ANOTHER TIME CAPSULE

Workers removing the Confederate onument in St. Louis discovered a time capsule buried more than 102 years ago, the Missouri Civil War Museum said.

Mark Trout, director of the museum, said the capsule was found Thursday in a pit covered by a concrete tablet under the Confederate Monument in the city's Forest Park.

"We knew it was in there somewhere, so we were careful as we chipped away at something like 40 tons of concrete until we got to the very bottom," he told KTVI-St. Louis.

The museum says the time capsule should contain documents from the Daughters of the Confederacy, which funded the memorial. There could also be war medals and a magazine.

"We know the last thing put in the box was a magazine place in there by one of the soldiers of General Pickett's [Confederate] division at Gettysburg; the famous 'Pickett's Charge'," Trout said. "He held it up at the ceremony saying, 'Hey look, we're in the magazine. Put this in the box.' When we open that box the first thing laying on top should be the 'Star' magazine that the soldier placed there."



HONG KONG PHOOEY

A Hong Kong-based archaeologist is appealing to Gov. Matt Bevin as a "last resort" because Hopkinsville officials refuse to let him dig up a metal casket containing a Confederate soldier's remains a second time.

Archaeologist William Meacham thinks the casket of Pvt. William H. Pate in the city-owned cemetery might still be sealed and could provide evidence of the deadly epidemic that swept through a Confederate camp near the Kentucky town in the winter of 1861-1862.

However, Meacham stirred up some bad feelings among city officials when he first excavated the burial site about two years ago and then removed the casket without permission, saying he wanted to protect it from gravediggers and vandals.

He was forced to return it and has been banned from the cemetery.

The Hopkinsville City Council this year decided not to allow any more bodies to be exhumed out of respect for the dead, said the Hopkinsville city administrator, Nate Pagen.

The city's Riverside Cemetery is not far from the U.S. Army's Fort Campbell, and some veterans in the area said there'd been enough intrusion from Meacham's project, according to Pagen.

The coffin, Meacham argued, could be a rare "time capsule holding the key to a historical mystery illness that killed hundreds of soldiers at Hopkinsville, and thousands generally," including Union soldiers.

University of Louisville archaeologist Philip J. DiBlasi said Meacham had "a good idea" and proposed "a good project." But he said "it's become extremely political. I am having a hard time sorting out what's reality and what's not."

Meacham said he wants to try to make Pate famous as "the Hopkinsville soldier," a potential new draw to the Civil War cemetery in the southwest Kentucky community. Pate also could become famous in scientific circles, Meacham said, through research on his remains.

In his letter to the governor, Meacham wrote that "it is not often that an individual or town can make a decision that, even in a small increment, advances bio-medical knowledge, and possibly solves a historical mystery as well."

"Hence this appeal to you to use your influence to get the study approved," he wrote. "I am sure a simple email or phone call from you to the Mayor (of Hopkinsville) expressing interest would go a long way to achieving that!"

Bevin did not return requests for comment sent to his spokeswoman, Amanda Stamper.

Meacham, a longtime research fellow in the Centre of Asia Studies at the University of Hong Kong, published a 2013 scientific paper on the medical mystery in the Journal of Civil War Medicine.

William Turner, the historian at the Christian County Historical Society, holds out hope that that officials' minds can be changed so scientists can find out more about Pate. "I think it's still an open issue," he said. "Those of us who are in favor are remaining quiet for now."

Various groups have come out in support or against his study.

The Sons of the Confederate Veterans wrote letters backing the initial research but have since registered their opposition. "It seemed like it started out good," said John Suttles, Kentucky Division Commander. "But the feeling was they shouldn't disturb any more of the graves."

Turner said much could be learned if Pate's body could be exhumed, including details about clothing, boots, buttons and belt buckles. The coffin and Pate's untouched remains were reburied at the cemetery with no special markings in a locked cement vault to keep them safe, Meacham said.

Meacham said he's discovered a lot about Pate, who was a 16-year-old private. He said Pate's father was moderately wealthy. Pate married Ann E. Warren on June 27, 1861 - she had been listed as being only 13 years old in the 1860 Census - and he enlisted in the "Tippah Rifles" in August 1861 and died Oct. 30, 1861, according to Meacham

Meachman said Ann Pate gave birth to a son, William B. Pate, who was listed as 7 years old in the 1870 census. There was no record that year of what happened to the boy's mother, Meacham said.



