As is emblazoned on the Statue of Liberty, the "yearning to breath free" is a desire in the American heart that few can rival, and throughout our history, brave souls from every race, gender, and creed have walked through fire to achieve it. Men and women, rich and poor, adult and child, young and old, from 8-year-old John Quincy Adams serving in the Massachusetts Minutemen to 80-year-old Samuel Whittemore.
It was 1775, and the Battles of Lexington and Concord had just occurred. The British were marching back to Boston after a failed attempt to seize colonial arms, harassing and attacking Americans while being attacked by the colonial militias.
Houses were being ransacked and destroyed, and the word went out to the civilians to abandon their homes and give the British a wide berth. Samuel Whittemore decided he wasn't going anywhere. Taking up a musket, two pistols, and a sword, the old man stepped out onto the road and faced an enemy that outnumbered him 800 to one.
Raising his musket, Samuel fired into the sea of red, then immediately threw it down and emptied his two pistols. Now outnumbered 797 to one, and with his guns exhausted, Whittemore drew his sword and charged the British, who were eager to avenge their fallen comrades upon this lone old rebel.
Whittemore was shot in the face as he charged, and fell to earth. The British were upon him at once, bashed his head with the butt of a musket, and bayonetted him thirteen times, then marched over him with the satisfaction that he would serve as an example of British intolerance to rebellion.
The neighbors, having heard the shots, moved in to witness the commotion. There, they saw Samuel Whittemore, beaten and bloodied, reloading his gun. He lived another 18 years, and is buried in Arlington, Massachusets.
Whittemore's brave resistance to tyranny bespeaks of the American soul. Despite his age, this man offered no excuse when called to action, and he took up arms against the despots of his age.
There can be little doubt that had he had the opportunity, Whittemore would have signed and supported an Article V Convention, because he experienced first-hand the danger of an out-of-control government.
Be a 21st century patriot, and sign the petition to call a Convention of States, encouraging friends and family to do the same.
