In
the not too distant future, you may be required to
surrender some or all of your guns to the police or
military. How will you respond? About 165 years ago,
early Texans faced the same dilemma. The following is compiled from history books listed at the end of this pamphlet If you research the matter yourself, keep in mind that various sources conflict in several details. In this compilation, I try to include information from each source to form an account that is both detailed and interesting. THE GROWING TYRANNY Under the leadership of General Santa Anna, the government of Mexico was transformed into a military dictatorship (see the letter by S.F. Austin, p. 85, Texas and the Texans), ignoring the Constitution of 1824, which had cost many lives and had secured liberties not previously enjoyed by the people. The state of Coahuila did not cooperate with Santa Anna's plans, and the state of Zacatecas rebelled, but was brutally crushed by the military. One of Santa Anna's "reforms" was to reduce the number of the militia to one soldier for every five-hundred inhabitants, and to disarm the remainder. This arbitrary decree was a sufficient justification of Texas for her subsequent acts. Every one who knows the Texans, or who has heard of them, would naturally conclude that they never would submit to be disarmed. Any government that would attempt to disarm its people is despotic; and any people that would submit to it deserves to be slaves! Stephen F. Austin was jailed in Mexico City, accused of fomenting revolution. In early 1835 Santa Anna reopened the Customs House at Anahuac. He again slapped duties on the colonists. He sent a new man, Captain Antonio Tenorio, to Anahuac to see that the Texans paid up. The local legislature at Monclova was gone--closed down by Santa Anna after it tried to raise money by selling four hundred leagues of Texas land to hungry U.S. speculators. Most Texans were opposed to this step too--and no one liked being governed from Monclova--but Santa Anna's solution left them even worse off. They now had no government at all, and their representatives were under arrest. Along the coast Mexican garrisons stepped up their campaign to stop smuggling and collect customs duties. At Galveston they seized the Texas schooner Martha, loaded with supplies for the colonists. A message taken from a careless Mexican courier hinted that even more troops were on the way. Angrily the settlers burned some lumber ordered by Captain Tenorio at Anahuac. SOME TAKE ACTION, BUT THE PEOPLE AREN'T READY AND REMAIN CONCILIATORY William B. Travis had a better idea. Late in June he raised a company of twenty-five men and marched on Tenorio's headquarters. He dramatically gave the Mexicans fifteen minutes to surrender or be 'put to the sword.' Tenorio quickly capitulated. The colonists couldn't adjust that easily. They were shocked at Travis' audacity. This wasn't merely a case of smuggling, dodging customs collectors, or playing a practical joke on Colonel Bradburn. This was throwing out the garrison commander. Practically open rebellion. Few were ready to go that far. Apologies...regrets...stern words for Travis. Repudiated, he lapsed into one of his moody spells. He published a note in the Texas Republican asking people to 'reserve judgment.' He morosely wrote a friend that he felt ashamed. SANTA ANNA MOVES TO DESTROY THOSE WHO TOOK ACTION At this point, Santa Anna overplayed his hand. Deeming Travis' setback a sign of weakness, he decided that this was the time to finish off his enemies. During August he poured more troops into Texas and told his brother-in-law, General Martin Perfecto de Cos, to take personal command. Cos ordered the arrest of Travis and several other Texas troublemakers. TEXANS RALLY ON THE SIDE OF THEIR BRETHREN,NO LONGER CONCILIATORY The Mexican leaders completely misinterpreted the situation. The Texans' real goal was to build a secure future without outside interference. They rebuked Travis because he seemed to be inviting a fight. Now they saw an infinitely greater threat--martial law, military occupation, the arrest of good friends. Almost overnight the pendulum swung the other way, and the people of Texas turned violently against Santa Anna. Committees of Safety sprang up in every town. The highly influential Telegraph and Texas Register hammered away for liberty and freedom. Travis discarded his moody gloom; his letters now sang of 'the hour that will try men's souls.' Then on September 1 came an electrifying development--Stephen F. Austin suddenly reappeared from Mexico. Next week a thousand people jammed the banquet given in his honor in Brazoria. The Room fell silent as the trusted leader rose to speak. He had always preached moderation; after a year in Mexican jails, how did he feel? He left little doubt. Santa Anna was destroying the people's rights.... And on the question of Mexican troops in Texas, Austin was even more specific. The people had a strong moral sense that 'would not unite with any armed force sent against this country; on the contrary, it would resist and repel it, and ought to do so....' SANTA ANNA TRIES TO DISARM THE RESISTANCE A week later General Cos landed at Copano with 400 men. 