Little Things Can Change the World

We return to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania for a very important stop! On the last stage of our virtual tour we remembered the pivotal battle at Trenton, New Jersey. We contemplated the inspiring words of George Washington as he motivated his exhausted, cold, and hungry troops. In addition to the strength of Washington and the courage of his men, there are other elements that made that victory possible. Today we will think of the little actions of a young widow that played a very important part.

Thomas Bond House B & B, picture from their website.

We are staying at the Thomas Bond House Bed and Breakfast.

Today, the carefully restored town house warmly welcomes its guests, with an ambiance of colonial charm. Stay in rooms carefully restored to the18th Century Federal Period. The Charming parlor invites guests to come in and relax and enjoy the ambiance and the company of other guests. ~quote from Thomas Bond House website

In addition to the sites we visited on our last stop in Philadelphia, we find that we are within walking distance of fine restaurants, theaters, museums, world-class shopping and the internationally acclaimed Academy of Music and Philadelphia Orchestra.

But we have come here for the Betsy Ross house and our hotel is only a few blocks away. You can take an awesome virtual tour from home.

Picture courtesy of ushistory.org

We’ve all heard the story about Betsy Ross sewing the first American flag.

“Sitting sewing in her shop one day with her girls around her, several gentlemen entered. She recognized one of these as the uncle of her deceased husband, Col. George Ross, a delegate from Pennsylvania to Congress. She also knew the handsome form and features of the dignified, yet graceful and polite Commander in Chief, who, while he was yet Colonel Washington had visited her shop both professionally and socially many times, (a friendship caused by her connection with the Ross family) they announced themselves as a committee of congress, and stated that they had been appointed to prepare a flag, and asked her if she thought she could make one, to which she replied, with her usual modesty and self-reliance, that “she did not know but she could try; she had never made one but if the pattern were shown to her she had not doubt of her ability to do it.”

This story is based on the testimony of Betsy’s grandson. He also said that Ross suggested they change the star to a five-pointed star. The committee members thought it looked too difficult but she said:

 “Nothing easier” was her prompt reply and folding a piece of paper in the proper manner, with one clip of her ready scissors she quickly displayed to their astonished vision the five pointed star; which accordingly took its place in the national standard.

Try it and see what you think. Here are instructions for making the five-pointed star.

Let’s take a look at Betsy Ross…

Born in 1752, she was the eighth of seventeen children. No, that’s not a typo. Only nine of the children survived childhood, so you can imagine the grief this family lived with. She grew up under the strict discipline of the Society of Friends (Quakers) and learned to sew at an early age.

After attending public school, her father apprenticed her to an upholsterer. She fell in love with fellow apprentice John Ross (nephew of George Ross Jr. who signed the Declaration of Independence). In 1773, they eloped. John was an Anglican, so her family expelled her from the Quaker congregation. The young couple started their own upholstery business. Two years later, the American Revolutionary War broke out and John, a member of the Pennsylvania Provincial Militia, was killed by a gunpowder explosion.

Twenty-four-year-old Betsy did not give in to grief or give up on her goals. She continued running the upholstery business. And she did something even more courageous. She worked secretly doing little things, helping American soldiers by repairing uniforms, making tents and blankest, and stuffing paper tube cartridges with musket balls. Can you imagine if a British soldier caught her doing all this?

The contribution of women during the Revolutionary war was significant, although often overlooked. Because men assumed they could not grasp the complexities of wary, they often spoke freely around them. This made women great spies! They also supported the cause by nursing injured soldiers, providing supplies and–like Betsy Ross–creating much needed ammunition.

“Carl Aemil Ulrich von Donop (1732-1777)” by ANKAWÜ on Wikimedia Commons

Some have speculated that Betsy Ross had another important role to play in our country’s battle for independence. While George Washington was rousing his men to cross the icy Delaware River and conquer the Hessians in Trenton, New Jersey, a beautiful young widow was detaining Hessian Colonel Carl von Donup in Mount Holly. Colonel Donup chose to remain in the company of this young widow for three days instead of traveling to Bordentown, with all his soldiers, as his officers wanted him to do. If he had taken the advice of his officers, the outcome of the Battle of Trenton would be much different. George Washington and his men would’ve been greatly outnumbered and may not have claimed the victory.

Distracting the Hessian Colonel was just a little thing. But we owe some credit to this young widow who kept Donup out of the game!  

Women in the early years of our country did many great and many little things that changed the course of history. Women today have the opportunity to do little things that can influence the direction of families, our country, even the world.

We stop at the City Tavern for dinner and I consider my own contributions, the contributions of my mother and my female friends. Women make great representatives in government, teachers, doctors, nurses, engineers, or company presidents…whatever a person is called to. But I believe the most awesome vocation is motherhood. Sometimes the impression is given that this is an inferior vocation because it revolves around endless days of hard work and little things.

