Happy Independence Day!
The historical significance of July fourth should be revisited each year. Do we, as American citizens truly understand what this day means. Like many holidays, the fourth of July has become a day off to barbeque, go to the beach and watch fireworks. But as an arm-chair historian I cannot help but feel this is also a time of reflection.
Our forefathers (and mothers) declared their independence from the tyranny of a monarch’s rule. Their choices, as in not also doing away with slavery at that same time, and their methods, tossing the tea in the Boston harbor dressed as Indians, were not always the best for all Americans. But like all parents, our ancestors sought what was best for themselves and those of their immediate concern. We often give these men and women, heroic and mythic abilities and ideals. But in truth, they, like each of us, were doing what they could with what they knew at that moment.
A friend noticing a plaque on my desk that read “Home of the free because of the brave,” made the comment, “home of the free because of the slave.” At first, I took offense. My son was in the army. He was fighting for our freedom. But then I really thought about it. We as Americans owe our freedoms not just to these “mythic” heroes but to the real men and women who sacrificed to give us this blessing. They were freed and slave, black and white, native and newcomer, rich and poor. Many of our forefathers gave up landholdings in Europe, titles even, to secure our freedom.
As we celebrate our Independence Day, let us remember these freedoms were won with blood, sweat and sacrifices. Not all who chose to fight for our freedom remained free, and many did not live to enjoy the freedom they wrought.
There is still a price to pay for freedom, are we willing to make those sacrifices?
I have added some websites I think you might find interesting. Check them out for more information about our forefathers and those who fought to make the United States of America.
The American Revolution was NOT a Whites Only War
(to read Fredrick Douglas’ oratory and more about African Americans in the Revolutionary War, check out the above website.)
At least 20 blacks were among the ranks of the rebels when the British launched their attack on the American position outside Boston in the Battle of Bunker Hill.
Peter Salem, born a slave in Framingham, Mass., earned his stripes as a minuteman fighting at Concord and later at Bunker Hill. Salem is credited with firing the shot that killed British Maj. John Pitcairn, who led the Redcoats when they attacked at Lexington.
Getting into the fight wasn’t easy for Salem or other blacks at the time. At the start of the war, George Washington opposed the recruitment of blacks, whether free or slave. Washington had plenty of company. Many slave owners considered the training and arming of slaves akin to inviting insurrection.
But they soon found that there weren’t nearly enough white men willing and able to fight the British, so Washington relented.
Salem fought in other battles, and after the war, lived in a cabin and worked as a cane weaver. He died in a Framingham poorhouse in 1816 . Twenty years later, the town erected a monument in his honor.
Former slave Salem Poor was also at the Battle of Bunker Hill. His service drew the praise of 14 officers who petitioned the Massachusetts legislature to grant him a reward. They wrote “that a negro man called Salem Poor, of Colonel Frye’s regiment, Captain Ames’ company, in the late Battle at Charlestown, behaved like an experienced officer, as well as an excellent soldier. To set forth the particulars of his conduct would be tedious, we would only beg leave to say that in the Person of this said negro centers a brave and gallant soldier. The reward due to so great and distinguished a character, we submit to the Congress.”
It was not to be. Poor died in a Boston shelter for the homeless in 1802.
Saul Matthews was a slave when he enlisted as a soldier in the Virginia militia, according to the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. Matthews served as a spy,