BACK TO THE SIGNERS--BEEN AWHILE!

Having written about other items of interest, at least of interest to me, it is time to return to the original reason for my writings; The Declaration of Independence of this great Republic.
Tonight I present to you John Penn born in Carolina County, Virginia in 1741.  John's father neglected the boy's education so John only had two or three years in the Common school of the county,
Mr. Penn died when John was about 18 years of age and left him sole owner of a modest but ample farm.  A relative of Penn lived nearby whose name was Edmund Pendleton, widely known and well respected.  Mr. Pendleton had a vast library and opened it up to young Penn who was eager to learn all he could and he read and studied until he determined to prepare himself for the profession of the law.  He succeeded and at the age of twenty-one he was admitted to the Bar.  John Penn became very successful in his home County and formed a respectable reputation.
In 1774 he moved to North Carolina and took up his profession there.  He soon became known for his abilities and his patriotism and in 1775 he was elected a delegate to the Continental Congress and took his seat in that body in October.  He remained there for three years and voted for the Declaration of Independence and eagerly placed his name on that document..
When the Americans were defeated by General Cornwallis, in 1780,  at the Battle of Sanders Creek in the Western portion of North Carolina,Cornwalis intended to march North and invade Virginia.  As the Western portion of North Carolina was mostly undefended Penn organized a fighting force who harassed and delayed the British until a defense of Virginia could be formed.
Mr. Penn retired from public life in 1781 and went back to his law practice.  But he was again called out when Robert Morris, Treasures of the Confederation appointed him Sub-Treasurer for North Carolina.
A man with very little early learning opportunity who taught himself  through the art of "Reading", a slowly disappearing ability, should be a lesson for all of us this day.  Winston Churchill once said; "Those who fail to learn from history are destined to repeat it"!--Medicineman!

THE BILL OF RIGHTS

After writing the Constitution (mostly by Jefferson) it was thought, or rather insisted that their should be a list of rights that were IRON CLAD and could not be "messed" with by future legislators.  The list was called "The Bill of Rights".  Sadly, the People's legislators have been "Messing " with these rights almost from the "get-go". 
In this little message I will dwell on Amendment II, what we refer to most often as the "Second Amendment".  A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bare Arms, shall not be infringed.
That seems plain enough for most of us to understand the meaning of this amendment while at the same time seeing how important it is to the law-abiding citizen.  It has often been said that what stops a bad man with a gun is a good man with a gun.  That has been proven many times.
Now in Washington is a Congress that is hard at work on two items; 1) Get rid of President Trump! 2) Take the people's guns.  When they should be hard at work on repairing the cost of health care and the Infrastructure of this vast country and the Veteran Administration and on and on and on. 
Whenever there is a shooting in a Wall-Mart or Mall or a school shooting, the focus is immediately "The gun did it, we must stop it".  "We need another law"!
There are those who want laws to prevent you, the legal owner of a firearm, from loaning a rifle to a neighbor to go hunting, for instance.  Or give a family hand-down gun from the the Civil War to your young son, and on and on.
There are now County Sheriffs (Senior Law Officer in the county) declaring their county a "Sanctuary County" for gun owners!  That is where this great Nation has come to with a situation that was so clearly stated back in December, 1791!....Medicineman!

DECLARATION SIGNERS AND WHAT ELSE?

Those who have been reading my small bios of the signers of our Declaration of Independence may think; what else did they do?  Just sign their name and go on home, and let someone else fight the war that ensued?  Let us take a look.
David Barton's WALL BUILDERS is the source of the following as well as much more on our beginnings as a nation, read on.
Most of those who signed this most important declaration were educated, had been to schools both here and abroad.  Many were trained in the law.  Some were merchants, others farmers and all patriots.  The following were also warriors, fighters for this cause and for others as well.
1.  Thomas Mckeen served as a captain in the New jersey militia before the War for Independence.  In 1777 he became temporary president or governor of Delaware and was hunted by the British throughout his short tenure.
2. William Whipple.  Throughout his time in Congress, he served in his state's militia, rising to the rank of Brigadier General.In this capacity, Whipple was involved in the fighting at Saratoga against Gen, John Burgoyne.
3. Matthew Thornton.  He served as surgeon to the New Hampshire militia during the 1745 siege of Louisbourg.
4. George Walton.  During the capture of Savannah in late 1778, Walton was wounded,  He was then held prisoner by the British nearly a year
5.Ceasar Rodney. Rodney served in his state's militia for several years at the beginning of the War for Independence and was also president of Delaware from 1778-1780.
6. Arthur Middleton; Thomas Heyward Jr.; and Edward Rutledge.  These three South Carolina signers were each captureded while defending their state during the Siege of Charleston (March to May 1780) and were held by the British for over a year.
7. Oliver Wolcott.  During King Georges Was (part of the 1740-1748 conflict known as the War of Austrian Succession), Wolcott raised a volunteer militia.  He returned to the New York militia in 1771 and continued his military service throughout the war.
8. Thomas Nelson, Jr.. Nelson served in the militia of Virginia through much of the War for Independence.  In 1778, he helped pay for and led a troop of light cavalry which was sent back by Congress afterr only a month.
So you see that the men who pledged their Lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor did even more than that!.....Medicineman!

"SEMPER FIDALIS"--EVER FAITHFUL!

November 10 marks the 244th birthday of the U.S. Marines.  Perhaps this little article will impart to you something you did not know about the Marine Corps.
In 1775, October to be exact the United States Navy was born, all three ships of Her.  Why did we need a navy at this infant status as a nation, even before we had a Constitution?  The simple answer is that now that the grand English Navy no longer defended our shipping in the Mediterranean from the Barbary pirates we were paying tribute to the pirates to allow our trade in that part of the world to continue.
Thomas Jefferson became President in 1801 (which, by the way, upset John Adams because he did not win a second term and drove a wedge between the Adams and Jefferson friendship) he vowed to do something about the Barbary Pirates and he did.  On February 6, 1802 Jefferson signed into law "An act for the protection of the Commerce and Seamen of the United States against Tripolitan Corsairs."
The Marines were trained in marksmanship and placed in the topsails and told to take out the officers when the chance arose.
Marines were called "Leather Necks" at that time because of the high stiff leather uniform collars designed to protect from the scimitar blades of the pirates.  Lt. O'Bannon, one Sgt. and 6 Privates, disembarked at the mouth of the Nile, joined up with 400 local recruits left Alexandria March 6, 1805 and marched to Tripoli and fought the pirates while the Navy shelled the city from the Sea.  That ended the threat and the tribute we had been paying for years.
The United States Marines have been in every fight the United States has been involved in since the beginning and have earned other nick-names, such as "Jar-Heads" because of the "Hi-N-Tite".  There have been others too and most of them earned and deserved, like what the Germans called them after the battle of the Somme in WWI; "Devil Dogs" because of their fierce assault.  So on November 10,2019 we honor our United States Marines on their 244th birthday, "OORAH"..Medicineman!

ADVICE ON GOVERNING FROM PRESIDENT JEFFERSON!

The date was March 4, 1801.  The occasion was President Jefferson's first Inaugural Address.  Jefferson was our third President and responsible in so many ways for the formation of our country.
In his message to Congress he spoke these words in his address:
"---fellow citizens--a wise and frugal Government, which shall restrain men from injuring one another, shall leave them otherwise free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned.  This is the sum of good government, and this is necessary to close the circle of our felicities."---Where have such men  disappeared to and how do we get them back?....Medicineman!