Bloger's note: I wrote this column last July 4th for the Auburn Journal, and they elected not to run it. The history of our country is incredible, and it is always great to remember where we have come from so we know where we are going. For more information on this time period I would recommend reading "1776" by David McCullough. Have a great 4th of July!!

The Incredible Cost of Freedom
by Ken Campbell

This July 4th we celebrate the adoption of the Declaration of Independence and the
dramatic birth of our nation.  It is easy to forget today that our struggle for independence
was once considered nearly impossible.  A few bold and wise men shared a vision of
freedom worth risking their fortunes and even their lives.  John Quincy Adams, our 6th
president and son of our 2nd president and co-signer of the Declaration of Independence,
John Adams, once said, "You will never know how much it has cost my generation to
preserve your freedom.  I hope you will make good use of it."

The cost was indeed great.  In the morning of April 19, 1775 in the towns of Lexington
and Concord in Massachusetts "The shot heard 'round the world" rang out.  From that
moment the ragtag militia of simple farmers would face impossible odds and near certain
annihilation.  What happened next would become one of the most incredible events in
world history.

Despite winning the battle at Bunker Hill in June 1775 to take control of the city Boston,
the British took heavy casualties and realized that the colonial militia was resourceful and
determined.  On July 3, 1775 George Washington was made Commander in Chief of the
Continental Army and brought in 20,000 troops to surround the British in Boston
resulting in a standoff that lasted for months.  The stalemate only broke when Colonel
Henry Knox returned from Fort Ticonderoga with tens of thousands of pounds of artillery
they astonishingly moved on sleds over hundreds of miles of rough terrain.  On March 4,
1776 under cover of darkness and almost complete silence, Washington's army moved in
the cannon to fortify Dorchester Heights overlooking Boston.
 

At daybreak the British could scarcely believe their eyes.  British general William Howe
responded with a thunderous two-hour cannonade, which proved ineffective.  Howe then
tried to outflank Washington and finally, realizing he was outsmarted, sailed off with his
8,906 soldiers - without the Continental Army firing a shot.

The British would return, of course, and on June 29, 1776 Howe's ships began arriving in
New York, where there were many British loyalists.  By August over four hundred ships
had arrived with 32,000 British and feared Hessian (German mercenaries) troops - the
largest fleet ever seen.  The British were about to launch nearly the full measure of their
military might and Washington and the Continental Army would suffer many significant
defeats in the months to follow.  The signing of the Declaration of Independence on July
4, 1776 only fueled the resolve of the British assault.

Washington, who had 20,000 troops in August 1776, had about 3,500 troops only three
months later.  Washington's own description of his army was "broken and dispirited."
Many were sick, hungry and altogether miserable.  Troops were abandoning the army in
droves and enlistments of 2,000 troops would soon be up and they would be free to go.

The war itself was rapidly losing support among the people.  In fact, it appeared as if the
war was over and the hour never looked darker.  But Washington, along with others,
refused to be downcast.  Thomas Paine, author of "Common Sense", wrote "The
American Crisis" with those immortal opening lines: "These are the times that try men's
souls.  The summer soldier and sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service
of their country; but he that stands now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman."

Paine's pamphlet spread like wildfire and Washington's army began to grow as new
recruits came in.  Washington knew he had to take the initiative and strike an aggressive
and surprising stroke.  The decision was to risk everything by crossing the Delaware to
attack a Hessian outpost at Trenton, New Jersey.

The army assembled on the afternoon of Christmas Day.  The men were given sixty
rounds of ammunition and food enough for three days.  The troops marched to the river
crossing and the rain started to fall.  By 11 pm a full-blown northeaster struck with rain,
hail, snow and wind.  Ice on the river slowed the crossing and only a third of
Washington's army successfully crossed the river - three hours behind schedule.  Despite
the weather and limited troops, spirits were high and Washington decided to go forward
even though they would arrive in Trenton in broad daylight rather than under the cover of
darkness, as they had planned.

Despite the fact that Washington and 2,400 of his troops arrived in daylight, the
Hessian's were taken by surprise.  Within 45 minutes 21 Hessians were killed, 90
wounded and about 900 prisoners were taken.  Only four of Washington's troops were
wounded in the battle and two other soldiers froze to death during the night march.
 

The Battle at Trenton was the first military victory for Washington since Boston and was
cause for celebration.  However, the war itself would continue for another six years;
endlessly, it seemed to many.  It was not until the Treaty of Paris was signed in 1783 that
the war finally came to an end.

This July 4 remember that those who signed the Declaration of Independence committed
a treasonous act punishable by death.  They risked everything to give us our freedom.
The passage of time should never diminish the facts that defeating Britain and the
successful creation of a new free and independent nation were never guaranteed.
 

It is often overlooked that the War for Independence lasted eight long years and went
through many dark days.  After the Declaration was adapted, and war with Britain
imminent, General Washington and his small volunteer army of poorly trained and under-
equipped farmers and tradesmen went head to head with the best-trained, best-equipped
and most formable military force on earth.  It was truly "David vs. Goliath" and the entire
world was watching, and still is.