july4th2

Happy 4th of July !

"I know not what course others may take, but as for me, give me liberty or give me death."
-Patrick Henry

Men, driven by belief have given us all a better life by their fight for independence.
Rest, and peace to those that have gone in battle.
A day of rememberance of our forefathers, July 4th.
Shine proudly your heritage, no matter what!

Just before the second Continental Congress
Excerpt of Sir, Patrick Henry...

"The battle, sir, is not to the strong alone; it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave.
Besides, sir, we have no election. If we were base enough to desire it, it is now too late to retire from the contest. There is no retreat but in submission and slavery! Our chains are forged!
Their clanking may be heard on the plains of Boston! The war is inevitable--and let it come!
I repeat it, sir, let it come. "

"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!"

An excellent series of six shows on PBS have been placed
on the internet with an interactive setting, great for students!
http://www.pbs.org/ktca/liberty/

The American Revolution 1775-83.
     The struggle by which the THIRTEEN COLONIES
     that were to become the United States won
     independence from Britain. By the middle of the 18th
     cent., differences in life, thought, and economic interests
     had formed between the colonies and the mother
     country. The British government, favoring a policy of
     MERCANTILISM, tried to regulate colonial commerce in
     the British interest, and provoked colonial opposition.

     The STAMP ACT passed by Parliament in 1765 roused
     a violent colonial outcry as an act of taxation without
     representation. The TOWNSHEND ACTS (1767) led to
     such acts of violence as the BOSTON MASSACRE
     (1770), the burning of the H.M.S. Gaspee (1772), and the
     BOSTON TEA PARTY (1773).

     In 1774 Britain responded with the coercive
     INTOLERABLE ACTS. The colonists convened the
     CONTINENTAL CONGRESS and petitioned the king for redress
     of their grievances.

     Fighting erupted on Apr. 19, 1775, at LEXINGTON AND
     CONCORD, and was followed by the capture of Fort
     Ticonderoga from the British, the battle of BUNKER
     HILL, and the unsuccessful colonial assault on Quebec
     (1775-76).

     The Continental Congress appointed (1775)
     George WASHINGTON to command the Continental
     army and, on July 4, 1776, adopted the DECLARATION
     OF INDEPENDENCE. Ratified finally by August of that year.
     Many colonists, however, remained pro-British Loyalists.
     The colonial victory in the SARATOGA CAMPAIGN (1777) helped
     to forge a French-American alliance (1778), bringing vital
     aid to the colonists. Following the terrible ordeal of
     Washingon's army at VALLEY FORGE and the indecisive battle of
     MONMOUTH (1778), the war shifted to the South during the
     Carolina campaign (1780-81).

     The surrender (Oct. 1781) of Gen. CORNWALLIS at the close of the
     YORKTOWN CAMPAIGN ended the fighting, and the
     Treaty of Paris (1783) recognized the U.S. as a nation.
http://www.encyclopedia.com/articles/00429.html

Speaking of the South...

By the begining of the 1770's Georgia was the least populated of
the 13 American colonies. Of the 50,000 inhabitants, half were slaves,
and almost all of it's citizens were clustered near the coast.
As events to the north began to lead to war with Britain, Georgia,
for the most part, continued with business as usual. When the colonial
representatives began convening The Continental Congress, Georgia
reluctantly sent delegates. In 1776, this Congress signed the Declaration
of Independence. The Georgians that signed the document were:
Button Gwinnett, Lyman Hall, and George Walton.

The early years of the American Revolution were quiet in Georgia.
In 1778 new orders from London marked out the south as the main
theater of war. British warships that had been sailing off the
New York Harbor headed to South Carolina and Georgia coast.
British Major General Provost took Savannah with little resistance and
converted the small community back to the British.

For a brief time the Georgia assembly met under the authority of
the British crown. Provost expanded his control of Georgia to Augusta
and Sunbury, and with the Cherokees support in northwest Georgia he
effectively controlled all of the state.