TIMER TICKING ON ANOTHER LOUISIANA MONUMENT

Members of a Caddo Parish Commission panel were expected to make their recommendation Thursday about what to do with the Confederate monument outside the Parish Courthouse in downtown Shreveport.

The Caddo Parish Long-Range Planning/Special Projects Citizen Advisory Committee and its monument advisory subcommittee have been working to craft their recommendations for almost a year.

At one point, there were four different recommendations regarding placement of the monument, whether it should stay or be moved, said Gary Joiner, vice chairman of the panel's monument advisory subcommittee.

Joiner has confirmed that there is a recommendation on the table to move the monument somewhere else. However, he says the cost of moving the monument would be prohibitive, ranging from $500,000 to more than $1 million.

According to the subcommittee vice chairman, other recommendations include leaving the monument where it is as well as constructing other monuments to stand beside it.

Joiner said these additional monuments would be dedicated in memory of Reconstruction and the Civil Rights Movement in Caddo Parish.

Ultimately, whatever recommendation is made will be submitted to the Caddo Parish Commission, which will make any final decision.

But tensions rose after the committee voted to adjourn just a few minutes into its meeting. With Secretary Jackie Nichols absent, a motion was made to adjourn and reschedule the meeting for a time when she could be present. That vote passed 5-3. 

At present, the monument is maintained by members of Chapter 237 of the United Daughters of the Confederacy in Shreveport.



TEXAS MAYOR QUICKLY FOLDS TO ANGRY MOB

In Texas, San Antonians eager to spend their Fourth of July picnicking were laying down blankets and unpacking snacks as Black Lives Matter demonstrators gathered in front of the Confederate monument in Travis Park.

Their purpose was to demand that Mayor Ron Nirenberg and the City of San Antonio remove the monument "immediately." The demonstration included numerous speeches at the park and a march through downtown to the steps of the Bexar County Courthouse.

Atop the monument to fallen soldiers in the WBTS stands a granite figure of a Confederate soldier pointing to the sky. At its base, a two-part inscription reads, "Lest We Forget" and "Our Confederate Dead."

Only 50 people showed up to protest the monument. When local media reported the protest, 8 members of the Sons of Confederate Veterans quickly arrived to protect the monument. Six dressed in WBTS period attire.

"Sons of Confederate Veterans is opposed to removing any monuments to Confederate heroes from Texas," SCV Public Information Officer Marshall Davis stated. "The men honored with these memorials fought nobly and bravely for their country, and many of them never came home. The Confederate Monument in Travis Park, as well as other monuments throughout Texas and the South, honor the brave deeds done by these men."

Response to the protest has been rapid. Former City Councilman and University of Texas at San Antonio professor Mario Salas called the monument "racist, disgusting, and vile." On Thursday, District 1 Councilman Roberto Trevino released a statement saying that he and District 2 Councilman William Cruz Shaw have had positive talks about removing the monument with Mayor Nirenberg.

The next step will be for the City Council to work with the Department of Arts and Culture and the Office of Historic Preservation to come up with a "plan" for the monument.



TAMPA COUNCIL ALSO FLIP-FLOPPING?

One of the Hillsborough County commissioners who voted last month against removing the Confederate monument from downtown Tampa is now open to relocating it. Commissioner Victor Crist said Wednesday he wants to move the statue to Oaklawn Cemetery, Tampa's oldest public burial ground and the final resting place of the city's pioneers, 13 mayors, and several Confederate soldiers.

If he gets his way, it would be a major shift for the commission, which voted 4-3 on June 21 to keep the monument outside the old county courthouse, where it has stood since 1932.

But his idea earned a quick rebuke from Tampa officials who want no part of the controversial statue and last month ripped the Republican-led commission for not getting it out of the progressive city's downtown.

Meanwhile, Hillsborough County Commissioner Les Miller said Wednesday he will once again ask his colleagues to remove the statue when they meet July 19.

