The National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution (SAR) invites all high school students (9th through 12th grades) interested in the American Revolution to participate in the George S. & Stella M. Knight Essay Contest. The contest is open to all US Citizen and Legal Resident students attending home schools, public, parochial, or private high schools in that same grade range. The National Association of Secondary School Principals has placed this program on the 2017-18 NASSP List of Approved Contests, Programs, and Activities for Students.
To participate, students must submit an original 800- to 1,200-word essay based on an event, person, philosophy or ideal associated with the American Revolution, Declaration of Independence, or the framing of the United States Constitution. Each student’s essay will be judged based upon its historical accuracy, clarity, organization, grammar and spelling, and documentation.
The contest is conducted in three phases: the local chapter, state-level society, and national phases. The contest must be entered through an SAR chapter near the student’s residence. In some cases, the contest may be entered at the state level (if the local society does not have chapters or the chapters are not participating) and a contact-at-large should be used to find out more contest details. The list of contest contacts listed below can provide you with assistance in entering the Knight Essay Contest. Only one entry per student is permitted per contest year.
A complete set of rules, along with the application for both the applicant and the sponsoring SAR members, can be found below. Please be aware that the local application deadline dates may vary, so interested applicants should reach out to their local SAR member listed below for further details.
| Knight Essay Resources |
|---|
| Essay Application |
| Essay Rules |
| Essay Example |
| Essay Medal Flyer |
2019-2020 Winner
Wilson Gerald Reeves is the 2019 – 2020 First Place winner of the George S. & Stella M. Knight Essay Contest. A senior at First Baptist Opelika in Opelika, Alabama, Reeves’ winning essay Robin Hood of the Revolution earned him a $5,000 award. Reeves first learned about the George S. & Stella M. Knight Essay Contest through the SAR Education website. His application was submitted through the Richard Henry Lee Chapter, Lee County, of the Alabama State Society.
Second Place went to Andrei Gaylord of Brentwood, Tennessee who received a $2,500 award. Gaylord is a 10th grade homeschooled student, and submitted his application through the Tennessee State Society. He contributes to the Smithsonian Transcription Center’s Freedmen’s Bureau project, and is a member of the Tennessee Historical Society. Gaylord learned about the George S. & Stella M. Knight Essay at the Tennessee History Day. His essay is titled The Fourth Enemy.
Taylor Carpenter of Burbank, Washington received Third Place and was awarded $1,000. Carpenter’s application was submitted through the Mid-Columbia Chapter of the Washington State Society. An 11th grade homeschooled student, Carpenter’s essay was titled Women Warriors: Heroines of the Revolution. She learned of the George S. & Stella M. Knight Essay Contest through the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) website.
Contacts
The current George S. & Stella M. Knight Essay Contest Judge-at-Large is Mr. Christopher Smithson (ctsmithson@gmail.com).
| SAR Society | Knight Essay Contest Contact |
|---|---|
| Alabama SAR | Edmon H. McKinley edmonhmckinley@bellsouth.net |
| Alaska SAR (Deadline January 31) | Thomas J. Rollman tomrollman@yahoo.com |
| Arkansas SAR (Deadline December 31) | Christopher Smithson ctsmithson@gmail.com |
| Arizona SAR | David Rodier
canondrodier@cox.netWilliam Baran PHD wbaran@cox.net |
| California SAR | Patrick Cecil patrick.cecil@ml.com |
| Colorado SAR (Deadline December 31) | Christopher Smithson ctsmithson@gmail.com |
| Connecticut SAR (Deadline February 1) | John R. Morgan main@westneckcemetery.com |
| Dakota SAR (Deadline December 31) | Christopher Smithson ctsmithson@gmail.com |
| Delaware SAR | Brian Cox bcox@salesianum.org |
| District of Columbia SAR | Doug Brooks lanedbrooks4@gmail.com |
| Empire State SAR (New York) | James M. Eagan eagan1705@rochester.rr.com |
| Florida SAR | Ron Grove 38 Lakeview Drive Fruitland Park, FL 34731 ron_grove@hotmail.com |
