Balladeer’s Blog wishes a happy birthday to the USA! What happened in early July of 1776 certainly needs no rehashing so in keeping with my blog’s theme of addressing more out of the way subjects this post will examine various events that took place on other July 4ths throughout American history.
JULY 4TH, 1778 – George Rogers Clark led his rebel forces in taking the British stronghold of Kaskaskia, near the confluence of the Mississippi and Kaskaskia Rivers. Clark and his Rangers were on a mission for then-Virginia Governor Patrick Henry.
JULY 4TH, 1783 – The Massachusetts Supreme Court is finalizing its written decision holding that slavery has been illegal in the state since adoption of the Massachusetts Declaration of Rights in 1780. Continue reading
CASIMIR PULASKI (1747-1779) -Obviously from my last name I’m Polish-American and therefore grew up immersed in the role played by Casimir Pulaski and Tadeusz Kosciuszko in America’s War of Independence. I’m often surprised by how comparatively unknown they are to the public at large, so in keeping with Balladeer’s Blog’s theme here’s a look at Pulaski. I’ll cover Kosciuszko separately. 
The war never became as romanticized as the later Greek War of Independence from the Ottoman Turks, but the conflict drew attention to Russian totalitarianism and to the abilities of Polish officers like Casimir Pulaski. In fact, it took an invasion by Russian-allied Austria and Prussia to help Russia put down the rebellion in 1772. 
Franklin was impressed with what he could learn about Pulaski and sent him on to America with a letter of introduction to George Washington. Franklin described the Pole as “an officer famous throughout Europe for his bravery and conduct in defence of the liberties of his country against the three great invading powers of Russia, Austria and Prussia … may be highly useful to our service.”
It may be my fondness for mythology that makes me love to watch particular movies around particular holidays. I say that because many of the well- known myths were recited on ancient holidays when their subject matter was relevant to those festivities. The stories helped accentuate the meaning of the special events and that’s the reason I love holiday-themed movies. 
The 4th of July is fast approaching, so Balladeer’s Blog will be squeezing in a few more holiday-themed posts up til then. In the past I’ve examined Revolutionary War privateers like John Haraden and Silas Talbot. This time around I’ll take a look at the controversial Luke Ryan. 
Some of Ryan’s crew didn’t like the way the spoils were divided from this extracurricular activity and informed the authorities about Luke’s smuggling offense. The Friendship was seized and hauled to Poolbeg and all crew members on board were arrested, then thrown into Black Dog Gaol. This happened on the night of April 11th into 12th. 
COMMANDO CODY: SKY MARSHAL OF THE UNIVERSE (1953) – This will be a comprehensive look at the winding saga of Commando Cody, the character’s changing names and his status as the inspiration for the much later Rocketeer figure. As a quick preface to this look at the short-lived half-hour television series Commando Cody: Sky Marshal of the Universe I will recap the three Republic serials that preceded it. 
King of the Rocket Men (1949) – This 12-episode serial was directed by Fred C. Brannon and written by Royal K. Cole, William Lively & Sol Shor. An organization called Science Associates finds its major scientists being killed off one by one through the efforts of a mysterious villain calling himself Dr. Vulcan. 
With Dr. Millard playing dead, Jeffrey King dons the experimental rocket pack invented by Millard and takes to the air. King, the title “King” of course, also arms himself with a ray-gun pistol that he and Millard developed together. To keep his identity a secret, Jeffrey wears a helmet that conceals his face in addition to providing protection. 
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