Henry Laurens William Lawrence Sr Omnibit 7-4-14

Henry Laurens, the 5th president of the Continental Congress, was the only Revolutionary War patriot to be incarcerated in the Tower of London.

Laurens was captured when his ship was stopped while returning from a successful diplomatic mission to the Netherlands. The notes in his possession caused the English to declare war on the Dutch.

They won that one.

Laurens was released on Dec. 31, 1781 in exchange for Lord Cornwallis who had surrendered two months earlier after the Battle of Yorktown.

Laurens’ son John was also a patriot and an abolitionist who urged his father to free the 260 slaves on his South Carolina plantation. John was killed in a skirmish near the end of the war. Lauren freed his slaves in tribute to him.

 

Henry Laurens William Lawrence Sr Omnibit 7-4-14

Henry Laurens William Lawrence Sr Omnibit 7-4

John Philip Sousa Baseball Ace, Happy 4th Of July

John Philip Sousa Baseball Ace, Happy 4th Of July

By Joe Guzzardi

In the mid-19th century, John Philip Sousa was one of America’s biggest “base ball” bugs, as fans were then called. In his autobiography, “Marching Along,” Sousa, born in 1854, described the joy baseball had imparted to him since way back to the Civil War. Abner Doubleday, the sport’s mythical inventor, was a Union general in the war who fought at the decisive Battle of Gettysburg in 1863.

Throughout the war, when soldiers on either side weren’t marching or engaged in battle, they played “base ball” to break up camp life’s monotony. Commanders and army doctors encouraged “base ball” believing that it kept the soldiers fit, healthy and out of trouble. While soldiers frequently took part in foot races, wrestling and boxing matches, and occasionally even cricket or football, “base ball” was the most popular of all competitive sports in both army camps. Historians noted that baseball came of age during the Civil War, and entered mainstream American culture during those years. Note: in 1884, The New York Times style guide changed base ball to baseball, and it has been written that way ever since.

As a Washington, D.C. youth, Sousa watched the game evolve from its earliest days through the Dead Ball era that showcased baseball’s first inductees: Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, Walter Johnson, Christy Mathewson and Honus Wagner. Starting in 1857, the 21-run endpoint was eliminated, with games instead ending after nine innings. Foreshadowing modern-day baseball, other rule changes were introduced, including called strikes — previously, strikes were only the result of missed swings. Also, cricket-style flat bats were banned, and a white line marked the boundary between fair and foul territory; the umpire no longer had to guess where the ball landed.

Sousa was more than a fan. Through his years as a bandmaster, Sousa often pitched in games which pitted his band members against local nines. Eventually, his band grew large enough so that intra-squad games between the brass and woodwind sections were played. Whenever the opportunity arose to promote the band in front of a large audience, Sousa, often called “The American March King,” would pitch an inning or two. His band members referred to Sousa as “Ace,” and he pitched until age 62.

John Philip Sousa Baseball Ace, Happy 4th Of July

In the February 1909 issue of “Baseball Magazine,” Sousa, in his essay titled “The Greatest Game in the World,” wrote effusively about playing the American Guards on Independence Day, 1900 at the Paris, France, Exposition Universelle, the World’s Fair. “What,” asked Sousa, “could have been more appropriate for two American organizations in a foreign land to do [play baseball] on the glorious Fourth?” The All-American game that Sousa loved was one of the first baseball games played in Europe.

At the behest of Baseball Commissioner Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis, and to celebrate the National League’s 50th anniversary, Sousa in 1925 wrote “The National Game” that combined his two greatest passions, baseball and marches. The original performances featured four baseball bat solos.

As rousing as “The National Game” march is, Sousa’s classic, “Stars and Stripes Forever,” is more uplifting. Written in 1896, and congressionally approved as the nation’s official march in 1987, Sousa’s lyrics have inspired patriotism in generations of Americans:

“Red and white and starry blue

Is freedom’s shield and home.

“Other nations may deem their flags the best
And cheer them with fervid elation

“But the flag of the North and South and West
Is the flag of flags, the flag of Freedom’s nation.

“Hurrah for the flag of the free!
May it wave as our standard forever,
The gem of the land and the sea,
The banner of the right.”

Joe Guzzardi is a Society for American Baseball Research and Internet Baseball Writers’ Association member. Contact him at guzzjoe@yahoo.com.

John Philip Sousa Baseball Ace, Happy 4th Of July

Proclaim liberty throughout William Lawrence Sr Cryptowit 7-4-22

Proclaim liberty throughout William Lawrence Sr Cryptowit 7-4-22

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Proclaim liberty throughout William Lawrence Sr Cryptowit 7-4-22Answer to yesterday’s William Lawrence Sr Cryptowit quote puzzle: Consecrate the fiftieth year and proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants.
Leviticus 25:10

Proclaim liberty throughout William Lawrence Sr Cryptowit 7-4-22