The Freedom Fighter

For over two hundred years one tyrant after another has disparaged his fighting skills and underestimated his resolve. He is both hated and feared by those who would seek to enslave others. Kings and dictators tried unsuccessfully to destroy his resolve to see freedom survive. But he stands firm. Sometimes he was hard-pressed. Sometimes he fought alone. Sometimes he died defending the indefensible. But he is still unbeaten on the field of battle and more important in his own mind. He has at times been unappreciated by some of his countrymen who forget the price he paid but always he stands as a hero in the hearts of those who love liberty everywhere. Today those who would desire to lead this country stand ready to disparage any of his actions.

It really began in 1776. King George demanded the New World support his government. The freedom fighter stood firm to establish freedom. Places like Bunker Hill, Valley Forge and Lexington come to mind. He took on the best Red Coats George could field and the mercenaries called Hessians, the best soldiers of that day. And he prevailed. And with him, freedom prevailed.

In 1812 he took up arms again against an oppressing foe. On Lake Erie he built ships under the threat of British attack and with those ships, built by amateur shipbuilders using green wood and against all odds, he took on and defeated the mighty British fleet, built and crewed by the best professionals of the day. At New Orleans under Jackson he routed a superior British Army. Maybe the tyrants would keep their armies at home he hoped as he trudged back to his family.

In 1861 a home-grown tyranny called the Confederacy reared its ugly head and he was called again. This time battlefields were ringed with cannon and ships with iron sides dueled without a winner. The names remain with us today, Sumpter, Shiloh, Vicksburg, Hampton Roads, and Gettysburg. At Sumpter he stood under terrible cannon fire and surrendered only after there was nothing to gain from further bloodshed. At Hampton Roads he stood in the turret of the most modern battleship afloat and exchanged shot with a ship many times as large. Although the battle was a draw, his presence caused the rebel ship to be scuttled ending the threat. At Gettysburg he stood under the heaviest cannonade to that time and repulsed the forces of slavery, fifteen thousand strong. And he as he returned home he hoped against hope that the smell of gunpowder would henceforth be carried only on the winds of the sporting fields. But it was not to be.