“We do not have to invade the United States, we will destroy you from within.”
Fast forward into the last several years.
We have the organization BLM, whose founder has said
“We are trained Marxists. We are super-versed on, sort of, ideological theories.”
The person making that statement is BLM co-founder Patrisse Cullors.
Cullors, 36, was the protégé of Eric Mann, a member of the Weather Underground domestic terror organization, and spent years absorbing the Marxist-Leninist ideology that shaped her worldview, Breitbart News reported.
“The first thing, I think, is that we actually do have an ideological frame. Myself and Alicia in particular are trained organizers,”
Cullors said this, referring to BLM co-founder Alicia Garza.
Currently, we find major corporations donating vast sums to an organization with the goal of achieving what Khrushchev predicted in 1956.
In my personal opinion, they do not give a pinch of salt for black lives. If they did, they would not allow their followers to decimate black businesses and neighborhoods. If they did, they would be using their funds for black neighborhood facilities to improve black children’s education, and not through the pie in the sky of becoming a pro athlete but through basic education in core subjects.
Again, traveling back (are you getting dizzy)
Nikita Khrushchev wrote in the book, “The Great Mission of Literature and Art” the following,
“The press is our chief ideological weapon”.
One only needs to look at today’s press to know how foreseeing Khrushchev was. No longer are the rules of journalism; who, what, where, when, apply. Daily they spew personal opinions and negativity about our country. Daily they mock as ignorant, redneck racist anyone who fails to toe the line. Those people of color who do not bend their knee to the agenda are called; coons, Uncle Tom, and worse.
So, what do we do. We put a steel rod in our spine. We do not negotiate. There has been to much negotiation to our detriment. Do not focus only on your national elected officials. Many of them claw their way up through local politics either as elected officials or working for local activists groups. Do your due diligence on every single candidate! Not every candidate’s platform is going to meet your criteria 100%. Choose the candidate who most closely aligns with your criteria. Do not let a young candidate escape your research. North Carolina just chose a 25 year old candidate who is outstanding.
We must not let Nikita Khrushchev’s predictions become reality!
As Dov Fischer wrote in, Cry the Beloved Country;
Cry the beloved country. What we are witnessing is a terrible shame of historical dimensions. But don’t cry for too long. Instead, after a good loud wail, get up and take back the culture and values that we still hold dear and self-evident. There still is time. But that window is narrowing.
While searching for a Sunday meme, I came across a picture of a sign titled “The American’s Creed”, which reads as follows:
I do not choose to be a common man. It is my right to be uncommon—if I can. I seek opportunity—not security. I do not wish to be a kept citizen, humbled and dulled by having the state look after me. I want to take the calculated risk; to dream and to build, to fail and to succeed. I refuse to barter incentive for a dole. I prefer the challenges of life to the guaranteed existence; the thrill of fulfillment to the stale calm of utopia. I will not trade freedom for beneficence nor my dignity for a handout. I will never cower before any master nor bend to any threat. It is my heritage to stand erect, proud and unafraid; to think and act for myself, enjoy the benefit of my creations, and to face the world boldly and say, “this, with God’s help, I have done”. All this is what it means to be an American.
– Dean Alfange
With able assistance from our personal Rogue, who is a Unicorn, the author of this wonderful creed was found.
Dean Alfange
He was Dean Alfange, born December 2, 1897, in what was then known as The Ottoman Empire to Greek parents. His parents moved to Utica, New York in 1902. There was not a political party he was not part of; American Labor, Democrat, Liberal, Republican. Although he was very much an activist, he is best known for writing what he simply called My Creed. Publication of the Creed was in This Week magazine in the early 1950s. I could find no information on what precipitated his writing of this Creed.
His statements are not in keeping with the current mindset of those currently “protesting”. In fact, he would find himself as one of the people the “cancel culture” placed on their list. The mere idea of seeking challenges rather than accepting government as his provider is abhorrent to many groups. Most assuredly, thinking for one’s self is verboten as is any hint of religion, unless it is the religion of anarchy.
Editor’s Note: While helping AuntiE to research the origin of this creed, I found several references to it in a variety of sources. As it is written on the sign, and reprinted here in its original form, the second to last line reads: “this, with God’s help, I have done”. Interestingly, in several of the places it was referenced, the text was censored (ahem) edited, to read: “this, I have done” Even this obscure essay has now been altered to conform to a revisionist/apologist’s ideal. (RU)
In 1862 during the Civil War Battle of Shiloh, after several days of fighting and maneuvering against the rebels, the forces of Ulysses S. Grant found themselves at a tactical disadvantage. They were outnumbered by Confederate forces and they had their backs to the Tennessee River with no clear means of escape. One of Grant’s senior officers, Col. McPherson, suggested that they might be able to cut their losses and retreat under the cover of Union gunboats across the river on wooden steamboats, if they did it quickly. Grant quietly sized up McPherson and calmly replied, “Retreat? No. I propose to attack at daylight and whip them.” And, the next morning that is exactly what the Union forces did.