'WAR is our only recourse,' thundered a broadside from Austin. Unfazed, Cos headed for San Antonio. Here the garrison commander Colonel Ugartechea had his hands full, confiscating weapons...searching houses...disbanding suspicious groups that re-formed as fast as he broke them up. Mexican policy was to seize arms and military stores in Texan hands before real trouble started. THE MILITARY MOVES IN TO CONFISCATE HEAVY WEAPONS, HELD OFF BY A FEW BRAVE MEN WHO STAND IN THE GAP Word had just come of a serious problem at Gonzales. The colonists there were shining up a small cannon given them years ago to ward off Indians. Ugartechea, acting under the decree disarming citizens, sent a file of cavalrymen riding to Gonzales with an order for the surrender of the gun. Andrew Ponton, the Gonzales alcalde, received the order and stalled for time. He sent a message stating he was absent. He demanded an order from the political chief of the Department of the Brazos before releasing it. The noncommissioned officer in charge of the Mexican cavalry left his men camped at Gonzales and rode back to San Antonio de Bexar for further instructions from Colonel Ugartechea. Meanwhile, Ponton buried the cannon in a peach orchard and sent runners to the surrounding area for armed assistance. Not long after, the Texans shed all pretense of ever surrendering the cannon. Joseph D. Clements delivered the message to the Mexican army: "I cannot, nor do I desire to deliver up the cannon...and only through force will we yield." Meanwhile, word was spreading that the Texans at Gonzales needed help. Following is a letter written by Stephen F. Austin when he heard of the impending conflict:
The eighteen men in Gonzales, willing and able to conduct an organized fight, removed all boats from the Guadalupe River, and hid the ferry in a bayou north of town. Next they captured the handful of Mexican soldiers waiting near town--but one man escaped, and rode hallooing back to Bexar. Meanwhile, volunteers responding to the call to arms rushed to the scene, and the little Texan force of 18 mushroomed to 150 on September 30...167 on October 1. Also at this time, Sara Seely DeWitt and her daughter Evaline made the flag, back then referred to as the Old Cannon Flag, now called the Come and Take It flag. Depicted on a white cloth was a cannon with a lone star above it, and the words "come and take it" beneath the cannon. It was Texas' first battle flag, and first lone star flag. [To my knowledge, it is also the only flag that indirectly equates arms to liberty, and that openly defies a tyrant's attempts at gun control. Ed.] On October 1, 1835, Captain Francisco Castaneda arrived from San Antonio with something less than two hundred men. Ugartechea intended a show of force. Castaneda, blocked by the Guadalupe, demanded the ferry be restored, and the cannon handed over. There was some parleying, a demonstration by the Mexican cavalry near the town, and considerable yelling and taunting by the Texans, who dared the Mexicans to "come and take it!" echoing the words emblazoned on their newly created flag flying in the breeze. WITH THE PEOPLE OF TEXAS BEHIND THEM,THE MILITIA MOVES AGAINST THE ENEMY That night the Texans silently slipped across the Guadalupe and formed a defensive square. Rev. William P. Smith rode into the square and addressed the Texans:
After Smith's address, the Texans resumed their advance toward the Mexican camp in the fog shrouded dawn of October 2. They were sure Castaneda planned to attack this day; they might as well hit him first. Quietly, very quietly, they edged through the fog. With them was the cannon, dug up from the peach orchard where Albert Martin had buried it. It was loaded with chains and scraps of iron. The Texan militia blundered into the Mexican pickets, but in the dark and fog there could be no war. Everyone drew back and waited until daybreak. The fog lifted suddenly as a curtain, showing both forces drawn up on an open prairie. With the Come and Take It flag flying, the Gonzales cannon fired, and Captain Castaneda immediately requested a parley, asking why he was being attacked. Colonel