Just a few random events from today in history.

Happy 4-19.

1775 - Minutemen Capt John Parker orders not to fire unless fired upon.

1775 - Revolution begins-Lexington Common, shot "heard round the world."

1861 - Lincoln orders blockade of Confederate ports (Civil War).

1863 - Union troops/fleet occupy For Huger, Virginia.

1864 - Naval Engagement at Cherbourg, FR: USS Kearsage vs CSS Alabama.

1933 - FDR announces US will leave gold standard.

1943 - -May 16] Revolt in Warsaw Ghetto under Mordechai Anielewicz.

1943 - Jews attack Nazi occupation forces at Warsaw Ghetto.

1943 - SS-lt-gen Jurgen Stoop leads destruction of ghetto of Warsaw.

1989 - Gun turret explodes on USS Iowa, killing 47 sailors.

1993 - Branch Davidians in Waco Texas commit suicide after 51 day siege. (Suicide? Really?!)

1995 - Truck bomb at Federal Building in Okla City, kills 168 & injures 500.

Lexington Green. The White Cockade and "Parker's Revenge."

by Mike Vanderbough

The holiest of all holidays
are those kept by ourselves
in silence and apart;
the secret anniversaries of the heart.- - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow


Two years ago, I stood on the green at Lexington and observed the first Oath Keepers rally, a solemn and moving occasion. It was the first time I had been to Lexington and Concord, although I had visited Boston way back in 1969 and seen the Old North Church, Faneuil Hall, and the Granary Burying Ground where Paul Revere and the Boston Massacre patriots are buried.

Unfortunately, much of my experience in Massachusetts two years ago involved barking moonbats, but while there did manage to pick up another copy of The Minute Men -- The First Fight: Myths and Realities of the American Revolution by General John R. Galvin.

(I had been making do for almost twenty years with a xerox copy I made at work late one night. Note: Galvin's book is one of the must reads on the Revolution for Threeper's. Others on my short list include Paul Revere's Ride and Washington's Crossing, both by David Hackett Fischer; The Shoemaker and the Tea Party by Alfred F. Young; Decisive Day: The Battle for Bunker Hill by Richard M. Ketchum; King's Mountain: the Epic of the Blue Ridge "Mountain Men" in the American Revolution by Hank Messick; and two biographies of Sam Adams -- Samuel Adams: A life by Ira Stoll and The Grand Incendiary: A Biography of Samuel Adams by Paul Lewis.)

It was a well-timed purchase, for I used it as a guide book while we shuttled back and forth to the Green and Concord Bridge, in between moonbattery. You cannot understand any battle unless you walk the ground, and even though much of the surrounding area is tremendously built up, The Minutemen was very helpful in helping me trace the remaining battlefields.

The one thing that seems clear in retrospect was that Captain Parker was not anxious for a fight, and the fight when it came, happened -- perhaps -- almost by accident. Galvin:

In the first light of that morning, Captain John Parker stood on the side of the green near the Buckman Tavern, where he could look past the meetinghouse and down the road toward Boston. Parker had been elected the commander of the Lexington militia company at its organization. He was a tall, heavy-set, ruggedly handsome man, a veteran of the past war, and a stern commander who took no back talk once he had given an order. The men liked him, and he could inspire them to remarkable efforts, as he was to prove more than once that day. At the time of the battle he was forty-five years old, the father of seven young children. Strong as he looked, he was to die of tuberculosis six months later, while serving with Washington's Continental Army.

Parker had not arrived at the green until after midnight. Dawes and Revere had passed through already with their warning for Hancock and Adams, and about half the men in Parker's company were formed in their regular mustering place on the green, waiting for orders.

But Parker had no orders to pass on to them. The Provincial Congress had announced its intention to use the militia and minute men to defend the province . . . Beyond the order to be ready to march, however, the regiments had no specific assignments. Nothing was said about what to do if the town happened to be directly in the path of the oncoming regulars.

This made matters difficult for the militia and minute man companies of the towns close to Boston and those along the line of march to the supply depots at Worcester and Concord. The companies could not be expected to stand against brigades of of regulars, but at the same time the defense of the home town always had been the first mission of the militia. -- pp. 120-121.