That is an example of what the military still refers to today as “Commander’s Intent.” Commander’s intent is clear concise guidance – guidance that has no ambiguity. It is direction that everyone understands. It epitomizes the grandest principles of leadership.
On September 12th, 1962 (and I remember watching this live on a black and white TV), President John F. Kennedy gave his famous speech that got us into the space race against the Soviets. This speech in particular, is a superb example of Commander’s Intent. Standing at the podium he firmly grasped both sides. “We choose to go to the moon,” Kennedy proclaimed in his characteristic New Englander’s accent. “We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do all the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure our best energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one that we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win, and the others, too.”
What both the Grant and Kennedy examples have in common is that they are mission focused and designed to create unity of effort. Parallels may be made by watching a school of fish swim or a large flock of birds fly. Somehow, they have unity of effort, and acting like a single being, they all seem to change direction and turn at the same moment. They act, and even look like a self-morphing yet purposeful being. We can only wonder if they have a leader or, how they all just somehow know what direction to go at exactly the same moment.
Man is a tribal being. Mankind has evolved that way and we are all wired that way no matter how sophisticated we think we are, or how many advanced degrees we hold. Some examples of our tribal roots can easily be observed whenever we deal with events we don’t understand and/or feel threatened by.
Take 9/11 for example. During and following the World Trade Center and Pentagon attacks people banded together. There was a sense of unity, a sense of purpose. It was us against those who attacked us. Shortly following the attack, President Bush proclaimed to the world on national television, “In our pursuit of those responsible in this fight against terrorism, you are either with us or against us.” It was classic Commander’s Intent – “you’re either with us or against us.” Make your choice.
Do you remember all the public gushing of Americanism following the attack? American flags were displayed everywhere. Flags of all sizes were hung on many buildings, on bridge overpasses and everyone had a flag flying from a small banner clipped to his car window. It was a time of great national unity. Do you remember hearing anything from the agendas of liberals, conservatives, Democrats or Republicans? No – there was a singular mindset – a tribal mindset, and that tribe was the United States of America.
Here’s another example. If you look anyplace on our planet where people are geographically isolated, and lacking infrastructure ties to the population centers, you will find clans. Afghanistan is an excellent modern day example, as is the Middle East as a whole, which shares religion-based clanship. Due to the rugged geography, so might be parts of Kentucky and West Virginia, especially during the 1800 and early 1900’s. Even today they are clannish. Unlike large population centers, the terrain of these rural locations lends itself to isolation by retarding easy transit. Infrastructure is largely lacking. The people who inhabit these areas reside in small semi-isolated pockets. Hence, clanship flourishes.
This is not necessarily bad. In fact, it might be explained as our tribal roots – we are wired that way and it is nothing of which we should be ashamed. We are after all, simply human. But there is for many of us a painful side to being human, and that is our failure to recognize and act upon success. There’s a difference between failing (which is a natural and normal part of life) and being addicted to failure. When we’re addicted to failure we enjoy it. Each time we fail, we are secretly relieved. For example, Hollywood’s culture glamorizes failure and embellishes victimhood. Starving poets, romantic suicides, America-hating and other self-defined victimized souls invert failure and warp it into a perverted success. In truth, it results in cultural incapacity, so that we no longer have to ask and answer Stanislavsky’s famous questions: Who am I? Why am I here? What do I want?
Becoming one’s self means becoming authentic. It means striving to become better than yourself. It means defining your individual worth and identity, and not leaving it to others to define for you. It means making good people into better people, not the reverse. We should never fear self-definition; we should celebrate it. We should not wait for inspiration; we should practice our lives in anticipation of it. Practice is the key. Practice means following a rigorous, prescribed regimen with the intention of elevating the mind and the spirit to a higher level. Practice implies engagement and belief, and without them there can be no Commander’s Intent.
Reporting by today’s agenda-driven media cannot be trusted. Politics is more polarized and less honest than ever in our country’s history. The American culture is under attack from within. If we could write a Commander’s Intent on behalf of the USA, perhaps it would go something like this: “Give countenance to no act of national dishonesty. Advocate no wrong, defend no error, deny no truth, for the sake of party or personal interest.” We must never forget who we are and what we are. As veterans and patriots, we must practice.
Honorable mention: I want to credit my friend Steven Pressfield for many of the words you have read in this article. Steven is a bestselling novelist who has written a number of excellent titles based on historical fiction. A few years ago he published a non-fiction book titled, “Turning Pro” which I have adopted into my own philosophy about “getting things done.”
EDITOR’S NOTE: We are again proud and honored to be able to publish one of Paul Evancoe’s outstanding pieces of original prose here at milvetsandpatriots.com. It is a privilege to be associated with him. You can check out his impressive bio on his first post with us, The 21 Gun Salute. Mr Evancoe does not participate in social media commenting, but if anyone has a question or concern that they would like to direct to him personally, please submit using our Contact page, and they will be forwarded.
