Have a GLORIOUS Independence Day!

[subdjoe]

To all my friends here, and even if we go at it hammer and tongs - and we will at some point, I see all of you as friends. Have a joyous, Glorious, and safe Independence Day.

Even with our problems, and we do have a lot, this Republic is the best nation that has existed. The personal freedoms, the freedom of expression, of movement, and of worship is unequalled.

John Adams wrote to his dear wife, Abigail: “I believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival… it ought to be celebrated by pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires and illuminations from one end of this continent to the other…”

So, to those who decry these things, saying that we are forgetting the True Meaning – A fig upon you! Ditto to those who wish to take our guns, fireworks (illuminations), and bonfires.

Joe

Justice Robert H. Jackson – It is not the function of the government to keep the citizen from falling into error; it is the function of the citizen to keep the government from falling into error.

[SouthernByGrace]

Ditto Joe...


HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMERICA !!!


SBG

[Ga.windbreak]

Amen, Brothers, AMEN!

[subdjoe]

Last year as I was driving from CA back to Gettysburg for the big reeactment, on one of those long stretches of I-80 I got to thinking about how short our national history is. 

When I was growing up my dad was very active in the VFW, and I went to a lot of work parties etc with him.  One of the gentlemen in the post was a Span-Am War vet.  Likely his father had been in the War Against Souther Independence, and if not his father, then his grandfather. There is a good chance that that man knew someone who had fought in the Revolution.  So the span of 4 or 5 lifetimes encompasses our national history. 

For such a young Republic, we have done a lot.

[Oldtimer]

I'll be sitting on my older daughter's deck on Signal Hill in Manassas, Va, in the company of an old Marine, enjoying the day and watching two fireworks displays at once!  We saw the Washington Nationals get beat by the Atlanta Braves last night, and my wife reminded me that nearly 30 years ago, we saw the Braves win in Atlanta on another 4th of July.

[SouthernByGrace]

Joe, you are so very right. Others here already know, but since you're new I'll just repeat it. I am only 43 years old but I am only 3 generations removed from the war. My father was born in 1940, his father (my grandfather) was born in 1876 (he was 64 when my dad was born  ), and his father (my great grandfather) was born in 1842, which made him 19 when the war broke out. Other people my age are about 5 or 6 generations removed from the war. I graduated high school with a guy who is 8 generations removed... so we do indeed have a short history.

I consider myself extremely lucky, in that with the help of a first cousin, we have our family history traced (documented) back to the year 1140. In our research, we gave up on looking for more ancestors who fought for the Confederacy after we got to 49! To say the least, I had no trouble at all joining the SCV. 
Others who were already members got "irritated" when all I had to do is turn to one of 17 pages in the state's Confederate Veteran (ancestry) book and pick any name on any page to show my qualification to join. It took one member 2 1/2 years to find a single ancestor to be able to join.

To top all this off, I was born on the 100th anniversary of Confederate Memorial Day! 


SBG

DEO VINDICE 

[subdjoe]

I only have about 9 years on you, SBG.  And Mr. Miller was quite old when I knew him.  But still, not that many handshakes removed from 1776.

I've dug up, or my wife has anyway, about a dozen who wore the grey.  Most in various VA infantry, one in VA cav, there may be some from KY, but we can't nail it down.  And, there may be one who was in the Norfolk Light Artillery Blues.  There is that maddening gap in the census records - 1880 I think it is - from them being destroyed in a warehouse fire.  If we had that we could maybe bridge the gap. 

[SouthernByGrace]

Yeah, that's the frustrating part. As well kept as some of the records are from that time, it always seems like the section you're looking for is illegible or missing, almost like they were expecting you to come-a-lookin...

When Sherman came through Georgia, two of my great uncles had been injured in Virginia and were disabled from any sort of fighting. They were both at home, one in bed sick from infection from his wounds, and Sherman's men literally kidnapped them both. They were no longer part of the military. They were on the last 90 mile stretch of the "March to The Sea" and when they arrived in Savannah, Sherman had them both sent to Point Lookout POW Camp. One died on the way and the other survived and returned home after the war.
They had two (very) younger brothers (one was my great grandpa) who were also in Virginia at the same time. My Great Grandfather was at Fredricksburg during the seige and the other was killed at the Battle of the Wilderness. My great grandfather was with Lee's army at Appomattox during the surrender. He was close enough he could see the McLain house (the actual house where the surrender was signed) and wrote in a journal he kept that he saw General Lee go in and come out and was amazed that the Yankees saluted General Lee. He didn't know he had surrendered until Lee rode out to the men and told them.
The records are out there. Don't give up looking. I was just lucky to have ancestors who kept journals and letters, etc.

SBG

[subdjoe]

I think my people were the type who had to make their mark and have it witnessed, which was all too common back then.

That is one heck of a family history you have there.  Good that your ancestors wrote the journal AND the family kept it intact.  So many of them have been lost or destroyed.  All the letters that go tossed "when grand dad died" not knowing what a treasure they were throwing out (likely tired of hearing the old geezer tell, and retell, the stories).

Another problem I have is with the names.  We don't have any good family records, so have to rely on the census.  But it seems that for two or three generations George, Jefferson, and Charles were used in some combination for all the males. Big families too.  Is the Jeff that shows up on one census the same as the G. Jefferson that shows up on the next?  Or is it the Jefferson C. that is next door?  Big families, similar names, and everyone staying in the same area tend to muddle things up.  Heck, until just before he died, I didn't know my dad had a middle name.  It wasn't on his drivers license, and he never used it.  It wasn't even on his USMC discharge papers.  His generation seems to have been named not in the George, Jefferson, Charles mode - Tully, Tennyson, Delbert, Alonzo, Juanita - where did these back woods Kentuckians come up with those names?  And, yes, at the time "back woods" is a good description of where he was raised (a few miles from the Great Saltpeter Cave).   

[Gary G]

Two hundred thirty-three years ago we declared independence form the tyrannical and repressive government of King George. What did King George do that was so tyrannical and repressive? He taxed the people in about every way he could and imprisoned them if they did not pay. Then, for a while we were free from such repression. What happened???


LOL, we had a kinfolk tea party at my house in Alabama!!!!!! and bbq ed ribs and butts after paying sales tax with money left over after income tax. At least I didn't have to pay gasoline tax to get here, but did have to pay property tax.