What is a hero? Merriam Webster offers the following option, in contrast to the pop-culture reference to a thick, meat-laden sandwich: “A person admired for achievements and noble qualities. One who shows great courage.” One only needs to look at the heroes of our young men and women today. Few know or seem to care about those great heroes that have been men and women of honor and valor. The youth of today idolize those athletes, musicians, business icons, and actors predominantly living lives of immorality and doing little, if anything, to make the world a better place or build the kingdom of God, rather the opposite, as they influence, through the media, the false hope that popularity, riches, and power are what life is all about. Read the stories of some true heroes below:
Abolitionists Activists Brave Journalists Founding Fathers Religious Reformers Whistleblowers
Chronological History of all of the above True Heroes
The Heroics of Margaret Corbin, the First Woman in U.S. History to be Awarded a Military Pension.
A similar story to that of the famous Molly Pitcher is that of Margaret Cochran Corbin, wife of artilleryman John Corbin. On Nov. 16, 1776, John Corbin, along with 2,800 Continental soldiers, defended Manhattan’s Fort Washington, which was being attacked by 9,000 Hessian mercenary troops. Margaret Corbin was bringing water to swab the cannon, when her husband was killed. She immediately took his place at the ...
American Patriot Nathan Hale was Hanged for Spying on British Troops: Last Words, “I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country.”
As he was led to the gallows, Hale's famous last words—inspired by a line from Joseph Addison's popular play, Cato, reportedly were—"I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country." Hale allegedly spoke these words to British Captain John Montresor, chief engineer of His Majesty's Forces in North America and aide-de-camp to British General William Howe, while the preparations for his ...
Samuel Adams Advocates American Independence
Samuel Adams, one of the most ardent of the Founding Fathers in his desire for independence from England, delivered this speech to a numerous audience at the State House in Philadelphia on August 1, 1776. Adams, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, also served as Delegate to the First Continental Congress in 1774 and was elected Governor of Massachusetts in 1794. Abridged. Our forefathers, 'tis ...
Benjamin Franklin’s Letter to Lord Howe
At the beginning of the American War of Independence, Howe was known to be sympathetic to the colonists. He had known Benjamin Franklin since late 1774 and was joined in a commission with his brother, General Sir William Howe, head of the land forces, to attempt a reconciliation. My Lord, I received safe the Letters your Lordship so kindly forwarded to me, and beg you to accept my Thanks. The ...
The Liberty Bell is Rung in Philadelphia and the People Gathered to Hear the Reading of the Declaration of Independence
The Liberty Bell got its name from being rung July 8, 1776, to call the citizens of Philadelphia together to hear the Declaration of Independence read out loud for the first time. The Liberty Bell, weighing over 2,000 pounds, was cast in England in August of 1752. The Pennsylvania Assembly ordered it to commemorate the 50th anniversary of William Penn founding the colony in 1701 and ...
The Declaration of Independence Approved by Congress as 56 Courageous Signers “Pledge… Our Lives, Our Fortunes, and Our Sacred Honor.”
When the First Continental Congress adjourned in October of 1774, the delegates agreed to meet again in Philadelphia on May 5, 1775. Between the First and the Second Continental Congress, many events happened that increased the tensions between the British and the Colonists. The battles of Lexington and Concord, the Colonist defeat in Quebec. The Colonists tried to establish their rights and to fight against the British oppressive taxation ...
The 2nd United American Republic: ‘The United States Continental Congress’ was founded by 12 states (New York abstained until July 8th)
Second United American Republic is founded: The United States Continental Congress (USCC) was formed by 12 colonies with the passage of the Resolution for Independency on July 2nd, 1776 and expired on February 28th, 1781, with the Articles of Confederation’s enactment on March 1st, 1781. There was no constitution and the republic was governed under the acts passed by the Continental Congress with each State having one ...
General Washington to his Army: “Let us rely upon the goodness of the cause, and the aid of the Supreme Being in whose hands victory is…”
On July 2, 1776, from his headquarters in New York, General Washington issued his general orders: “The time is now near at hand which must probably determine whether Americans are to be freemen or slaves; whether they are to have any property they can call their own; whether their houses and farms are to be pillaged and destroyed, and themselves consigned to a state of wretchedness ...
“The First U.S. Conspiracy: The Secret Plot to Kill George Washington
Best-selling author Brad Meltzer found the story behind his latest book, "The First Conspiracy: The Secret Plot to Kill George Washington," in a footnote. He said he took the surprising information to Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Joseph Ellis. "I went to him and I said, 'Did this really happen?' And it really happened. When it happened, George Washington rounded up those responsible. He took one of the ...
The Battle of Sullivan Island: A Small Group of SC Patriots defeat a British Naval Force of Nine Warships Attempting to Invade Charleston
On June 28, 1776, British ships sailed into Charleston harbor and opened fire on a tiny fort on Sullivan’s Island. The infamous “shots heard ‘round the world” had been fired a little over a year before in April 1775, but Americans were still debating whether to declare independence from Britain. The British expected to put down the rebellion quickly by taking Charleston, one of the largest ...
