Posted on 09/05/2002 6:59:29 AM PDT by illstillbe
Welcome to PeopleForAFreeCountry.com
No. I have no wish to trick any of you. The ongoing and virulent decline towards bitterness ... grudges carried from one thread to another ... name calling ... defections and assaults on good Patriots' integrity here lately got me to thinking what a site would look like if it was up and running during the Revolutionary War ... during a time when ALL of our futures were at stake, as they are now.
Would it be any different ... or would the same passions and conflicts prevail ... the same differences of opinion? What did they use instead of tin foil ... did they even need it?! What were the arguments ... how were they resolved, if they were?
We've the luxury of FreeRepublic to settle disputes ... or carry them on ... be active or not ... on a minute-by-minute basis. If these long ago Patriots had the same ... how would they have responded?!
I would ask ... if flames are in this thread's future, please direct them towards me ... otherwise...
Here's a start to a thread, begun well over 200 years ago, where everything old is new again ...
~~~~~
PS ... Crazy Anne also swore and drank. HA!
Aye, that be true, but then so do I! (Usually at the same time!)
But lest ye think that bravery such as hers will go unrewarded by those devilsh red coats, remember you this, they meet out their rewards in some of the most horrific ways.
If ye be in doubt, just ask Jane McRea, Royalist supporter and engaged to a British officer. The poor lass was massacered by heathens who were later pardoned by Burgoyne, the devil.
What realevence this you ask? Well by my thinking, if they treat their friends and supporters such as this, think ye hard on how they will treat their enemies, be they women or no.
PS...I've hoisted a few ale's with Crazy Anne, and I say without shame, she's taught me a few new ways to swear!
Posted By: FreePatriot
And then, of course, there is our Molly Pitcher. By the by ... have you noticed what a wonderous imagination that Rivendell fellow has ... and how beautifully he expresses it?!
'Tis true!
Posted by: Deborah Sampson
Ah yes, I've had the pleasure of conversing with the good Lady Pitcher, and her gracious and dignified friends, the kind Lady Istiliibe, the enchanting Lady "Jewel Hunter" Neets (I saw her plans for the traitor B. Arnold - ouch!), and a host of others whose names escape me for the moment. A joy and a pleasure it 'tis to bandy words and thoughts of our paitriotic struggles with them.
As for that rapscallion Mr. Rivendell, he may well turn an artful phrase on occasion, but do be careful of bestowing too much praise upon him, lest his head swell to such proportions as to make it impossible to get through the outhouse door!
I can see by the belltower clock, that it is getting close to time for me to hitch up the carriage and begin the journey home( just 45 more minutes!). I must remember to stop by the feed store to pick up more fodder for our beasts of burden!
Posted by: FreePatriot
I normally hide behind the haystack and rarely comment here. Most of the time someone says what I had on my mind anyway. I come here to learn and use this site to add arrows to my quiver for the Cause. But your remarks drew me out.
Washington has no wish to be "King". The best way I can prove this to you is to show you a section of a letter he wrote to his wife, Martha. You see, I am a close friend to Martha and she allowed that this needed to be repeated here ... for she hides behind the haystack as well and you and your kind are breaking her heart. She gives up no confidences her husband gave to her by allowing me to share this with you.
"Mr Dearest: I am now set down to write to you on a subject which fills me with inexpressible concern, and this concern is greatly aggravated and increased when I reflect upon the uneasiness I know it will give you. It has been determined in Congress that the whole army raised for the defense of the American cause shall be put under my care, and that it is necessary for me to proceed immediately to Boston to take command of it.
You may believe me, my dear Patsy, when I assure you, in the most solemn manner, that, so far from seeking this appointment, I have used every endeavor in my power to avoid it, not only from my unwillingness to part with you and the family, but from a consciousness of its being a trust too great for my capacity.
But it has been a kind of destiny that has thrown me upon this service. I shall hope that my undertaking is designed to answer some good purpose."
Posted by: silently*praying*forFreedom-while armed
Ignoring screed "RedPantsAreAllTheRage's# comments, I thank you for that. After the Continental Congress appointed Washington to be commander of the Continental army ... on June 15th, recall? ... it took them but a few short weeks to pass a series of resolutions that not only created the army delineated ranks ... but included a 50 article code of military conduct!
On July 2nd, just two weeks after Bunker Hill, Washington arrived in Cambridge. The Siege of Boston had been ongoing and the Boston Harbor was unapproachable. Through negotiations ... smart troop movement ... and still having to deal with the Massachusetts committee on safety which rejected a frontal assault ... Washington used, instead, General Thomas's troops ... who went in the back door, through Fort Ticonderoga ... and seized Dorchester Heights.
Thus, the Brits awoke the morning of March 5th to find American ... American! ... troops with artillery fortified in the Heights overlooking Boston.
What to do? ... said General Howe ... for his rear Admiral ... Molyneaux ... a frenchman to be sure ... had informed Howe that he couldn't keep his ship in the harbor with American artillery on Dorchester.
Howe ran ... retreated ... like a dog with his tail between his legs. HA!
Posted by; Rebel With A Cause
Well, well ... well... this is where are the Washington-worshippers have congregated! Let's see, shall we?! Washington takes over the Continental army on, what?! ... June 15th?! ... and it took him until mid-March of the NEXT YEAR to liberate Boston Harbor?!
LOL! There's leadership for you ... not ...
