Posted on 04/19/2018 10:25:02 AM PDT by Sopater
Give or take ten years.
Should be an international holiday. American democracy is the default accepted way to govern throughout the world. Even tyrants have to pretend to get elected, and constitutions abound even when they are ignored.
And then on that day was Massachusetts State Hero Samuel Whittemore...
Whittemore was in his fields when he spotted an approaching British relief brigade under Earl Percy, sent to assist the retreat. Whittemore loaded his musket and ambushed the British Grenadiers of the 47th Regiment of Foot from behind a nearby stone wall, killing one soldier. He then drew his dueling pistols, killed a second grenadier and mortally wounded a third. By the time Whittemore had fired his third shot, a British detachment had reached his position; Whittemore drew his sword and attacked.[7] He was subsequently shot in the face, bayoneted numerous times, and left for dead in a pool of blood. He was found by colonial forces trying to load his musket to resume the fight. He was taken to Dr. Cotton Tufts of Medford, who perceived no hope for his survival. However, Whittemore recovered and lived another 18 years until dying of natural causes at the age of 96.[2][9]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Whittemore
They were just rounding to the neared 253.
Aw, you beat me to it. Whittemore is one of my favorite War Of Independence stories. In the first place, he was plowing his fields, which doesn’t sound impressive unless you recall he was either 78 or 80 at the time (his birth date is not entirely exact) and they didn’t have John Deere tractors. More important, he was a cranky old vet who just didn’t care. Don’t piss off cranky old vets is my advice.
Great read! Thanks for posting.
No, you’re just a man ahead of his time!
Whitmore was one tough SOB.
Phone maeks bad tags:p
And: Federalist coup
Knucklehead rants like this one are entertaining.
“They had even stolen four brass cannon right out from under Gage’s nose, a theft not taken lightly by General Gage.”
A couple of years ago I met an old-timer in Massachusetts who said he was a direct descendant of the guy who stole them. He told me where the four cannon, or some of them, are today. They are in different locations, IIRC. I do not recall ever hearing about them before that.
Happy Patriots Day ping
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Recessional of the Sons of the American Revolution:
“Until we meet again, let us remember our obligations to ourDr. Benjamin Franklin, when asked if we had a republic or a monarchy, replied "A Republic, if you can keep it."
forefathers who gave us our Constitution, the Bill of Rights,
an independent Supreme Court and a nation of free men.”
I checked out where the cannons are, and these are the ones the guy was talking about. I thought I remembered him saying that one was at the Bunker Hill Monument, and it is. Another is at the Minuteman Museum in Concord, on loan from the Bunker Hill people.
http://www.davekopel.org/2A/LawRev/american-revolution-against-british-gun-control.html
Above is a link with some more details on what transpired because of the British raid in September - called the “Powder Alarm”. Many believe that the colonists might have defeated the British at Bunker Hill if they still had that powder. (They ran out of powder for their cannons).
Anyway - as your great article states - the Americans began to prepare. There were already militias - but they were British militias. The linked article says that the people of Cambridge called a meeting and dissolved the British militia and fired all of the leaders. Then, they reinstated those same people in the leadership of the new “American” militia! And began training, created the Minutemen, etc.
Perhaps like modern times, we will argue and yell about taxes. We will rant about shutting down free speech. We will draw nasty cartoons when restrictive laws are placed. (And of course now we can also go to the voting booth along with all of the above.) But, when you start coming after our weapons.....
I just hope that there will be an ability to organize real state militias in time. Although I’m guessing that our modern-day “Powder Alarm” began in the 30’s or whenever they made machine guns so difficult to own. And it has slowly been progressing ever since. And we are like frogs in the warming pot of water.
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