The great patriot John Adams said this in a letter to his wife Abigail about what would come to be known as Independence Day:
"I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated, by succeeding Generations, as the great anniversary Festival. It ought to be commemorated, as the Day of Deliverance by solemn Acts of Devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with Pomp and Parade, with Shews, Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other from this Time forward forever more.
You will think me transported with Enthusiasm but I am not. -- I am well aware of the Toil and Blood and Treasure, that it will cost Us to maintain this Declaration, and support and defend these States. -- Yet through all the Gloom I can see the Rays of ravishing Light and Glory. I can see that the End is more than worth all the Means. And that Posterity will tryumph in that Days Transaction, even altho We should rue it, which I trust in God We shall not."

I shall do my best to mark the morrow with the flag and not with guns but a "gonne" -- specifically a hand gonne, the first serious iteration of a firearm for use by soldiers in Europe from the 14th into the 15th century. It might seem crude, but it spelt the end of the age of bows and crossbows.
This one is .75 caliber, mounted on a "tiller" of my manufacture with short loading rod, .735 caliber lead round balls, tow (flax fiber) and fuses. I will shoot it for real with a charge of black powder at the gun club in the morning, but will fire a blank in the afternoon to celebrate the Fourth.
Overall length is 53 inches and weight just under four pounds. One can hold it with both hands and the rear of the tiller under the arm, or hold it overhand with the rear of the tiller atop the shoulder.
(You can buy these "gonne" barrels from The Rifle Shoppe in Oklahoma.)

God bless America one more time please. We sure need it!

Interesting device there Bill.

Happy 4th of July!

American patriotism is a wonder to us down here. We can't even agree on whether our nominated national day should be one for celebration or mourning. Wags suggest we should change it to May 8, for the drawled sound resemblance to Mate! if nothing else.

I was reading a book about the First Fleet.

It was the first convoy taking unwanted prisoners to Australia.

Apparently they decided to send them to Australia because America was full of ex-British convicts??

England it seems had a laws that imprisoned people for the slightest crime.

Gone the other way now!

I got hammered on facebook today for my annual Independence Day celebration post with appropriate memes and American flag photos. They said it is 'against community standards and is causing incitement and violence."

The main photo is of my own flag displayed from my front porch.

Well, what an armful of fun this thing is! I only fired a couple of rounds as the wind was really stiff and I had a heck of a time lighting the fuses, but on the second shot, holding it overhand and aiming instinctively from the waist, I managed to clobber the steel silhouette at about a dozen yards. I was only using 30 grains of Olde Eynsford FFg black powder, but the charge was sufficient to flatten that big .735 round ball. The recovered slug weighed 590 grains; as cast these run about 600 grains.

Ann--what the heck?

you'd be a helluva neighbor , Bill... it definitely wouldn't be dull...

The same could be said about you, big guy!

quote:

Originally posted by Aspen Hill Adventures:
I got hammered on facebook today for my annual Independence Day celebration post with appropriate memes and American flag photos. They said it is 'against community standards and is causing incitement and violence."

The main photo is of my own flag displayed from my front porch.

Damned shame when one gets ostracized over their patriotic beliefs, no matter where that might be, stick to your guns! Those that don’t like your patriotism can kiss your (and my) ass!
Sorry…sort of

quote:

Originally posted by K Evans:

quote:

Originally posted by Aspen Hill Adventures:
I got hammered on facebook today for my annual Independence Day celebration post with appropriate memes and American flag photos. They said it is 'against community standards and is causing incitement and violence."

The main photo is of my own flag displayed from my front porch.

Damned shame when one gets ostracized over their patriotic beliefs, no matter where that might be, stick to your guns! Those that don’t like your patriotism can kiss your (and my) ass!
Sorry…sort of

Not really sure anyone would wish to do that!

Kiss either of you two arses!

Your faces are bad enough!

Saeed, I am much prettier than you!

quote:

Originally posted by Saeed:
I was reading a book about the First Fleet.

It was the first convoy taking unwanted prisoners to Australia.

Apparently they decided to send them to Australia because America was full of ex-British convicts??

England it seems had a laws that imprisoned people for the slightest crime.

Gone the other way now!

Yes Saeed, the Brits were sending convicts to North America until the Revolution, then needed somewhere else to dump the contents of their hulks (the old ships used as prisons).

Had they stuck to the original brief the settlement may not have been so bad, because occupation was limited by law to the area around Sydney. But greedy freemen imported sheep and found a way over the Blue Mountains, after which they stole all the fertile land beyond, killing and dislocating any indigenous people who got in their way.

quote:

Originally posted by sambarman338:
Happy 4th of July!

American patriotism is a wonder to us down here. We can't even agree on whether our nominated national day should be one for celebration or mourning. Wags suggest we should change it to May 8, for the drawled sound resemblance to Mate! if nothing else.

Chuckle...


.

Saw on news ungrateful idiots saying we shouldn’t be celebrating the 4th of July!

If it was to me I would pack them in a sailboat and send them where their ancestors came from!

quote:

Originally posted by Saeed:

quote:

Originally posted by K Evans:

quote:

Originally posted by Aspen Hill Adventures:
I got hammered on facebook today for my annual Independence Day celebration post with appropriate memes and American flag photos. They said it is 'against community standards and is causing incitement and violence."

The main photo is of my own flag displayed from my front porch.

Damned shame when one gets ostracized over their patriotic beliefs, no matter where that might be, stick to your guns! Those that don’t like your patriotism can kiss your (and my) ass!
Sorry…sort of

Not really sure anyone would wish to do that!

Kiss either of you two arses!

Your faces are bad enough!

Hah!! Good one (at least regarding me)

quote:

Originally posted by Aspen Hill Adventures:
Saeed, I am much prettier than you!

I never I was pretty!

In fact old friend Walter used to call me Horrie!

Not just due to my looks, but probably everything about me!

quote:

Originally posted by Saeed:

quote:

Originally posted by Aspen Hill Adventures:
Saeed, I am much prettier than you!

I never I was pretty!

In fact old friend Walter used to call me Horrie!

Not just due to my looks, but probably everything about me!