Free Republic

The Declaration of Independence was written to be many things: a summary of our grievances with the King, an explanation of why we were taking up arms, an inspiration to our own citizenry, an introduction to foreign nations, a philosophical statement of what we Americans believe to be the proper relationship between a people and their government, a commitment to the Glorious Cause of liberty. And it closed with a powerful commitment – not only on behalf of the nation as a whole, but a firm commitment by the individual signers themselves. The final clause, right before the delegates’ signatures,...

Full title: Revolutionary War diary sheds light on Deborah Sampson, who disguised herself as a man to join the Continental Army A remarkable Revolutionary War diary written by a Massachusetts corporal sheds light on Deborah Sampson, who disguised herself as a man to join the Continental Army. The diary, which features daily entries from March 28, 1781 to Aug. 16, 1782, was written by Abner Weston, detailing his experiences between campaigns, drilling and training. The entry for Jan. 23 1782 also describes Sampson’s first documented attempt to join George Washington’s Army. Sampson famously went on to fight in the Continental Army...

"The Crossing (2000) - George Washington (Jeff Daniels) leads his troops across the Delaware River to attack the Hessians on Christmas Night 1776."

Casimir Pulaski Day is a holiday observed in Chicago, Illinois on the first Monday of every March in memory of Casimir Pulaski (March 6, 1745 – October 11, 1779), a Revolutionary War cavalry officer born in Poland as Kazimierz Pułaski. He is praised for his contributions to the U.S. military in the American Revolution and known as "the father of the American cavalry".

Based upon real events in a blizzard at Bensalem, Pennsylvania, Christmas Eve, December 24, 1776, and the diary of Captain Thomas Rodney, who was there. I was there in a blizzard, too—But, 238 years later—so I could see for myself….Thomas Bonsall, Colonial militiaman, slogged though a blizzard toward the Delaware River. He’d cross with the others and attack Trenton from the rear in a military pincers movement. Speeches made by his officers had been rousing and the cause was just. He’d fight, they’d called out, “For freedom, boys! For freedom, and America!” It sleeted in the faces of the Colonials,...

[snip] David Hackett Fischer's new [in 2004] book, "Washington's Crossing," is a highly realistic and wonderfully readable narrative of the same moment that corrects all the inaccuracies in the Leutze painting but preserves the overarching sense of drama. The centerpiece of Fischer's story is the daring attack across the Delaware by 2,400 soldiers in the Continental Army, who routed the Hessian garrison at Trenton, then fought two additional battles at Trenton and Princeton the following week. Though the sizes of the armies were small compared with the numbers that fought at later battles like Gettysburg or Normandy, Fischer argues convincingly...

British satellite historians claim to have discovered the true location of an iconic American revolutionary ship which defeated the Royal Navy off the Yorkshire coast. The famous vessel, the USS Bonhomme Richard, was the first US ship to beat the Royal Navy in British waters before she sank on September 24, 1779. The location of the wreck has long been a mystery, but now a British satellite historian from Harrogate claims to have found it. Tim Akers, 60, used pioneering satellite radar techniques alongside British satellite firm Merlin Burrows to track down the buried vessel.

At the end of March, 1776, following the year-long Siege of Boston, General George Washington and the Continental Army drove the British out of Boston, following their stunning victory in the Battle of Dorchester Heights, one of the true masterstrokes of the War of Independence. But the British just went to Halifax to regroup, and to gather reinforcements for a real assault, to follow that summer. In June, the expected redeployment of British troops began, as his forces headed south, bound for New York, to meet with other reinforcements he had called for. General Washington knew what was coming. In...

“Don’t shoot until you see the whites of their eyes!” commanded Colonel William Prescott, repeating the order of General Israel Putnam, June 17, 1775. Colonel William Prescott’s men were in the center redoubt located on Breed’s Hill, adjacent Bunker Hill, guarding the north entrance to Boston Harbor. Samuel Swett wrote in his “History of Bunker Hill” that as the 2,300 British soldiers advanced: “The American marksmen are with difficulty restrained from firing. Putnam rode through the line, and ordered that no one should fire till they arrived within eight rods. … Powder was scarce and must not be wasted. They...

Justice is very swift in Britain these days. At least for right wingers: Tommy Robinson was arrested Friday and immediately sentenced to 13 months in jail.  Tommy’s crime? Reporting while White. He was livestreaming on Facebook outside of a Leeds court hearing on a gang accused of forcing young  girls into the sex trade, euphemistically known in Britain as “grooming.” Apparently that’s illegal in England - reporting on a crime committed by Muslims that is, not “grooming.” Anti-Islam activist Tommy Robinson was arrested Friday [May 25] outside of a British court hearing on a gang accused of forcing women into...

http://www.henrylivingston.com/writing/prose/revdiary.htm http://www.henrylivingston.com/music Major Henry Livingston, Jr. (1744-1828), my 5th great grandfather, went with his cousin's husband, Major General Richard Montgomery, on the 1775 invasion of Canada. These were short term enlistments, so he became major of the 3rd NY in August and returned home in late December. The diary is shown along with the Hudson River School's images of the terrain. The music was transcribed from Henry Livingston's handwritten music manuscript, one of the largest such books of the period.

