On October 19, 2015, 234th Anniversary of the Victory at Yorktown, the American Society of Le Souvenir Français, Inc. and others laid wreaths before the Monument to the French dead in Yorktown, Virginia.
Photo from Jean Lachaud's post on the Facebook Group of the American Society of Le Souvenir Français, Inc
Among the armed extremists at the Malheur Wildlife Refuge and in Harney, Oregon are a group called the III% (Roman numeral 3).
The III% refers to their historically inaccurate mythology that only 3 percent of the American colonists were active combatants in the war for independence (Oath Keepers and Three Percenters Part of Growing Anti-Government Movement, October 26, 2009, Anti-Defamation League).
The III%'s rhetoric is about armed defense against the "tyranny" of the Federal government.
Their assessment of Federal tyranny requiring armed defense coincides with the 2008 election of a Democratic African-American president. Almost identical Federal policies by previous Republican European-American presidents somehow did not rise to the level of "tyranny" requiring armed defense.
The percentage of colonialist who engaged in combat is irrelevant as we won our independence because of the decisive independence of France and the French armed forces.
Starting in 1778 the independence war was financed by France and our colonial troops were armed and equipped by the French.
In 1781 as many as 11,000 French soldiers, marines and sailors joined as many as 8,000 colonial troops on the ground at the decisive Battle of Yorktown.
In the waters off Yorktown in the Battle of the Virginia Capes (the Battle of the Chesapeake) the French Navy defeated the British Navy which was attempting to break the siege and rescue the trapped British troops.
The total of French troops on the ground and French sailors and marines offshore exceeded the number of colonial troops engaged at Yorktown.
The percentage of colonial combatants does not matter since in order to achieve victory and independence, those colonials need the assistance of a greater number of allied foreign troops.
Exactly which foreign nation does the III% movement expect to again intervene to insure their ability to overthrow the tyrannical Federal government? France?
The historical ignorance of these movements equals their legal illiteracy regarding the Constitution and the subsequent 228 years of legislative, judicial, and scholarly interpretation.
These posts are background research and talking points. I would be honored if others found something useful for their work.My readers are free to use anything in this blog in any way without attribution.
If you wish to acknowledge me, please ask me me before doing so.
This is for me to practice my writing and blogging skills so please ignore grammar, spelling, formatting and other errors.