Miller wants to give the statue back to the United Daughters of the Confederacy, who paid for it and dedicated it on county land in 1911.

Since the vote, Miller said he has seen a "major groundswell of elected officials, and [black] activists...calling for commissioners to reconsider."

Commissioners Crist, Ken Hagan, Sandy Murman and Stacy White voted against removal, while Miller and Commissioners Al Higginbotham and Pat Kemp wanted it gone.

At that meeting, Crist won support for putting a mural that promotes diversity on a 10-foot wall behind the monument. But the attempt at a compromise did not appease opponents. Crist hopes Oaklawn Cemetery will. The cemetery is a few blocks northwest of the monument's current location and its grounds include a marker honoring Confederate soldiers and sailors. There, Crist said, it would be "out of sight, out of mind" for people who want it removed, but still accessible for those who want it prominently displayed.

Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn scoffed at the idea as inappropriate. City-owned Oaklawn, opened in 1850, is historically significant as a mass grave of the city's earliest residents. It is also close to St. Paul AME church and Greater Bethel Missionary Baptist Church, a large, black Church. "I don't want members of Greater Bethel to be worshiping in the shadow of a Confederate memorial," Buckhorn said.

City Councilman Frank Reddick said he would "do everything within my means to make sure the city doesn't allow that to happen."

Crist also floated Hillsborough's Veterans Memorial Park off Highway 301 and the 100-year-old Myrtle Hill Memorial Park in east Tampa, as potential locations for the monument.

Those destinations pose their own challenges. Myrtle Hill is a privately owned cemetery. For years, fights over Confederate symbols bogged down efforts to build a Civil War monument at Veterans Memorial Park.

"Both sides are going to have to be willing to give a little," Crist said. "I want to bring a resolve that everyone can live with and I'm confident that is possible."



HOLLYWOOD APPROVES CHANGING NAMES

City commissioners in Hollywood, Florida have agreed to begin the process of changing the names of streets named after Confederate generals. During a contentious three-hour meeting Monday night, the Hollywood City Commission voted 5-2 to begin renaming Lee Street, Hood Street, and Forrest Street.



FLORIDA NAACP BLAMES PRESIDENT TRUMP

The head of the Alachua County NAACP, Evelyn Foxx, woke up Monday morning to go for a walk with her friend, and found a Confederate Flag lying outside in front of her home, reported The Gainesville Sun.

The 66-year-old Foxx at first thought it was an American flag and walked over to pick it up - but called police after realizing it was a Confederate Flag.

Friend Meg Niederhofer told the newspaper that Foxx had been reporting threatening calls to police since the election of President Trump. She and Foxx attributed the phone calls to KKK supporters of Donald Trump.

Police are investigating the incident, and they've been investigating alleged "threats" against Foxx since November 2016. No arrests have been made in either case.

Niederhofer's husband is Alachua County Commissioner Robert Hutchinson.

Lincoln Unvarnished: 

Maryland, My Maryland! 'The Despot's Heel Is on Thy Shore.'
By Mike Scruggs


Following the bombardment and surrender of Fort Sumter at Charleston to Confederate forces on April 9, 1861, Lincoln ordered the Governors of the remaining Union states to call up their state militias and supply an army of 75,000 to invade and subdue the seven Southern states that had seceded. While this was received enthusiastically in many northern states, the Border States viewed this order as a tyranny they would not follow. As Union sentiment in the Border States evaporated, Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina, and Arkansas seceded, and secession efforts were underway in Missouri and Kentucky.

Governor J. W. Ellis of North Carolina declared that North Carolina would "be no party to this wicked violation of the laws of the country and this war upon the liberties of a free people." Governor Beriah Magoffin of Kentucky responded to Lincoln: "I say emphatically Kentucky will furnish no troops for the wicked purpose of subduing her sister Southern states." Missouri Governor Claiborne Jackson responded harshly to Lincoln: "Your requisition is illegal, unconstitutional, revolutionary, inhuman, [and] diabolical, and cannot be complied with." The order was likewise not well received in Maryland.

