LAD #4: Rethinking the Revolution

 http://www.aljazeera.com/mritems/Images/2011/3/7/20113714026398876_20.jpg

 

LAD #4: Rethinking the Revolution

 

1. Some of the Founding Fathers made effort to change the way that they were remembered, including George Washington. Washington even edited letters that he had written to improve the grammar. The War of Independence, like Washington, is not remembered exactly as it was.

 

2. One of the reasons that the War is not remembered in the exact way that it should is because the War was not discussed as much as the political actions during the Revolution were, as time passed after the war. This combined with the brutality of the Civil War has made many people see the War of Independence as less gruesome than it was in reality.

 

3. During the War of Independence, the images that were captured did not display what the battles looked like, unlike the pictures of the Civil War. These less gruesome images also contribute to why the brutality of the War of Independence is not common knowledge. Writing during the War of Independence was also less focused on the battles, and more focused on the rebellion.

 

4. Descriptions of the War of Independence by veterans who fought in it describe horrifying scenes of destruction. Though the casualties were less than the Civil War, the carnage was just as horrible. The bloodshed was immense.

5. The casualties of the War of Independence included many civilians casualties. Both loyalists and patriots were killed in their homes, many of them innocent. Also, many civilians who were not fighting as part of an army or militia, killed other civilians who took the opposite side.

http://www.goddidntchoosesides.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Jennie-Wade.jpg 

 

This is an picture of Jennie Wade, the only civilian to be killed during the Battle of Gettysburg. I was reminded of her when I was reading about the many civilian casualties during the War of Independence.