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On Veterans Day 2025, I went on a road trip through central Indiana to visit the graves of several veterans of the American Revolutionary War. The sites I found -- and the stories behind them -- completely amazed me. There's so much hidden history tucked away in small roadside cemeteries across the country. Come along for this unforgettable Revolutionary War road trip! Note: for those concerned about the flag that was knocked over- I straightened up the gravesites prior to leaving, as I always do. I found George Washington's Drummer & other Revolutionary War Graves | Journey With Murphy |...

Join me on a journey through historic Philadelphia as I visit the final resting places of seven signers of the Declaration of Independence -- the men who put their names on one of the most important documents in American history. Along the way, I'll explore the lives, sacrifices, and stories behind these remarkable Founding Fathers and the places where they were laid to rest. I'll also visit the grave of Betsy Ross, whose story has become deeply intertwined with the American Revolution, as well as the graves of two other signers of the U.S. Constitution. From churchyards tucked away in...

Before he was Vice President, Elbridge Gerry was a rising leader from Massachusetts, who partook in some of the earliest and most important phases of the American Revolution. He signed the Declaration of Independence and he went on to play an interesting role in the Constitutional Convention in 1787. When he died in 1814, he was serving as the Vice President and the War of 1812 was in full swing. Today, he is the only signer of the declaration who is laid to rest in the District of Columbia. Buried nearby is Tobias Lear, a patriot who had a tragic...

“What if?” That’s a question you may have asked yourself at times throughout your life. What if something happened or didn’t happen is often the query. I won’t go into detail about all the “what ifs” I’ve questioned myself about in my life. I could write lots of columns on that question alone. No one wants to read about that, for sure! When it comes to American history, though, I’ve often thought about that question — wondering how history would have been different had this or that happened or not happened. What if George Washington had not had fog to...

After the high of the Declaration of Independence, wartime reality set in for the founders.Michael O’Hanlon is a defense and strategy analyst at the Brookings Institution and the author of “To Dare Mighty Things: U.S. Defense Strategy Since the Revolution.”Despite the heady moment in Philadelphia with the Declaration of Independence’s approval in early July, 1776, that summer was a tough one for the nation’s founders, George Washington in particular. The rest of that year — until Washington crossed the Delaware River and won the Battle of Trenton on Dec. 26 — would go down as the worst period of the...

On August 2, 1776, members of Congress affix their signatures to an enlarged copy of the Declaration of Independence. Fifty-six congressional delegates in total signed the document, including some who were not present at the vote approving the declaration. The delegates signed by state from North to South, beginning with Josiah Bartlett of New Hampshire and ending with George Walton of Georgia. John Dickinson of Pennsylvania and James Duane, Robert Livingston and John Jay of New York refused to sign. Carter Braxton of Virginia; Robert Morris of Pennsylvania; George Reed of Delaware; and Edward Rutledge of South Carolina opposed the...

William Franklyn-Miller, Kelsey Grammer, and director Jon Erwin join Fandango correspondent Nikki Novak to discuss their upcoming historical war drama, 'Young Washington'. William Franklyn-Miller shares his experience embodying the patriot George Washington before he became the Father of a Nation, Kelsey Grammer details why his character Lord Fairfax would invest this young man with such responsibility, and director Jon Erwin explains why the story of the Revolutionary War is so enthralling for himself and audiences. 'Young Washington' hits theaters July 3! "You See the Ambition" William Franklyn-Miller & Kelsey Grammer on 'Young Washington' | 17:42 Fandango (Fandango's Big Ticket) |...

Before the war was over, five would be captured, 12 would lose their homes, and 17 would lose their fortunes. None renounced the cause of their own free will. Congress voting on the Declaration of Independence. Library of Congress/Public Domain =============================================================== Today the United States celebrates the 250th—or semiquincentennial—anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence. While July 4 marks the day Thomas Jefferson’s revised draft of the Declaration of Independence was adopted, it would take months for the document to be signed by all 56 men who would eventually affix their names to it. Several key figures in...

Went with my brother and a friend today to see "Young Washington" which was released today. I have been looking forward to this movie for some time, and wondered if any other Freepers saw it, and if you liked it. Me? I thought it was great. I am reasonably well read on Washington, and I think he is one of the greatest men who have ever lived. To me, 95% of Americans who know anything about George Washington only know about his activities in the years directly before and after 1775, and this movie ended about ten years before that....

From Roman freedom to Viking happiness, the iconic words in the Declaration of Independence reveal thousands of years of humans wrestling with how to live well together – and the power of language to put those ideas into action. "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." When Thomas Jefferson drafted these words in the Declaration of Independence, two things were on his mind. One: he needed to find "terms so plain and...

