Think Beyond BBQ on This Fourth-- Part 1: The Reading

From the July 3, 2015, Chicago Tribune by Ron Grossman.

While you're enjoying all the festivities that go along with our country's birthday all those years ago, take a moment to thank John Adlum from York, Pennsylvania, and others from back then who wrote:  "On the morning of the seventh of July, the four companies of the town militia was paraded when the Declaration of Independence was read.  Mr. Smith (who signed it) made a speech...and then threw up his hat and hurrahed for liberty and independence.  The militia on parade and others attending followed their example."

Thanks to Congress, we know how other Americans felt back then.  A half century later, legislation was enacted to provide pensions for those who fought in the Revolutionary War.  Determining who was eligible wasn't easy as documentary evidence was scarce.  Citizen soldiers had drifted in and out of the militias and applicants for pensions had to submit an affidavit of their experience.

These are preserved in the National Archives and of great interest to historians.  It tells us more of the story and from a more common reference point, not just the generals and statesmen.

And, a Happy Birthday to the U.S..