Editors note: This marks the first installment of this series by Walt Mow. It will continue every Tuesday afternoon until completion.
It is estimated that there were only about 3,000 mountain men and trappers at the peak of the fur trade. Some would become legends in their own time, others would be recognized later. That some were anti-social outcasts from society only added to the myths, tall tales and downright prevarications that are part and parcel of “The Mountain Men”.
Here are a few of these intrepid souls, some of their adventures and their contributions to the knowledge of what was an unexplored wilderness.
George Drouillard by Michael Haynes
George Drouillard, born in 1773 in present day Windsor, Ontario Canada, of mixed blood. Educated to read and write, he also acquired the native skills of his Shawnee mother’s people. With an ear for languages and skilled in the sign language of the tribes plus a native knack for Cartography, at age 28 he was hired to accompany the Corps of Discovery on its historic expedition. After completion of the expedition, he would accompany Manuel Lisa into the upper Missouri River in 1807. His failure to return from an 1810 trapping trip in the Three Forks region prompted a search. The party would find his beheaded remains scattered about in a ceremonial manner. The scene indicated Drouillard had killed several of his Indian attackers before being overcome by superior numbers at approximate age 37.
John Colter was born in 1774 according to his family and moved to present day Kentucky in 1780. Here he would acquire the skills of the frontier and may have served as a ranger under Simon Kenton. Meriwether Lewis would hire Colter October 15, 1803 to accompany the Corps of Discovery to the west coast. Trusted and allowed great leeway, Colter more than delivered when asked to attend any task. On the return journey, Colter requested an early release from the Corps in order to accompany two trappers back to the upper Missouri. The party would dissolve and Colter would travel alone through much of what are now Yellowstone National Park and the Grand Tetons area of present day Wyoming. In 1808 he would join up with John Potts in a trading operation dealing with tribes in the area. Colter would be wounded in an altercation with members of the Blackfeet. The following year, he and Potts were again in Blackfeet country when they were again accosted by warriors of the Blackfeet tribe. Potts would be killed and his body dismembered while Colter already stripped naked was advised to run. It would be a run for his very life. Hiding in a beaver lodge, he would escape from his pursuers. He then walked 11 days to a trading post on the Little Big Horn. He abandoned the wilderness and returned to St. Louis, it is unclear just when he died with one source placing the date as May 7, 1812 and another dating it November 22, 1813 making him 38 or 39 at the time of his death.
Back to civilization – kinda, sorta, and somewhat (great joy & Happiness) right?
Bullshit
Hearing the radio newsman blaring out his same ole song from the truck radio as I was coming out of the Ottawa,
a forest of about a million acres just down road from me
(everything is just down the road, actually)
He was talking the Washington Redskins gonna change their name because of some whiny-ass liberal scumbags, who I wouldn’t trust with an old timer knife, let alone a chainsaw
They got no life of their own, so they go about interfering in other people’s lives and businesses because they know better how you should live YOUR life.
Well fuck them too….who knows, maybe the Washington Yellowbellies…(Foreskins?)…. will wanna come play in the Ottawa
But I wouldn’t know, having shot my teevee decades ago (better things to do than stare at an idiot box)
History Lesson:
I remember Dad piling his family into a station wagon and off we go on a trip. Zane was in the car with us
a border collie
He was always panting or happy, really couldn’t tell. He was always happy and panting anyways
we got to where we was going at the Mission
the Holy Rosary Mission
the Mission is located at Pine Ridge
Lakota & Ojibwe together.
Once again as a kid I thought dad was gonna trade the girls for some cool stuff
wrong
instead we were shown Wounded Knee
a massacre inflicted by others who thought they knew better how we should live OUR lives
Jessica Doti Whitaker met the same sort of people
her crime?
saying ALL LIVES MATTER to BLM
shot dead from behind
So who blames the Washington Yellowbellies? It is the cowards caving, and NOT those peoples and warriors they originally honored.
yes, I said honored.
