On This Day in History: Patriots, et al.

1755 – Alexander Hamilton, once the Commanding General of the United States Army and a Founding Father of our nation, was born in Charlestown, Nevis, British West Indies.

1794 – Chosen by George Washington to serve as the first United States Marshal for the State of Georgia, Scottish-born Robert Forsyth became the first Marshal in American history killed in the line of duty.

1843 – Francis Scott Key, the author of our national anthem -- "The Star-Spangled Banner" -- died in his native Maryland.  An novice poet, Key became inspired to write a prose describing his observation of the British bombardment of Fort McHenry during the Battle of Baltimore in September 1814.  "The Defence of Fort McHenry" was published a week later in the Patriot, by which he urged the adoption of "In God is our Trust" as the national motto in the fourth stanza.  Signed into law by President Eisenhower, "In God We Trust" became our national motto nearly a century and a half later in 1956.  Notably, F.S. Key also served as a Vice President of the American Bible Society for 25 years until his death.

1861 – Following South Carolina, Mississippi and Florida, Alabama seceded from the United States to become the fourth member of the Southern Confederacy.  Three more States -- Georgia, Louisiana and Texas -- followed just prior to the first shots fired at Fort Sumter.  The last four States -- Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee and North Carolina -- were not prompted to join until Abraham Lincoln called for Southern civilians to join the Federal cause.

1879 – The Anglo-Zulu War began with the British invasion of the Zulu Kingdom in southern Africa.  The English achieved victory in just under six months.

1935 – Already the first woman to fly solo non-stop across the Atlantic, Amelia Earhart (pictured) became the first person to successfully fly solo from Hawaii to California.

1949 – Los Angeles, California experiences its first recorded snowfall.

1964 – U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Luther Leonidas Terry publishes a landmark report saying that "smoking may be hazardous to health."  The worldwide anti-smoking efforts inspired by the report continue to this day.

1990 – Over 300,000 people marched in favor of Lithuanian independence from the USSR, which led to the Act of the Re-Establishment of the State of Lithuania on March 11.  The Soviet Union eventually dissolved over a two-year period, and the United Nations formally recognized Lithuania on September 17, 1991.

1998 – Religion of Peace: The Sidi-Hamed massacre occurs in Algeria on the last day of Ramadan.  According to the BBC, "An estimated fifty gunmen poured in, attacking children and adults alike; they bombed a cafe where films were being watched and a mosque in nearby Haouche Sahraoui, killing those who fled, and stormed houses to slaughter those within.  According to official figures, 103 were killed and seventy injured."  It was the second of five such Islamic-led massacres to have occurred in Algeria during the year.

Still leading

If you assumed that Admiral Michael Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is the top man in the U.S. military, you're wrong.  If you thought the lead guy was perhaps Army Chief of Staff General George Casey, Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Gary Roughead or Marine Commandant General James Conway, think again.  I'll explain.

The rank General of the Armies of the United States was first appointed to General John J. Pershing on September 3, 1919.  A lifetime appointment, Pershing held the position until his death on July 15, 1948 and remains the only man to hold this rank during his lifetime.

Under Department of the Army Order 31-3, effective July 4, 1976, George Washington was posthumously appointed General of the Armies of the United States under Public Law 94-479, whereby Congress further specified that Washington would be permanently considered the highest ranking officer in the United States armed forces.

Categorized first by rank, then seniority, the men listed below -- which includes three U.S. Presidents -- are, now and always, the senior-most officers in the American military.  If a nation with better leaders has ever existed, I have not seen or heard of it.  Decades, even centuries, after their respective deaths, these men remain tops among the war dogs and I would gladly put them up against anyone:

1. General of the Armies of the United States George Washington
2. Admiral of the Navy George Dewey
2. General of the Armies of the United States John J. Pershing
3. Fleet Admiral William D. Leahy
3. General of the Army George C. Marshall
3. Fleet Admiral Ernest J. King
3. General of the Army Douglas MacArthur
3. Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz
3. General of the Army Dwight D. Eisenhower
3. General of the Army/General of the Air Force Henry H. Arnold
3. Fleet Admiral William F. Halsey
3. General of the Army Omar N. Bradley
4. Admiral David G. Farragut
4. General of the Army Ulysses S. Grant
4. General of the Army William T. Sherman
4. Admiral David D. Porter
4. General of the Army Philip H. Sheridan

Note: Henry Arnold was promoted to General of the Army on December 21, 1944.  The Air Force was established in 1947 and Arnold was made the first, and thus far only, General of the Air Force on May 7, 1949.

Sunday's Quote(s): Why this day is special

Our Nation turns 234 years old today.  Before the quotes, I want to share some background about the Founders, including their trials and tribulations, which I originally collected, as I recall, from several different sources and fellow compatriots about two years ago:

Most of the Constitutional delegates were natives of the Thirteen Colonies, but nine were born elsewhere.  Pierce Butler, Thomas Fitzsimons, James McHenry, and William Paterson were born in Ireland.  William Richardson Davie and Robert Morris were from England.  James Wilson and John Witherspoon were sons of Scotland, and Alexander Hamilton was a native of the West Indies.

