The Fire That Forged Our Nation

“The Fire that Forged Our Nation” Fire is arguably one of man’s greatest accomplishments. It holds us in thrall with conflicting emotions…good and bad. Using an analogy between fire, and resistance, rebellion, and the thrill of seeking a better tomorrow (often construed as treason by those in power) we tell our national heritage story of America’s Revolution and Founding of this Nation by recalling the “first shots” of muskets made into a protesting crowd in Lexington & Concord…Canon blasts from hoards of Redcoats on Bunker Hill and men, disguised as Indians, raising fiery torches in the nite, dumping tea from anchored ships in Boston’s Harbor in rebellion against colonial taxes imposed by the British. In 2013 we officially added fuel to the fire of our official American Heritage Narrative by congressionally and federally establishing National Heritage Areas to protect, preserve and align our Story to the general public in order to enhance, elevate and economically develop . The bombs bursting in air in the battles of the northeast formed a fiery rebellion to forge the fires of treason against the British Empire. Our vision of freedom as a nation became more clear with the increasing and gathering voices who find common ground thru ongoing refinement of our Constitution administered by a balance of power infrastructure which has given us our Bill of Rights and has caused us, as a nation over time to fight for the rightful independence of every all functioning citizens, no matter their ethnic origins . As we joyously embrace the recently added National Park Service and legislatively updated… bringing to this unfinished story the tales and perspectives of a freshly revised, and decidedly different approach to our national narrative in this updated “Southern Campaign”. Adding this formally to that previously told and extending beyond the metrics of large land battles, tactical field maneuvering and strategies with increasing fire power within the side politics occurring in New England has now ended in a selected retelling of our National Heritage Narrative focused on military might and political cunning. Yes, we have gained fresh insights on how the fires of resistance and rebellion turned into a fierce fire when the fiery furnaces of the British strategy to put down this upstart treasonous rebellious people turned south. The powerful British Empire believed the Kings’ self-seeking multitudes of rich elitist Loyalists would turn the decisive tide. But they found instead the growing wildfires of those seeking freedom were blazing irreversibly out of control. Now is the time, via this American Heritage submission to respectfully honor and truly commemorate in a heartfelt way, our 250th Anniversary of the signing of our Declaration of Independence – with full disclosure and open treason against the present and increasingly oppressive actions of our current administration to control the fires of our still unrealized vision of freedom originally conceived by “We the people”. Now is the time for the NSDAR, in concert with the NSSAR, to appropriately take up the symbol of our unique nation – our American Flag- and provide the national leadership in telling, providing the people of this nation what resistance, rebellion and, if necessary – yes – what open treason looks like…to remind America what price has been paid and use this unique moment in time to finally provide the whole story reflecting not just man’s innate dichotomist, competitive nature to prevail over others …but demonstrate mankind’s higher nature to collaboratively align toward God, Home & Country boldly, with common purpose in what must now include legislatively the untold historical, non-fiction story of both land and sea militias and the role taken of the common man, woman, and the children live with today, especially those who are “different” who joined in the cause. We need to tell the powerful stories of the neglected merchant-privateers and our French, Spanish allies who indirectly and finally in the end directly, provided more than just part of their Royal Navy and armed but technologically superior manpower, and formed the powerful difference…detailing and consolidating real actions taken during this time told through five (5) generations of a single patriarchal representative – flawed like all of us, but true fighting/bleeding/dying Patriots who saw a better tomorrow. Thru this typical American Highland Scot Family, we embark on a journey into our past by following these real people, tied together to make up a more comprehensive understanding and demonstration of the challenges, resilience and persistence which were required. Yes, they had to make tradeoffs for survival, when combined within the actual paradigms of the given culture/political systems of economic class/social/faith constructs of the time. But their stories consistently reflect the power of varied ethnic strengths/weaknesses and perspectives coming together to find common ground and impacted each unique individual. By consolidating our previously splintered but secured within the protective federal/state/public/private and nonprofit informational archives during this unique and prescribed moment in time and using now technologically supported, made available over the internet (less than two decades old we have centralized, individualized