Free Republic

Let the politicians debate equal pay and pursue the folly of a war on women in America. Personally, I would like to take a moment to salute woman at war—one woman and one war in particular: Agent 355, the female covert operative of the Revolutionary War’s Culper Spy Ring. When my book "George Washington’s Secret Six: The Spy Ring that Saved the American Revolution" ,written with co-author Don Yaeger, was first released in November 2013, over half-a-million people scrambled to buy it and one of the elements that struck a chord most strongly with readers was the enigmatic figure of...

August 16, 2014 College Board Erases the Founding Fathers. By Patrick Jakeway The classic novel Brave New World describes a future in which people have lost all of their liberty and in which they have become drugged robots obedient to a central authority. It also details how this control was first established. First, the rulers had to erase all history and all the people’s memory of a time before their bondage. Today, the history of George Washington's leadership has been erased in the new Advanced Placement (AP) U.S. History test/curriculum, taking effect in the fall of 2014. The College Board,...

A father explains to his son why the Founding Fathers were justified in overthrowing the rule of King George... There is a recurring—albeit ill-informed—question in Christian circles regarding Romans 13 (which counsels dutiful subordination to legally established authorities) and the American Revolution: Were the Founding Fathers in sin when they rebelled against King George? Most recently, my son (a Harvard- and Yale-educated Mayo Clinic doctor who performs heart and lung transplants daily but does not have a lot of time for historiography) asked me for some references he could read to help answer this question, which was raised by some...

'In July 2010, amid the gargantuan rebuilding effort at the site of the World Trade Center in Lower Manhattan, construction workers halted the backhoes when they uncovered something unexpected just south of where the Twin Towers once stood. At 22 feet (6.7 meters) below today's street level, in a pit that would become an underground security and parking complex, excavators found the mangled skeleton of a long-forgotten wooden ship. Now, a new report finds that tree rings in those waterlogged ribs show the vessel was likely built in 1773, or soon after, in a small shipyard near Philadelphia. What's more,...

For the Journal of the American Revolution, Todd Andrlik compiled a list of the ages of the key participants in the Revolutionary War as of July 4, 1776. Many of them were surprisingly young: Marquis de Lafayette, 18 James Monroe, 18 Gilbert Stuart, 20 Aaron Burr, 20 Alexander Hamilton, 21 Betsy Ross, 24 James Madison, 25 This is kind of blowing my mind...because of the compression of history, I'd always assumed all these people were around the same age. But in thinking about it, all startups need young people...Hamilton, Lafayette, and Burr were perhaps the Gates, Jobs, and Zuckerberg of...

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania We meet to celebrate the birthday of America. The coming of a new life always excites our interest. Although we know in the case of the individual that it has been an infinite repetition reaching back beyond our vision, that only makes it the more wonderful. But how our interest and wonder increase when we behold the miracle of the birth of a new nation. It is to pay our tribute of reverence and respect to those who participated in such a mighty event that we annually observe the fourth day of July. Whatever may have been the...

We all know the story of American independence, don’t we? A rugged frontier people became increasingly tired of being ruled by a distant elite. A group calling themselves Patriots were especially unhappy about being taxed by a parliament in which they were unrepresented. When, in 1775, British Redcoats tried to repress them, a famous Patriot called Paul Revere rode through the night across eastern Massachusetts, crying “The British are coming!” The shots that were fired the next day began a war for independence which culminated the following year in the statehouse in Philadelphia, when George Washington and others, meeting under...

On this Fourth of July, 238 years after Congress declared independence from the British Empire through the Declaration of Independence, it’s well worth reminding ourselves of a number of things about the Founding era. In 1776, numerous individuals, families, committees, congregations, localities, and states had already proclaimed their independence, and almost no remaining imperial structure could continue to operate with any legitimacy in what would very soon become 13 states.  By the very beginning of July of 1776, it became clear that members of Congress would have to catch up quickly to the more activist localities if they hoped to...

As we celebrate the 4th of July let's take a moment to reflect on the enormous cost, in lives and treasure, that it took us to earn our independence. •8.37 years was how long the war lasted •80,000 militia and Continental Army soldiers served at the height of the war •56,000 British soldiers fought at the height of the war •30,000 German mercenaries known as Hessians fought for Britain during the war •55,000 Americans served as privateers during the war •25,000 Revolutionary Soldiers died during the war •8,000 Revolutionary Soldiers died from wounds inflicted during battle •17,000 Revolutionary Soldiers died...

The ultimate historical traveler's guide to the American Revolution Nearly 150 chronologically arranged entries on everything from meeting halls to battlefields Includes contemporary accounts and the writings of leading historians, offering site-by-site details and an overview of the Revolution Written for the vast and ever-growing crowd of history tourists In 1996, Congress commissioned the National Park Service to compile a list of sites and landmarks connected with the American Revolution that it deemed vital to preserve for future generations. Some of these sites are well known--Bunker Hill, Valley Forge, Fort Ticonderoga--and in no danger of being lost; others less so--...