how about
Crazy Thunder, or maybe his Son Jimmy
both died the same day
in the same VA hospital
There is no one alive today who can atone for the wrongs of the past. I’ve never met one slave owner or slave
Or one who took part in America’s biggest massacre
269 dead, mostly women an children
Joseph Horn Cloud’s list of Lakota casualties
Chief Big Foot Mrs. Big Foot Horned Cloud Mrs. Horned Cloud William Horned Cloud, son Sherman Horned Cloud, son Pretty Enemy, niece Mrs. Beard, daughter-in-law Thomas Beard, grandson Shedding Bear Trouble-in-Front, son Last Running Red White Cow, daughter Mother-in-law of Shedding Bear High Hawk Mrs. High Hawk Little boy, son Little girl, daughter Whirl Wind Hawk Mrs. Whirl Wind Hawk Young lady, daughter Young girl, daughter Little girl, daughter Little boy, son Little boy, son He Crow Pretty Woman, daughter Buckskin Breech Clout Running In Lodge, son White Feather, son Little boy, son Bear Woman (the oldest woman in the band) Crazy Bear Elk Creek Mrs. Elk Creek Spotted Chief, son Red Fish Mrs. Red Fish Old Good Bear Young Good Bear Mrs. Good Bear Little boy, son Pretty Hawk Mrs. Pretty Hawk Baby Pretty Hawk Mrs. Lap Shoots The Right Bad Wound, son Bear Parts Body Little boy, son Brown Beaver White Beaver Woman Black Coyote (The one who made the trouble) Red Water Woman Sun In Pupil Mrs. Sun In Pupil Henry Three, or Pretty Bald Eagle Iron Eyes (Big Foot’s brother) Mrs. Iron Eyes Has A Dog Red Shirt Girl Pretty Woman Albert Iron Eyes White Day Little Boy, son Charge At Them Old Woman, mother Mrs. Iron American Mrs. Yellow Buffalo Calf Louis Close To Home Cast Away And Run Bad Braves Red Horn Winter Strong Fox Mrs. Strong Fox Little boy, son One Feather Little boy, son Without Robe Old Man Yellow Bull Mrs. Old Man Yellow Bull Brown Woman Shakes The Bird Red Ears Horse Shoots With Hawk Feather (Shot with Hotchkiss) His mother Ghost Horse Little boy, son Chief Woman Mrs. Trouble In Love Hat Baby boy Mrs. Stone Hammer Little baby Wolf Ears Good Boy, son Edward Wolf Ears Little girl Shoots The Bear Kills Senaca Assiniboine George Shoots The Bear Mrs. Shoots The Bear Kills Crow Indian Little Body Bear Mrs. Little Body Bear Little boy, son Baby girl Red Eagle (This man was in the tent & killed by the cannon) Eagle Body, daughter Little girl Little Elk Mrs. Little Elk Black Shield’s little girl White Wolf Red Ears Horse, sister Old Woman, her mother Wood Shade Mrs. Wood Shade Running Standing Hairs Mrs. Running Standing Hairs Young lady, daughter Scabbard Knife Mrs. Scabbard Knife He Eagle Mrs. He Eagle Edward He Eagle, son Young girl, daughter Young boy, son Log Mrs. Log Really Woman, son Brown Hoops Little boy, son Young girl, daughter Mule’s daughter, young lady Red Other Woman Black Flutes, young boy Takes Away The Bow Gray In Eye Mrs. Drops Blood Young boy, son Little boy, son Old Woman Mrs. Long Bull Young girl, daughter Spotted Thunder Swift Bird Mrs. Swift Bird Boy, son Boy, son Strike Scatter Boy, son Wolf Skin Necklace Last Talking, old woman Not Go In Among, son of Hailing Bear, and Her Good Medicine Wounded Hand Comes Out Rattling, wife Big Voice Thunder Mercy To Others Long Medicine Broken Arrow Mrs. Broken Arrow Young man Young woman Brown Turtle Old woman, mother Bird Wings Not Afraid Of Lodge Bear Comes And Lies Wears Calf’s Robe Yellow Robe Wounded In Winter, son Mrs. Black Hair Bad Spotted Eagle (a Cree Indian) Mrs. Bad Spotted Eagle White American Long Bull Courage Bear Mrs. Courage Bear Fat Courage Bear George Courage Bear Black Hawk She Bear, wife Weasel Bear, daughter
Jessica Doti Whitaker leaves behind a Husband and Son
The Son will grow to learn the story of the how and why his mother is gone
his heart will have a choice to make. Fill with Love or Hate
The Left’s greatest weapon hasn’t been the teevee or social media…. no
it was the hyphen
“There is no room in this country for hyphenated Americanism. When I refer to hyphenated Americans, I do not refer to naturalized Americans. Some of the very best Americans I have ever known were naturalized Americans, Americans born abroad. But a hyphenated American is not an American at all.”
I read that some time ago, a long time ago
it’s true
Editors Note: Chance speaks from the heart. Always. He is native born, and a Native American. He proudly served as a member of the US Marine Corps during the Vietnam War. He is a class act, and a valuable contributor to this site as well as a treasured member of our team.
A native of Roanoke, Virginia, James L. Brooks entered the Army Air Corps in 1942.
Jim attended pilot training at Kelly and Moore Fields, Texas, and upon graduation as a second lieutenant, he was assigned to the 52d Fighter Squadron stationed in the Panama Canal Zone. He spent seven months in this assignment flying the P-39 and P-40 fighters before being sent to San Severino, Italy to join the 307th Squadron, 31st Fighter Group. There, Brooks flew Spitfire MK IXs, P-51Bs and P-51Ds, scoring 13 ½ victories. The 31st Fighter Group has the distinction of being the first American group to land in England. It was the first AAF group to go into action with the invasion forces that landed in North Africa, the only AAF group to have a fighter squadron in Italy, the first to suffer a combat casualty, and the first to destroy an enemy aircraft.
