This is the grave of Moses Dickerson the First. He’s my great-grandfather eight generations back. Moses Dickerson fought in the Revolutionary War so that we wouldn’t have to answer to a king. Moses Dickerson fought for a government for the people, by the people. Moses Dickerson fought for freedom. After the war, he received a land grant for his wartime military service from the newly formed federal government of the United States of America.
The Dickersons stayed put until my dad, Harman Dickerson, moved out of Floyd County in the 1960s. Moses Dickerson is buried in Pine Grove Primitive Baptist Cemetery outside Floyd, Virginia, and they’ve erected a little Revolutionary War monument in front of his original headstone.
For those who call me a commie or a wussy or a knucklehead or an idiot—that’s fine. My roots run deep and y’all can kiss my ass. Moses Dickerson the First didn’t fight in the Revolutionary War so we could have a goddamn king.
