Free Republic

Aaron Houston for The New York Times The 1787 letter from George Washington, beneath his image in a scrapbook begun in 1826. Aaron Houston for The New York TimesBill Schroh, director of operations at the Liberty Hall Museum, looking at the Washington letter. UNION, N.J., April 26 — The letter from George Washington is pasted between poetry and party invitations, stuffed into a dusty scrapbook amid jokes and cutouts of handsome men, and all the highlights of a lucky little girl’s life. It was written in May 1787 and addressed to Jacob Morris, grandfather of Julia Kean, the precocious...

In 1783, with the Revolutionary War nearly over, the American dream of an independent republic almost died at the hands of the army that fought for it. While Continental Army officers waited in camp at Newburgh, New York, for negotiators to end the conflict, their long-simmering frustration with Congress finally boiled over. Anger swept through the corps from the lieutenants to the generals. These men had had enough—enough of inedible rations, inadequate clothing and supplies, and, most important, years of foregoing pay. A coup was in the making. Even the British knew it. As one of their spies reported, military...

During and after the Revolutionary War, Gen. George Washington had a thorn in his side, a man that a fair amount of evidence pointed to as a “traitor,” who, traitor or not, served the enemy and nearly cost us the peace because he had one God he worshipped and served, and one only — himself. The man’s name was Gen. Horatio Gates, or just plain Horatio Gates, if you please, for rarely if ever had the rank of general in the American armies fallen upon a more undeserving soul than he. Story Continues Below Gates was of foreign birth, described...

Over 150 people gathered Sunday at Trinity Church in Manhattan to honor Gen. Horatio Gates. Mention “the Victor at Saratoga” and people may think that you are talking about a horse. Yet that so-called victor, Gen. Horatio Gates, the commander of the American forces at the Battle of Saratoga, played a crucial role in the triumph there over the British forces of Gen. John Burgoyne in October 1777. Though other figures of the War of Independence are still widely revered and studied, Gates faded from the national memory. He died in New York in 1806 and was buried at Trinity...

For a 14th straight year, James S. Kaplan spent the Fourth of July walking in the middle of the night among ghosts of the American Revolution. ... What Mr. Kaplan does every Independence Day, in recent years under the aegis of the Fraunces Tavern Museum, is guide several dozen people to sites in Lower Manhattan that have Revolutionary War significance. Only his tour begins at 2 a.m..snip... Perhaps another distinction is that Mr. Kaplan makes a point of stopping outside Trinity Church to note an injustice that he believes has been done to Horatio Gates, a Revolution-era general who commanded...

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...