Story Series: “An Extraordinary Conflict and a Profound Victory”
Notes: A great joy, storytelling, comes with a great privilege: to release my craft of storytelling in the midst of a fairly large group of willing listeners, two to three times each year. After telling a fellow blogger, prior to the most recent storytelling session (12/1/13), that I would be telling one of my stories in front of a crowd, I was fortunate to have this good man / blogger express his interest. He suggested that I bring the story to the blog realm. Here are some “safety tips”, if you choose to read “An Extraordinary Conflict and a Profound Victory”:
- Time and setting: 1779; a young America is at war with England.
- American Patriots are severely outnumbered and out-trained.
- This story is not about the United Kingdom being “The Bad Guys”.
- This story is about the reality that we all have battles to fight.
- Our battles are interlinked with our own individual, unique stories.
- Our battles are harsh, and ugly, and we will get nicked, wounded, clobbered, dazed, knocked down, discouraged, and at times we will forget what is it we are fighting for.
- We are not fighting alone; we need vision, hope and courage; we do not give up; we need to know we are fighting our battles for something worth fighting for; and this will help us see why we do not give up, why we keep fighting.
George Washington Crossing the Potomac / http://www.PasteMagazine
The Story: An Extraordinary Conflict and a Profound Victory Part 1
The year is 1779. We are at war with England. We are patriots. We are Americans. We are a young country, and therefore, we are a young America. We are thirteen colonies. And, in the eyes of England, out of the mouths of the British, we are fools and rebels.
Below: picture of King George III made possible from www.napoleon-empire.com.
Rebels? Yes. We are rebels. We rebel against tyranny, oppression, excessive taxation, and “The Quartering Act”. Fancy wording, eh? “The Quartering Act”: it means “Home Invasion”, British soldiers living in our homes, against our will. Rebels? Yes. Fools? No. We are not fools.
Right: picture of George Washington, made possible from sccoec.edublogs.org.
The British Monarchy and King George III’s perspective goes something like this:- “I don’t care if you live in America, Russia, Jamaica, or on Mars. It makes no difference. The British Monarchy and I, own you … the Patriots.
- We will tax you heavily, you will pay dearly.
- We will take what we want, when we want.
- You will fear us because we are so powerful, you will be thankful to be servants of the British Monarchy.
- You will LIKE it, you will not complain. You will be silent, say nothing.
- This is the way it is, this is the way it will always be.”
The Patriots’ perspective is, as you might imagine, quite different from that of King George III’s. Picture yourself sitting with King George III. The discussion might go something like this:
- “Your Majesty … Let me stop there and confess my confusion. This word “majesty” means dignity, and grandeur, supreme greatness. And then, there is you: a “majesty“; a little man, a large amount of greed, and an addict’s desire for control and respect; but you will not give freedom, and you will not give respect.
- Anyway, Georgie, that’s not why I came. There has been a misunderstanding. You and your people have expressed that we will “LIKE” your oppression and tyranny and excessive taxation; that we will be thankful for our servitude to the British Monarchy; that we will not speak; that we will accept this as it is, and as it will always be.
- Here is the truth: we do not like “it”, and never will. We will not settle for this. We will not take this lying down. George, we have made efforts to work this out with you and your people. But it looks like you want a war. If it is a war you want, it is a war you will get. I’ll close with this, sir. Read my lips, I know I do not speak very loud:
WE … ARE NOT … VICTIMS.
WE ARE MORE THAN CONQUERORS.
In 1775, British troops marched into Lexington and Concord with two objectives:
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To seize the armory of the Patriots: their ammunition, artillery, and supplies;
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To capture two Patriot leaders, John Adams and John Hancock.
The British failed with both objectives, thanks to an American spy ring, successful in obtaining invaluable intelligence data: the British plans to march into Lexington and Concord, and their objectives. The Patriots moved their armory / supplies ahead of time to a safe place; and the Patriots moved John Adams and John Hancock to locations where the British would never find them.
There is a rumor . . .
that the intelligence data came from Mrs. Thomas Gage, the wife of the General Thomas Gage, Commander of the British Army and Military Governor of Massachusetts.
True, all sources indicate that this was never proven. However, General Gage sent his wife away, back to England in 1775, shortly after the battles at Lexington and Concord. April 19th of 1775.
British troops marched into Lexington and Concord. A 500 man militia of Patriots were waiting, armed and very much pumped up. The Patriots gave the British a run for their money: key word “run“. They retreated all the way back to Boston. These two battles, Lexington and Concord, marked the beginning of the American Revolutionary War. It was a long, and ugly, war. The Patriots did not win every battle. But they did win the war.
This is a good perspective: we will lose some battles; but we will win the war. We are called to fight with honor, for what is good. We are called out to live with passion and vision, even when the cards are stacked against us. We have an opportunity to leave behind us a powerful legacy.
This is the end of Part 1
Related articles
- Quick Quote: Thomas Jefferson on the Wrongs of King George III (philosophyandeducation3125.wordpress.com)
Other Side of the Trees 
wonderful work, i wish history books were written this way – open ended, fair, honest, accessible.
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As Elvis Presley would say, “Thunk ya verrrry much! Thunk ya, thunk ya.”
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