Moore, commander of the Texans, explained that the Captain had demanded a cannon given to the Texans for 'the defense of themselves and the constitution and the laws of the country,' while he, Castaneda, 'was acting under orders of the tyrant Santa Anna, who had broken and trampled underfoot all the state and federal constitutions of Mexico, except that of Texas,' which last the Texans were prepared to defend. Castaneda answered that 'he was himself a republican, as were two-thirds of the Mexican nation, but he was a professional officer of the government,' and while that government had indeed undergone certain surprising changes, it was the government, and the people of Texas were bound to submit to it. Moore then suggested to the Captain, if he were a republican, he should join the revolution against tyranny by surrendering his command, and join them in the fight. Captain Castaneda replied stiffly that he would obey his orders. At this, Moore returned to his own lines and ordered the Texans to open fire. There was a brief skirmish, and the Mexican force immediately abandoned the field and rode back toward San Antonio. NO LONGER WILL TEXANS OR OTHER AMERICANS BE DISARMED BY TYRANTS! Historian H. Yoakum's words in 1855 bear repeating: "Every one who knows the Texans, or who has heard of them, would naturally conclude that they never would submit to be disarmed. Any government that would attempt to disarm its people is despotic; and any people that would submit to it deserves to be slaves!" SOME FINAL COMMENTS (NOT FROM THE HISTORY BOOKS) We have had enough of tyrants seeking to disarm us so they can subjugate us to their evil schemes. History has shown us that those seeking to disarm us are indeed tyrants, and the enemies of liberty. History has given us the flag that represents our refusal to be disarmed, and it has given us examples of men and women who fought and died for liberty. All that is left for us in the present is to muster the courage, intelligence, craftiness, endurance, commitment, and knowledge of history to carry the fight through to the finish. Epilogue: DO SECOND AMENDMENT "ARMS" INCLUDE CANNONS? Congress have no power to disarm the militia. Their swords, and every other terrible implement of the soldier, are the birthright of an American... The unlimited power of the sword is not in the hands of either the federal or state government, but, where I trust in God it will ever remain, in the hands of the people. -Tench Coxe, Pennsylvania Gazette, Feb. 20, 1788 The word 'arms' in the connection we find it in the Constitution of the United States, refers to the arms of a militiaman or soldier, and the word is used in its military sense. The arms of the infantry soldier are the musket and bayonet; of cavalry and dragoons, the saber, holster pistols and carbine; of the artillery, the field piece, siege gun, and mortar, with side arms. -English v State, Texas 473, 476 (1871-2). SOURCES for "History of the 1835 Come And Take It Flag." A Concise History of Texas, Mike Kingston, Gulf Publishing Co, Houston, Texas. A Time to Stand, Walter Lord. Harper & Row, 1961. Dr. William P. Smith 1795-1870: First Surgeon General & Chaplain, Texian Army; President First Texian Army Medical Board. Wallace L. McKeehan; Sons of DeWitt Colony, Texas. www-ibt.tamu.edu/ibt/ccbn/mckeehan/dewitt/drsmith.htm Flags of Texas, Charles E. Gilbert, Jr. Illustrated by James Rice. Pelican Publishing Co, Gretna, 1989. (c) 1964 Charles W. Parsons. "Gonzales Before and After the ALAMO," pamphlet from the Gonzales Chamber of Commerce and Agriculture. History of Texas From Its First Settlement in 1685 to Its Annexation to the United States in 1846. H. Yoakum, Esq. Vol. 1 of 2. Redfield 34 Beekman St., NY 1855. Facsimile by The Steck Company of Austin, Texas. History of the Revolution in Texas, Particularly of the War of 1835 & 36, C. Hester Newell. Arno Press, 1973. Lone Star, A History of Texas and the Texans, T.R. Fehrenbach Monuments Erected by the State of Texas to Commemorate the Centenary of Texas Independence. The Report of the Commission of Control for Texas Centennial Celebrations, compiled by Harold Schoen, Austin, 1938. The Papers of the Texas Revolution 1835-1836, John H. Jenkins, general editor, Vol. 1. Presidential Press, 1973. The Romantic Flags of Texas, Mamie Wynne Cox. Dallas...1936. p. 156-157. Texas History Carved in Stone, compiled by William Moses Jones. Monument Publishing Co, 1958. Texas and the Texans; or, Advance of the Anglo-Americans to the South-West, Henry Stuart Foote, Vol. 2 of 2. Philadelphia; Thomas, Cowperthwait & Co, 1841. Under Six Flags:
The Story of Texas, M.E.M. Davis. Ginn and Company, 1897.
p. 62.
