TODAY IS 'PETER FRANCISCO DAY'! How could we forget an American Hero Extraordinaire?!

South Coast Today ^ | Jorge S. Medeiros

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How could city fathers forget Peter Francisco?

Peter Francisco 1760 - 1831

~Peter Francisco, giant member of the American forces at Guilford, who slew 11 men with his oversized sword during the battle.~

Since 1953, March 15 has been officially recognized in Massachusetts as Peter Francisco Day. Rhode Island and Virginia also have recognized that date as Peter Francisco Day in honor of this giant of the American Revolutionary War.

To my knowledge there has never existed a man who fought for America as courageously and with such might and heroism as Peter Francisco did. He was a contemporary of the very founders of the American nation, and Patrick Henry, the Marquis de Lafayette, Thomas Jefferson, and George Washington were among his many friends.

But Peter Francisco, the great American patriot, was Portuguese.

When he was about five years of age, the child of an affluent family, he was abducted by pirates from his hometown of Porto Judeu in the island of Terceira, Azores.

He was brought to America and, on June 23, what is now Hopewell, Va. Later on, inspired by Patrick Henry, when Francisco was only 16, he enlisted in the Continental Army and participated with undaunted bravery in the most important battles of the American Revolution, from Valley Forge to Guilford Courthouse.

On Aug. 16, 1780, during the battle of Camden, Peter Francisco was credited as having saved the life of his commanding officer, and also for carrying to safety, on his shoulders, a 1,100-pound cannon so it wouldn't fall to the hands of the enemy.

In 1975 this feat was immortalized by the U.S. Postal Service in an 18-cent commemorative stamp, which said: "Peter Francisco, fighter extraordinary."

This man, known by his comrades as the Hercules of the American Revolution, had the distinguished honor of being referred to, by General George Washington himself, in the following manner: "Without him we would have lost two crucial battles, perhaps the war, and with it our freedom. He was a truly One-Man-Army."

Although wounded several times, and left for dead on the battlefield, at Guilford Courthouse, on March 15, 1781, Peter Francisco went on to re-enlist at least three more times, and his broadsword, forged for him under special orders form General Washington, was 6 feet long and the heaviest of the entire American Army. At the battle of Guilford Courthouse, Francisco performed a deed of unparalleled bravery by cutting down 11 enemy soldiers with his huge sword.

At the time of his death, on Jan. 16, 1831, he was serving as Sergeant-at-Arms in the House of Delegates, in Virginia. His funeral, on Jan. 18, had full military honors, with the governor, the Senate, House of Delegates, Council and many public officers in attendance, and the cortege from the House of Delegates Hall to Shockoe Cemetery, in Richmond, was one of the largest, longest, most impressive, colorful, and respectful ever held in Virginia. When General Lafayette was advised of the death of Francisco, he wept as if he had lost a brother.

I have described only a small portion of the tremendous achievements of a man, a great hero, that should always be remembered and never, never forgotten, and yet as strange as it may seem, that is exactly what happened on March 15, 2002.

Except for The Standard-Times, by the pen of Robert Barcellos, and also Channel 20, WJFD, and WBSM (because I contacted them), a lot of people seem to be suffering from severe lack of memory. Even our beloved city fathers, especially those of Portuguese ancestry, are suffering from that malady.

And the aides at the mayor's office, when I went there to find out why the Portuguese flag was not on the flag pole in front of City Hall on that specific day, as is customary every March 15, in honor of Peter Francisco, they seemed to suffer from the same kind of amnesia.

And to the local politicians who, at election time, always covet the votes of the Portuguese, immigrants or not, and then seem to forget us and to honor our heroes, I would like to say: Shame on you all. You don't deserve my vote! Jorge S. Medeiros lives in New Bedford.

For a more detailed and very interesting article about this forgetten great American Revolutionary War hero from 'American History Magazine', read: Peter Francisco: A One Man Army, at the link below:

http://www.thehistorynet.com/ah/blpeterfrancisco/

also:

http://www.newbedford.k12.ma.us/elementary/gomes/stjohn/holiday/Peterfrancisco/Peterfrancisco.html

[mlmr]

My many greats ago was the aid du camp of Layfette and a mapmaker.