In South Carolina General Benjamin Lincoln put together a small
force of locals to fight the British. In the summer of 1779 they
contacted Admiral Valerie D'estaing, sailing in the French West Indies.
Together they decided to attack Savannah. In early September D'estaing
put in at the mouth of the Savannah River. His troops landed without
opposition and probably could have walked into the city unopposed.
Instead, D'estaing sent a demand for surrender to Provost in Savannah.
Provost responded by quickening the pace at which he was strengthening
the enforcements around the city. On October 9, 1779, the combined
forces of Lincoln and D'estaing attack the city. Provost's men hold
the line and as the attack is repelled, advance on the retreating army.
From an initial force of 5000 men, by the end of the day over 800 French
and American soldiers lay dead.

A brief history of Georgia's Warwoman

When grading crews went out that fateful day in 1912 to work on the
Elberton and Eastern Railroad, they could not know the effect they
were about to have on Georgia History. These men were about to prove
that a Georgian by the name of Nancy "Warwoman" Hart actually existed.
Near a piece of property she once owned they uncovered the grave of six
men from the late 1700's, probably British, and changed the way America
viewed a woman whose exploits had grown to mythical proportions.
The first story about Nancy Hart appeared in the Milledgeville Southern
Recorder in 1825. "One day six Tories paid Nancy a call and demanded
a meal. She soon spread before them smoking venison, hoe-cakes, and
fresh honeycomb. Having stacked their arms, they seated themselves, and
started to eat, when Nancy quick as a flash seized one of the guns,
cocked it, and with a blazing oath declared she would blow out the
brains of the first mortal that offered to rise or taste a mouthful! She
sent one of her sons to inform the Whigs of her prisoners. Whether
uncertain because of her cross-eyes which one she was aiming at, or
transfixed by her ferocity, they remained quiet. The Whigs soon arrived
and dealt with the Tories according to the rules of the times."

Over the years many historians began to debunk the stories of Nancy Hart.
Finding the grave so close to Hart property gave the story such creedence
that today it is accepted as historical fact. On the northeast border with
South Carolina, Hart County is the only county in Georgia named for a woman.

American Revolution in Georgia:Chronology

July 10, 1775 Habersham and Captain Bowen accomplished the first seizure of a British ship at sea. They take Captain Maitland's armed schooner which is carrying powder. Georgia retains 9,000 pounds and sends 5,000 pounds to the Continental Army.

March 2&3, 1776 Battle of the Rice Boats at Savannah.

January 31, 1779 British take Augusta & Sunbury.

February 14, 1779 Battle of Kettle Creek. Georgia's favorite military action.

March 3, 1779 Battle of Brier Creek.

September 16, 1779 General Lincoln and Admiral d'Estaing besiege Savannah.

April 1781 Colonel Elijah Clarke & General Pickens began a siege of Augusta. Augusta falls on June 5, 1781, freeing upcountry Georgia of the British.

January 1782 General "Mad" Anthony Wayne arrives in Georgia & immediately
launches a vigorous offensive which culminates in the British evacuation of Savannah on 10 & 11 July 1782.

April 28, 1794, Admiral d'Estaing guillotined by the Paris Mob.
http://www.ngeorgia.com/history/nghistar.html

                                Databases to check...
                                Historical Almanac of the U.S. Senate
                                History of the U.S.
                                Daughters of the American Revolution Lineage Books (152 Vols.)
                                Revolutionary War Muster Rolls, 1775-83

                                Patrotic Sites
                                Happy Birthday America
                                Read the history behind the Fourth of July, view the Declaration of
                                Independence, enjoy an online fireworks display, find a recipe for "Mom’s
                                apple pie," and more.

                                American Revolutionary War
                                This site is a wonderful repository for those interested in the Revolutionary
                                War; the site shows a comprehensive list of links, as well as Revolutionary
                                War places to visit such as Valley Forge National Park.
                                http://www.ushistory.org/march/links.htm

                                Happy Fourth of July!
                                Take an online American history test (i.e. How did the Liberty Bell crack?),
                                read the history of and respect for the American flag, review fireworks
                                safety, and more. http://www.usacitylink.com/usa/

                                Daughters of the American Revolution
                                Read about the organization that was founded in 1890 and that has as its
                                objectives historic preservation, promotion of education, and patriotic
                                endeavors. http://www.dar.org/

