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Last week, I highlighted four little-known facts about the Declaration of Independence. Here are a few more facts to add to those oddities: There are at least 26 surviving paper copies of the Declaration of Independence of the hundreds made in July 1776 for circulation among the Colonies. After Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence, the Committee of Five, which was appointed to write it, was also responsible with overseeing its reproduction for proclamation to those living in the Colonies. The reproduction was done at the shop of Philadelphia printer John Dunlap. "On July 5, Dunlap's copies were dispatched across...

Over the past two weeks, I've highlighted eight little-known facts about the Declaration of Independence. (If you missed the first two parts of this series, you can find them at http://www.creators.com/opinion/chuck-norris.html.) Here are the last four facts in my series: 9) One of the 26 known July 1776 copies of the Declaration of Independence was found behind an old painting purchased at a flea market for $4. In 1991, one of 24 known copies at the time of the declaration -- and one of only three known to be privately owned -- was auctioned for $2.42 million. What's even more...

These stunning images are early photographs of some of the men who bravely fought for their country in the Revolutionary War some 237 years ago. Images of Americans who fought in the Revolution are exceptionally rare because few of the Patriots of 1775-1783 lived until the dawn of practical photography in the early 1840s. These early photographs – known as daguerreotypes – are exceptionally rare camera-original, fully-identified photographs of veterans of the War for Independence – the war that established the United States. The majority have been compiled by Utah-based journalist Joe Baumam, who spent three decades researching and compiling...

Historians have long tried to pinpoint exactly when the name 'United States of America' was first used and by whom. A new find suggests the man might have been George Washington himself. As if George Washington hasn’t been credited enough with laying the foundation stones of the American republic, a new discovery might put one more feather in his cap. Our leading Founding Father could have been author of the country's name. The identity of who coined the name “United States of America” has eluded historians for years. Online sources vary greatly, erroneously crediting Thomas Paine, Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton,...

Jack Levin’s Fourth of July reminder of the courage that created America. It was December, 1776. George Washington’s army, encamped on the banks of the frozen Delaware River, was struggling and near death. As Jack E. Levin recounts in his New York Times bestseller, the famous story of George Washington: The Crossing (with a preface by his son Mark Levin) is riveting. A timely reminder on this Fourth of July 2013 — 237 years later — of the sheer, raw courage it took to bring the United States of America to life as more than the ringing words written on...

These stunning images are early photographs of some of the men who bravely fought for their country in the Revolutionary War some 237 years ago. Images of Americans who fought in the Revolution are exceptionally rare because few of the Patriots of 1775-1783 lived until the dawn of practical photography in the early 1840s. These early photographs – known as daguerreotypes – are exceptionally rare camera-original, fully-identified photographs of veterans of the War for Independence – the war that established the United States.

As if George Washington hasn’t been credited enough with laying the foundation stones of the American republic, a new discovery might put one more feather in his cap. Our leading Founding Father could have been author of the country's name. The identity of who coined the name “United States of America” has eluded historians for years. Online sources vary greatly, erroneously crediting Thomas Paine, Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, and others.

IN CONGRESS, July 4, 1776. The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America, When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation. We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that...

Delaware Volunteer Guard shared America's Misled Patriots status. Tuesday Interesting take on events. Seventy-two killed resisting gun confiscation in Boston BOSTON National guard units seeking to confiscate a cache of recently banned assault weapons were ambushed on April 19th by elements of a Para-military extremist faction. Military and law enforcement sources estimate that 72 were killed and more than 200 injured before government forces were compelled to withdraw. Speaking after the clash, Massachusetts Governor Thomas Gage declared that the extremist faction, which was made up of local citizens, has links to the radical right-wing tax protest movement. Gage blamed the...

Being about a week away from Independence Day, I was doing a little reflecting upon the history surrounding the Declaration of Independence. And I thought it would be of equal interest to many of my readers to look at some often-overlooked aspects of the declaration's production and legacy. Several historical websites hold some fascinating facts about this national treasure -- including the National Archives and Records Administration's site, at http://www.archives.gov. In addition, on History's website, the article "9 Things You May Not Know About the Declaration of Independence," by Elizabeth Harrison, has some intriguing notes. Let me elaborate on some...