Although the Southern states wished to secede peacefully and had indicated no aggressive intentions against the Northern capitol, one of the first steps of the Lincoln Administration was to secure the capitol in Washington. In order to get to Washington, the mustered Union regiments had to come through Baltimore. As the railroad did not go through the city of Baltimore, they had to disembark from their troop trains north of the city and proceed by wagon, horse, and foot through the city, and then embark by train again on the other side. Unfortunately, on April 19th, the 6th Massachusetts chose to march through the city fully armed and in military formation. They were jeered by unsympathetic crowds of bystanders. Furthering the misfortune, the troops fired on the crowds killing twelve people. Fire then began to be returned from the crowd, and four soldiers were killed.

These twelve civilians and four Union soldiers, whose blood flecked the streets of Baltimore, were the first battle deaths of a war that would take the lives of 620,000 Union and Confederate soldiers and an estimated 50,000 Southern civilians.

By May of 1861, Lincoln, his cabinet, and generals had already begun to close down dissenting newspapers all over the country from Chicago to New York. Lincoln also took it upon himself to suspend the Writ of Habeas Corpus, a constitutional guarantee of the Bill of Rights with precedent dating back to the English Magna Carta. Habeas Corpus is a fundamental liberty, which prevents arbitrary arrest and imprisonment indefinitely without defined charges, trial, or means of release. Suspension of Habeas Corpus under conditions of civil disorder can only be temporary and must be authorized by Congress within 30 days.
In that same month of May, a resident of Baltimore, John Merryman, who had been arrested on the order of Union General George Cadwallader and held at Fort McHenry without charges or trial, petitioned U. S. Chief Justice Roger B. Taney for a Writ of Habeas Corpus. Taney granted a writ and set a date for a hearing, but it was ignored by Lincoln and his generals. Cadwallader responded by letter that Lincoln had suspended Habeas Corpus, so there would be no compliance with the Supreme Court. Taney ordered a federal marshal to Fort McHenry to enforce the writ, but Union Army officials refused his entrance.

Taney responded by writing a blistering court opinion, a constitutional classic, that held Merryman's arrest to be unlawful and a violation of the Constitution, and that only Congress could suspend the Writ of Habeas Corpus. The Chief Justice stated that if Lincoln's actions were allowed to stand, "...the people of the United States are no longer living under a government of laws, but every citizen holds, life, liberty, and property at the will and pleasure of the army officer in whose military district he may happen to be found."

Lincoln not only ignored the Supreme Court's ruling, he wrote out an order for the arrest of Chief Justice Taney. This arrest, however, was in the end not actually carried out for fear of extremely adverse public opinion and political consequences.

With these developments, a sizeable portion of the Maryland public was becoming sympathetic not only to the South, but even secession. Therefore, there was much talk of it among Maryland State Legislators. Consequently, Northern informers were asked to identify members of the Maryland Legislature that might support secession in the coming legislative session. Secretary of War Simon Cameron then issued an order to Major General Banks in Maryland that "all or any part of the Legislative members must be arrested to prevent secession."

On the night of September 12-13, all suspected Southern sympathizers in the Maryland Legislature were arrested and imprisoned in Fort McHenry. In all, fifty-one persons were arrested and imprisoned. Ironically, among those arrested and imprisoned was the grandson of Francis Scott Key, the author of the Star Spangled Banner.

To further tighten Union political hold on Maryland, all members of the Union armed forces were allowed to vote in the November election, although they were citizens of other states. Voters had to walk through platoons of soldiers with rifles and fixed bayonets to reach their polling place. The London Saturday Review noted: "It was as perfect an act of despotism as can be conceived. It was a coup d'etat in every essential feature."

These events inspired the lines of Maryland's state song from the poem written by James Ryder Randall in 1861, that few now realize were directed against Abraham Lincoln, his cabinet, and generals. These are the most famous verses:

"The despot's heel is on thy shore,

Maryland, My Maryland!

His torch is at thy temple door,

Maryland, My Maryland!

Avenge the patriotic gore,

That flecked the streets of Baltimore,

And be the battle queen of yore,

Maryland, My Maryland!

Dear Mother! Burst the tyrant's chain,

Maryland, My Maryland!

Virginia should not call in vain,

Maryland, My Maryland!

