American History

“But if the Laws are to be so trampled upon—with impunity—and a minority (a small one too) is to dictate to the majority there is an end put, at one stroke, to republican government; and nothing but anarchy and confusion is to be expected thereafter; for some other man, or society, may dislike another Law & oppose it with equal propriety until all Laws are prostrate and every one (the strongest I presume) will carve for himself. Yet, there will be found persons I have no doubt, who although they may not be hardy enough to justify such open opposition to the Laws will, nevertheless, be opposed to coercion even if the proclamation and the other temperate measures which are in train by the Executive to avert the dire necessity of a resort to arms, should fail. How far such people may extend their influence—and what may be the consequences thereof is not easy to decide; but this we know, that it is not difficult by concealment of some facts, & the exageration of others, (where there is an influence) to biass [a] well-meaning mind—at least for a time—truth will ultimately prevail where pains is taken to bring it to light.” George Washington, Letter to Charles M. Thurston, August 10, 1794

Source: https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/05-16-02-0376

Compliments of George Washington Society, an educational 501(c)(3) non-profit. Your tax deductible contributions are appreciated: https://georgewashingtonsociety.org/

At just 14 years old, Goldsboro native Dan Bullock enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps. He lied to recruiters, telling them he was born Dec. 21, 1949 — four years earlier than his actual birth date in 1953. In 1969, at 15, Bullock became the youngest American serviceman to die in the Vietnam War.

According to his family, Bullock saw the Marines as a way to help his family and set the course for his future.

"He wanted to be a pilot at first, a policeman and then a Marine," Bullock's father, Brother Bullock, told reporters in 1969. "I told him over and over again that he could not do anything until he got some schooling. He said this was the quickest way to get an education."

Bullock's sister Gloria, who was 13 at the time, told reporters she believed her brother enlisted to help her get an education so she could help their father.

Bullock is buried in Elmwood Cemetery. His grave was unmarked for more than 31 years until famed talk show host Sally Jessy Raphael paid for the headstone that now marks his burial spot.

In 2017, Bullock was honored with a state highway historical marker, located in the 200 block of W. Ash Street.

"I am sure there never was a people, who had more reason to acknowledge a divine interposition in their affairs, than those of the United States; and I should be pained to believe that they have forgotten that agency, which was so often manifested during our Revolution, or that they failed to consider the omnipotence of that God who is alone able to protect them." George Washington, Letter to John Armstrong, March 11, 1792

Source: https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/05-10-02-0044

Compliments of George Washington Society, an educational 501(c)(3) non-profit. Your tax deductible contributions are appreciated: https://georgewashingtonsociety.org/

The Islamo-Fascist Threat to America When an enemy tells you who they are and their strategic objectives, you have two choices: reduce the threat or stupidly allow it to thrive.

ON THIS DAY November 17, in 1800, Congress convened in the still-under-construction Capitol Building in Washington, DC, for the first time. The Capitol Building would undergo several expansions over the years, eventually growing to 16.5 acres.

A bad storm had hit the east coast, making it difficult for some of the Congressmen to make it to Washington on time. When the Senate first met on that day, only 15 members were present – but 17 were required for the quorum. It was four days before enough Senators arrived to officially convene.

The Senate (north) wing was completed in 1800. The Senate and House shared quarters in the north wing until a temporary wooden pavilion was erected on the future site of the House wing which served for a few years for the Representatives to meet in, until the House of Representatives (south) wing was finally completed in 1811, with a covered wooden temporary walkway connecting the two wings with the Congressional chambers where the future center section with rotunda and dome would eventually be.

Work on the Capitol Building continued and was completed shortly before it was destroyed by the British during the War of 1812. 😳

Construction on the Capitol began again 1815 and new Senate and House chambers were completed in 1819. A center section, columned portico, and interior rotunda were completed in 1826.

However, by 1850, it became apparent that the Capitol couldn’t hold the increasing number of legislators from newly admitted states.

A design competition was held, and two new wings were added, with a new chamber for the House of Representatives on the south side and the Senate on the north. This expansion more than doubled the length of the Capitol, making its original dome look out of proportion, so a new dome was also added.

The Capitol underwent further changes in the years to come and was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1960. Its last extension was completed in 1962. The US Capitol Visitor Center opened in 2008.

Pictured is an 1800 portrait of the Capitol by William Russell Birch

Margaret Corbin is one of the women that is referred to as Molly Pitcher (a name given to women who brought water during battles.) it is said that Margaret Corbin took over a cannon at the Battle of Fort Washington when her husband was killed during the battle on November 16, 1776. She was wounded during the battle, and later received a pension from the government.

