in 1808. He is known for his successful command during the Battle of Big Sandy Creek, which prevented the British from seizing American naval stores and guns, and for his major role in the Battle of Plattsburgh.

Colonel Appling was awarded a sword by the Georgia Legislature in recognition of his service during the War of 1812. However, he died before receiving it. The sword first hung in the Governor’s office, then was sent to the Georgia State Historical Society in 1883. It was displayed at the Jamestown Exposition in 1906, but it never returned to Georgia after that. In 2011, the Friends of the Georgia Archives started a campaign to
raise money for the return of the Appling Sword, after seeing it for sale in an antique magazine. As one of Honorary State Regent Sally Baldwin’s State Projects, Georgia Daughters raised money to support the campaign, which finally returned to Georgia in 2012.