historically validated sources, including nationally verified and recognized recently digitized primary sources just recently made available (most thru the NSDAR/NSSAR and military/government/ genealogical databases and complimented thru collaborative global ancestral sites such as Ancestry.com coupled with the primary sources held in bibles and trunks now digitized, along with biological sciences of our own DNA we have constructed a piece of American Heritage Literature that not only symbolically tells the final “missing piece” of our own National Heritage Narrative, but demonstrates the power of collaboration to overcome any challenge. By including the still neglected SE NC Lower Cape Fear River Region and mid-Atlantic Coastline up to and including the Northern Neck of VA… thru this consolidated National American Heritage Narrative “The Fire that Forged Our Nation.” We provide a firm foundation to formally complete the final piece of our National Heritage Area. There is no nation without the founding in Jamestown, VA. And the qualities formed within the hearts/minds of these founding/pioneering colonists differentiates and sets apart the kindling needed to spark the fire of freedom. What started with the British Empire and the colonial founding of a new world territory by a few investors of the London Company Of the British Empire – in search of fabled riches our separate nation has been forged. We, as citizens of the British Empire were seeking solace from our lives in England and living in a dangerously divided world of Parliamentarians and religious division as British Monarchy conquered and merged Ireland and Scotland into the United Kingdom – The British Empire. A small group of Capitalist Investors were competing and wrestling for land rights and control over the bountiful resources we were actively taking from First Nation tribes who had immigrated to this land before we got here. And we were simultaneously competing with other powerful global nations …French, Spanish and Netherlands who increasingly and ravenously claimed the same territory in this New World. For the founding colonists, and almost three generations of this same family, here in America living before the American Revolution, those who were born and lived in the SE NC Lower Cape Fear River Region and mid/Atlantic Coastline up to and including the Tidewater, Northern Neck, James River, and the final Battle of Yorktown on the Chesapeake Bay Northumberland/ WestmorelandJamestown and Henrico Counties …this story is still not finished and need to be revisited. As the National Heritage Narrative has been recently updated, the story of our American Revolution in the Northeast has been enhanced to now include the “Southern Campaign”. As a result we now have insights into why/how the British Empire chose to strategically move their might and focus into the blazing fires of the Patriot perspective…increasingly aligned but dangerously naive, under supplied, under trained and often without appropriate leadership. Adding these new scenarios we now better understand the passions of the land militias coming from various colonies, aligning and forming in Western NC/SC/GA. We see the fires of treason against the Crown growing from deep within the bellies of previously disjointed colonial action now striking more and more decisively in unison at Kings Mountain, Cowpens, Guilford Courthouse, etc. Fiercely fighting against the growing butchery & tyranny of overbearing butchery of leadership such as Tarleton at Waxhaws, extracting fear and loss and turning that into patriot passion to overcome what might next occur in their own streets causing them to fear their neighbors and fueling distrust in the dynamics of civil war. We see transition from the fierce survival instincts of the Patriots, longing for a better future for themselves and their children, just as we do in the blast furnaces of today. This historical nonfiction, very personal heritage story shared with you today is only a part of this continued perilously difficult journey in which we all still play a part. We remind you, by telling the threaded history of our American Revolution, in the beginning the founding Colonists were often without support or oversight from the British Empire. This is important as it built within each future American living in this Democracy a rare sense of entitlement. in the initial phases of the Regulator Movement and growing throughout the global Seven Years War in which they were almost neglected and dismissed as almost irrelevant by their home country to survive on their own. These powerful global clashes ended on this Continent in the French/Indian War between competing world powers. The bulk of the British Empire had been consumed by a hard won, difficult and perilous journey with tremendous loss, and expense putting the British Empire into severe and almost debilitating debt. The neglected colonists in this new and unforgiving land showed persistence resilience, purpose and rededication to stabilize and achieve the status they enjoyed just before the American Revolution broke out in New England. It starts with the founding stories of Jamestown, VA still being uncovered within Fort James. This National Heritage Narrative has been sung with the full throated voice of events occurring originally only in the Northeast where the fires of freedom were first documented.