"Favorite myth of the American Revolution" Topic

1) The Americans won the war by hiding behind trees and sniping at the Stupid British who marched in lines.

2) Cornwallis turned his grasshopper guns and fired on his troops and Continentals while in melee.

The Rebels were good guys.

The Settlers won the toss….

Everything in that movie. You know…that one.

3) The Americans would have won anyway, even if the French hadn't got involved. Hang on a minute…..

We beat England without Spain/France/Holland making worldwide war against the English.

Edit: Oddly I call WW2 troops British but AWI troops English. Yes, I believe they were technically the "British" in the AWI but childhood training makes me call them English.

That the French came in because they loved Liberty.

That this made the United States and France permanent allies.

Super rifles versus worthless muskets.

The innate superiority of militia over a standing army.

Edit: Oddly I call WW2 troops British but AWI troops English. Yes, I believe they were technically the "British" in the AWI but childhood training makes me call them English.

There is evidence that well after the napoleonic wars, English was used the same way British is now.

So Cornwallis did lead an "English " army.

My favorite myth has to be as others the mighty weapon of mass destruction that is the long rifle.

OMG! The British wore bright red coats and stood in the open, in lines! We fought in our native muted colors, Indian style. You know, like in THAT movie. H

That the American War of Independence is called a a revolution.

That Paul Revere warned anybody. He was the one that failed, had his horse confiscated by a British patrol.

That the Rebels were all plucky militia men fighting as irregulars. You know that whole sharpshooting riflemen sniping from behind trees against obliging Redcoats standing in lines in open fields thing.

Definitely my favourite myth of the war.

That the slave-masters of Old Virginia were champions of Liberty. Only for themselves.

The French did everything!
and
The French did nothing!

(substitute French for Militia as appropriate)

That Tarleton shot, hung, and burned civilians for no reason. Oh, that did happen. Sorry.

That the Hessians were hung over when Washington and crew fell on them.

The British Empire was unbeatable.

Ethan Allen's speech at Ticonderoga. Or pretty much every claim about Ethan Allen's military ability.

And all militia were good shots. Should we mention Paul Revere's ride?

The ballerina shoes of Ludwig dragroons.

Or the 10lb boots of the Ludwig Dragoons.

That it was a revolution.
That the Loyalists were all rich and corrupt cowards.

The Liberty Bell was rung on July 4th

The Liberty Bell in Philadelphia is the bell that was rung.

(Both myths dispelled by the official guides when I visited last)

That the British lost

that there was any fighting on Bunker Hill

That the Hess-ee--ans is pronounce Hesh--uns.

That the sympathies of American colonists were 1/3 pro-British, 1/3 pro-Congress, and 1/3 neutral. This nonsence is sometimes repeated in college textbooks.

The origin of the estimate is John Adams, in an 1815 letter, where he describes that the sympathies of Americans were 1/3 pro-British, 1/3 pro-French, and 1/3 neutral towards the French Revolution, in the 1790's.

That Revere shouted the warning "The British are coming!"

This would have made no sense because everybody was British.

He said something along the lines of "The Regulars are out!"

A cartoon was drawn showing him drawing up at a tavern full of British soldiers and yelling: "The British are coming, er… to a party at my house tomorrow night. Be there!"

Benedict Arnold was a traitor.

Technically speaking, he was a loyalist and everyone he'd been working with was a traitor.

Arnold was a traitor because he betrayed his side.

That Steuben made much of a difference in the outcome of the war.

To this day I recall my 1st grade teacher stating that the British wore red because……"they wanted to blend in with the Maple trees."

The AWI is not my period at all, but I have to admit I've always believed a number of these "myths". This is an informed group and so there's a tendency to assume everyone else knows the real answer, but that leaves someone like myself scratching his head and wondering what is actually correct. No long answers needed or expected, but two I'd love to know:

1.) Is there a quick answer what Revere did or didn't do? While I never took the Longfellow poem as straight history, I did think he rode and took the alarm to the local countryside.

2.) So what was the break down of loyalties in the colonies? I'd always heard the 1/3's answer as a broad guideline.

Finally, I've always said "Hesh-uns", so I'll have to change that! Thank you!

I believe Longfellow chose Paul Revere because his name was easy to rhyme with.

No doubt. Good thing his surname wasn't Purple or Orange.

edit: So digging around wiki, it seems to suggest (quoting a Robert Calhoon):

15-20% loyalists
40-45% patriots
presumably the remainder wanted to sit things out.

