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.
JULY 4TH, 1788 – The Constitution of the United States is starting to come into full effect this calendar year, instituting the government we are still officially ruled by. First elections are scheduled for later in the year.
JULY 4TH, 1789 – Congress passes a tariff that taxes goods imported in American ships at a rate 10% lower than on goods imported in ships under foreign flags.
JULY 4TH, 1794 – The “Whiskey Rebellion” is underway in western Pennsylvania. Farmers protesting a federal tax on grain alcohol act against it by refusing to pay it and by tarring and feathering the revenue agents sent to collect the tax money. They also take to burning down the homes of revenue officials. The rebellion ends in November. Continue reading
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. 
*** In general, we are all familiar with the original 13 Colonies that broke away from England during the American Revolution. Because Maine is not named among those 13 colonies, some people are confused when it is mentioned as the location for various battles of the Revolutionary War. 
For the most part the silly conspiracy theories about the establishment of the United States are good only for laughs. One of my favorites, however, features a speech from a mysterious figure usually associated with Freemasons, Rosicrucians and/or the Bavarian Illuminati of Adam Weishaupt. 
“They (the British) may stretch our necks on all the gibbets in the land. They may turn every rock into a scaffold, every tree into a gallows, every home into a grave and yet the words of that parchment can never die!” 
APRIL 2nd – Off the coast of Delaware the British frigates HMS Perseus and HMS Roebuck spotted the South Carolina Navy’s schooner the USS Defense, captained by Thomas Pickering. Outnumbered, the Defense fled and the British vessels pursued her from roughly 6:00am to 1:00pm. 
THE SALAMANDER – The 4th of July is fast approaching! As another seasonal post Balladeer’s Blog examines the Revolutionary War career of Captain Jonathan Haraden, nicknamed the Salamander because of “his ability to withstand fire.” 
The Tyrannicide wasted no time, battling the HMS Dispatch on July 12th. The Dispatch boasted 20 cannons but after an hour & a half battle fell to Fisk and Haraden’s crew. The commerce raider towed this prize into Salem by July 17th and soon set out for more. 
MARCH 8th – Another encounter during the Great Forage War. American and British troops continued foraging for supplies throughout the New Jersey No Man’s Land. Near Amboy, NJ an unknown number of U.S. forces under General William Maxwell ambushed hundreds of British-Allied Hessian troops and captured 70 Hessians in the resulting fighting.
THE YOUNG REBELS (1970-1971) – With the 4th of July approaching, here’s another seasonal post. Harve Bennett himself was involved with this series that ran for 15 hour-long episodes. A group of young men and one young woman help fight for American Independence in 1777 Pennsylvania. 
THE SPY (1914) – This four-reel movie was based on the 1821 novel of the same name by THE James Fenimore Cooper. The story is set largely at a home in Scarsdale, New York as American Rebel families share feuds, intrigues and romances with British Loyalists. 
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