Here’s a Memorial to Margaret Corbin who fought during the Battle of Fort Washington ...it’s located in Manhattan near where Fort Washington once stood.

Learn Our History Today: On October 3, 1993, the Battle of Mogadishu, popularly referred to as “Black Hawk Down”, was fought in Mogadishu, Somalia, between U.S. Special Forces and Somali militia. The United States became involved in Somalia in 1992 as part of a U.N. peace keeping force tasked with ending the rampant famine and food shortage that was taking place in the country. An additional part of the mission was to end the constant violence between rival warlords and their militias.

The most powerful of the warlords was Mohamed Farrah Aidid. He and his militiamen were constantly attacking peacekeepers and stealing food meant for starving Somalis. U.S. Special Forces were quickly organized and formed into a task force with the objective of bringing the warlord to justice. This operation would be known as Gothic Serpent. To capture Adid, U.S. troops resolved to go after Aidid’s top lieutenants, who were easier to get to than Aidid himself. On October 3, a mission was launched to capture two of Aidid’s higher echelon men, who were attending a meeting in downtown Mogadishu.

The raid initially went off without a hitch, but when two Black Hawk Helicopters providing overwatch for the men on the ground were shot down, the whole dynamic changed. U.S. soldiers began rushing to the crash sites to defend the injured crews. Perimeters were established around the crash sites, but the men were still surrounded by thousands of Somalis who had armed themselves and swarmed the area. The battle, which was originally supposed to take only one hour, turned into a standoff, lasting overnight. Eventually, a massive column of tanks and men was assembled and sent into the city to recover the defenders. When all was said and done, 18 American soldiers were dead and more than 80 were wounded in what was the deadliest single battle since the Vietnam War. This incident would later be popularized first as a bestselling book and eventually as a movie.

Nathan Hale, a Yale classmate of Spy master Benjamin Tallmadge, had volunteered to gather intelligence of British troop movements for the Continental Army in New York City following the Battle of Long Island. Found to be a spy, he gave his one life to live for the American cause and was hanged September 22, 1776. He was 21 years old. He is the State Hero of Connecticut.
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One of the earliest martyrs in the cause of popular liberty, in America, was Captain Nathan Hale, whose fate, and that of Major Andre, history may properly parallel. He was a son of Richard Hale, of Coventry, Connecticut, and was born in that town, twenty miles from Hartford, about the year 1754. He was graduated at Yale College, with distinguished approbation, in 1773, when the tempest of the Revolution was gathering force, Fired with zeal for liberty, he joined the Connecticut troops that hastened to Boston after the skirmishes at Lexington and Concord, and was with Captain (afterward Colonel) Knowlton in the battle on Breed's Hill. He continued with the army under the immediate command of Washington, until the following year, and participated in the battle near Brooklyn, and the retreat of the American army, from Long Island. At that time Knowlton was in command of a regiment, called Congress’ Own, that assumed a sort of body-guardianship to the commander-in-chief, and young Hale held a captain's commission in it. While the American army were upon Harlem Heights, and the great body of the British were yet on Long Island (in the vicinity of Brooklyn, arid of the present Astoria), Washington was very anxious to ascertain the exact condition of the enemy's forces. He applied to Colonel Knowlton for a judicious person to go as a spy into the British camp. Captain Hale volunteered for the service, and bearing instructions from Washington, he crossed Long Island Sound from the Connecticut shore, visited the British camps, made notes and sketches, unsuspected, and was about to embark from Huntington, to Connecticut, when he was discovered and exposed, it is said, by a Tory relative, and was made a prisoner. He was taken to Sir William Howe's head-quarters at Turtle Bay, confined in Bookman's green-house in the garden, until morning, and then, without the form of a regular trial, was handed over to Cunningham, the brutal provost-marshal in New York, for ex*****on as a spy. That wretch would not allow him to have the company of a clergyman, nor the use of a Bible; and he even destroyed the letters which the victim had written to his mother and sisters during the night. Amid cruel jeers he was hanged, like a dog, upon an apple tree, and his body was buried in a grave beneath its shadow. He suffered death in accordance with the stern laws of war, but his treatment, from the hour of his capture until his death, was disgraceful to the British commander. Hale's last words were. "I only regret that I have not more lives to give to my country." A beautiful monument has been erected to his memory in his native town.

Eminent Americans, Benson John Lossing, 1886.

Image: (The Last Words of Nathan Hale) The Hanging, by Felix O. C. Darley, Photo credit: Yale University Art Gallery

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