History is repeating itself.

237 years ago, there was a small group of those in the Colonies who stood against the tyranny of their government.

By most accounts, only about 20% to 30% of the colonists wanted to stand against the tyranny of England while the rest were divided between standing with the King or, ambivalent regarding the prospect of independence.

There was no TV…No blogs, no social media or talk radio then.

Today, we have such devices by which we can watch the proceedings but, as much as things have changed in 237 years, some aspects remain nearly exactly the same.

Just a couple of weeks ago, we watched Ted Cruz take a stand against tyranny on the floor of the senate.

For 21 hours, Cruz delivered the case for opposing Obamacare but, just as it was some 237 plus years ago, Cruz represented about 20% to 30% of those in congress and, just as it was then, it is today, as those opposed to fighting tyranny, are making THEIR case.

According to Peter King…

  “We can’t allow 30 or 40 people to hijack the Republican Party. We’ve got to call them on it. We can’t allow a small minority of a party to hijack it and, again, cause catastrophic problems, not just for our party — that’s our problem — but for the country. It’s 800,000 people out of work because of 30 or 40 people.”

One can almost hear those opposed to the impending revolution, more than 237 years ago, saying…

“We cannot allow a small minority of those among us to cause such a catastrophic problem, not just for our colonies, indeed that is a problem but, for our lives. Yes, being subject to the King is hard but, tis better to be subject to him than to lose our lives and our property in a misguided effort to oppose him.”

 Imagine where we would be today had the Patriots NOT stood, against all odds, and listened instead, to those who just wanted to maintain the status quo.

Of the revolution, we have the words of those who became men of standing…Washington, Franklin, Jefferson, Patrick Henry and the like. We have paintings of them, statues, and etchings of the battles but, just as now, back then, the fight for liberty was carried out largely by nameless, faceless Patriots.

It may come as a surprise that a few, just a handful of those men from the revolution, some 237 plus years ago, survived long enough to have their faces recorded for all time.

Not paintings but…In photographs. Their real faces and not the artist’s rendition of their faces.

In 1864, the Reverend E. B. Hillard, accompanied by photographers, N. A. and R. A. Moore, set out to find the last remaining living connections to the REVOLUTIONARY War and write their stories.

I ask that you look into the eyes of these men, they were over 100 years old when photographed in 1864, , and tell me whether or not, even in those advanced years, they look like the sort who would have maintained the status quo.

First…

It was the night of December 16, 1773 when Peter McIntosh, a 16 year old apprentice blacksmith was working in the shop not far from the Old South Meeting House near Griffin’s Wharf when a group of what he described as “young men” rushed through the door.

Those young men grabbed handfuls of ashes and soot from the fireplace in the blacksmith’s shop and rubbed it into their faces before rushing out as quickly as they had rushed in.

At the time his photograph was taken, Peter McIntosh, an immigrant from Scotland was 105 years old but, he was still able to recall the night that those young men left the blacksmith’s shop, ran to Griffin’s Wharf and dumped 342 chests of tea into Boston Harbor.

It was an act of civil disobedience. A statement made in the midst of tyranny.

Would today’s equivalent be the removal of the barricades surrounding the WWII Memorial?

History is repeating itself.

This is the actual face of a man who witnessed the Boston Tea Party…The birth of the Revolution and later, during the Revolutionary War, Peter McIntosh would serve the Continental Army by repairing cannons.

By standing against the odds, Peter McIntosh wound up standing on the right side of history.

Next…

We have all seen the famous Archibald MacNeal Willard  “Spirit of 76” painting and it is perhaps the most well-known depiction of the fife and drummers of the Revolutionary war. An ARTISTS depiction but, there were REAL drummers who were there.

In 1864, when his photograph was made, Alexander Milliner was 104 years of age but, back in 1781, Milliner was but 21 and, after serving since the age of 17, Alexander Milliner, General George Washington’s favorite drummer boy, witnessed the British surrender at Yorktown.

Said the 104 year old Milliner of General Washington: “He was a good man, a beautiful man. He was always pleasant; never changed countenance, but wore the same in defeat and retreat as in victory.”

After serving 6 years in the army with General Washington and much later in his life, Alexander Milliner served 5 years in the United States NAVY and, during the War of 1812…Alexander Milliner was serving aboard none other than the U.S.S. Constitution in 1814.

Milliner, a boy who played his drum at the personal request of General George Washington went on to fight the the British again in the war of 1812.

These men, Alexander Millner and Peter McIntosh, were Patriots. THEY were there, at the very beginning of the Revolutionary War and against the odds…Facing down the King of England and the most fearsome army and navy of their time, they lived long enough to be photographed.

In their faces, we can see what it took to give birth to a new nation.

In 1775, Patrick Henry stood before Virginia House of Burgesses  and, in the audience that night were those who wanted no part of the revolution and those, like a young Thomas Jefferson, who were ambivalent towards it.

Those like Jefferson, were changed that night as Patrick Henry unequivocally stated: “It is in vain, sir, to extenuate the matter. Gentlemen may cry, Peace, Peace – but there is no peace. The war is actually begun! The next gale that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears the clash of resounding arms! Our brethren are already in the field! Why stand we here idle? What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, ALMIGHTY GOD!! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, GIVE ME LIBERTY OR GIVE ME DEATH!!!”

Patrick Henry lit the fire that became the Declaration of Independence.

2 weeks ago, in a 21 hour speech on the senate floor, Ted Cruz stated: “If we go back centuries, we see that every generation of Americans has been able to give to the next generation a brighter future, greater prosperity, greater opportunity. We are on the verge of being the first generation of Americans not to do so. If we want to put our fingers on the discontent so many Americans feel, that goes right to the heart of it: What we are doing in Washington isn’t working.”

Those, in the House of Burgesses that night, who took the stand of today’s Peter King, John McCain and Mitch McConnell and said…“We cannot allow a small minority of those among us to cause such a catastrophic problem, not just for our colonies, indeed that is a problem but, for our lives. Yes, being subject to the King is hard but, tis better to be subject to him than to lose our lives and our property in a misguided effort to oppose him,” found themselves, forever more, on the wrong side of history.

Those who have resided too long in the halls of congress, be it that they have a “D” or an “R” beside their names, have lost sight of the trust our founders and framers left in our care and they have disrespected the legacy of men like Peter McIntosh and Alexander Milliner in the process.

Two weeks ago…One stood tall, lit a fire and will stand on the RIGHT side of history.

Ted Cruz is OUR Patrick Henry.

History is repeating itself.

Craig Andresen

Weekend Edition

The National Patriot 10/13/2013

Special Note: For MORE photos and stories of those who fought for our independence…There is a TERRIFIC E-Book...“DON’T TREAD ON ME: Photographs and Life Stories of American Revolutionaries (Writings of Joseph M. Bauman)”which can be purchased through Amazon at the link!!!