patriotic

Faith of Our Founders

The following is an excerpt from my book, “Eco-Tyranny: How the Left’s Green Agenda Will Dismantle America” (2012, WND Books).  I’ve also shared this story in Episode 40 of my Brian Sussman Show Podcast (July 4, 2019).

Francis Lewis was born in Wales in 1713.  He was orphaned at the age of five and raised by relatives. After a college education in London, he became a business apprentice and earnestly saved his money.  At the age of 21, he set sail for New York where he established an importing business.

In 1756, during the French and Indian War, Lewis was a special aid to the British forces, supplying them with uniforms and other critical supplies.  He was on business at Fort Oswego, when a bloody battle broke out against the French aggressors.  Lewis was taken prisoner and sent to France aboard a ship, cruelly housed in a wooden box.  Upon his release at the close of the war, Lewis was rewarded for his service to the crown with 5,000 acres of land in New York.

Again, while one might think that such a man would be forever loyal to Great Britain, such was not the case for Lewis.  He saw how the edicts from England were strangling freedom in the colonies, and, according to Lossing, Lewis held dearly to “his republican views.”

Lewis’ wife Elizabeth was also a devout patriot and fervently supported her husband when he was elected a delegate to the General Congress in 1775 and signed the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia the following year.  Once the Declaration was signed, the British placed a price upon the head of Francis Lewis.  Before he was able to reach his home on Long Island, ground troops and a warship were sent to seize his wife and destroy his property.  Elizabeth watched from a balcony as a cannon ball crashed into a wall immediately next to her.  Immediately a servant shouted, “Run, Mistress, run!”[1]

Mrs. Lewis calmly replied, “Another shot is not likely to strike the same spot,” and she did not budge.

The soldiers soon entered the home and destroyed all books, papers, and ruthlessly pillaged the entire property.  Elizabeth Lewis was taken to New York and thrown into prison.  She was not allowed a bed or a change of clothing, and given little to eat.  A former family African servant discovered her location and was able to smuggle some small articles of clothing and some food to her.  He also reported her whereabouts and condition to Congress.  Demands were made for her better treatment, but the British were determined to make an example of Mrs. Lewis’ prominence and wealth.

Finally, General Washington was able to broker a prisoner exchange, and Elizabeth was able to join her husband in Philadelphia. However, it was plain to everyone that because of her mistreatment, she was broken in health and was slowly sinking into the grave.  Francis Lewis soon asked for a leave of absence from Congress to devote his whole time to his wife.  She died in 1779.

Grief-stricken, Lewis retired from Congress to live with his sons.  This great patriot died in 1802 at the age of 89 in New York City.  He was buried in an unmarked grave in the yard of Trinity Church.

Flag Day, June 14 – History, Facts, Inspiration, the Song

Every year on June 14, people across America celebrate Flag Day with red-white-and-blue decorated picnics and parades. Officially, the day is set aside to commemorate the adoption of the US national flag in 1777.  

To those who have fought to defend the nation represented by the stars and stripes, this patterned cloth holds immense significance. For many citizens our flag powerfully embodies the heritage and history of the United States. 

For millions of people across the globe, the U.S. flag is a symbol of hope, freedom, and security.

WHY IS THE AMERICAN FLAG RED, WHITE & BLUE?

The red, white and blue of the USA flag are symbolic on a few levels and were chosen strategically to represent the United States of American. Interestingly, the significance behind the colors was not acknowledged when the American flag was adopted in 1777. Instead, the meaning was later explained by Charles Thomson, Secretary of the Continental Congress, when he presented the U.S. Seal of the same colors to Congress in the early 1780s.

Red

The color red represents hardiness and valor, as well as courage and readiness to sacrifice. It is also sometimes said to represent the blood shed by those who have fought to protect our freedom and our country.

Blue

The color blue signifies justice for all, as well as vigilance and perseverance. A reminder that we must remain watchful and strong.

White

The color white stands for purity and innocence. Pure, because we are independent from other countries and hold true to our ideals.

The National Anthem

Attorney Francis Scott Key witnessed the twenty-five hour bombardment of Fort McHenry from a British troopship anchored some four miles away. He had boarded the ship on September 13, 1814, to negotiate the release of an American civilian imprisoned by the British, and was aboard as the bombardment began.

On September 14, as the dawn’s early light revealed the American flag flying over the fort, Key, an amateur poet, exultantly began writing. Francis Amazed and inspired by the sight of the American flag flying over Fort McHenry the morning after its bombardment, he scribbled the initial verse of his song on the back of a letter. Back in Baltimore, he completed three more verses, copying them onto a sheet of paper, probably making more than one copy.  Soon other copies were being made; a local printer issued the new song as a broadside.  Shortly afterward, two Baltimore newspapers published it, and by mid-October it had appeared in at least seventeen other papers in cities up and down the East Coast.

While we generally only sing the first verse at sports events, the other verses are also very powerful. My favorite verse is the fourth.

The Star-Spangled Banner

O say can you see, by the dawn’s early light,
What so proudly we hail’d at the twilight’s last gleaming,
Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight
O’er the ramparts we watch’d were so gallantly streaming?
And the rocket’s red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there,
O say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

On the shore dimly seen through the mists of the deep
Where the foe’s haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o’er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning’s first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines in the stream,
’Tis the star-spangled banner – O long may it wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

And where is that band who so vauntingly swore,
That the havoc of war and the battle’s confusion
A home and a Country should leave us no more?
Their blood has wash’d out their foul footstep’s pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight or the gloom of the grave,
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

O thus be it ever when freemen shall stand
Between their lov’d home and the war’s desolation!
Blest with vict’ry and peace may the heav’n rescued land
Praise the power that hath made and preserv’d us a nation!
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto – “In God is our trust,”
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.