At every turn, someone is trying to disarm us. As hostility to our freedom increases, it is imperative that we recall our forefathers and the efforts of various tyrants to disarm them. The past holds parallels to the present, and can guide us in our current struggles. You know that the battles at Lexington and Concord, the start of the American Revolution, erupted because British troops were marching to seize the colonists' weapons at these two locations. You may not be aware that the Texas revolution started in a similar way: Mexican troops, General Santa Anna's thugs, were marching on the town of Gonzales to seize their cannon, but the people refused to surrender their arms, and fought off the Mexicans. At this first skirmish the Texans flew one of Texas' most famous flags: "ole' Come And Take It." The Come And Take It flag and its history have always fascinated me, because it is still relevant today--tyrants are still trying to take our guns, and, like our forefathers, we will surrender neither our guns nor our right to own them. While pondering the struggles our forefathers faced, and while admiring the Come And Take It flag, I couldn't help but wish that we in the present had a symbol as powerful and inspiring as the Come And Take It flag was in 1835. Sure, the flag is relevant in that tyrants are still trying to take our guns, but no one is coming to take our breechloading, black powder, smoothbore fieldpiece. The cannon on the flag is largely symbolic of our struggle to retain our modern firearms. Why couldn't we update the flag so it represents our current struggle, while harkening back to history--reminding everyone that the struggle to retain our rights is as old as Texas and the USA? With a historical flag representing our cause, it would be apparent that we who fight those who would disarm us are not extreme or radical, we are merely walking in the footsteps and in the well-beaten paths first trod by our forefathers. Our historic flag would declare our historic cause. To re-design the Come And Take It flag for today wasn't very hard, because most of the work had already been done by Sarah Lee Dewitt in 1835. Since the cannon was the only item that was slightly dated, it made sense to replace it with a modern firearm. It would need to be a firearm that someone, in fact, many someones at many levels of government are literally coming to take, and in many instances, have already taken it. It would have to be American designed and made. It would have to be easily recognizable even at a long distance. It should be a military-style firearm so there is no doubt that the right to keep and bear arms includes these firearms. It should have the features that are the target of todays tyrants: high-capacity magazine, bayonet lug, and flash suppressor, and not necessarily semi-automatic only. The choice was easy to make, because there is only one firearm meeting those criteria. It was designed by an American, has been used extensively by the US military, is instantly recognized by everyone, and so on. That firearm, as you might have guessed, is the Colt AR-15/M-16. Retaining the styling from the Come And Take It flag enables anyone to instantly recognize the new Come And Take It flag as the 1835 flag with only one change. One change, but now, oh, the new meaning it adds to the flag! Now, no one can say the flag is only about a struggle between Santa Anna's thugs and Texans 160 years ago in the far away and distant past that offers no bearing today and has no relevance in today's struggle over gun control. Now, anyone who sees the flag will consider that history is repeating itself today, and that those in power are aligned with tyrants of old--Santa Anna, King George III--that gun control is nothing new and is nothing more than the schemes of evil men working to subject the good and the innocent to tyranny and servitude. And perhaps, when people see the flag they will choose the side of those resisting the marching thugs, and will take their place in that long line of patriots, minutemen, and freedom-fighters who have stood against wrong for hundreds of years. Perhaps if they are not too familiar with the flag's history they will read about it and discover that the only difference between now and 1835 is the tyrants' names. When we see the flag we can remember that those standing in that long line of history stood their ground. They did not back down, they did not surrender, they did not compromise, even when the cost was great. A number of the men at Gonzales died at the Alamo, and, as the men of the American Revolution, they sacrificed their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honors. How can we do any less? Constitution of
the United States of America Article VI, Second Clause Bill of Rights,
Article X Bill of Rights,
Article II