I am a stay-at-home, home-schooling mom. I don’t do anything big that will be recorded in history. But I do something important to the future by caring for my family and raising my boys the best I can. Love, sacrifices, hard work, encouragement, and counsel.

Little things can change the world!

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Freedom is not Free

Bryant, William Cullen and Sydney Howard Gay. A Popular History of the United States. New York: Charles Scribners’ Sons, 1881.

I can’t believe June is almost over. This summer is flying way too fast.

Since we are getting so close to the Fourth of July, the next stop on our virtual tour needs to be Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the birthplace of the Declaration of Independence and our Constitution!

And because it’s a virtual tour, money is no object, so we are staying at the beautiful Omni Hotel at Independence Park!

Pictures from their website.

A classic combination of Old-World elegance and New-World charm, Omni Hotel at Independence Park offers the best in luxurious accommodations to business and leisure travelers alike. Footsteps away from American history in the heart of downtown Philadelphia, Omni Hotel at Independence Park is the perfect retreat during your stay in one of America’s most storied cities.       ~quote from Omni’s website

And now we are off to Independence Hall!

McCabe, James D. The Pictorial History of the United States. Philadelphia: The National Publishing Company, 1877.

This is where it all happened. I can almost see all the men in their waistcoats and breeches, sitting and standing in this place. One or two with a white powdered wig–how ever did that become a custom?

Anyway. Once the American colonies were “all in” for the war with Great Britain, it was time for Congress to consider independence.

June 7, 1776, Virginia delegate Richard Henry Lee stood up and offered the resolution “that these United Colonies are and of right ought to be free and independent States.”

A heated debate ensued, with delegates on both sides of the issue. Several wanted to wait to hear the “voice of the people.” Others thought “the people wait for us to lead the way.”

Meanwhile, a committee of five men sat down to draft a declaration of independence: John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Robert Livingston, Roger Sherman, and, of course, Thomas Jefferson, the one who penned the document.

morguefile.com kconnors

So Jefferson took out his pen and began to write…

IN CONGRESS, July 4, 1776.

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America,

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

Inside Independence Hall, morguefile.com Kconnors

July 1, 1776, the document was submitted to Congress. Again, a heated, nine-hour discussion broke out. The document was revised and revised again. The final document declared that the rights of all come from “nature and nature’s God,” not from government. It further proclaimed the universal principles that we now hold dear….

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

The document also said that the people had the right to overthrow a government that no longer protected these natural rights.

–That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, –That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. … But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.

The list of grievances the early Americans had against the king followed.

Finally, the declaration ends with the stirring line:

And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.

Once the declaration was accepted, it was formally read to the American soldiers and the public. They greeted this declaration with enthusiasm, with bonfires and the tolling of bells, with thirteen toasts and the firing of thirteen cannons, with processions around Liberty Poles and cheers.

morguefile.com kconnors

We pause to look at the Liberty Bell which bears a timeless message: “Proclaim Liberty Throughout All the Land Unto All the Inhabitants thereof.”

The foundation for the American republic had been built. Several difficult years of fighting would follow. But America was destined to gain their independence.

Happy Fourth of July to you and yours! Let us continue to rely on the protection of Divine Providence. And also thank all those who have prayed, worked and fought for our independence and for those who continue to pray, work and fight to protect it. Freedom comes at a cost.

morguefile.com jdurham

The Shot Heard Round the World

I am excited for this next stage of our virtual tour because we are going to a place and learning about a battle that I researched when writing Testing Liberty. You may wonder what an event from the past has to do with a book set in the future. Everything!

Sneak peek of Testing Liberty. This scene takes place in the virtual reality of a 3D game. Note: this book has not been through editing yet so this scene may change.

I am a firm believer that we can find answers for today’s problems by looking into our past. What can a person do to make a difference in their country? When it seems like forces are at work to re-make America, what can a person do to help steer their country back on course?

Early Americans–a scruffy bunch of unorganized farmers and ordinary people, spread out over the entire East coast–contended with the most formidable power in the world! How did they do it?

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North Bridge Inn Bed and Breakfast, pictures from their website, used with permission.

We check in, virtually, to the North Bridge Inn, a bed and breakfast that is between our two points of interest: Concord and Lexington!

“We had a wonderfully peaceful stay here at the North Bridge Inn.
The towns of Concord and Lexington are quaint and friendly.
The Inn is a lovely retreat in a beautiful, historic town.” – Anna & Ross, Los Angeles, CA

Built in 1885 and renovated in 1998, this inn is one of the most popular Bed and Breakfasts Inns in Concord, MA. Our room, the Alcott Suite, is so inviting that we want to stay and relax, but we have some exploring to do!

The Lexington Historical Society offers us a suggested itinerary, which we like but have to customize to fit our family’s needs.

We visit a museum and several buildings actually built in the 18^th century: the Hancock-Clarke House, Buckman Tavern, and Munroe Tavern. The Old Belfry is an exact replica of the original which a gale destroyed in 1909.