                                Sons of the American Revolution
                                The purposes and objects of this corporation are declared to be patriotic,
                                historical, and educational, and shall include those intended or designed to
                                perpetuate the memory of the men who, by their services or sacrifices
                                during the war of the American Revolution, achieved the independence of
                                the American people.   http://www.sar.org/

Photos of six Revolutionary War soldiers -- Lemuel Cook*,
Samuel Downing*, William Hitchings, Adam Link*, Alexander Milliner, and Daniel Waldo* -- were published in Popular Photography 1976:1:67-73 and used as the centerpiece for an article in Life magazine (May 31, 1948 at p. 88) by poet (and later Congressional Librarian) Archibald MacLeish, who told about his grandfather's visit and interview with the six in 1864.
Parts of these interviews were included in the Life article.
The photograph of a seventh soldier, John Herrington*,
appears on p 52 of The SAR Magazine for Summer 1998.
The 1999 edition of the SAR Patriot Index on CDROM contains over
610,000 family history records of Patriots and their descendants.
These were collected from membership applications submitted to the
Sons of the American Revolution between 1880 and early 1999.
http://www.sar.org/gassar/

                                Independence Day Holiday Site
                                Take a virtual marching tour of the American Revolution, view the
                                Declaration of Independence and other "freedom documents," read
                                biographies of Thomas Jefferson and other founding fathers, and
                                experience other patriotic activities.
                                http://www.sherylfranklin.com/holidays/july4th.html

                                The Library of Congress
                                1774-89 Documents, American Memory Project, Library of Congress
                                http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/bdsds/bdsdhome.html
                                Thomas Jefferson Papers: American Memory Project, Library of Congress
                                http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/mtjhtml/mtjhome.html
                                George Washington Papers: American Memory Project, Library of Congress
                                http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/gwhtml/gwhome.html

My important ancestors include ...

         Search Terms: CULLARS (1)
          Database: Daughters of the American Revolution Lineage Books (152 Vols.)
          Combined Matches: 1
          The National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution Volume 30
          page 134
          Mrs. Kate Floyd Cullars (my great grandmother)
          DAR ID Number: 29365
          Born in Chambers County Alabama.
          Wife of Walter Cullars.
          Descendant of John Floyd and of Col. William Preston.
          Daughter of Ewell Floyd and Lida Tucker, his wife.
          Granddaughter of Charles Floyd and Sarah Bennett, his wife.
          Gr.-granddaughter of John Floyd and Frances Tinsley, his wife.
          Gr.-gr.-granddaughter of John Floyd, Jr., and Letitia Preston, his wife.
          Gr.-gr.-gr.-granddaughter of John Floyd and Jane Buchanan, his second wife; Gov. James Patton Preston
          and Anne Taylor, his wife.
          Gr.-gr.-gr.-gr.-granddaughter of William Preston and Susanna Smith, his wife.

          John Floyd, (1751-83), was a surveyor and pioneer of Kentucky. He became conspicuous as a soldier and
          legislator and lost his life by the hands of savages. He was born in Amherst Co., Va.; died in Floyds Station,
          Ky., where a county is named after him.
          Also Nos. 18354, 26055.
          [p.134] William Preston, (1730-83), served in the expedition against the Cherokees, 1780, and received the
          vote of thanks of the Legislature of North Carolina for protecting the frontier. He commanded a regiment at
          the battle of Guilford Court House where he received wounds that resulted in his death. He was born in
          Ireland; died in Smithfield, Va.
          Also Nos. 1858, 2063, 3021, 5078, 7788, 9897, 15493, 16149, 23279.

William Arnet b.ca1721-1735 fought under Frances Marion

Captain Peter Arnet b.1749 enlisted Chester, SC

David Arnet died 1779 Battle of Savannah

John Arnet b.1760 Certified Patriot by the DAR at gravesite

Captain John Floyd

         Yet to be affirmed,
         William Floyd, distinguished New York member of the
         Continental Congress, Signer of the Declaration of Independence.

Mathias Cullairs (Matthew Cullars) of Greene Co, Va. now West Va.
for Pennsylvania service