The 1835 version of the Come And Take It flag depicts an artillery weapon that was current military ordinance back in 1835 (at least it was a diminutive version of then-modern cannons). .50 BMG weapons are close modern counterparts to the Gonzales cannon in that they, too, are diminutive artillery. (Interestingly, the primary target of British attacks on Lexington and Concord were colonial cannons; the small arms were a secondary target.) Much as in 1775 and 1835, current efforts are underway to ban, register, or re-classify .50 BMGs as Class III. To meet these threats to our liberty, we have produced a flag with a .50 BMG rifle. The Come And Take It flag serves three major purposes: 1. To prompt people to examine gun control from a historical perspective, so they can see from the past that gun control has been the work of tyrants, and those resisting gun control were standing for liberty; 2. To provide the pro-gun community with a symbol encouraging them to fight in the face of overwhelming odds, and more importantly, to never compromise the Second Amendment; 3. To warn those promoting gun control, that they are walking in the footsteps of tyrants, and that we cannot acquiesce to their destruction of our rights and liberty. Epilogue: Do Second Amendment "Arms" Include Cannons? "Congress have no power to disarm the militia. Their swords, and every other terrible implement of the soldier, are the birthright of an American... The unlimited power of the sword is not in the hands of either the federal or state government, but, where I trust in God it will ever remain, in the hands of the people." -Tench Coxe, Pennsylvania Gazette, Feb. 20, 1788 "The word `arms' in the connection we find it in the Constitution of the United States, refers to the arms of a militiaman or soldier, and the word is used in its military sense. The arms of the infantry soldier are the musket and bayonet; of cavalry and dragoons, the saber, holster pistols and carbine; of the artillery, the field piece, siege gun, and mortar, with side arms." -English v State, Texas 473, 476 (1871-2) "Cannon are constantly manufactured, when demanded, to a very considerable extent, in the public armories of the nation, and of the States, and on contracts, and for sale to associations of citizens, and to individual purchasers, for use at home, or for exportation." Tench Coxe, Dec, 8, 1812, Report of Acting Secretary of the Treasury; Digest of Manufacturers; American State Papers, 1832
In
the not too distant future, you may be required to
surrender some or all of your guns to the police or
military. How will you respond? About 165 years ago,
early Texans faced the same dilemma. HISTORY OF THE OCT 2, 1835 COME AND TAKE IT FLAG Under the leadership of General Santa Anna, the government of Mexico was transformed into a military dictatorship, ignoring the Constitution of 1824. The state of Coahuila did not cooperate with Santa Anna's plans, and the state of Zacatecas rebelled, but was brutally crushed by the military. One of Santa Anna's "reforms" was to reduce the number of the militia to one soldier for every five-hundred inhabitants, and to disarm the remainder. This arbitrary decree was a sufficient justification of Texas for her subsequent acts. Every one who knows the Texans, or who has heard of them, would naturally conclude that they never would submit to be disarmed. Any government that would attempt to disarm its people is despotic; and any people that would submit to it deserves to be slaves! (Yoakum) As Mexican troops began pouring into Texas, the people of Texas turned violently against Santa Anna. Committees of Safety sprang up in every town. Newspapers hammered away for liberty and freedom. William B. Travis' letters sang of "the hour that will try men's souls." Stephen F. Austin spoke that Santa Anna was destroying the people's rights, and Texans "would resist and repel" "any armed force" sent against Texas. As unrest increased, Santa Anna's soldiers began confiscating weapons, searching houses, disbanding suspicious groups that re-formed as fast as they were broken up. A number of soldiers marched to Gonzales to confiscate a small cannon given them years ago to ward off Indians. The Gonzales alcalde received the order to surrender the cannon, but stalled for time, sending runners to the surrounding area for armed assistance. Not long after, the Texans shed all pretense of ever surrendering the cannon, and delivered the message to the Mexican army: "I cannot, nor do I desire to deliver up the cannon...and only through force will we yield." Word of the impending conflict reached Stephen F. Austin, who sent letters calling for volunteers to go to Gonzales, noting that "The present movements of the people of Texas are of a popular and voluntary character, in defense of their constitutional rights," and that the people would "defend themselves and the constitution, if necessary. ... [T]he position taken by the country up to the present time, is purely defensive," and, Texans should "avoid making attacks unless they should be necessary as a measure of defence." Eighteen men in Gonzales, willing and able to conduct an organized fight, removed all boats from the Guadalupe River, and hid the ferry in a bayou north of town. Volunteers responding