Celebrating Our Independence--and a Twist of Fate
As we approach the July 4th holiday, which most Americans celebrate as our true “break away” from England in July 1776, it’s worth looking back just a bit further to explore the real break which occurred before 1776. Americans were in armed combat – in three different battles, the Battles of Lexington, Concord, and Bunker Hill – early in 1775. This tumultuous year – filled with the first breakout of violence against the Mother County – was one of enormous turmoil in the colonies. The overwhelming majority of colonials did not support a break from England.
Thousands of merchants and other businessmen from Massachusetts down to Georgia were quite wary of what belligerence to England might do to their livelihoods – and thus as of early the following year, only about 25% of colonists were in favor of a break from England. Armed conflict – armies and militias shooting at and killing each other – can be viewed as a true "break away" from the governance by the opposing country. The Continental Army was formed in 1775 – with George Washington named as Commander in the already existing fight against England – the country with whom he had fought as a militiaman against the French in the French and Indian War (often called the Seven Years War) a decade earlier.
A fortunate “twist” of history: Washington had put his life on the line for the Mother country and was quite irritated in the mid-1750s that, despite his dedication to supporting the King’s forces in America, England would not make him an officer in the British Army. Washington was furious. Instead of a ranking officer’s title, he was limited to the status of a militia commander, a position of far lower prestige and authority. That one decision by English authorities may have literally changed the course of history. If George Washington had been awarded an officer's rank in the British Army – as he was a man of honor and steadfast dedication to authority – the fight by the Colonials against England ten years later may have turned out quite differently.
So, despite the well-recognized celebration of 1776 as our “break” from England, we should consider 1775 as one that holds close to the same importance … because without those battles showing that we were willing to stand up and fight for our freedoms, the move toward independence could easily have taken a far different course.
