Silversmith and printmaker Amos
Doolittle and his company of New Haven,, Connecticut, volunteers were 10 days
late for the battles at Lexington and Concord in Massachusetts, but he sought
out eyewitnesses and participants to describe the encounters and had his
friend, itinerant artist Ralph Earl, make sketches based on data from those
interviews. Doolittle then created the only contemporary engravings of the battles from the drawings. Here
are three variations of the same print of the engagement at
Lexington.
Qui audet adipiscitur
I have to admit when I think of our Declaration of
Independence, I envision men like Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin and
John Hancock and John Adams approving the document in various forms and on
various dates during a session of the Second Continental Congress at the
Pennsylvania State House in Philadelphia way back in 1776.
When I really think about it, I am more inclined to think of
men like Paul Revere and William Dawes and Samuel Prescott riding to warn
"revolutionaries" in Lexington and Concord about the impending arrival of
British troops a year earlier, in 1775.
But, when I really/really/really think about it, my thoughts
go to those daring individuals who picked up their weapons and went out to meet
the British. About 700 British troops
arrived at Lexington around dawn on April 19, 1775, and were met by 77
"militiamen." When the scrap ended, eight colonists were dead and nine wounded,
while only a single Englishman was hurt.
I assume the names of those individuals are recorded somewhere, but for
me and most others, they remain lost to the passage of time.
The British troops
marched on to Concord and other nearby towns, along the way being met and harassed by ever-increasing numbers of "minutemen." It was a day filled with
skirmishes and bloodshed and dead on both sides.
From that point
forward, as some say, the rest is history. More importantly for many of us, it is
our history and we all should feel an obligation to remember it and to live up
to the standards and the ideals of those individuals who led the way to our
freedom and independence. We would not be here now had they not done what they
did way back then .... semper fidelis ....
8 comments:
My husband loves Revolutionary War history and has a great admiration for George Washington, in particular. I'm afraid it's a period I don't know nearly enough about... mostly just what I learned in school (back then it was probably focused on more than it is now) and as a result of the Bicentennial celebrations in 1976.
Enjoyed the Uriah Heep offering.
My college major changed a few times before becoming English (in a literary sense). At some point, I sat down and started adding up credits and realized I already had enough for a history major, as well .... hence, I also designated that and my double major was "born."
You have mentioned your interest in the two Roman eras; my first real fascination was the world of the "Old Greeks." Somewhere along the line, there was a realization that "our history" began a few hundred years before we became the United States, and I dove into that area, as well. From there, I continued on with courses covering particular periods in U.S. history which had considerably more detail than required survey courses, such as two specific to the 1770s and 1780s. The second half of the 18th Century is especially relevant and during which time had many "giants" walking the surface of the earth, not the least of whom is George Washington.
Uriah Heep is among my favored bands. Mick Box is fun to watch and the band has been fortunate to have good vocalists throughout the years.
Thank you, Kelly, for coming and for commenting. I hope you enjoy your Independence Day and are able to spend a few minutes reflecting on it.
Happy Independence Day Fram!
I dont know much about the american history so it was great to learn something new here, with this post.Those were brave men for sure!They also must have had great leader
Uriah Heep is a great band with many good hits.I remember very well as young girl I liked them alot but could never figure out which band I liked the most U.H was not heavy enough group for me I thought back then hah hah of course I was very young and didnt know much about music (Deep Purple ,Black Sabbath and so oh Well we change our opinions the older we get )Today I never listen to them. May be I should and get that dancing foot going again :)))
Wish you all good and many great summerdays
Anita
Good Morning, America :-)
Happy Independence Day, Fram!
Today, like Kelly above, I was thinking back to my high school days and the bicentennial celebration of the 4th of July. In those days we had so much pride and admiration for the courageous and yet imperfect Americans that came before us and the great achievements they made. As Americans we focused more on the good things that united us and that made us stronger. Maybe those were just the Pollyanna eyes of my youth, but it was good. It was hopeful. This view embraced forgiveness for past sins and gave birth to a positive desire for an even better future. It was a good thing.
I distinctly remember a conversation I had with a group of my best friends as we lay sprawled on colorful blankets in the pale-yellow sand of Topanga Beach about how much we loved this day because it is a day that everyone celebrates. For me, that day was one of sand, sun, big blue waves, laughter and a feeling of pride for our country and those that came before us. It was also a hot summer night of revelry under the stars watching as fireworks exploded in the night sky overhead. It was beautiful.
I also remember collecting the bicentennial quarters that were printed to commemorate the 200th birthday of our nation and American Indian turquoise jewelry. Funny the things we recall. It was a happy time.
Today we must again be brave, and we will. That's who we are. Qui audet adipiscitur, indeed.
Happy 4th of July, Fram :)
Big hug to my favorite historian!
Kelly :)
The primary thing books and history have in common, Anita, is there simply is too much / too many / too vast / too infinite an amount of material that it cannot be studied -- much less absorbed -- in a lifetime. Computers and curiosity are the saving grace in this sense. As more and more information is placed in bigger and better and greater computers, when a spark of curiosity arises in an individual, the person will be able to turn on a computer and access the information. Computer literate researchers will be among the waves of tomorrow.
Add to that, the advantage of living in a "recent arrival country" as opposed to an "ancient country" is that there is a much smaller window of history and pre-history to wrap your arms around. I know bits and pieces about the "times past" of North America and even less about the world, but having some knowledge of "then" is beneficial in innumerable ways.
I know what you mean about the music of Uriah Heep. I actually saw the band perform once upon a time in a rather small venue, but I was so fascinated by the young lady I was with that I cannot recall who the vocalist was and, actually, am not curious enough to try to figure it out. It is sort of like the times I have seen the Trans-Siberian Orchestra or the time I saw Nightwish or the Michael Schenker Band = too many mixed memories and simply happy to have been there without knowing the details. Details, at times, can be spoilers.
Looking east and west down the street, I can count 21 houses. An American flag is on display at only three of them. I think that speaks volumes. All of the public parades and celebrations which normally accompany Independence Day have been cancelled this year due to the coronavirus. That probably is a good thing, but a sad thing, too ....
Thank you, Anita, for coming and for writing a comment for me. I wish the best and the happiest of summers to you .... stay sweet and look for your dancing shoes .... you are too young not to be rockin 'n' rollin ....
Growing up in a small town in the rural countryside of a Midwestern state, Independence Day was right up there with Memorial Day for parades and public gatherings and family picnics, often part of family reunions. It was part of the "knee-high corn" by the Fourth of July life style and the one day of the summer everyone softly whispered while looking at the sky, "rain, rain, stay away ...."
Kelly writes about the "olden" days: "As Americans we focused more on the good things that united us and that made us stronger. Maybe those were just the Pollyanna eyes of my youth, but it was good. It was hopeful. This view embraced forgiveness for past sins and gave birth to a positive desire for an even better future. It was a good thing."
Fram replies: You betcha .... very well and eloquently stated ....
Of course, some of us found time for boyhood adventure, too: One year, I took the occasion to accept a bet and swam across our lake racing against the clock, and there was another year a bunch of us launched a huge raft with a diving tower at a local gravel pit after having "liberated" it from a neighboring community the night before. (Farm boys with access to hay wagons and tractors come in handy at times.) The raft stayed there until the barrels beneath rusted away and it sank, at which time we hauled the diving tower up onto the embankment to serve as a place of juvenile derring-do and idiocy.
So, Kelly, thank you, for coming to visit me and for taking the time to write a comment. Had you and I been growing up together in the same town, we might have gotten into some juvenile mischief together, but I know I would not have dared to challenge you either in the water or on the diving tower -- surfer girls still frighten me .... take care, mermaid ....
Happy 4th of July! (belatedly)
Greetings from London.
Belated or not, thank you, CiL ....
Independence Day certainly was observed differently this year from the usual. There really were no parades or celebrations and few gatherings. Perhaps, more people took the time to reflect on the significance of the occasion and to be thankful for a life they are more fully able to enjoy than did their ancestors.
Hmmmm .... but, perhaps, it was the ancestors, despite more insecurity and physical hardship in their lives, who actually understood the implications of going to war for an abstraction like freedom.
Take care and stay safe, CiL ....
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