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In the mail: 1776
An interesting fact found at Dave Earmey's blog sheds light on the early days of the soon to be "United" States:
By 1779, there were more Americans fighting with the British than with Washington! There were no less than 21 regiments (estimated to total 6,500 to 8,000 men) of loyalists in the British army. Washington reported a field army of 3,468. About a third of Americans opposed the Revolution. http://www.americanrevolution.com/LittleKnownFacts.htmAnd we can see how that "spirit of '76" lives on today. Here's how some folks are marking the anniversary of independence in America:
This July 4th is Flag Burning Day!
Every summer good Americans don their best red white and blue, and gorge themselves on beer and hotdogs to celebrate our independence from England, but from its very beginnings this country has been built on illegitimacies.
This July 4th is Flag Burning Day!IT'S A CODEPINK FOURTH OF JULY
This Fourth of July while President Bush and his cronies are out and about reveling at patriotic parades and White House festivities ignoring the global outcry against the treatment of prisoners at Abu Graib and Guantanamo Bay; we the people won?t be blinded by the dazzling lights of cheap firecrackers and white house photo-op flashes.Join in with parades happening in your community. Dressed as prisoners at Abu Graib and torture victims from Guantanamo Bay, this great to way to remind people that not everyone is enjoying freedom and justice today.
Join Freeway Blogger's Summer of Truth.
"Signpainting parties against the war are being organized across the country over the 4th of July weekend with posting scheduled to start on the 5th. So far we have over 400 confirmed freewaybloggers for this action and should have well over a thousand by week's end."
For those seeking inspiration from the opposite end of the spectrum, we have this via LGF:
Memorial Day is a day of remembrance and honor for the majority of people. For a select few, those committed to a ?peace at any price? world-view, Memorial Day is a day to protest war, warriors and to hand out printed propaganda. This year in Columbia Missouri, at the Air Show and the Memorial Day Parade the ?Peace at any price? propaganda ended up in shreds ? literally.Read the whole thing. And remember, even though outnumbered by those of their countrymen who chose to stand shoulder to shoulder with the enemy, Washington's men were ultimately victorious.By an earlier federal court ruling, the Veterans group that hosts Missouri?s Air Show was forced to allow the peace groups to hand out their literature and carry protest signs onto the tarmac of the event. The court ruled that protesters had the right to free speech. So, we provided some free speech of our own, by the name of Operation Simply Shred.
A simple concept, legal, moral, and deliciously humorous ? Operation Simply Shred provided a polite, free and immediate shredding service for any unwanted political literature or flyer that an Air Show or parade attendee did not care to keep any longer. Small, powerful battery operated shredders in the hands of polite and helpful volunteers allowed any citizen to exercise their own First Amendment right to shred any flyer or propaganda piece handed to them by a ?peace at any price? protestor just seconds after they received it. And it was environmentally friendly to boot.
The British surrendered at Yorktown in October, 1781 - over five years after July 4th, 1776. But the final battle of the Revolutionary War occurred when Americans retaliated against Loyalist and Indian forces in the Ohio territory in November 1782.
In the months following the Revolution, 100,000 loyalists fled the new nation and returned to England.
But other interesting events were still to come:
February 4, 1783 - England officially declares an end to hostilities in America.
March 10, 1783 - An anonymous letter circulates among Washington's senior officers camped at Newburgh, New York. The letter calls for an unauthorized meeting and urges the officers to defy the authority of the new U.S. national government (Congress) for its failure to honor past promises to the Continental Army. The next day, Gen. Washington forbids the unauthorized meeting and instead suggests a regular meeting to be held on March 15. A second anonymous letter then appears and is circulated. This letter falsely claims Washington himself sympathizes with the rebellious officers.
March 15, 1783 - General Washington gathers his officers and talks them out of a rebellion against the authority of Congress, and in effect preserves the American democracy. Read more about this
April 11, 1783 - Congress officially declares an end to the Revolutionary War.
April 26, 1783 - 7000 Loyalists set sail from New York for Canada, bringing a total of 100,000 Loyalists who have now fled America.
June 13, 1783 - The main part of the Continental Army disbands.
June 24, 1783 - To avoid protests from angry and unpaid war veterans, Congress leaves Philadelphia and relocates to Princeton, New Jersey.
Wherever you are this Fourth of July, have a safe and happy holiday.