She meets her sisters on the plain,

'Sic simper!' 'Tis the proud refrain

That baffles minions back amain,

Maryland, My Maryland!

Arise in majesty again,

Maryland, My Maryland!

Genuine unity and patriotism must always be based on truth and pointed toward justice. They cannot be sustained by coercion or deception, however modest.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR - Mike Scruggs, a.k.a. Leonard M. Scruggs

Mike Scruggs is the author of two books: The Un-Civil War: Shattering the Historical Myths; and Lessons from the Vietnam War: Truths the Media Never Told You, and over 600 articles on military history, national security, intelligent design, genealogical genetics, immigration, current political affairs, Islam, and the Middle East.

He holds a BS degree from the University of Georgia and an MBA from Stanford University. A former USAF intelligence officer and Air Commando, he is a decorated combat veteran of the Vietnam War, and holds the Distinguished Flying Cross, Purple Heart, and Air Medal. He is a retired First Vice President for a major national financial services firm and former Chairman of the Board of a classical Christian school.

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A reader in Georgia submits:

American Independence Won In The South

by SCV Commander James King

In snow shoe mouth deep they came that 27th day of September 1780, a long column of mounted riflemen full of wrath and anger. The long slender rifles of the frontier (aka Flintlock American Long Rifle, Pennsylvania Rifle, Kentucky Rifle) were balanced across their saddles and knives strapped on their belts. They were "Over Mountain Men" from western North Carolina in the area that would later become northeast Tennessee in 1796. Several years earlier they had formed little settlements along the Watauga, Holston, and Nolichunky rivers on the western side of the Appalachian mountains.

The Revolutionary War for American Independence had not affected them until earlier in this year and due to their remote location they were virtually independent of British and American government. But the war in the north which had been ongoing since 1775 had been fought to a stalemate. Now England had decided upon a Southern Strategy and the war moved from the north to the south. Georgia, the youngest and weakest of the 13 American colonies had fallen to the British with the capture of Savannah on Dec. 29,1778. The British and their loyalist American Tory forces had moved into South Carolina and American Continentals and Whig militia patriots had suffered devastating defeats at Charleston, Waxhaws, and Camden.

British Major Patrick Ferguson had been ordered by British General Charles Cornwallis to invade the South Carolina back country between the Catawba and Saluda rivers and recruit Loyalists and suppress Whig Patriots. Within days of his invasion of the Carolina up country Ferguson had recruited many Loyalist Tory British sympathizers and had began to hunt down and punish Whig Patriots. During the summer of 1780 "Over Mountain Men" militia had swept eastward and engaged Ferguson and his Loyalist Tories in fierce little engagements at Woffords Iron Works, Musgrove's Mill, Thicketty Fort, and Cedar Springs. Now they had recrossed the mountains back to their homes planning to resume resistance at a later time.

Ferguson made a decision that would prove fatal to him and his Loyalists. He paroled a Whig prisoner and sent him inform Col. Isaac Shelby whom he considered the titular head of the "Over Mountain Men" or "Back Water Men" informing them that if they did not cease resistance to the British Crown that he would cross the mountains and hang the leaders, burn their houses, and lay waste to the area with "fire and sword". Col. Shelby met with Col.John Sevier (Nolichunky Jack) and a meeting of the mountain men took place at Sycamore Shoals on the Watauga river. A decision was made to carry the battle to Ferguson and it was to be a fight to the finish. They rode eastward, a column of about 450 men, and were joined by North Carolina, Virginia, South Carolina and Georgia militia and now numbered over 1000.

Ferguson and his 1100 Loyalist Tories took up a position on top of King's Mountain on the NC. and SC. line. The Patriot army had selected 900 of the best rifleman and best horses. All through the night they advanced toward King's Mountain and at 3 PM on October 7 they totally surprised the Loyalists. The Colonels on horseback horseshoed around the mountain and led the men fighting tree to tree to the top. Ferguson was killed and the battle was a total Patriot victory.

Then at Cowpens South Carolina on Jan.17,1781 General Daniel Morgan and American Patriots defeated British Col..Banastre Tarlton. The victories of these two battles caused a British retreat to North Carolina where the American army engaged and bloodied them severely at Guilford Courthouse. With the help of the French fleet this led to surrender by the British at Yorktown Virginia on Oct. 19, 1781. On Sept. 3, 1783 England granted Independence to each of the 13 sovereign American colonies.