My daughter faced a personal crisis last week as she started back to work after a three-month maternity leave. She loves her profession as a pediatric dentist, but how could she possibly leave the little person who appears to grow and change by the minute? A ten-hour day away loomed as half a lifetime. snip... As women still struggle with how to "do it all" in terms of work and family, Mercy Otis Warren is an inspiring example of an early American woman who successfully faced this challenge. snip... What they might be surprised to learn, is that just as...

The old Klepper house, also known as the old stone house, was built in 1792 for Col. George Gillispie, who with his son Capt. Thomas Gillispie were members of the Overmountain Men that turned the tide of the American Revolution at King's Mountain, S.C., in 1780. Tony Duncan photo.LIMESTONE - They called it the old Klepper house in Limestone. As memories of the family faded and the house began to be obscured by brush and trees growing up around it, it was known as the old stone house. It is one of three stone houses built in Washington County...

A little-remembered anniversary occurs this April 30 -- the 225th Anniversary of the U.S. Constitution being put into operation. Many might remember that April 30, 1789 was the day that George Washington took the oath of office and gave his inaugural address. But lest we forget, this very act also marked the launching of the American Constitutional System. Those living at the time knew what a landmark day it was and the details surrounding the events of the day show this depth of understanding. Through the process of time, neglect and the active rewriting of American history, these details have...

I recently read with joy a conservative blogger’s attempt to connect the TEA party movement to its historic roots; a topic I have been meaning to write about for months now. The blogger rightly said that the “the historical precedent for the TPM wasn’t the Tea Party event in Boston Harbor on December 16, 1773.” I actually uttered an “Amen, brother!” He went on to describe the Continental Association established on October 20, 1774 by the First Continental Congress in response to the Intolerable Acts. That’s when I realized that I have waited long enough to write this article. The...

In June, 1776, with Richard Henry Lee’s proposal for independence from Great Britain awaiting a vote in the Continental Congress, a committee of five – Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Robert R. Livingston, Roger Sherman, and Thomas Jefferson – selected one from among their number to be the key author of a formal Declaration of Independence. While the entire Continental Congress contributed to it, through their helpful editing, the principal author has long been known to be Thomas Jefferson, and he was rightly so proud of it that he wanted his authorship of this document to be on his tombstone rather...

If the Times Covered the American Revolution (We'd still be paying exorbitant taxes on breakfast tea.)If the New York Times had been around to report on the American Revolution, its coverage might have looked something like this... * Dec. 16, 1773: Sons of Liberty to raid East India Company ships BOSTON -- Members of the undergound organization called the Sons of Liberty are plotting to raid three East India Company ships tonight and dump the cargo -- thousands of pounds worth of Darjeeling tea -- into Boston Harbor, the Times has learned. Contacted at his headquarters, Gov. Thomas Hutchinson said,...

Lord, Keep our Troops forever in Your care Give them victory over the enemy... Grant them a safe and swift return... Bless those who mourn the lost. . FReepers from the Foxhole join in prayer for all those serving their country at this time. ...................................................................................... ........................................... U.S. Military History, Current Events and Veterans Issues Where Duty, Honor and Countryare acknowledged, affirmed and commemorated. Our Mission: The FReeper Foxhole is dedicated to Veterans of our Nation's military forces and to others who are affected in their relationships with Veterans. In the FReeper Foxhole, Veterans or their family members should feel...

Gen. Washington courageously attempting to rallyfleeing militia at Kip's Bay, Manhattan MOUNT VERNON, Va. — Say goodbye to the stern and remote George Washington, the boring one who wore a powdered wig, had wooden teeth and always told the truth. Embrace instead the action hero of the 18th century, a swashbuckling warrior who survived wild adventures, led brilliant military campaigns, directed spy rings and fell in love with his best friend's wife. That is the new message from the people who run Mount Vernon, the estate where Washington spent much of his life and where more than one million people...

It is no secret that many of us who reject Obama's neo-communist agenda have turned to the Founding Fathers for guidance; when you think your country's founding principles are under attack, it's natural to re-acquaint yourself with the writings of the extraordinary group of men who wrote our founding documents.   When we examine this genius cluster, George Washington is perhaps the best loved.  Last week Glenn Beck recommended the four-year old, 1208-page tome, George Washington's Sacred Fire, which discusses pop culture fave topics like the religious beliefs of our first President.  The book shot to number one on Amazon's bestseller...

The father of our nation knew how to throw a Christmas party. I’m talking thousands of pounds of bacon, gallons of homemade rye whiskey, a massive “great cake” and what he called an “attack of Christmas pies.” Everyone got four days off to celebrate at his Mount Vernon plantation and while there was no regular scheduled appearance by Santa, there was at least one recorded visit by a camel. But the abundant Christmas feasts of Washington’s later years were preceded by some years that were lean on Christmas cheer. When young George was 8 years old in 1740, his home...