4th of July - tell us more!

No one has yet mentioned the time-honored tradition of the small town parade. All the veterans would march (in my youth, that meant a color guard of Great War veterans--and my granfather carrying the national flag, which made me inordinately proud), with the youngest first, followed by oldest veterans capable of marching as the color guard, and the very oldest veterans in open cars. This would be followed by "floats"--if you don't have those, that is a motorized display, a sort of tableau vivant on wheels. People with horses would doll them up and ride in the parade, and little children would decorate their tricycles in guagy colors with streamers and the like, and bring up the rear to much good natured hilarity and applause.

Since nearly the entire small town participated in the parade, it was the farm population who attended as spectators (if they weren't riding or marching as veterans) and the people of other nearby small towns. We had a smaller town to the west, and a slighly larger small town to the east. All three would schedule the parades so that all could be attended by the respective populations, and the same would be done with the fireworks, working east to west to assure that everyone got to see the most parade and the most fireworks.

Oh, but I can assure you, Piffka, it was MY pleasure, entirely! I haven't had so much fun on A2K since ....? well, for ages! What a lark!
It was so nice to to see so many familiar faces so thoroughly enjoying themselves, all at one time!. I loved the childhood memories & the funny, touching & serious stories of families & communities. PLUS I learned a bit about America history!

This:

"Here William FRENCH his Body lies.
For Murder his Blood for Vengeance cries.
King George the third his Tory crew Tha
with a bawl his head Shot threw. For
Liberty and his Country's Good He Lost
his Life his Dearest Blood."

.. is pretty amazing, Piffka! The First Matyr of the American Revolution! A relative! Wow! Enjoy the rest of your holiday!

Very naughty, McTag! :wink:

That was an incredible bit of Noddy recollection, your post! Your mother & your grandmother & independence Day, 1946. Another world, another time, Noddy!

Beautifully described, Setanta.

Here's a couple from the American Family Photo Album for you, msolga, McTag and others, accompanied by a few, random thoughts of mine.

The Guys with the Oars, the Fellows in the Chairs.

Here are two images from the American Revolution. The first shows the Signing of the Declaration of Independence. All the important people are there. Most of the ones standing near the table will be Presidents of the United States when that union is created some years hence. It shows a moment filled with both pomp and peril for everyone there for they as a group have just committed an international act of treason and rebellion for which they have pledged their fortunes, lives and sacred honor.

For most of the folks standing, except for Washington who would spend the next months and years dodging whistling musket shot and Madison, who later gets caught up in a sea battle, the revolution is a quiet affair of sending and receiving missives rather than missiles. For those fellows in their seats however, the lesser signers as it were, things were not so good. More than half would have their houses burned, some would have wives and children killed, nine or ten of them would die in battle, all would suffer some kind of ruin, imprisonment or both. In the picture they sit there quietly knowing they have given up their existence, their families, their fortunes for the idea of being free.

Take a good look at them. The men at the table are giants, the fellows in the seats make them so.

Click for larger view


And here we are some six months later on Christmas Eve 1776. That's Washington standing there. He was, without a doubt, the finest leader a rag-tag, ill-dressed, soaking-soppen-wet bunch of farmers, wheelwrights,
and shopkeepers ever had. They are the guys with the oars. He's looking forward, but they are breaking their backs trying to get through the ice and black water. Look at them for a moment or two, they are the revolution. They are what made America.

Click for larger view

Those guys with the oars, the fellows in the seats, they, and the legions of women who never seemed to have sat still long enough for anyone to paint them, are the ones we should celebrate today. Tonight, amidst the chips and the beer and bar-b-que, the nightly news will report four or six or two more dead in Iraq, just a few more of the guys with the oars, a few more of the fellows in the chairs.

Joe(Peace. Still possible.)Nation

Joe, you're making me all moisty-eyed, stop it.

Mc (I love USA really, despite some contrary rumours) Tag

The Guys with the Oars, the Fellows in the Chairs.

Yes.

Thanks, Joe.

When Washington lead his men across the Delaware, one of them was the future President, James Monroe. He was a Lieutenant and a member of Virginia volunteers of Colonel Weedon's Third Virginia--his captain was William Washington. Alexander Hamilton commanded a section of artillery which fired down Queen Street, scattering the surprised Germans as they stumbled out into the winter storm through which the Americans had struggled. When a group of them formed up to cover the unlimbering of Colonel Rahl's artillery, Washington and Monroe lead a bayonet charge which scattered the gunners, and both were wounded. (Washington was previously wounded at Harlem Heights, and would be wounded twice more in the revolution--although trained as an Episcopal minister, he was quite the warrior, returning to duty as soon as able each time, and playing a crucial role in the war in the South.) This was the only American war in which the foot commonly used the bayonet as was done in Europe, and Monroe's decision not to wait for the loading and firing of a regular volley was a crucial element in the momentum which allowed the Americans to overwhelm the Germans before they could mount an effective response.