After shuffling through one building after another, watching informative videos, and listening to our guides, we’ve learned a lot. But the boys are ready to stretch their legs, so we head for the Lexington Green.

Pratt, Mara L. American’s Story for America’s Children: The Early Colonies. Boston: D.C. Heath & Company, 1901.

The first battle of the American Revolution took place here, April 19, 1775. A guide in colonial-period costume gives us a tour of the historical markers and monuments and shares history:

Tired of the taxes and unjust treatment by Britain, the Patriots began to act as a unit, rather than as 13 individual colonies. They gathered military supplies and hid them at Concord. Then they secretly trained and organized companies of men into local militia.

These were the Minute Men – soldiers ready to fight at a minute’s notice.

Butterworth (2), Hezekia. The Story of America. New York: The Werner Company, 1898

When the British learned of these measures, they sent soldiers from Boston to Concord to capture their supplies. But the Americans had been watching . . .

Paul Revere, in particular had been watching. He was a messenger who kept a close eye on British activity in Boston. Noticing suspicious activity, he set off to warn the residents of Concord. “The British are coming!”

While the residents hid their stores of weapons, Paul Revere returned to Boston and met with Patriot leaders. Our guide reminds us of the signal of the lantern in the belfry tower of the old North Church. This signal gave the Patriots a heads-up.

He said to his friend, “If the British march
By land or sea from the town to-night,
Hang a lantern aloft in the belfry arch
Of the North Church tower as a signal light,–
One if by land, and two if by sea;
And I on the opposite shore will be,
Ready to ride and spread the alarm
Through every Middlesex village and farm,
For the country folk to be up and to arm.”

Minute Men hurried to their secret meeting places and readied themselves. As the sun crested the horizon in Lexington, 250 Redcoats approached, their armor glistening in the morning light. 77 Patriots, determined to fight for their country, stood ready for battle.

“If they mean to have war,” Captain John Parker said to his Minute Men, “let it begin here.”

No one knows which side fired the first shot, “the shot heard round the world,” but the fight for freedom had begun. This battle ended quickly, leaving eight Patriots dead and ten wounded, the British suffering no losses. Unless you count Pitcairn’s horse.

Feeling triumphant, the British regulars proceeded on to Concord to search for supplies. Four hundred Minute Men guarded the bridge to Concord. Every farmer, every man and boy who could use a rifle, had come out to do his part. Surprised at the Americans’ resistance, the British fled. My favorite stanza of the poem follows:

You know the rest. In the books you have read
How the British Regulars fired and fled,—
How the farmers gave them ball for ball,
From behind each fence and farmyard wall,
Chasing the redcoats down the lane,
Then crossing the fields to emerge again
Under the trees at the turn of the road,
And only pausing to fire and load.

The Americans had badly beaten the British at Concord, giving hope to Patriots everywhere. Patriots came from all over Connecticut and Massachusetts. The Green Mountain Boys came from Vermont. These ragtag colonists, farmers and family men, came out to defend their country. They “committed themselves to war with the world’s most formidable empire.” ~America’s Beginnings by Tony Williams, pg. 99

“Through all our history, to the last,
In the hour of darkness and peril and need,
The people will waken and listen to hear
The hurrying hoof-beats of that steed,
And the midnight message of Paul Revere.”

~ the stanzas are all from “Paul Revere’s Ride” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

picture taken from their website

We’re feeling proud to be Americans, but we’re also wondering if we are again at an hour of darkness and need in our country. And we’re also hungry. So we stop at the Main Streets Cafe, where I get the Tavern Gumbo and Bill gets Seared Salmon and Super Greens Salad. The kids want pizza. Of course. I hope to find something gluten-free on the menu for my oldest.

“Life is good! Main Streets is an old-world meeting place with brick walls and wood floors that will transport you back in time.  It is a “Cheers” sort of atmosphere for the townspeople and a great find for all others.”

After a satisfying meal, we still have a few places we want to visit in this beautiful area of Massachusetts: the North Bridge, Minute Man National Historical Park, and Walden Pond.

Henry David Thoreau, the author, poet, philosopher, abolitionist, naturalist, tax resister, surveyor and historian, once settled down in a little cabin off Walden Pond. He wanted a place where he could concentrate and devote himself to writing. More than that, he said he “wished to live deliberately.”

We end this stage of our journey with a quote from Thoreau:

Henry David Thoreau’s Walden Pond, image from http://www.morguefile.com

“I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived. I did not wish to live what was not life, living is so dear; nor did I wish to practise resignation, unless it was quite necessary. I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life, to live so sturdily and Spartan-like as to put to rout all that was not life, to cut a broad swath and shave close, to drive life into a corner, and reduce it to its lowest terms, and, if it proved to be mean, why then to get the whole and genuine meanness of it, and publish its meanness to the world; or if it were sublime, to know it by experience, and be able to give a true account of it in my next excursion.”

— Henry David Thoreau, Walden, “Where I Lived, and What I Lived For