James W. King

Commander SCV Camp 141

A reader in Montana submits: 

A Tribute To America's Patriot Pastors And Stalwart Statesmen

By Chuck Baldwin

In honor of Independence Day, I want to devote this column to the brave men of Colonial America who were most responsible for our country's successful separation from Great Britain: namely, the patriot pastors and stalwart statesmen of 1775 and 1776. It was the pulpit as much as the politician and soldier that birthed this great country. Without the Black Regiment--the mostly Protestant pulpits of Colonial America--there would never have been a Lexington Green, Concord Bridge, or Bunker Hill. Of course, the moniker "Black Regiment" or "Black Robed Regiment" was given by the British Crown, which demonstrated how important and effective the Crown believed the pulpits of Colonial America were to the cause of independence.

The names John Witherspoon, John Leland, Jonathan Mayhew, Isaac Backus, Samuel Cooper, and Ebenezer Baldwin are as important to the success of the American Revolution as are the names of Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Josiah Quincy, Dr. Joseph Warren, John Hancock, and Richard Henry Lee.

On the occasion of our celebration of Independence Day this week, I want to honor these great men by sharing with readers some examples of their nobility and sacrifice.

Patriot Pastors

James Caldwell

James Caldwell was called the "Rebel High Priest" or the "Fighting Chaplain." Caldwell is most famous for the "Give 'em Watts!" story.

During the Springfield (New Jersey) engagement, the Colonial militia ran out of wadding for their muskets. Quickly, Caldwell galloped to the Presbyterian church, and, returning with an armload of hymnals, he threw them to the ground and hollered, "Now, boys, give 'em Watts!" He was referring to the famous hymn writer, Isaac Watts, of course.

American Tories burned Caldwell's house and church. He and his wife Hannah then moved to a farm house about four miles away. British troops murdered Hannah in the farm house as she sat with her children on her bed. They then burned down the farm house in an attempt to cover up their murder of Mrs. Caldwell. Later, a fellow American was bribed by the British to assassinate Pastor Caldwell--which is exactly what he did. No less than three cities, two public schools, and an entire school district in the State of New Jersey bear his name.

John Peter Muhlenberg

John Peter Muhlenberg was pastor of a Lutheran church in Woodstock, Virginia, when hostilities erupted between Great Britain and the American colonies. When news of Bunker Hill reached Virginia, Muhlenberg preached a sermon from Ecclesiastes 3 to his congregation. He reminded his parishioners that there was a time to preach and a time to fight. He said that for him the time to preach was past and it was time to fight. He then threw off his vestments and stood before his congregants in the uniform of a Virginia colonel.

Muhlenberg later was promoted to brigadier general in the Continental Army and later to major general. He participated in the battles of Brandywine, Germantown, Monmouth, and Yorktown. He went on to serve in both the US House of Representatives and US Senate.

Joab Houghton

Joab Houghton was a Christian attorney and judge and also a lay preacher at the Hopewell [New Jersey] Baptist Meeting House. Colonel Houghton was in the Meeting House at worship when he received the first information of Concord and Lexington. His great-grandson gives the following eloquent description of the way he treated the tidings:

"[M]ounting the great stone block in front of the meeting-house, he beckoned the people to stop. Men and women paused to hear, curious to know what so unusual a sequel to the service of the day could mean. At the first words a silence, stern as death, fell over all. The Sabbath quiet of the hour and of the place was deepened into a terrible solemnity. He told them all the story of the cowardly murder at Lexington by the royal troops; the heroic vengeance following hard upon it; the retreat of Percy; the gathering of the children of the Pilgrims round the beleaguered hills of Boston: then pausing, and looking over the silent throng, he said slowly: 'Men of New Jersey, the red coats are murdering our brethren of New England! Who follows me to Boston?' and every man in that audience stepped out of line, and answered, 'I!' There was not a coward or a traitor in old Hopewell Baptist Meeting-house that day." (William Cathcart, D.D., Baptists and the American Revolution, Second Edition, S.A. George & Co., Philadelphia, 1876, pp. 56-57)

Jonas Clark

Jonas Clark was pastor of the Church of Lexington, Massachusetts, on April 19, 1775, the day that British troops marched on Concord with orders to arrest Sam Adams and John Hancock and to seize a cache of firearms. It was Pastor Clark's male congregants who were the first ones to face off against the British troops as they marched through Lexington on their way to Concord. When you hear the story of the Minutemen at the Battle of Lexington, remember those Minutemen were Pastor Jonas Clark and the brave men of his congregation.