The 31st Fighter Group produced more aces (thirty-three) than any other group in the AAF, and ended the war first in total aerial victories (571) in the Mediterranean Theater. Major Brooks’ career decorations include the Silver Star, the Distinguished Flying Cross, and the Air Medal with twenty-one clusters. Brooks grew up fast as a young fighter pilot and was leading entire fighter groups, fifty-four Mustangs, as a first lieutenant into the heavily defended German oil refineries in Ploesti, Romania in his personal P-51B, named “January” after his birth month. On 18 May 1944, while escorting the heavy B-24 bombers over Ploesti, he scored his first aerial victory, downing a Romanian G-50 fighter. Throughout the course of his time in WWII, Jim would down Me-109s, Ju 87 Stuka dive-bombers, Ju 52s, Fiesler Storchs, and Folke-Wulf 190s. Shortly after his first kill, Brooks went on a three-day leave to Rome and another pilot from the 307th Squadron took “January” up on a sortie. The pilot experienced engine trouble and had to ditch Brooks’ Mustang into the Adriatic Sea.
When Brooks returned to his base in San Severino, there was a brand new P-51D model there to replace his B model. With no real inspiration or girlfriend after which to name his new D model Mustang, he had “February” painted on the nose to follow “January.” Brooks became an ace on 18 July, during a mission over Germany. There was some confusion over the target area and the bombers were not holding to their assigned quadrants. The Mustangs of the 307th Squadron entered combat near Friedrichshaven when they intercepted a large formation of ME 109s. A flight of only four Mustangs took them on, but the overwhelming odds forced them to break off the attack. One ME 109 engaged Brooks, who headed for the mountains at full throttle. Approaching one peak, Brooks waited until the last possible moment to pull up. The ME 109, intent on getting Brooks, hesitated and slammed into the mountain. Brooks finished his combat tour in Italy with 55 missions and 280 combat hours. Brooks had deep gratitude for his crew chief, Staff Sergeant Dill Trest, who kept “January” and “February” in tiptop shape and battle ready at all times.
Accepting a regular commission after the war, Brooks became jet qualified in 1946. On 22 December 1950, while flying F-86s with the 4th Fighter Group during the Korean War, Brooks participated in the first big, all jet air battle at 42,000 feet over the Yalu River. Involved were 12 MiGs and 4 Saber Jets. Following the war, Brooks resigned from the Air Force in 1951 as a major and joined North American Aviation as an engineering test pilot. Over the next six years he logged test flights in all F-86 series aircraft, the B-45 jet bomber, the XF-100’s, and the F-86 rocket augmentation project. He was one of the founders and first president of the Fighter Ace Association and is past president of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots.
Today marks a somber anniversary. It has been 25 years since the massacre of more than 8,000 Bosniak Muslim men and boys in and around Srebrenica, Bosnia.
Body parts are still being found in mass graves and are being put together and identified through DNA analysis. Close to 7,000 of those killed have already been found and identified. Newly identified victims are buried each year on July 11 — the anniversary of the day the killing began in 1995 — in the memorial cemetery.
Women watch as one of the massacre victims is buried in Potocari, near Srebrenica, Bosnia, Saturday, July 11, 2020. Mourners converged on the eastern Bosnian town of Srebrenica for the 25th anniversary of the country’s worst carnage during the 1992-95 war and the only crime in Europe since World War II that has been declared a genocide. (AP)
Bosniak Muslim member of the country’s tripartite presidency, Sefik Dzaferovic called on the world to demand Serb leaders finally accept responsibility and open the way for true reconciliation.
“I am calling on our friends from around the world to show not just with words but also with actions that they will not accept the denial of genocide and celebration of its perpetrators,” he said.
“The Srebrenica genocide is being denied (by Serb leaders) just as systematically and meticulously as it was executed in 1995 … we owe it not just to Srebrenica, but to humanity, to oppose that,” he added.
The Srebrenica massacre is the only episode of Bosnia’s 1992-95 war to be defined as genocide, including by two U.N. courts. But leaders in neighboring Serbia still deny the extent of the 1995 massacre and refuse to acknowledge what amounted to a genocide.
Bosnian Serb wartime political leader, Radovan Karadzic, and his military commander, Ratko Mladic, were both convicted of and sentenced for genocide in Srebrenica by a special U.N. war crimes tribunal in The Hague. In all, the tribunal and courts in the Balkans have sentenced close to 50 Bosnian Serbs wartime officials to more than 700 years in prison for Srebrenica killings.
On a personal note, your editor spent some time in the former Yugoslavia during this period. What I witnessed will stay with me for the rest of my life. And to be fair, it wasn’t just the Serbs that committed atrocities, they were just responsible for the bigger ones.
As our Republic enters its 245th year it is appropriate that we honor the man behind the momentous and tumultuous beginnings of our country. His legacy has set us free to be the greatest nation of all time. His story is our history, rich in honor, duty and the will to be free.