You're both welcome. There have been rumors that citizens of your respective countries have at times performed similar activities in the pursuit of freedom, none verified by the US education system, but still I'm sure that some have.

:wink:

Joe(going out for a run in the sun)Nation

Joe's men with the oars were Colonel Glover's Marbleheaders, the Massachusetts militia we saw earlier at the Battle of Bunker Hill. They enlisted in the Continental line almost to a man, and served in crucial situations throughout the war. When Howe thought he had Washington trapped in Brooklyn, it was Glover's Marbleheaders who took all the small boats and barges they could find and evactuated the entire army across the East River overnight, without the English being any the wiser until morning. The men of Marblehead were watermen who had grown up in small boats on the ocean, and their skills proved crucial more than once.

I'm showing my ignorance of US history again, Setanta, but how & why were the Germans involved?

Set: If you are ever in Fort Lee, NJ, stop in to see the diorama of the battles of this general vicinity. (Another great escape by water by the Americans.) I live a stone's throw from Ft. Washington and a rifle shot from Ft. Tryon.

The Fort Lee Museum uses a series of lights to show the movements of the armies. I had no idea things had gone so badly here, being from Connecticut our school lessons were full of the tales of Breed's and Bunker Hills.

I really enjoy your summations of history, I learn something every time.

Joe(going to go run through Ft. Tryon now)Nation

Fort Washington's name is obvious--Fort Lee was named for Charles Lee. He was one a them Englishters who came over, touting his military ability, and claiming he deserved the highest command. His biggest forte seems to have been surrender. He abruptly left Forts Washington and Lee, without instructions to the garrison commanders, and they were surrendered with quite a few troops and large stores of supplies. Lee then wandered around New Jersey with troops Washington could have put to much better use, until finally he was captured by the English while sleeping in late at an inn one morning--best thing which could have happened for the cause.

New Jersey was actually, in 1775 and 1776, a largely Tory region. The Royal Governor, William Franklin--bastard son of Benjamin Franklin--had been well treated in his life only when he resided in London with his father (the colonial society of Pennsylvania had scorned a bastard) and he remained loyal to the Crown all his life. But Howe, who with his brother Admiral Howe, had come with a hope to perhaps make peace, had grown increasingly frustrated with American intransigence, as they fought on even when they ought to have, in his opinion, admitted defeat. He followed Washington the the Delaware River, but Glover's boys took everything that could float to the west bank, or burned or sank it. Howe couldn't cross the river, the Americans shelled his troops whenever he came down to the water, so, the season growing late, decided to settle into winter quarters. He left George, Lord Cornwallis in charge, and Cornwallis settled in at Brunswick, and both he and Howe ignored the activities of the local commanders, many of them German mercenaries. These men, English and Germans, took what they wanted--food, clothing and blankets, houses for their troops. Jersey Tories quickly changed their minds, or got out of the colony for the safety of New York or Halifax. Local militiamen, who had expected to join Howe, became angry, and began guerilla raids against the English patrols and supply convoys, bulging with stolen American goods. The Germans "cracked down," which meant more innocent people suffered, and new recruits flocked to join the fun of taking pot shots at any "Redcoats" or "Hessians" foolish enough to wander off alone. The guard mounts went from a few men to entire companies--it was not safe to walk a guard post alone.

Cornwallis and Howe were apparently engaged in "winning their hearts and minds." After Washington's brilliant New Jersey campaign, the state was never again in question. In 1777, Charles Lee was exchanged, and rejoined Washington, and immediately began plotting to replace him. When Clinton retreated from Philadelphia to New York in 1778, Washington hung on his tail and looked for an opportunity for battle. It came at Monmouth Court House. Lee opposed the attack (many suggest the English had "gotten to him" during his captivity), and Washington gave the command of the attack to Lafayette. Then Lee came back and asserted the right of seniority. The next day, the Americans attacked and were driving the English rear guard, when Lee withdrew two regiments. Confused and angry, the Continentals fell back. Washington arrived, demanded to know what had happened, and when Lee began making excuses, Washington began to curse--something for which he was famous. Soldiers always love hearing a good blue streak, and Washington's public dressing-down of Lee, with very colorful language, was as big a factor in the rallying of the Continentals as the efforts of their officers. The English had followed the retreat, but the Americans now turned, gave them the bayonet, and ran them off. But Clinton escaped and a great opportunity was lost. Lee's career, however, was over.

Joe Nation: The Oars and Chairs post was an awesome bit of writing. Thank you.