"Listen my children and you shall here
Of the Midnight ride of William Dawes."
No, that doesn't work.

"Listen my children and you shall here
Of the Midnight ride of Dr. Samuel Prescott!"
No. That's not doing it for me either…

"Listen my children and you shall here
Of the Midnight ride of Paul Revere."
Bingo!

Revere was captured and his horse was taken away very early on in his "ride".
Dawes and Prescott were the ones who spread the alarm.

And they never said "The British are coming!" Heck, they considered themselves loyal British subjects who were being oppressed by Evil Ministers, and if the King only knew…..
What was actually said (or would have been said) was "The Regulars are out!"

Another thread just reminded me of the myth that the whole thing kicked off on 4 July, 1776.

If the truth be told, it was Prescott and Lawes,
Who did their duty on April 18,
They rode farther down the road,
But they are anonymous today because
When Longfellow sat at his PC screen
To write his famous commemorative ode,
He found to his sorrow that "Lawes" and "Prescott,"
Unfortunately, simply will not
Rhyme in a way pleasant to the ear.
He wrote, "Listen, my children, put down that slingshot,
As I tell of the ride of Sam Prescott…"
"Listen, my children, I'll hear no ha-has,
As I tell of the ride of William Lawes…"
"Listen, my children, and blow your schnozz…"
"Listen, my children, and wipe off your snot…"
And after awhile, Longfellow threw
Away the early drafts. It was clear
He must write "The Ride of You Know Who".
It's not always fair, fortune and fame.
It may come down to the sound of your name.

holyjoe.org/poetry/keillor.htm

Listen, my children, and you shall hear,
Of the midnight run for a can of beer.
Through the alley and over the fence,
I've got the beer! Who's got ten cents?

- Learned from me mudder.

This has been a most informative thread for me. Thank you! As good old Revere said, "Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!" (Hmmm, wait a minute…)

Early drafts of Longfellow's midnight ride (in the Houghton library at Harvard) did mention William Dawes. He just did not make it to that final edition. As for who (Revere, Dawes or Prescott ) did more/rode father etc it gets very silly. Revere made two rides to Concord . The first prior to April 19 when he warned them the British might march out to size the munitions there. And in fact prior to April 19 most munitions were removed and only a couple cannon remaned. See the so called "spy" letters in the General Gage papers which mentioned this (also see Allen French's General Gage informers). The second ride was more to warn Hancock and Adams who were staying in Lexington and hide the papers of the provincial congress.
On the way to concord after thst Revere was captured, Dawes unhorsed
and disappears while Prescott get to Concord. So I guess here are a few more myths…

That the 2nd Light Infantry massacred 300 or so defenceless Pennsylvanian soldiers in their beds on the rainy night of 19th-20th September 1777 and refused quarter to the wounded and those attempting surrender (51 bodies were found in the vicinity. circa 70 prisoners including wounded were escorted from the scene of the action. Howe sent his surgeon to tend them until Washington could arrange for his own to attend).

That the wascally Webels then sent word through the damp Pennsylvanian woods that they would refuse quarter to those responsible (W. W. possibly too busy heading north)

That the 2nd Light Infantry were concerned that their fellow British soldiers might suffer unfairly as a result of this threat ( As if…)

That to avoid this eventuality the 2nd Lights paused in their pursuit of the W.W. throught the woods and across the Schuylkill, to get red hat feathers or dye/ stain/ dip in blood their old green/ white/ black feathers -and sent word back 'across the lines' that the W.W would thenceforward know who to come to get their revenge. (Feather and dye shops all over the place in south east Pennsylvania and plenty skilled fabric technicians in the 2nd LI).

That the 2nd LI were in any way delighted to learn a fortnight later that in fact the W.W had already dubbed the 2nd LI "Bloodhounds" and were indeed out for revenge which they got at Germantown on October 4th 1777, before having to pull back, the Americans advance having collapsed into disorder. (It seems that, even in mist ,they didnt need a red feather to identify the 2nd Lights who were forced to withdraw after expending their ammunition, bowled along at the point of Pennsylvanian bayonets.)

Eventually the WW were pushed back and the opportunity lost. Oh, that's true!

That Washington planned it all in that little glen when he started the French and Indian War so he could smoke pot..

The Betsy Ross flag!!!

Bob C.

That it was about freedom for all instead of money for some?