to the call to arms rushed to the scene, and the little Texan force of 18 mushroomed to 167 by October 1. During this time, Sara Seely DeWitt and her daughter Evaline made the first Come And Take It flag. It was Texas' first battle flag, and first lone star flag. [To my knowledge, it is also the only flag that indirectly equates arms to liberty, and that openly defies a tyrant's attempts at gun control. Ed.] From across the Guadalupe river, the Texans dared the Mexicans to "Come and take it!" echoing the words emblazoned on their newly created flag. The Texans expected the Mexicans to attack at any time, so they decided to strike first. The night of Oct 1 the Texans crossed the river and opened fire on the Mexican troops at first light on Oct 2, sending the troops hurrying back to Bexar. WHY WE NEED THE COME AND TAKE IT FLAG TODAY While pondering the struggles our forefathers faced, and while admiring the Come And Take It flag, I couldn't help but wish that we in the present had a symbol as powerful and inspiring as the Come And Take It flag was in 1835. Sure, the flag is relevant in that tyrants are still trying to take our guns, but no one is coming to take our breechloading, black powder, smoothbore fieldpiece. The cannon on the flag is largely symbolic of our struggle to retain our modern firearms. Why couldn't we update the flag so it represents our current struggle, while harkening back to history--reminding everyone that the struggle to retain our rights is as old as Texas and the USA? With a historical flag representing our cause, it would be apparent that we who fight those who would disarm us are not extreme or radical, we are merely walking in the footsteps and in the well-beaten paths first trod by our forefathers. Our historic flag would declare our historic cause. Now, with an updated flag, no one can say the flag is only about a struggle between Santa Anna's thugs and Texans 160 years ago in the far away and distant past that offers no bearing today and has no relevance in today's struggle over gun control. Now, anyone who sees the flag will consider that history is repeating itself today, and that those in power are aligned with tyrants of old--Santa Anna, King George III--that gun control is nothing new and is nothing more than the schemes of evil men working to subject the good and the innocent to tyranny and servitude. And perhaps, when people see the flag, they will choose the side of those resisting the marching thugs, and will take their place in that long line of patriots, minutemen, and freedom-fighters who have stood against wrong for hundreds of years. SOURCES for "History of the 1835 Come And Take It Flag." A Time to Stand, Walter Lord. Harper & Row, 1961. "Gonzales Before and After the ALAMO," pamphlet from the Gonzales Chamber of Commerce and Agriculture. History of Texas From Its First Settlement in 1685 to Its Annexation to the United States in 1846. H. Yoakum, Esq. Vol. 1 of 2. Redfield 34 Beekman St., NY 1855. Facsimile by The Steck Company of Austin, Texas. Lone Star, A History of Texas and the Texans, T.R. Fehrenbach. Texas and the Texans; or, Advance of the Anglo-Americans to the South-West, Henry Stuart Foote. Vol. 2 of 2. Philadelphia; Thomas, Cowperthwait & Co, 1841. The unabridged versions of these articles are at www.ComeAndTakeIt.com or enclose a dollar to: Battle Flags, Etc.; 1141 Metzger Road; Fredericksburg, Texas 78624. We sell both the 1835 and the modern Come And Take It flags, and every flag of every description. We don't compromise our principles or our quality. Constitution of
the United States of America Article VI, Second Clause Article II (Second
Amendment), Bill of Rights (c) 1994, 2000David C. Treibs
No man thinks more highly than I do of the patriotism, as well as abilities, of the very worthy gentlemen who have just addressed the House. But different men often see the same subject in different lights; and, therefore, I hope it will not be thought disrespectful to those gentlemen if, entertaining as I do opinions of a character very opposite to theirs, I shall speak forth my sentiments freely and without reserve. This is no time for ceremony. The question before the House is one of awful moment to this country. For my own part, I consider it as nothing less than a question of freedom or slavery; and in proportion to the magnitude of the subject ought to be the freedom of the debate. It is only in this way that we can hope to arrive at truth, and fulfill the great responsibility which we hold to God and our country. Should I keep back my opinions at such a time, through fear of giving offense, I should consider myself as guilty of treason towards my country, and of an act of disloyalty toward the Majesty of Heaven, which I revere above all earthly kings. Mr. President, it is natural to man to indulge in the illusions of hope. We are apt to shut our eyes against a painful truth, and listen to the song of that siren till she transforms us into beasts. Is this the part of wise men, engaged in a great and arduous struggle