Sadrhino

4 July 2008

America #$%^ yeah…

Posted by Toner under: history .

As a history major working in technology, I don’t get to use my degree much… so considering the day, here’s my little indulgence… It’s one of my favorite bits of American history…

At Fort Stanwix, during the Revolutionary War (that’s the one where we beat Britain and celebrate today by drinking beer and blowing up illegal fireworks), there was a bit of a standoff between the British and Americans.

The British, hoping to scare the American garrison into surrendering, rounded up a bunch of local Indians (the “come to our Casino” kind, not the “is the computer plugged in sir?” kind…) and threatened the American commander (in a round-about, rambling way, so typical of our friends across the pond) that if he did not surrender he could not be responsible for what the Indians in his command did to the “old, infirm and women and children” in the fort. See back then, you had to take your family to war with you. Good times right?

So, the Americans invited the British, under flag of truce, into the fort to discuss this.

An American colonel at the scene, Marinus Willet, after listening to the British officer ramble for a good 20 minutes or so, unloaded on his “guests” saying:

“Do I understand you sir? I think you say that you come from a British colonel… and by your uniform you appear to be an officer in the British service.

You have made a long speech… which, striped of all it’s superfluities, amounts to this, that you come… to the commandant of this garrison to tell him that if he does not deliver up the garrison into the hands of your colonel, he will send his Indians to murder our woman and children.

You will please reflect sir, that then their blood will be on your head, not ours. We are doing our duty to our country. This garrison is committed to our charge, and we will take care of it.

After you get out of it, you may turn around and look at it’s outside, but never expect to come in again, unless you come as a prisoner. I consider the message you brought a degrading one for a British officer and a citizen of his majesty’s empire, to carry.

For my own part, I declare before you that before I would consent to deliver the garrison to such a murdering set as your army…I would suffer my body be filled with splinters and set on fire, as you know has at times been practiced by such hordes of the women and children killers as belong to your army. You may leave my fort sir.”

Balls man. Balls.

Have a good fourth, and ya know, spend a little time, between meat and beer and random explosions, to think about how we all got here.

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