Born in 1732, his father died when young George was 11 years old. It was then he went to live with his older brother Lawrence at Mount Vernon. Determined to do well on his own, he began work as a surveyor; first as an apprentice to Lord Fairfax in the Shenandoah Valley, then as surveying agent for Culpepper County, Virginia; later going over the Allegheny Mountains into the Ohio Valley as both surveyor and land speculator.
With a powerful sponsor, Lord Fairfax introduced then 20 year old George to Virginia governor Dinwiddie. Under Dinwiddie’s tutelage, he would be made a Major in the Virginia Militia setting the stage for young George to become the focus of the entire world as he was dispatched to deliver a message to vacate Virginia territory by the French interlopers. The French ignored the warning.
Dispatched once again over the Allegheny’s with a small force to remove what was thought to be a very small French contingent; he would precipitate what would become the French and Indian War in his effort to drive the French from the Ohio country.
Battle of Ft. Necessity
Lt. Colonel George Washington of the Virginia Colony Militia would serve as an advisor to British General Braddock. The willful General disregarded all intelligence and advice; as the inevitable attack came, it panicked the British into a rout that only the actions of Washington with the help of a couple civilian wagoners with wilderness experience, Daniel Boone and Daniel Morgan, formed a rear guard that allowed the column to withdraw to safety.
With two horses shot out from under him and numerous holes in his coat, the Legend of George Washington was born. One of the survivors was British Captain Thomas Gage. General Thomas Gage would remember the Virginia Colonel some 20 years later when General George Washington was named commander of the Continental Army.
Rebuffed by the British for a commission in the British Army, Washington returned to Mount Vernon and his first love, the land. His marriage to Mary Curtis made him one of the wealthier men of the Colony and his election to the House of Burgesses brought political interests into his sphere of influence.
He sought improved farming practices, cut production of tobacco, raised wheat, flax and other saleable crops. His work force made the things necessary to make the plantation productive. He was successful to the point that he was no longer held by financial bond to English merchants. He continued to buy English goods but often found the items, especially clothing never fit properly without extensive tailoring and the quality of questionable repute.
Mount Vernon
Elected to the Virginia House of Burgesses in 1759, he would serve 15 years; 1761 brought him Mount Vernon with the settlement of Lawrence Washington’s estate. In May, 1769, although no orator, he would present George Mason’s resolution calling for no taxation without representation. This theme would drive the American Revolution.
In 1773 tragedy strikes Washington’s family with the death of his step daughter Patsy in June. The Boston Tea Party in December further exacerbates the turmoil between the colonials and British Rule. Elected to the First Continental Congress in 1774; re-elected to the Second Continental Congress and finally appointed Commander of the Continental Army June 15, 1775.
The Continentals under Washington’s command would drive the British from Boston in the early part of 1776 allowing the Army to begin efforts to protect New York. The battle for Long Island would see the Continentals defeated and driven from Long Island. Washington would gather his forces on Manhattan Island and have the Declaration of Independence to his assembled troops. New York is surrounded by water, thereby allowing the British Navy to land troops in Washington’s rear, forcing them after several small skirmishes to abandon New York and seek safety in New Jersey and ultimately Pennsylvania.
As he gathered his battered troops, ordering the destruction of all boats on the north shore of the Delaware, he was finally able to rest his weary troops. The destruction of the boats would force the British commander to seek winter quarters as the weather became increasingly bad, leaving a contingent of Hessians to hold Trenton and another small contingent down river at Bordentown.
After being chased across New Jersey, Washington would cross the Delaware into Pennsylvania from which he would unleash his army against the Hessians holding Trenton, New Jersey. Besting the Hessian defenders and a few days later winning another small battle against British troops Near Princeton, New Jersey allowed Washington to take his battered but victorious and uplifted troops to winter quarters at Morristown, New Jersey.
In August of 1777 as the British approached Philadelphia, Washington’s aggressive nature wanted to defend the city but was warned by General Greene and Colonel Knox “that preserving the Continental army was a higher priority than protecting Philadelphia.” As it turned out, Washington’s Army would be defeated in the Battle of Brandywine by a flanking maneuver that split the American troops. At Germantown in October the Americans were routed as fog made identification near impossible as Americans fired on fellow Americans. Washington’s aggressive nature began to realize that he would need to subdue his nature and fight a protracted war acknowledging that preservation of the Continental Army was a priority. He would take his mento Valley Forge for the winter of 1777-78. Three men would emerge from Valley Forge that would have great impact on Washington’s life. John Marshall, future Supreme Court Judge; the Marquis de Lafayette, a gallant young Frenchman who would become “Washington’s surrogate son”; and one Friedrich Wilhelm August Heinrich Ferdinand, Baron von Steuben. Von Steuben would help Washington build a disciplined and cohesive Continental Army; an army that learned how to be an 18th century soldier that could contend with the world’s greatest military, the British Army.