for liberty? Are we disposed to be of the number of those who, having eyes, see not, and, having ears, hear not, the things which so nearly concern their temporal salvation? For my part, whatever anguish of spirit it may cost, I am willing to know the whole truth; to know the worst, and to provide for it. I have but one lamp by which my feet are guided, and that is the lamp of experience. I know of no way of judging of the future but by the past. And judging by the past, I wish to know what there has been in the conduct of the British ministry for the last ten years to justify those hopes with which gentlemen have been pleased to solace themselves and the House. Is it that insidious smile with which our petition has been lately received? Trust it not, sir; it will prove a snare to your feet. Suffer not yourselves to be betrayed with a kiss. Ask yourselves how this gracious reception of our petition comports with those warlike preparations which cover our waters and darken our land. Are fleets and armies necessary to a work of love and reconciliation? Have we shown ourselves so unwilling to be reconciled that force must be called in to win back our love? Let us not deceive ourselves, sir. These are the implements of war and subjugation; the last arguments to which kings resort. I ask gentlemen, sir, what means this martial array, if its purpose be not to force us to submission? Can gentlemen assign any other possible motive for it? Has Great Britain any enemy, in this quarter of the world, to call for all this accumulation of navies and armies? No, sir, she has none. They are meant for us: they can be meant for no other. They are sent over to bind and rivet upon us those chains which the British ministry have been so long forging. And what have we to oppose to them? Shall we try argument? Sir, we have been trying that for the last ten years. Have we anything new to offer upon the subject? Nothing. We have held the subject up in every light of which it is capable; but it has been all in vain. Shall we resort to entreaty and humble supplication? What terms shall we find which have not been already exhausted? Let us not, I beseech you, sir, deceive ourselves. Sir, we have done everything that could be done to avert the storm which is now coming on. We have petitioned; we have remonstrated; we have supplicated; we have prostrated ourselves before the throne, and have implored its interposition to arrest the tyrannical hands of the ministry and Parliament. Our petitions have been slighted; our remonstrances have produced additional violence and insult; our supplications have been disregarded; and we have been spurned, with contempt, from the foot of the throne! In vain, after these things, may we indulge the fond hope of peace and reconciliation. There is no longer any room for hope. If we wish to be free-- if we mean to preserve inviolate those inestimable privileges for which we have been so long contending--if we mean not basely to abandon the noble struggle in which we have been so long engaged, and which we have pledged ourselves never to abandon until the glorious object of our contest shall be obtained--we must fight! I repeat it, sir, we must fight! An appeal to arms and to the God of hosts is all that is left us! They tell us, sir, that we are weak; unable to cope with so formidable an adversary. But when shall we be stronger? Will it be the next week, or the next year? Will it be when we are totally disarmed, and when a British guard shall be stationed in every house? Shall we gather strength by irresolution and inaction? Shall we acquire the means of effectual resistance by lying supinely on our backs and hugging the delusive phantom of hope, until our enemies shall have bound us hand and foot? Sir, we are not weak if we make a proper use of those means which the God of nature hath placed in our power. Three millions of people, armed in the holy cause of liberty, and in such a country as that which we possess, are invincible by any force which our enemy can send against us. Besides, sir, we shall not fight our battles alone. There is a just God who presides over the destinies of nations, and who will raise up friends to fight our battles for us. The battle, sir, is not to the strong alone; it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave. Besides, sir, we have no election. If we were base enough to desire it, it is now too late to retire from the contest. There is no retreat but in submission and slavery! Our chains are forged! Their clanking may be heard on the plains of Boston! The war is inevitable--and let it come! I repeat it, sir, let it come. It is in vain, sir, to extenuate the matter. Gentlemen may cry, Peace, Peace-- but there is no peace. The war is actually begun! The next gale that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears the clash of resounding arms! Our brethren are already in the field! Why stand we here idle? What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death! |
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