Two hundred and fifty years after the Declaration of Independence, we speak of the founders with a reverence that can flatten them into marble—preordained, wise, and magnificent. But George Washington is a far more interesting figure than the monument allows. He was, by most accounts, a mediocre battlefield general. He lost more engagements than he won. He was outmaneuvered at Long Island and badly beaten at Brandywine, and lost Philadelphia in the aftermath. As president, of course, he was transformative, setting precedents for executive restraint and the peaceful transfer of power that still define the office.But neither the flawed general...

TALEA Beer Co used molasses-based recipe from Washington's Seven Years' War notebook to craft historic brew VIDEO AT LINK....... The New York Public Library (NYPL) is giving visitors a chance to "taste history" by recreating George Washington's beer recipe from the first president's 1757 military journal, which is housed in the library's research collections. The library collaborated with New York City-based TALEA Beer Co. to recreate the brew, along with a Liberty Lager to appeal to modern palates. "The initial response to [the library] reaching out was obviously awe," LeAnn Darland, TALEA co-founder and co-CEO, told Fox News Digital. "Just...

‘Revolutionary America’ Coming to Theaters from Fathom Entertainment May 31 – June 2 HILLSDALE, Mich. and DENVER, Colo. — April 17, 2026 — “Revolutionary America,” produced by Hillsdale Studios and distributed by Fathom Entertainment, the leading specialty distributor of content to theatrical partners worldwide, is Hillsdale College’s first feature-length documentary. Narrated by Tom Selleck, the film explores the Revolution through the experience of Americans between 1763-1791, bringing into focus the political principles that animated their fight for independence and self-government, as the Founding Fathers risked their “lives, fortunes, and sacred honor” in a fight for liberty that would shape a...

Philadelphia, April 1781. A boy of about eight is shifting in his seat. His voice, clear and steady, rises inside the quiet room. Mah nishtanah halailah hazeh mikol haleilot? “Why is this night different from all other nights?” For those participating in the Passover seder, all crowding a small rented room just blocks from where Congregation Mikveh Israel holds its services, this is a loaded question. In a land with barely 2,500 Jews from one end of the 13 colonies to the other,1 fewer than one in every 10,000 souls,2 and almost everyone around the table is a refugee displaced...

Two secret battlefield letters written by George Washington during one of the toughest winters of the Revolutionary War have recently surfaced and are now up for sale — just in time for America’s 250th birthday celebration this July 4. Four years into the American colonist’s bloody struggle to break free from British rule, Gen. Washington, from his headquarters in Morristown, NJ penned the letters revealing how the Continental Army tried to monitor loyalist activity and British troop movements across the Hudson River during the winter of 1779 to 1780. Those messages, carefully preserved by descendants of Revolutionary War soldiers, are...

Some of the United States’ most important historical documents are beginning a first-of-its kind journey Monday as part of the country’s 250th anniversary commemoration. Typically housed in highly controlled vaults under the watch of preservation experts at the National Archives, documents such as the 1783 Treaty of Paris that formally ended the Revolutionary War and the 1774 Articles of Association that urged colonists to boycott British goods are rarely moved. But those documents, signed by George Washington, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin and other American revolutionary leaders, will be making their way across the country and put on display for free...

I've only just begun...and I just have to say this is a "must read" especially this year! Not a quick read, but compelling, and a fabulous detailed history that none should ignore. Prof. Turley is thorough and thoughtful. We are going through troubling times these days, and back before the ratification of our Constitution, there was much turmoil right here while the people worked on forming a system of government. Fabulously done! I have many other things to do, but I can't put it down. So...I guess I'm reading for a while.

On February 22, 1732, George was born to Augustine and Mary Ball Washington. He spent most of his childhood at Ferry Farm on the Rappahannock River. All of the homes and plantations where Washington lived were maintained by enslaved labor. When George was eleven, his father died and he became a slave owner. As a result, George did not receive a formal education like his older half-brothers. Instead, he helped his mother on the farm and attended a local school in Fredericksburg. For the rest of his life, Washington supplemented his education with reading and self-guided study. At seventeen-years old,...

Another day, another federal judge has a full-blown ‘resistance’ mental breakdown. We’ve had some spectacular ones so far, usually from elderly liberal judges, like this one from an 85-year-old judge who included handwritten rants and pictures in his rulings. The latest one comes from 77-year-old Cynthia Rufe who begins her ‘ruling’ with a quote from George Orwell’s 1984. Good move for outraged freshman compositions, usually indicative of a mental breakdown among federal judges. Rufe then compares Trump to Big Brother for trying to take down the hateful DEI racist rants plastered across museums including, in this case, George Washington’s home...

Though rarely honored these days exactly on Feb. 22, his actual birth date, “Presidents’ Day” is officially still Washington’s birthday. And that’s entirely right and proper, as our first chief executive deserves every American’s gratitude. Amid today’s bitter political discord, all should consider Washington’s example. Yes, he — and the entire generation of the Founders — achieved greatness that none of their successors could hope to match.