“They fought like soldiers and died like men.” —Commander-in-Chief Washington
The Father of our country, George Washington, served as colonel of the Virginia regiment, and was a man of personal strength and courage. His charisma, wit, and intellect were greatly applauded.
He was a man of principle and determination. He led the tattered rebel forces in the savagery of hand-to-hand combat. He was witness and lived with the brutal cold and saw his men marching without shoes on the frozen lands. His Arabian mount, Blueskin, took him to the front of the lines which showed what courage looks like. George Washington was a leader among men without arrogance or pretensions.
Our County, on this Fourth of July, to mark independence, stands in reverence and thankfulness to him, and to others who stood by his side against the mighty British Empire.
What began as protest, became compelling arguments for freedom. Thomas Jefferson toiled in the heat of that July 1776 in Philadelphia and wrote the 1,337 words of the Declaration of Independence. A congressional subcommittee, not his equal with writing skills, carefully edited. Every action had to be put to a vote. Not all representatives thought that a complete break from England was warranted.
All 13 colonies had to unanimously choose independence. Each colony was allowed to cast one vote. Debate raged in the heat and the rain outside the windows of the Assembly Room.
The Virginian Jefferson is proud of this work. He crafted the words knowing that King George would read them. The price for this treason would be death. Jefferson wrote that, “all men are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”
Delegate Richard Henry Lee begins. “Resolved that these united colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent states; that they are absolved from their allegiance to the British crown and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved.”
April 19, 1775 the Battles of Lexington and Concord in Massachusetts saw the first casualties of the conflict that would be known as the Revolutionary War. The Crown had occupied Boston since 1768 as it tightened restrictions in its attempt to control daily life.
Regardless, the Continental Army marched into Boston as a drum and fife play “Yankee Doodle” which is a song the British had used to deride the Americans as buffoons. The rebels, instead, adopted the song as a badge of honor and it becomes their anthem.
Military victories ensure that Americans are free.
This is war.
George Washington leads with courage and with uncommon valour. The Royal Navy sailed into New York Harbor. The British arrived. Death, defection, distress, and disease, decimate both sides until there is resolution.
At its end, a successful Treaty of Paris is formed by Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, and John Jay. The date is April 19, 1783 and marks eight years of conflict’s end.