Reflecting on the 4th

[butlersrangers]

Perspectives on the 4th of July can vary:

[Knute1]

Perhaps a better perspective.

Fourth.jpg (36.86 KiB) Viewed 521 times

[butlersrangers]

Knute, your perspective looks good!

Well, my ancestors likely never would have met, if the Revolution had not been successful,
or if Quebec had become the "14th Colony".

The Revolution had Consequences! (Funny how things 'turn out').

[Knute1]

I may have had ancestors from both sides. I have French ancestors that settled in Quebec in the 1690's. I have another ancestor, Timothy Seymour Smith, who was a Major in the War of 1812 fighting on the U.S. side and chased some Canadians out of New York. And his Dad, if I'm following the lineage correctly, was a Major during the Revolutionary War and was at Valley Forge. But even some of my French Huguenot ancestors crossed into New York from Canada in the 1800's to become American citizens.

[butlersrangers]

I had French-Canadian ancestors, who were probably with Indian Allies shooting at George Washington, during General Braddock's defeat. Thank God they missed!

Your Huguenot ancestors would not have been very welcome in 'Catholic' Quebec.
They may have gone directly to the English Colonies. Many Huguenots went directly from France to New York or New England and became powerful and influential.

I have an ancestor Piere Millville "The Swiss", who was a Swiss mercenary, serving in Cardinal Richelieu's Army at the Siege of LaRochelle.
He later settled at Quebec City and farmed on 'The Plains of Abraham'.
I have other ancestors, who were Butchers and Harquebusiers (gun makers) at LaRochelle.
They were Catholic, but the Port City of LaRochelle was a Protestant Stronghold that was besieged and starved into submission.
I wish I had details on my ancestors' exact experiences and thoughts.
Two Great Grandfathers, (nine generations back), came to Canada from LaRochelle on contract with the Church, one to serve as a Clerk and another to "Build Great Works".


The French Monarchy tried to keep New France a loyal Catholic, productive and obedient colony.
They let their 'criminals' and Protestants go to the English Colonies in North America and Dutch Colonies, like South Africa.
The Huguenots were an intelligent, skilled, and industrious class of people. It was stupid of French rulers to conduct a religious civil war, against them.

We all have amazing stories of our families' past and how we came to be. Regrettably much is lost and forgotten.
Our families came to the U.S.A. in often different and convoluted ways. That is something to be appreciated and cherished.

It's a Great Day to Celebrate that "We Are Here in a Great Country" and resolve to hold on to it and make it even better and stronger!
We can respect and teach our "History", appreciating its subtlety, recognizing greatness and conflicting issues, and not make it into villainy and propaganda.

Stupid is as stupid does. There is too much tolerance of ignorance these days. This Country was not founded by ignorant people!
It will not survive as a 'House Divided'. We need to solve problems together.

[Doubly Reincarnated]

I wish I shared BR's positive outlook. My view is that our enemies are waiting for us to disintegrate internally and/or to admit that we're broke. That's easier & more cost-effective than war. Here behind the Redwood Curtain, medical care has already imploded and abortion is a non-issue. Each taxpayer's share of the National Debt is $186,000. How far are we from far-right states seceding? America looks like a replay of Germany in 1928.

Ukraine will run out of combat troops/partisans and will need help from outside. That may trigger WW3 IN Europe. Any of the above will allow China to invade Taiwan. Will we live up to our promises? Either way, North Korea will roll over the South. If things go nuclear, we will experience attacks. Which of our political hacks will get us out of this mess?

[Knute1]

We need more charismatic gentleman like the dude in the top photo to stand up for our county. Kind of reminds me of someone that is one of the biggest posers, er, I mean posters, on this forum.