Parker consulted with his militiamen. Galvin writes, "In this case, the consultation was probably a renewal of an earlier general agreement 'not to meddle or make with said regular troops,' but to let them pass on through the town (as long as they did not cause any damage) and to wait for orders from the regimental commander or the Committee of Safety." One of Parker's horse-mounted scouts returned to the village with the news that the Regulars were coming up the road and Parker had his drummer beat assembly. Seventy-six men responded to the call and formed in two long ranks on the green behind the meetinghouse.

The men were still getting into formation when Parker looked down the road and saw the regulars coming over the hill toward the town. It must have been a heart-stopping sight as that seemingly endless column poured into view, the six light companies out in front with flankers off about a hundred yards to either side, and the grenadiers now only about a quarter mile behind. There were only minutes left now for a decision -- Parker could stand fast, or order his men to fall back off the green and relinquish it to the British.

Since one o'clock in the morning, after he had consulted with his men and then dismissed them to rest and wait, Parker had been thinking about this moment. He was aware that this was not the first column of redcoats ever to march out of Boston, and if Revere and Dawes were correct about the number of troops, it was not the biggest, either. Whole brigades had been on the roads lately, although not out as far as Lexington, and not at night.

He knew also what the other companies of militia and minute men had done when faced with a British force on the march to their towns. In February a handful of men at Marblehead had stopped Colonel Leslie and the whole 64th Regiment; a few weeks later the Cambridge minute men tore up the planking of the bridge there and (it was siad) stopped the 1st Brigade. The same brigade was turned away from Watertown when the militia rolled two cannon up to their bridge over the Charles. He also knew that in dozens of marches through the countryside in the past months, the regulkars very often had marched within firing distance of groups of provincials, some of them armed, as at Watertown, and had not fired. . .

There was no bridge at Lexington, no barrier to defend, but on the other hand there was nothing in the town the British could consider an objective of their march. . .

There is no doubt, of course that the last few moments before contact were filled with confusion and that many considerations influenced Parker's decision. Not the least of his worries was the knowledge that armed opposition to the King's troops could be the proof of a charge of rebellion, punishable by death. Although the whole story will never be known, it seems clear that Parker did intend some kind of confrontation with the oncoming British; but a point worth remembering is that he was not blocking the road to Concord; he had positioned his men within musket range of the road, but not on it, and in formal parade ground formation, not in ambush.

He wanted to maintain the honor of the company and the town. He thought that with the formation and place he had selected, he still had certain options -- discussion with the British leaders, a graceful falling back, keeping the column under observation -- left open to him. Finally. he could not bring himself to believe that, without further provocation, the regulars would attack his parade ground formation. He was mistaken. -- pp 123-124.


No one knows who fired the first shot, or whether it was intention or accidental. One regular was slightly wounded. but eight minute men lay dead and other nine wounded -- one out of every four of Parker's men was a casualty. Parker, with his unit, fled the green.

The clash may have been unintentional, the actual "shot heard 'round the world" could have been an accident, but it was no accident that the Lexington minute men were in that position. The militia resistance to the Crown was the result of years of political preparation and over a year of militia training, provisioning and revitalization, as Galvin's book certainly proves. The minute men on the Green that morning were there to make a point as free Englishmen. That they stood there daring the regulars to fire, outnumbered as they were, was for a purpose and it was an incredibly brave thing to do. The Lexington minute men were, in today's parlance, daring to "open carry" longarms as a political point.

A year ago today, in northern Virginia, within spitting distance of Mordor on the Potomac across the river, free men and women once again stood with longarms displayed to make a political point. I was proud to be among them, humbled to be able to speak to them, and for them.

The scene was hardly as fraught with danger as 1775, still there were threats from various bad actors, and worse, folks who claimed to be on "our side" slandered us and made dire predictions of violence that we were said to be deliberately provoking. Some of these even claimed nonsensically that I was "a British secret agent." Folks who had pledged to be there took counsel of their fears and dropped out, but in the end, like Gideon at the river, we had enough to make our point.

Patriot's Day -- 19 April -- is sacred to us for a very good reason. It is our touchstone to the Founders, who showed us how free men should stand against a tyrannical government. Take John Parker for example.

In what Galvin calls "a miracle of leadership," Parker regrouped his men after the opening shots on the green.

Somehow he was able to transform the scattered and demoralized soldiers into a fighting unit again, determined to avenge the loss of their comrades by meeting the British on their return from Concord. The brave men marched westward out of town at ten o'clock, the fifer playing The White Cockade as they headed for the Lincoln-Lexington line. -- p. 181.


The British might return by the same route they had used on the way out or they might pass south of the town, through Waltham. Parker gambled that they would come back on the shortest route -- through Lexington -- and he hoped to give them a proper reception this time. . . Parker had been maladroit in his attempt to meet and deal with the regulars while in a parade ground formation earlier that morning, but when it came to preparing an ambush, Indian style, his awkwardness disappeared. Besides, the intentions of the British now were obvious, and there was only one thing to do: fight them as hard as he could.

Parker selected the hill east of Nelson's Bridge as his ambush position. It was the first hill inside the Lexington line, and in the absence of further orders he felt that it was still his primary duty to defend the town. The hill would provide him a clear view of the regulars as they came down the road, while at the same time concealing his men. The slopes of the hill was quite abrupt, spotted with outcroppings of ledge, and covered by trees and tangles of brush. The approaches from the west and from the south were across 200 yards of open fields, and to the north Pine Hill rose 100 feet above the road, making any attempt to flank his position quite difficult and slow. He placed his men, upwards of 100 of them now, on a line about halfway up the slope and well-hidden. Each man cleared an opening in the brush -- just enough to get a good view over his musket barrel down the road to the west. Then began the long wait.-- pp. 180-182.


Parker waited until the regulars came right to his position and begin to pass. There three or four companies of regulars presenting their flanks to him when he opened with a shattering volley that felled dozens, including the British commander Colonel Smith, hit in the thigh and knocked from his saddle. The front of the column stopped cold and the rear backed up behind it, allowing the provincial troops following to catch up and get around the column and continue the ring of fire. Forever since, this place on the road has been known as "Parker's Revenge."

For me, the lesson of 19 April 1775 was not at Lexington Green, but at Parker's Revenge. Knowing the ferocity of the British regulars, having tasted bitterly of its power, Parker and his men still rallied, came back and gave the King's men their just desserts.

If you remember anything about John Parker and his men on this Patriot's Day anniversary, remember that. They stood, they lost, they ran, BUT THEY CAME BACK. And in the end, though many did not live to see it, the original Three Percenters WON.

From Armed Resistance to the Holocaust , by attorney David B. Kopel . This article first appeared in the January 19, 2007 edition of Firearms and Public Policy.

Onward and upward,
airforce

IN MEMORIAM - WACO, TX
APRIL 19, 1993

Stewart Ogilby

Allegations (an important word) against Mr. Koresh were sensationalized to excuse the massacre of at least 86 members of his religious congregation. These peoples' closest neighbors, farming families, never feared them or considered them troublesome.

Many persons seem to believe that these religious persons were behaving illegally. Precisely what laws were these men, women and children violating? Do you really understand how important both probable cause and due process are to us all?

The killing was deliberate and savage. The murder scene was bulldozed before any evidence could be examined. I recently read an article run by the national press referring to "the botched Waco raid." One thing is certain: the Waco raid was far from "botched." The word "raid" made me think back to my college days of the "panty raids" held by idiotic pampered young fraternity men on campus.

The Waco raid was waged by firing guns from helicopters directly into the home and headquarters of a religious congregation. A lethally toxic gas was used on these men, women and children. Armored tanks were accompanied by BATF assault troops with automatic weapons. U.S. Government agents arrived equipped with weapons to kill, which they used. It is as simple as that.

The following is a partial list of those murdered on April 19, 1993 by employees of the government of the United States of America and financed by taxpayers:

Katherin Andrade, 24
Jennifer Andrade, 19

Aldrick Bennett, 35
Susan Benta, 31
Mary Jean Borst, 49
Pablo Cohen, 38

Yvette Fagan, 34
Doris Fagan, 60

Lisa Marie Farris, 26
Ray Friesen, 76
Dayland Gent, 3

Diana Henry, 28
Paulina Henry, 24
Phillip Henry, 22
Stephen Henry, 26
Vanessa Henry, 19
Zilla Henry, 55

Novellette Hipsman, 36
Floyd Houtman, 61

Cyrus Howell, 8
Rachel Howell, 23
Star Howell, 6

Sherri Lynn Jewell, 43

David Michael Jones, 38
Michelle Jones, 18
Serenity Sea Jones, 4

Bobbie Lane Koresh, 16 months
David Koresh, 33

Jeffery Little, 31
Nicole Elizabeth Gent Little, 24

Livingston Malcolm, 26

Douglas Wayne Martin, 42
Lisa Martin, 13
Sheila Martin, 15

Abigail Martinez, 11
Audrey Martinez, 13
Juliete Santoyo Martinez, 30
Crystal Martinez, 3
Isiah Martinez, 4
Joseph Martinez, 30

Jillane Matthews
Alison Bernadette Monbelly, 31

Melissa Morrison, 6
Rosemary Morrison, 29

Sonia Murray, 29
Theresa Noberega, 48
James Riddle, 32
Rebecca Saipaia, 24

Judy Schneider, 41
Mayanah Schneider, 2
Steve Schneider, 48

Laraine B. Silva, 40

Floracita Sonobe, 34
Scott Kojiro Sonobe, 35

Aisha Gyarfas Summers, 17
Gregory Allen Summers, 28
Startle Summers, 1

Hollywood Sylvia
Lorraine Sylvia, 40
Rachel Sylvia, 13

Doris Vaega
Margarida Joanna Vaega, 47
Neal Vaega, 37

Martin Wayne, 20
Mark H. Wendell

Stan Sylvia (a sect member) pretty well summed it up. He said, "Let's examine what really happened here...Whatever you think of us, it doesn't give anybody a right to come and and kill helpless women and children."

It is preposterous that so many people in the United States are quick to want to believe that "they had it coming to them" or to believe the murderers' stories that this group killed their children and themselves.

It now looks as if no one will ever be held accountable. In fact, surviving defenders and victims are being prosecuted, at law, by the government.

The murders at Waco were not the action of one or more disaffected individuals. They were carried out by "the authorities", sanctioned at the highest levels of government, and financed by U.S. taxpayers.

WACO MUST BE REMEMBERED until major changes occur.

You can get the picture of what really happened — unless you have an emotional patriotic need to believe the lies of an increasingly out-of-control criminal government:

Yes we must never forget this despicable act.

I felt that day, like the younger people who don't remember it, felt on the day they seen the video of the American being beheaded, or september 11 2001. We were so angry, many of us still are.

They say, that was the reason for OKC. That is a lie.

Most people did what we always do. tried to bring the criminal ATF and FBI, Janet Reno, Clinton. to justice through the system.Or as the sheep do believed the Government line.

I often wonder, if that day every militia man and angry citizen had rose up and took to the streets.

What would the country be like now?

I said that to a friend, and he told me if you had rose up, you could be dead now.
I said to him at least I would not had to see the crime that is now being pulled on the sheep today, I say "sheep" because the rest of we AWRM folks know whats going on.
What bothered me in his answer, my militia brother assumed we would fail back in 1993.

PS, brothers, that's the same thing some of you are saying now.

If you have no faith or courage.....Waco will always be the defining moment of the militia....

We will always be a failed organization.

I will never forget!!!!

But, I find it funny the further away from that day we get. The easier it is for the criminals to white wash the action.

Waco was just the ( at the time) lastest incident against American citizens.

Back then they had less fear of being caught on film. We had far less resources.

You just don't know how well you got it today on the infomation and technology scene.

I remember the people who were targeted, and some are now gone. I searched for a lot of them a while back underground for sure!! I guess, couldn't find many of them...

REMEMBER WACO.... was and is our remember the Alamo moment.

Difference the men at the Alamo stood and fought,

why? They had no choice really!!!

Many of us did back then I think. If it had been fight or die. Things would have been different. Too many folk had too many toys they were afraid of losing... I think your losing them now though huh!!

We were just early with our predictions. We seen this all coming, we just thought it would happen sooner.

We the Militia were under constant attack in the media, Any idiot who said he was militia, got on TV, and said every dumb comment, you can think of.

That drowned out the true militia leaders, They made sense, so there was no way they were going to get an interview.... It is not news to tell the people the sky is falling. It much more sensational to show some moron scatching his gut and "saying we gonna kill all them colored folks"

most of those folks were either idiots, or government plants acting stupid for disinformation purposes.

but back then you had only had CNN,ABC,NBC,CBS Fox was just 6 years old, and we only had short wave, CB and UHF/TV channels for citizens broadcast. Remember "TOOTLE VISION"

The Internet was just an infant. Invented by Al Gore no doubt.


So as we remember Waco, we should promise ourselve to never let it happen again, and never allow them to weaken us again.

CSC maybe if you have it you could post the Children song from "America under seige". Or was it "the WACO incident"

never mind, here it is

Seventeen little children


REMEMBER WACO

and remember the children.


this is also interesting but it shows the media bias, faced by Waco survivors Released from prison in 06