July 4, 1969: Johnboy was with the 101st Airborne in Vietnam. Our squad of ten combat engineers was on a firebase (I forget the name - odd), working with a platoon of infantrymen to protect the artillery. Big guns that made a lot of noise when they fired off a round that landed somewhere. They made a lot of noise.
Just before dark a Huey chopper came in. The Huey was our lifeline, with its two pilots and the two doorgunners perched over the machine guns mounted by the side doors. It could carry a squad of ten guys like us and it too made a lot of noise. Being inside it when the doorgunners were blazing away was loud also.
Anyway, the helicoptor came near dark on the 4th of July and landed and departed in a matter of mere minutes in a carefully choreographed manuever designed to get it back in the air and out of harm's way quickly.
We hadn't seen it for a few days, or maybe it was just a couple. Time in that place then was somehow warped Sometimes a day seemed to last forever and a minute an hour or an hour a minute.
It brought us today what was called a hot meal, our platoon leader, Lt S, who was my age and had graduated college with a degree in English Lit, and he brought us our mail. He also brought us a case of warm soda. At least the case said it was soda. In fact, it was case of warm beer. Actually, it was what called "near-beer." A much lower alcohol content then "real-beer."
We ate the food and drank the beer and then we got to the mail. Some guys didn't get any and some guys got a lot. Johnboy got quite a lot. Our local small town newspaper thought it would be a great idea to collect and publish the names and addresses of soldiers from our area serving in Vietnam. The editor would later say it was the stupidist thing he ever did in his career. Because, in addition to notes from strangers wishing me well and including me in their prayers, came letters asking how many babies I had killed today and expressing the hope that I would get killed.

And then there was the package for johnboy. It was about two inches wide, twelve inches long, and one inch thick. It was mailed from Florida; from my aunt Madge. She was a colorful character who in many ways embodied the American spirit. She believed strongly in everything she believed in. And she didn't tolerate fools (people who disagreed with her) lightly.
Johnboy opened the box. There were 12 sparklers. And so it came to be that on that firebase in Vietnam, johnboy huddled with Raskie, the farmboy from Wisconsin who was able to wear his hair long because he had been in Vietnam for four years because it was better than being on a farm in Wisconsin, I guess, and nobody dared mess with him; Fitch, the California surfer type; Robbie, the carnival worker from New Hampshire with the bizarre accent, the Cajun from New Orleans with the bizarre accent; the couple of guys from Puerto Rico and the couple of black guys from the gritty urban streets of Detroit and Compton. And we fired the suckers up.

I wish I could report that they blazed gloriously...but they didn't. They had absorbed a bit of humidity en route from Florida to Vietnam. They burned and did their best to sparkle. But it didn't matter. We all laughed. It was fun and funny.

As i mentioned earlier, England had been through a very expensive continental war fifteen years before our revolution. The English tradition goes against a large standing army, and many officers were let go on half-pay, and the soldiers were paid off and released.

England had a rather large empire to maintain, and there wasn't much enthusiasm for new recruiting. Additionally, the militia system in England had not yet been tailored to provide troops for front line regiments, and the sentiment of the people would definitely have run agains that. So, the English had resort to a commonly used method of the day--they hired mercenaries. At the beginning of the Thirty Years War in 1618, there had been three Hesses--but one of them was swallowed up by the other two, largely by Hesse-Zerbst, and the widow of the landgrave of the now disappeared state kept her son's fortune intact by hiring out her troops as mercenaries. The practice became common in both of the surviving Hesses, and had generally been common in the German principalities long before that. So Lord North's ministry filled the short-fall in troops by employing German mercenaries, mostly Hessians, but quite a few Brunswickers, as well.

When Howe overran New Jersey, he basically left the Germans on the outpost line, and withdrew the English troops to more comfortable winter quarters near the safety of New York. When Washington decided to re-cross the Delaware River and attack, the largest outpost was at Trenton, where several regiments of Hessians under the command of Colonel Rahl were stationed (in the town, and some to the south of the town). Colonel Rahl was fatally wounded, and died not long after surrendering to Washington. Many of the Germans threw down their arms and surrendered as they were retreating toward the south, because they were out in bad weather, had no rations, and were running out of cartridges and shot. Cornwallis eventually marched toward Trenton, but Washington left camp fires burning, slipped around his flank, and attacked Princeton, New Jersey. Finally, the English withdrew all of their troops to the area immediately around New York, and Washington was able to winter his little army in better surroundings in New Jersey.

A large German contingent also accompanied John Burgoyne when he invaded from Canada. But many of them were slaughtered when an ill-considered expedition was sent to Bennington, in what is now Vermont, and the aroused country people attacked them, and then hung on the tail of their column as they retreated toward Burgoyne. Finally, in October, 1778, Burgoyne surrendered, and the last large contingent of German mercenaries in North America marched away with the rest of the army to Boston, where they were parolled (signed a pledge not to fight in America again--a common practice, if caught again in arms, they could be shot without trial) and shipped back to England via Halifax.

Thereafter, the English found troops from their own population or by stripping other Imperial outposts. The Germans were not brought back to America, and those who remained had a very high desertion rate. "Hessian" has been a term for a hated mercenary in American history ever since.

realjohnboy wrote:


As was yours
Thank you

The inscription on the Statue of Liberty reads:

"Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to be free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the tempest-tossed to me.
I lift my lamp beside the golden door."

Those words were penned by Emma Lazarus, who began writing and publishing her writing in local newspapers at age 11. She became the spokeswoman for Jews in America. She does not receive the honor she deserves in this country.

book marking so I can find ya later