ELK GROVE (CBS13) – A war was lost before it ever could begin, according to local historians who were hoping to fire up a mock battle. The Elk Grove Historical Society planned a Revolutionary War reenactment for more than a year and has had similar events in the past, but it’s now forced to cancel the event because of local gun laws. The group had already printed up flyers to market the mock battle, hoping to draw in 3,000 people for the two-day event at a regional park. “We would have encampments and all kinds of entertainment for the kids...

An 18th-century stone home along the Hudson river - reputed to have been the temporary office of first President George Washington - has sold for the full asking price of $1.6 million. The house in Snedens Landing, NY, was used by Washington when his soldiers were guarding ferries around the Palisades cliffs from British troops. It was more recently lived in for 60 years by landscape designed and photographer Judy Tomkins, who died aged 90 last year. The 2,400-square-foot property was originally built in the 1780s, and sits on nearly 1 acre of beautifully landscaped surroundings.

On this day in 1776, General George Washington wins the Battle of Trenton. 1776 had been a difficult year! The victory provided a much-needed morale boost. As discussed in yesterday’s post, the first weeks in December found Washington and British General William Howe on opposite sides of the Delaware River. As the weather deteriorated, Howe had decided to go into winter quarters. Washington, instead, decided to make a difficult crossing across the Delaware. His plan was to arrive at Trenton at 5 a.m., well before sunrise, so he could launch a surprise attack. Instead, Washington’s men arrived at Trenton at...

Philip Mead was online late one night in May, looking for possible artifacts from the American Revolution, when a painting up for auction caught his eye and got his heart racing. The chief historian at the Museum of the American Revolution, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, had spied an unsigned watercolor from 1782. It was a panorama of an army encampment, and to his expert eye seemed to feature the only known wartime depiction of the tent George Washington used as his command center during the Revolutionary War. The tent is the marquee exhibit at the museum, which opened in April. And,...

"Yanky Doodle" as originally played, from Major Henry Livingston, Jr.'s music manuscript book. Major Livingston joined the 3rd New York in 1775 and was part of General Richard Montgomery's Revolutionary Army that went north to invade Canada. He was also the actual author of the Christmas poem, "The Night Before Christmas."

snip... Washington’s Immortals tells the story of a heroic regiment that saved the Continental Army from destruction at the Battle of Brooklyn by holding the British at bay. Despite the pivotal importance of their sacrifice, the regimental dead are buried in a mass grave with only the most minimal markings, their story largely unknown to the modern public. “About 2010, I was in New York City, and the regimental commander I was with in the Battle of Fallujah, Colonel Willie Buell, is assigned there. He’s part of the Council on Foreign Relations. He just called me up and he said,...

On the evening of April 18, 1775, General Thomas Gage, the British commander in Boston, dispatched a contingent of troops to seize a supply of arms and powder that the colonial insurgents had stored at Lexington and Concord, as well as to arrest two leading patriots, Samuel Adams and John Hancock, who were also hidden in the area. As every schoolchild knows, Paul Revere's ensuing midnight ride called the local militia to arms, and the battles of Lexington and Concord followed the next day. Largely obscured by the great renown of Longfellow's poem, "Paul Revere's Ride", is the fact that...

THE BATTLE OF COWPENS In the early morning of January 17, 1781, in South Carolina, American troops under Brigadier General Daniel Morgan defeated a force under British Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton in one of the more decisive victories for the Americans in the south during the Revolutionary War (snip) The British infantry had been stunned by the fire from the American’s first two lines and now faced the third line, predominately composed of experienced Continental troops overseen by Lieutenant Colonel John Howard. Meanwhile, Tarleton sent his reserve infantry and additional dragoons to try to outflank their opponents on the Americans’...

Try to picture it. Try to feel it. It’s brutally cold. East Coast cold, where the humidity makes the bitterness cut right through to the bone. You’re freezing, even with a thick parka and snow boots. Your fingers are numb in your designer gloves. Holding your hot chocolate, you’re thankful for the warmth making its way down your throat as you walk down the paved and de-iced sidewalk. Travel back in time to 1776. You don’t have a parka, or boots, or a hat or gloves. You’re lucky if you have a shirt on your back and something between your...