Posted by: critiquing everything creating nothing and proud of it
I have only lately learned that I have lost my boy Matthew to the Cause of Freedom. 'Tis more than I can bear, me thinks ... for my young son Luke is still fresh in his grave ... Freedom is not Free and can cost a mother her heart. I have not read the whole patch of thoughts, yet ...
I will be back when I do. I would appreciate any prayers you are willing to offer.
Posted by:JustaMother
Oh my .... oh my ...
Oh. My.
Posted by: JustaMother
And back then, they compromised and they made decisions they later regreted. I'll give an example and hope I remember enough of the facts.
There were two disputes going on...over where to place the new capitol city and what to do about state war debt. (The debt thing had to be resolved because leaving the individual state debts outstanding interferred with the Feds getting credit.) One group wanted to add up the war debt as a whole and simply divide the payback by the number of states. (The states owed debt for the revolution. The Feds were taking over the debt officially and arranging for the states to pay the money back through taxes.) This made things much simpler, but of course some states had already paid most of their debts and thus would be over taxed.
Virginia was one of these states. And having the mighty Thomas Jefferson on board with them, he was able to get an exemption for Virginia (thus allowing other states to be screwed). He pledged to vote to allow the simplification as long as he got extra pull in the discussion over where the new capitol was to be. (Whichever site was chosen would result in better economic conditions for those who lived near.) Jefferson managed to look like a good guy by saying very magnanimously, lets leave it up to Washington, who no one would dare argue with. Of course he knew that Washington was going to go with the site Jefferson most favored. The author said that Jefferson was most ashamed by these actions in later years.
Now if this doesn't sound a lot like our modern congresspersons....I don't know what does.
These will be my last words for a time, as the weather here has turned vile and I seek the warm comforts of hearth and home, but I could not let your words of whining slander against a fellow patriot go unanswered!
You speak as an individual who be short of stature, both in apperance and moral conviction, however long on words you may be!
Gen Washington received a higher calling to serve and yes, has done more in the few short months he has commanded our armies than any of you or your weak kneed compatriots have done over a far longer score of years.
You and your ilk would keep us subserviant to tyrants, with quivering words of appeasment, and boot licking servility.
I and my fellow freedom loving patriots will have none of it.
I for one, and those of like mind with me, will follow Gen Washington, and give ourselves over to his command. Yea, it may mean that our blood be spilt upon this land, and our very lives be wrenched from us, but know ye this - with our blood and with our lives, shall we secure the blessings of freedom and independence.
And before you utter another dismaying comment, know this as well, it is a price we will greatfully pay so that our children and their children's children can live as free men.
Get ye gone, for certianly there be a dung heap somewhere that be willing to suffer the stench of your complaints!
Posted by: LiveFreeOrDie
I have been thinking much, lately, on how human nature does not change ... though the rules of the game can ...
still ... I believe we are about to embark ... or have already ... on a battle quite similar to the Revolutionary War ... wherein we will come out the other side ... how ... what?!
I've a daughter, 21 ... who has a friend who completely believes this whole endeavor since September 11th is the Untied States of America's effort to take over the world ... economically and every other way.
'Tis daunting, talking to this young man ...
For facts can be bent ... statistics can be tweeked ... and history can be used ... either way ... either way.
Many apologies for the tardiness of this post. I write now from far to the west of the colonies to let you all know what the fight is for, not so much as for the crowded cities of the Atlantic, but for the vast, undiscovered country to the west. I set out from the Valley of the Hudson nearly 3 years ago on a short walk to see what was over the nearby hills. I have found wonders beyond belief!
Vast forests and endless prairies of limitless size peopled by only a few friendly savages. I have skirted the shores of great inland seas. As I write this dispatch I camp on the shore of a great, uncrossable river that runs from the north. I can truly say that there is enough land here that all the tired, poor and displaced of Europe could settle only a small part and live their lives in the freedom we fight for.
I much desire now to see what lies on the other side of this great river. I am Negotiating now with one of the savages, from the people of the "Illinois" to take me across in one of their small boats. I will let you know what I find.
Signed: Ghostofthefuture
260 [ Dispatch Reply | Contact by Secret Understanding | To 260 | Peruse Replies | Summon Shopkeeper]
Ghostfromthepast speaks true.
I stand at the tallest point on the ridge and see endless forest, green and deep ... fed by the rivers and streams ... which find their strength from the vast waters to the east I have seen but once.
A hawk flies overhead, journeying to places I can not follow ... but surely tracks Ghostofthefuture's progress.
We of the Oneida Nation know full well the yearning to be free ... we of the Oneida Nation respect the Father who shows us His bounty ... and I was humbled to share this bounty with the General Washington and his warriors ...
There is much life in this great land ... though I have only seen a small plot of it ... but I can hear the music ... calling strong warriors to arms ... a wise Shaman would say ... "This is a good day to die ... for FREEDOM!"
Posted by: Polly Cooper
Today is the day of my Joshua's birth! He is now 17. I last heard from him two weeks ago when I got a dispatch informing me that he was headed, along with a large contingent of Patriots, to Brandywine.
I have never been to this Brandywine ... and hold true to the oddness of it all ... having a child someplace so far and away from where you are. He tells me it is a peaceful and pretty landscape... one I would like.
Sorry to waste all these yarn ... but I wanted to mark the day.
Posted by: Keeping Candle Lit
Happy birthday, strela! *grins*
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