Mid June 1778, General Henry Clinton decided to return his headquarters to New York and Washington decides to have General Lee harass the rear of the British column. In late June while scouting the British column the young Marquis de Lafayette blunders into the middle of the British Army precipitating the Battle of Monmouth Court House. It was during this battle that General Washington finds some of his troops in retreat, relieves General Lee on the spot, personally rallies his troops and they hold their own through the rest of the battle. Washington now knows that he has an army that can contend with the British as von Steuben’s training has shown. The French begin to realize that the American’s can stand up to the British and join the American Revolution on the side of the Americans. Unbeknownst to Washington, this will be his last major action until he traps General Cornwallis and his troops at Yorktown.
Cornwallis surrenders to Washington
In August 1781 after a bruising campaign in the south General Cornwallis begins a march towards the Virginia tidewater and finds himself trapped at Yorktown. After a near two month siege, Cornwallis surrenders his army to Washington. Personal tragedy will again strike as Washington’s step son Jack dies November 5, 1781.
February 4, 1783 the British make notification of the cease of hostilities and ratification of the Treaty of Paris, September 3, 1783 brought to an end the War of Independence. Washington would say farewell to the Army November 2, 1783 and on December 23rd tenders his resignation and surrenders his commission to congress.
After a three and a half year hiatus from public life, on May 5, 1787 Citizen Washington is elected President of the Constitutional Convention; subsequently elected First President of the United States, April 17, 1789 and elected to a second term February 13, 1793. He would issue his “Neutrality Proclamation, April 22, 1793 and see the Jay Treaty of 1794 ratified.
On September 19, 1796 he published his Farewell Address to the nation.
NOTE: I have taken the liberty to parse his Farewell Address, but one can’t help but feel the man’s interest in the young country and what it will mean to future generations.
…I have with good intentions, contributed towards the organization and administration of the government, the best exertions of which a very fallible judgment was capable. Not unconscious, in the outset, of the inferiority of my qualifications…
…my feelings do not permit me to suspend the deep acknowledgement of that debt of gratitude which I owe to my beloved country… still more for the steadfast confidence with which it has supported me…
… a solicitude for your welfare, which cannot end but with my life, and the apprehension of danger, natural to that solicitude, urge me on an occasion like the present, to offer to your solemn contemplation, and to recommend to your frequent review, some sentiments, which are the result of much reflection, of no inconsiderable observation, and which appear to me all important to the permanency of your felicity as a People.
Interwoven as is the love of liberty with every ligament of your hearts, no recommendation of mine is necessary to fortify or confirm the attachment. …
Unity of government… … is a main pillar in your independence… it is easy to foresee, that from different causes and from different quarters, much pains will be taken, many artifices employed, to weaken in your minds the conviction of this truth…
Union, think of it as the Palladium of your political safety and prosperity…
The name of American, which belongs to you, in your national capacity, must always exalt the just pride of Patriotism…
Respect for its authority, (the government) compliance with its laws, acquiescence in its measures, are duties enjoined by the fundamental maxims of true Liberty.
Let me warn you in the most solemn manner against the baneful effects of the spirit of party… This spirit, unfortunately, is inseparable from our nature…
Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, Religion and Morality are indispensable supports.
Observe good faith and justice towards all Nations; cultivate peace and harmony with all…
…attachments to foreign influence is particularly alarming to the truly enlightened and independent Patriot…
Against the insidious wiles of foreign influence the jealousy of a free people ought to be constantly awake; since history and experience prove that foreign influence is one of most baneful foes of Republican Government.
“T is our true policy to steer clear of permanent alliances, with any portion of the foreign world… There can be no greater error than to expect, or calculate upon real favours from nation to nation.
How far in the discharge of my official duties, I have been guided by the principles which have been delineated, the public records and other evidences of my conduct must witness to you and to the world. To myself, the assurance of my own conscience is, that I have at least believed myself guided by them.
I promise myself to realize, without alloy, the sweet enjoyment of partaking, in the midst of my fellow citizens, the benign influence of good laws under a free government…
Washington was a very humble human being that accepted his own fallibility and recognized the faults of others with grace and magnanimity. His message to his countrymen is as pertinent today as it was when it was published. His love of America was and is a bright reflection of a man who was the “father of his country”.
In March 1797 Washington retired to his beloved Mount Vernon.
Have you ever considered the origin and meaning behind the military’s 21-gun salute? We know it’s a formal rendering of honors performed by military personnel on behalf of the United States of America and it is always performed as a solemn show of dignity and respect. But how did it arise as such a weighty high valued tradition? The story is intriguing.
The 21-gun salute tradition can be traced back to the 14th century – about the same time period that rifles, pistols and cannons were amalgamated into warfare replacing blades and spears as the mainstay weapons of choice. In those times, firing an unsophisticated (by today’s firearms standards) black powder gun or cannon rendered them useless until they could undergo a somewhat timely reloading process. And, during the reloading process, the gunners were vulnerable. Thus, by firing one’s guns (in a safe direction) to demonstrate they were now unloaded, became a means of instilling trust, e.g., that you weren’t planning to attack the other party.