The Founding Fathers had strong educational backgrounds.  Some, like Benjamin Franklin, were largely self-taught or learned through apprenticeship.  Others had obtained instruction from private tutors or at academies.  About half of the men had attended or graduated from college in the Colonies or Great Britain, and some held medical degrees or advanced training in theology.

Some of the Founding Fathers were anti-clerical or vocal about their opposition to organized religion, such as Thomas Jefferson (who created the "Jefferson Bible"), and Benjamin Franklin.  Yet other notable founders, such as Patrick Henry, were strong proponents of traditional religion.

While some of the delegates had no religious affiliation, most were Protestant, except Charles Carroll, Daniel Carroll, and Thomas Fitzsimons, who were Roman Catholic.  Among the Protestant delegates to the Constitutional Convention, 28 were members of the Church of England (Episcopalian, post-Revolution), eight were Presbyterian, seven were Congregationalist, two were Lutheran, two were Dutch Reformed, and two were Methodist, totaling 49 of the 56 representatives.

These men signed the Declaration of Independence fully aware of the consequences if captured.  Carter Braxton of Virginia, a wealthy planter and trader, saw his ships swept from the seas by the British Navy.  He sold his home and properties to pay his debts, and died in rags.

Thomas McKean was so hounded by the British that he was forced to move his family almost constantly.  He served in the Congress without pay, and his family was kept in hiding.  His possessions were taken from him, and poverty was his reward.  The home of Thomas Nelson, Jr. was used by British General Charles Cornwallis as his headquarters. It was destroyed at the Battle of Yorktown, and Nelson ultimately died bankrupt.

Francis Lewis also saw his home and properties destroyed.  The enemy jailed his wife, and she died within a few months of her incarceration.  John Hart was driven from his wife's bedside as she was dying.  Their 13 children were forced to flee for their lives, and his possessions were laid to waste.  For more than a year he lived in forests and caves, returning home to find his wife dead and his children vanished.

In total, five of the Signers were captured by the British as traitors, and tortured before they died.  Twelve had their homes ransacked and burned.  Two lost their sons serving in the Revolutionary Army; another had two sons captured.  Nine of the Signers even died from wounds or hardships that resulted from the Revolutionary War.

The Founders pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor for so much that we take for granted today.  May we always be inspired to maintain our society in their honor.

"Freedom has its life in the hearts, the actions, the spirit of men and so it must be daily earned and refreshed - else like a flower cut from its life-giving roots, it will wither and die."

-- Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890-1969), 34th President of the United States, General of the Army (five-star) of the United States and Supreme Allied Commander (Europe) during World War II

"Those who won our independence believed liberty to be the secret of happiness and courage to be the secret of liberty."
-- Louis Brandeis (1856-1941), Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court and namesake of both Brandeis University & the University of Louisville's School of Law

"We on this continent should never forget that men first crossed the Atlantic not to find soil for their ploughs but to secure liberty for their souls."

-- Robert J. McCracken (1904-1973), Scottish Baptist minister, author, and professor of theology who cited "the chasm between Christian principle and Christian practice"

"It is easy to take liberty for granted, when you have never had it taken from you."

-- Author unknown

"It is the love of country that has lighted and that keeps glowing the holy fire of patriotism."

-- J. Horace McFarland (1859-1948), environmental conservationist

"The United States is the only country with a known birthday."

-- James G. Blaine (1830-1893), Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, Senator from Maine, two-time Secretary of State, and leader of the Republican "Half-Breeds"

"What is the essence of America?  Finding and maintaining that perfect, delicate balance between freedom 'to' and freedom 'from'."

-- Marilyn vos Savant (1946-), columnist, author, lecturer, and playwright who was listed in the Guinness Book of World Records for three years as having the "Highest IQ."  She has written her "Ask Marilyn" column in Parade magazine since 1986.

"My God!  How little do my countrymen know what precious blessings they are in possession of, and which no other people on earth enjoy!"

-- Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826), third President of the United States, first U.S. Secretary of State, second Governor of Virginia, Delegate to the Second Continental Congress and the Congress of the Confederation, founder of the University of Virginia, and principal author of the Declaration of Independence

“The preservation of the sacred fire of liberty and the destiny of the republican model of government... [is] staked on the experiment entrusted to the hands of the American people.”

-- George Washington (1732-1799), first President of the United States, commander-in-chief of the Continental Army, overseer of the Philadelphia Convention that drafted the U.S. Constitution, and the "Father of Our Country"

Iconic Shot: Eisenhower & his men

(click to enlarge)

General Dwight D. Eisenhower addresses paratroopers of the 502d Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division on the evening of June 5, 1944, just hours before the Normandy landings during World War II (a.k.a., Operation Neptune, Operation Overlord & D-Day).

© Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress