A little history lesson

Hi friends.  I hope all of you have had a great day.  Mine has been terrific.  We went up to the clinic so Hannah and her Daddy could go horse-back riding this morning.  I decided I wasn’t going to try it today.  I worked in TJ’s garden some yesterday afternoon and again this morning – about 6:30.  And, my back is sorta paying the price tonight.  I took pictures while they rode, which is what I usually do anyway.  I spent the rest of the day working on TJ’s business books and fixed supper tonight.  TJ and Hannah are putting the finishing touches on a small storage shed they have been trying to get done all day.  The rain has run them off the job 3 different times and it’s thundering and lightening again.  But, they only have a few more minutes and maybe they can get it done.

 

I mentioned the other day that I had wanted to post some information on different things relating to July 4^th, our flag, Great Seal, etc.   I just kinda got caught up in the research over the weekend.  This particular email covers a little military history and some information about the 4^th.

 

The military history of the United States spans a period of over two centuries.  During the course of those years, the United Stated evolved from a new nation fighting the British Empire for independence without a professional military (1775-1783), through a monumental American Civil War (1861-1865) to the world’s sole remaining superpower of the late 20^th. century and the early 21^st. century.

 

Here are what I thought was some interesting statistics regarding the wars:

American Revolutionary War – 1775-1783…..deaths 4435….wounded 6188

First Barbary War – 1801-1805….deaths 2….wounded 3

War of 1812 – 1812-1815….deaths 20,000….wounded 4505

Mexican American War – 1846-1848…deaths 13,271…wounded 4152

American Civil War – 1861-1865…Union: deaths 110,000…wounded 275,200; Confederacy: deaths 93,000…wounded 137,000+

Spanish American War – 4/25/1898-8/12/1898…deaths 332

World War I – 1914-1918…deaths 53,402…wounded 204,002

World War II – 1941-1945…deaths 407,300…wounded 670,846

Korean War – 1950-1953…deaths 54,246…MIA 8142

Gulf War – 1990-1991…deaths 378…wounded less than 1000

Vietnam War – 1959-1975…deaths 58,193…wounded 153,303, MIA 1948

Iraq War – 2003-2010…deaths 4,404…wounded 31,827

Afghanistan War – 2001-present…deaths 1098, wounded 2379.

 

I am so sorry so many lives have been lost in fighting wars but I think the thing that bothers me most is the Missing In Action.  They should have never been left behind.

 

Independence Day, commonly known as the Fourth of July, is a federal holiday in the US commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, declaring independence from the kingdom of Great Britain.  During the American Revolution, the legal separation of the Thirteen Colonies from Great Britain occurred on July 2, 1776, when the Second Continental Congress voted to approve a resolution of independence that had been proposed in June by Richard Henry Lee of Virginia.  After voting for independence, Congress turned its attention to the Declaration of Independence, a statement explaining this decision, which had been prepared by a committee of five, with Thomas Jefferson as its principal author.  Congress debated and revised the Declaration, finally approving it on July 4. 

On July 3, John Adams had written to his wife this letter:  “Abigail – The second day of July, 1776, will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America.  I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival.  It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty.  It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever more.”

 

Adams prediction was a little off.  From the outset Americans celebrated independence on July 4, the date shown on the much-publicized Declaration of Independence, rather than on July 2, the date the resolution of independence was approved in a closed session of Congress.

 

Early Observances:

Ø  In 1777, 13 gunshots were fired, once at morning and again as evening fell on July 4 in Bristol, Rhode Island.  Philadelphia celebrated the first anniversary in a manner a modern American would find quite familiar: an official dinner for the Continental Congress, toasts, 13-gun salutes, speeches, prayer, music, parade, troop reviews and fireworks.  Ships were decked with red, white and blue bunting.

Ø  In 178, General George Washington marked July 4 with a double ration of rum for his soldiers and an artillery salute.  Across the Atlantic Ocean, ambassadors John Adams and Benjamin Franklin held a dinner for their fellow Americans in Paris, France.

Ø  In 1779, July 4 fell on a Sunday.  The holiday was celebrated on Monday, July 5.

Ø  In 1781, the Massachusetts General Court became the first state legislature to recognize July 4 as a state celebration.

Ø  In 1783, Moravians in Salem, NC, held a celebration of July 4 with a challenging music program assembled by Johann Friedrich Peter.  The work was titled “The Psalm of Joy”.

Ø  In 1792, the first recorded use of the name Independence Day occurred.

Ø  In 1820, the first Fourth of July celebration was held in Eastport, Maine which remains the largest in the state.

Ø  In 1870, the US Congress made Independence Day an unpaid holiday for federal employees.

Ø  In 1938, Congress changed Independence Day to a paid federal holiday.

 

THE UNANIMOUS DECLARATION OF THE THIRTEEN UNITED STATES OF AMERICA:

 

       We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness….

 

There is also a line in there that refers to the King of England…”a prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people…”.

 

 

I know I studied all this in grade school, but it was never clearer to me that this weekend.  I could have spent hours on the computer doing research and I did probably spend over 6 hours.  I am so proud to be an American.  But I am concerned for my country.  My main concerns can be found in these 6 words: “life, liberty and pursuit of happiness”.  Life – if someone people had their way, the older generation would be euthanized with they had served their usefulness and were becoming a burden.  Life – the killing of millions of unborn babies.  Liberty – our liberties are more and more restricted every day.  Pursuit of happiness…harder and harder to come by.  So many people are just barely managing to get by.  Their paychecks hardly stretch from payday to payday. 

 

I know there is the other side of the coin. I could make a lot of good points too.

 

I think this will do it for tonight.  My head is getting more stuffy by the minute and it’s hard to breathe.

 

If you remember, please pray for Hannah and me as we travel back home tomorrow.  I think we will be leaving about lunch time.

 

Brenda

boutlaw@carolinaregion.com

 

 

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