On the one year anniversary of the Battle of Lexington (April 19, 1776), Clark preached a sermon based upon his eyewitness testimony of the event. He called his sermon "The Fate of Blood-Thirsty Oppressors and God's Tender Care of His Distressed People."

On Sunday, April 19, 2015, I delivered this famous message by Jonas Clark to my folks at Liberty Fellowship. This message was delivered word-for-word as preached by Pastor Clark. I invite readers to watch this message. And when you do, you will see the kind of preaching Colonial pastors delivered to their congregations, and you will understand how the American colonists were spiritually and morally prepared to fight the War of Independence. You will also realize that it is the absence of this kind of preaching that is directly causing America's current plight.

Of course, these four brave preachers were not the only ones to participate in America's fight for independence. There were Episcopalian ministers such as Dr. Samuel Provoost of New York, Dr. John Croes of New Jersey, and Robert Smith of South Carolina. Presbyterian ministers such as Adam Boyd of North Carolina and James Armstrong of Maryland, along with many others, also took part.

So many Baptist preachers participated in America's War for Independence that at the conclusion of the war President George Washington wrote a personal letter to the Baptist people saying, "I recollect with satisfaction that the religious Society of which you are Members, have been, throughout America, uniformly, and almost unanimously, the firm friends to civil liberty, and the preserving Promoters of our glorious revolution." It also explains how Thomas Jefferson could write on April 13, 1809, to Albemarle Buckmountain Baptist Church in Virginia and say, "We have acted together from the origin to the end of a memorable Revolution."

Without question, the courageous preaching and example of Colonial America's patriot pastors provided the colonists with the inspiration and resolve to resist the tyranny of the Crown and win America's freedom and independence.

I invite readers to visit my Black Regiment web page to learn more about my attempt to resurrect America's Black Robed Regiment. Go to:

The Black Regiment

This is the fighting heritage of America's pastors and preachers. So, what has happened? What has happened to that fighting spirit that once existed, almost universally, throughout America's Christian denominations? How have preachers become so timid, so shy, and so cowardly that they will stand apathetic and mute as America faces the destruction of its liberties? Where are the preachers today to explain, expound, and extrapolate the principles of liberty from Holy Writ?

Stalwart Statesmen

George Washington

Called the "Father of His Country," George Washington was perhaps the most important man of the founding era. Supernaturally spared during the Indian wars, Washington became the military leader who held the Continental Army together when it was virtually impossible for any man to do so. Without his leadership at Valley Forge and elsewhere, there is absolutely no doubt that the Continental Army would have fallen apart and the fight for independence would have been lost.

Equally significant is the leadership that George Washington demonstrated in the Continental Congress. Without question, Washington was the glue that held the political bodies of the colonies together. Then, add the fact that George Washington was America's first President (whose leadership solidified the colonies into a new United States), and his value to the cause of American independence cannot be in any way overstated.

Think of it: George Washington was the commander-in-chief of the Continental Army. And he led that inferior army to victory over the greatest military force in the world at the time: Great Britain. Afterward, Washington rebuffed a strong effort to inaugurate him as America's king and led the fledgling nation to embrace republican government instead. Washington presided over the Constitutional Convention that drafted the US Constitution. He was America's first President. Washington's Farewell Address formed the compass and rudder of America for at least the next 75 years; and in many respects, its influence is felt even today. In my opinion, this address is the greatest political dissertation ever submitted to the American people.

Thomas Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of America's birth certificate: the Declaration of Independence. In my mind, there is no greater document of liberty ever written by man. When it came to the understanding of human rights, individual liberty, states' rights, and enlightenment philosophy, Jefferson had no peer.