| Georgia SAR | Terry A. Gibbs terrygibbs237@gmail.com |
| Hawaii SAR (Deadline December 31) | Christopher Smithson ctsmithson@gmail.com |
| Idaho SAR | Matthew Brechwald Email Link |
| Illinois SAR (Deadline January 15) | Allan C Campbell MD allanccampbellmd@gmail.com |
| Indiana SAR | T. Rex Legler II t.rexlegler2@gmail.com |
| International SAR (Deadline December 31) | Christopher Smithson ctsmithson@gmail.com |
| Iowa SAR | Doug Frazer dlfrazer@yahoo.com |
| Kansas SAR (Deadline December 31) | Stuart W. Conrad stucon@swclaw.net |
| Kentucky SAR | Dale W. Henley dalehenley8848@gmail.com |
| Louisiana SAR (Deadline January 15) | George Clemenceau gwclem100@gmail.com |
| Maine SAR | David L. Manchester davidlmanchester@outlook.com |
| Maryland SAR (Deadline December 31) | C. Louis Raborg, Jr. raborg1989@verizon.net |
| Massachusetts SAR | Joseph Gauthier pineriver99@gmail.com |
| Michigan SAR | Norm Palmer middleage55@aol.com |
| Minnesota SAR (Deadline December 31) | Christopher Smithson ctsmithson@gmail.com |
| Mississippi SAR | Gerald P. Brent bg0586@comcast.net |
| Missouri SAR (Deadline December 31) | Dale A. Schmidt schmidtda17@gmail.com |
| Montana SAR (Deadline December 31) | Christopher Smithson ctsmithson@gmail.com |
| Nebraska SAR (Deadline December 31) | Christopher Smithson ctsmithson@gmail.com |
| Nevada SAR (Deadline December 31) | Christopher Smithson ctsmithson@gmail.com |
| New Hampshire (SAR Deadline December 31) | Christopher Smithson ctsmithson@gmail.com |
| New Jersey SAR (Deadline December 31) | Christopher Smithson ctsmithson@gmail.com |
| New Mexico SAR | Kevin Carr Wa5j.sar@gmail.com |
| North Carolina SAR | Stephen A. Morris stephenmorris-sar@nc.rr.com |
| Ohio SAR | Donald C. McGraw, Jr.
8380 Shawnee Run Road Cincinnati, OH 45243-3359 donald.c.mcgraw@gmail.com |
| Oklahoma SAR (Deadline December 31) | Ronald W. Painter ronpainter@msn.com |
| Oregon SAR (Deadline December 31) | Christopher Smithson ctsmithson@gmail.com |
| Pennsylvania SAR | J. Rennick Steele, Jr. renmaru@comcast.net |
| Rhode Island SAR | John W Adams JWAdams148@aol.com |
| South Carolina SAR (Deadline December 31) | Glenn V. Ohanesian ohanesianlawfirm@cs.com |
| Tennessee SAR (Deadline December 31) | George E. Pesely peselyg@apsu.edu |
| Texas SAR (Deadline December 31) | John M. Hamlin johnmhamlin@yahoo.com |
| Utah SAR (Deadline December 31) | Christopher Smithson ctsmithson@gmail.com |
| Vermont SAR | Zachariah L. Fike purpleheartsreunited@gmail.com |
| Virginia SAR (Deadline January 10) | Richard M. Sherman rmsalp@gmail.com |
| Washington SAR | Jeff Lightburn 16109 NE 217th Avenue Brush Prairie, WA 98606 949-735-9886 jclightburn@gmail.com |
| West Virginia SAR | Thomas J. Galloway P.O. Box 697 Huntington, WV 25711-0697 tgalloway@marshall.edu |
| Wisconsin SAR | Thomas P. Curtis II tpcurtis1938@gmail.com |
| Wyoming SAR (Deadline December 31) | Christopher Smithson ctsmithson@gmail.com |
Previous Winners
The George S. and Stella M. Knight Essay Contest Committee is proud to announce the winner of the national contest. Each year, the SAR receives an average of thirty state-level winners from around the country to compete in the national-level contest. Visitors can find a list of the previous George S. & Stella M. Knight Essay Contest national winners below.
| Year | Winning Essayist | Sponsoring SAR Society |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Katherine McLeod | Texas SAR |
| 2016 | Joseph Nusbaum | Florida SAR |
| 2015 | Matthew Penza | Connecticut SAR |
| 2014 | Elizabeth Lilly | Virginia SAR |
| 2013 | Bryan Habashi | Virginia SAR |
| 2012 | Katie Lavender | Virginia SAR |
| 2011 | Amanda Schanz | Virginia SAR |
| 2010 | Cody E. Nager | Empire State SAR |
| 2009 | Hayley Schoeppler | Wisconsin SAR |
| 2008 | Jenna Barker | South Carolina SAR |
| 2007 | Derek McMahan | Kentucky SAR |
| 2006 | Kristin Personius | Texas SAR |
| 2005 | H. Curtis Kuntz | Pennsylvania SAR |
| 2004 | Daniel E. Sigler | Empire State SAR |
| 2003 | Daniel E. Sigler | Georgia SAR |
| 2002 | Nathan W. Skelly | Missouri SAR |
| 2001 | Stephanie Condon | California SAR |
| 2000 | Jenna Dondero | Texas SAR |
| 1999 | Courtney Powell | Virginia SAR |
| 1998 | Kimberly Braun | Delaware SAR |
| 1997 | John Rackson | Maryland SAR |
| 1996 | Justin Jaeck | Wisconsin SAR |
| 1995 | Catherine Clayton | Texas SAR |