The Declaration of Independence: A History Nations come into being in many ways. Military rebellion, civil strife, acts of heroism, acts of treachery, a thousand greater and lesser clashes between defenders of the old order and supporters of the new--all these occurrences and more have marked the emergences of new nations, large and small. The birth of our own nation included them all. That birth was unique, not only in the immensity of its later impact on the course of world history and the growth of democracy, but also because so many of the threads in our national history run...

Why was the American Revolution, of all great revolutions, the only successful one, resulting in two centuries and more of unexampled freedom and prosperity? The French Revolution, by contrast, illuminated by America’s example and Enlightenment thought, began in blissful optimism but collapsed into a blood-soaked tyranny much worse than the monarchy it deposed. It spawned a military dictatorship that convulsed Europe and roiled half the globe for over a decade with wars of grandiose imperial aggression that slew at least 3 million. And the result of 25 years of turmoil? The Bourbon monarchy, minus the Enlightenment of its earlier incarnation,...

As one of the Patriot leaders in the Carolinas, the partisan campaign conducted by Brigadier General Francis Marion and his irregular force during the American Revolution prevented South Carolina from completely succumbing to British control during the period between the capture of Charleston in May 1780 and the start of Major General Nathanael Greene’s campaign to recover the Southern Colonies in December 1780. During substantial segments of this period he alone held eastern South Carolina from the British and became known as “The Swamp Fox” for his exploits and elusiveness in harassing the British with his guerilla tactics. . ....

Later this month, an archaeologist at Thomas Jefferson's historic home of Monticello in Charlottesville, Va., will speak at Smith College about the use of the late president's plantation by the estate's residents, both free and enslaved. Sara Bon-Harper, archeological research manager, will lecture at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 24, in McConnell Hall, Room 103, about "Defined Spaces: Landscape on the Monticello Plantation." The event is sponsored by the Program in Archaeology and the Lecture Committee and is free and open to the public. Bon-Harper's work at Monticello focuses on an archaeological survey of the original 5,000-acre plantation and the excavation...

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...

NATIONAL SECURITY ISSUES DON'T END AT THE BORDER For over a decade, the British Crown had been at war with the American colonies. One could argue that April 6, 1776 was the day that the American colonies had finally had it. The sundering of the bonds between two peoples is not something that happens in a day. The relationship between Great Britain and what was to become the United States of America began as a close-knit bond. The link between these frontier territories and their mother country was tight and fond at first; Americans were proud to think of themselves...

Associated Press/Mark Scolforo - In this photo made on Tuesday, March 26, 2013, Carol Tanzola, president of Friends of Camp Security, points out the property on a 47-acre parcel, located about four miles east of York, Pa. It includes the spot where a 1979 archaeological study found numerous artifacts that confirmed local lore that the area had once served as Camp Security, a prison for the English, Scottish and Canadian soldiers who were captured after defeats in the battles of Saratoga and Yorktown. (AP Photo/Mark Scolforo) (AP) — The mud of a south-central Pennsylvania cornfield may soon produce answers about...

George Washington’s rye whiskey going on sale Rye whiskey using George Washington’s own recipe will soon go on sale at the first president’s Mount Vernon estate in Virginia. The presidential home reconstructed Washington’s distillery and will make more than 1,100 bottles of unaged whiskey available beginning April 4. The bottles sell for $95 each. Mount Vernon says the rye is the most authentic version of Washington’s whiskey available. Washington was a detailed record keeper, and distillers used the same grain recipe and fermentation process as it was done 250 years ago. No word on whether it’ll be available online or...

"Give me liberty,or give me death!" Patrick Henry delivering his great speech on the rights of the colonies,before the Virginia Assembly,convened at Richmond,March 23rd 1775, concluding with the above sentiment,which became the war cry of the revolution. LIBERTY OR DEATH March 23, 1775 NO man thinks more highly than I do of the patriotism, as well as abilities, of the very worthy gentlemen who have just addressed the House. But different men often see the same subject in different lights; and, therefore, I hope that it will not be thought disrespectful to those gentlemen, if entertaining, as I do, opinions of...

"......Think on this a moment. Washington never assumed. He never assumed that he would be chosen to lead the army (and when he was he turned down their offer of payment for his service), and he never assumed that he would be made the first president of the United States. I thought about this as I was driving home from work the day that I heard this particular lecture. Dr Freeman was spot on. His modest demeanor was exactly what this country needed. It still is......"