President John F. Kennedy once held a dinner at the White House for a group of the brightest minds in the nation at that time. He made this statement: "I think this is the most extraordinary collection of talent, of human knowledge, that has ever been gathered together at the White House, with the possible exception of when Thomas Jefferson dined alone." He was probably right.

Jefferson served in the Continental Congress; he was the first Secretary of State; he was the third President of the United States; he commissioned the Lewis and Clark expedition; he was the author of the Virginia Statute For Religious Freedom, which is regarded as one of the greatest declarations of religious liberty ever written; he could speak and read six languages; he knew and influenced virtually every man who would be regarded as a Founding Father today; and he wrote over 18,000 personal letters. Had not the British burned much of it in the War of 1812, his library would probably go down as the greatest personal collection of literary works ever collected by one man.

Patrick Henry

Patrick Henry was the colonies' most ardent advocate of liberty--bar none. In oratorical genius, he has never had an equal. Henry was a farmer and lawyer, a devoted father of 17 children, and five-term governor of Virginia. Henry was the first Founding Father to defy British taxes and, in so doing, was the first who was willing to risk death as a traitor.

Patrick Henry's immortal speech at St. John's Church in Richmond to a gathering of the Virginia legislators in 1775 is regarded yet today as the most influential speech ever delivered on American soil. Probably more people are acquainted with that "Give Me Liberty, Or Give Me Death!" speech than any other public address ever delivered.

Henry's contribution to the War for Independence cannot be overestimated. As Governor of Virginia (the richest and most populated of the 13 colonies), he supplied the largest share of arms and munitions to the outnumbered and poorly provisioned Continental Army. It was also Patrick Henry and his fellow Anti-Federalists who were primarily responsible for the Bill of Rights being added to the Constitution.

Samuel Adams

Samuel Adams is rightly called the "Father of the American Revolution." He was a cousin to President John Adams and a graduate of Harvard. He was perhaps the most influential member of the Massachusetts State legislature. He succeeded John Hancock as Governor of Massachusetts. He was a delegate to the Continental Congress and a signer of the Declaration of Independence. He, along with men such as Dr. Joseph Warren, Patrick Henry, Thomas Jefferson, Richard Henry Lee, and Josiah Quincy, Jr., created the "Committees of Correspondence," which became the principal conduit of articles and letters of pro-revolution, pro-liberty, and pro-independence communication between the colonies. Adams was also very influential in the now famous Boston Tea Party.

Sam Adams was so hated by the British government that they used military force to try and apprehend him, which led to both the Boston Massacre on March 5, 1770, and the "Shot Heard 'Round The World" at Lexington Green and Concord Bridge on April 19, 1775.

James Madison

James Madison is properly called the "Father of The US Constitution." He was the fourth President of the United States and was the principal author of the Bill of Rights. Madison authored more than a third of the Federalist Papers. Thomas Jefferson referred to the Federalist Papers as "the best commentary on the principles of government, which ever was written." Madison served as US Representative from Virginia and as Secretary of State under Jefferson. George Washington considered Madison to be the preeminent authority on the US Constitution in the entire country.

Madison was a fervent proponent of the principle of divided power. He believed government (especially the federal government) could not be trusted with too much power and worked to ensure the separation of powers within the federal government. He also was a major proponent of states' rights and sovereignty. Madison broke with Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton over Hamilton's promotion of the State Bank and (together with Thomas Jefferson) formed what became known as the Democratic-Republican Party. Madison also co-authored with Jefferson two of the most prominent documents of liberty: the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions.

I trust and pray that each of us will reacquaint ourselves with the principles upon which the Declaration of Independence was written and upon which the United States of America was founded. And while we are doing that, let's be sure we are passing these principles on to our children and grandchildren.

And then, more importantly, click this link to our website:

www.dixieheritage.net

When you are there request a free copy of my book The Truth About the Confederate Battle Flag. When you do, not only will you receive a copy of the book - you will also be subscribed to receive the weekly Dixie Heritage Letter by eMail. This will ensure that you never miss an issue. 

Until Next Week,

Deo Vindice!

Chaplain Ed