Similar actions are recorded throughout the history of warfare. For example, tribes dragging spears behind them with the point down, or the Samurai laying their Katana’s on the ground in front of them during formal meetings, were symbolic demonstrations that attacks were not planned. The purposes of these displays were to visually and symbolically demonstrate a clear lack of hostile intent.
Naval vessels were the first to adopt this tradition as a symbolic custom that quickly spread to field cannons and artillery, but the number of guns used can be credited to the Navy. In the day of “wooden ships and iron men,” most ships had seven guns per side and this number eventually became the standard for the number of guns used in the salute, regardless of whether the guns were sea or land based.
Originally the guns were only fired once to empty them, signifying an absence of hostility and therefore, it was then a seven-gun (or seven-shot) salute. Over time with the invention of metallic (brass) cased ammunition, guns became quickly reloadable and adaptions were made to the salute based on the importance of the person or nation, being saluted. Eventually, the number was internationally set to 21 shots.
Today, the tradition is used to recognize the sovereignty of a foreign nation, their chief of state, or a visiting member of a reigning royal family. It’s also used to honor national flags as well as the president, the president-elect of the United States, or a former president. The salute is also given on the day of the funeral of a president and is always performed at high noon.
A 21-gun salute may also be given to senior military and civilian leaders both of the United States and other nations, but in those cases the number may be less than 21. The number given to these leaders varies, based on their rank or title, but it’s always an odd number.
The 21-gun salute is not performed at funerals. The salute performed at a military funeral is called a “three-volley salute” or “three-rifle volley.” It is intended as a show of respect and remembrance and it is regularly performed at locations such as Arlington National Cemetery and at other military funerals.
The three-volley salute is always performed by an odd-number of honor guard – composed of three to seven service members – in full dress uniform. Upon command, they raise their rifles to their shoulders and fire three successive volleys. The weapons are loaded with blanks and fired in a manner so the muzzles are over the casket. If mourners are present, the honor guard stands a safe distance away and fires in a safe direction away from the bystanders.
The purpose of the modern 21-gun salute is meant to be an acknowledgement of respect and dignity. While modern firearms fire more quickly than earlier-era weapons, the honor comes from upholding the tradition and rendering the recipient with a time-honored sign of respect (and trust).
Given that times have changed and we’re no longer placing ourselves at the mercy of the other party by unloading our weapons by firing them off, the gesture is now purely symbolic. Nonetheless, that symbolism has the same meaning. By doing so, we place ourselves in symbolic supplication, which is, in itself, a sign of respect and acknowledgement of one’s dignity.
While many traditions have fallen out of favor in today’s fast-paced politically correct environment where history is rewritten on a daily basis, thankfully, the 21-gun salute endures. The very tenets of today’s professional military are founded upon symbolism, respect and dignity. We must cherish that datum and let it be evermore.
Editor’s Note:
We are proud to include Paul Evancoe as one of our team. He brings a wealth of cred to this endeavor. The following is a short (…ahem) bio.
Paul R. Evancoe
Paul is a retired, career Navy SEAL. Following his 25 year military career, he continued government service as the Associate Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Special Operations in the Office of the Coordinator for Counterterrorism at the U.S. Department of State. He next took a position with the National Nuclear Security Administration where he later headed the Office of Emergency Response, which has responsibility for worldwide nuclear and radiological accident and terrorism incident response. After 38 total years of government service he became the Vice President for Military Operations at FNH USA, the largest military and sporting arms company in the world. He left FNH to become the president of Aegis Industries, doing research and development in Human Electro-Muscular Incapacitation and cancer research using apoptosis. He returned to government service in 2010 to head DHS’s Explosives Division Inter-agency Technical Liaison Program in support of the DHS Science and Technology Directorate. Paul has been working as an executive consultant since 2013 in support of the intelligence and counterterrorism communities. Paul currently holds the position of Executive Vice President for Business Operations with SIS.
Paul is the published author of three novels; Own the Night, Violent Peace and Poison Promise (available from Amazonbooks.com). Paul also regularly authors feature articles dealing with geo-political events, counterterrorism, and weapons technology published in various journals and magazines.
Paul holds a BS in Industrial Technology from Millersville Pennsylvania State University and an MA in Human Resource Development from the George Washington University. He additionally holds proven sub-specialties in Political Military Strategic Planning and Weapon Systems Engineering from the US Naval Post Graduate School – Monterey, CA. His significant military service awards include the Joint Meritorious Service Medal, Bronze Star with “V” for valor, Purple Heart, Meritorious Service Medal (3 awards), Cross of Gallantry with gold star for heroism, Navy Commendation Medal with “V” for valor, Navy Combat Action Ribbon (3 awards), Navy Achievement Medal (4 awards), along with 12 other lesser medals and campaign ribbons.
