Today, we take the term “The United States of America” for granted, but when a plucky Irishman in Washington’s Navy used it for the first time, the unity of the American colonies as well as their quest for independence was in question.
The true story of America’s founding and the incredible sacrifice of those who signed the Declaration of Independence and the Americans who made its iconic words a reality is epic.
Challenging the British Royal Navy by transforming a fishing schooner into a man of war seemed as preposterous then as it does now. But British disarmament and a lack of crucial gunpowder in the colonies led to American innovation.
Over 246 years ago, an invisible enemy descended on the town of Marblehead, Massachusetts. A virus divided the town politically and had a profound impact on the Revolutionary War that followed shortly after.
“These are the times that try men’s souls,” Paine wrote. “The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman.”
