Civil War

U.S. Grant vs. Robert E. Lee

August 2, 2019 By The Grey Beard Biker™️ 10 Mins Read

As you are well aware, your ever lovable Grey Beard Biker loves military history – and for that matter – United States history. Be it the War of the Revolution, War of 1812, the Mexican War, the Civil War, the Spanish-American War, World War I, World War II, Korea, Vietnam or the War on Terror, he has read about it extensively. But the Civil War has always been Grey Beard’s passion.

Having been born and raised in Central Illinois, but living the majority of his adult life in Missouri and Tennessee, your old bearded pal has a very unique take on what southerners call the War of Northern Aggression – a term I do not embrace. While sympathetic to the south, as someone who has adopted the southeast United States as home, my views on the Civil War tend to be more pragmatic. The North had the manufacturing and manpower to bring the South to her knees, but the Rebel armies had a certain elan which was admirable. During the last thirteen months of the war, the two most well known commanders, Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee would face each other in a fight to the death. These men were vastly different – but also quite alike in many respects. While Grant never was beaten in any campaign he commanded, R.E. Lee was known for his daring on the battlefield. Let’s take a brief look at each general.

Robert E. Lee

Robert E. Lee was born in 1809 in the tidewater area of Virginia. His father was “Lighthorse” Harry Lee which would be both a blessing and a curse. A blessing because Henry Lee was a celebrated hero of the Revolutionary War, but a curse because he left his family terrible amounts of debt. He would graduate from West Point at the top of his class and serve as an engineer and a cavalry officer. He earned a great deal of respect for his courage on the battlefield during the Mexican War. Lee would serve as superintendent at West Point and would finish his service in the U.S. Army as lieutenant colonel of the vaunted 2nd Cavalry.

After Abraham Lincoln‘s inauguration, and the secession of several southern states, Lee wound be offered command of the Union armies arriving in Washington, D.C. to protect the capital. After the firing on Fort Sumter, in Charleston bay, Lincoln called for 75,000 volunteers to put down the rebellion. This would be the final straw for Lee, who’s home state of Virginia promptly seceded. Lee would resign his U.S. Army commission and take a role as President Jefferson Davis‘ military advisor.

After the wounding of General Joseph E. Johnston, during the Peninsula Campaign, Lee would be placed in command of the Army of Northern Virginia, where he would earn the love and respect of his soldiers and the entire southern citizenry. He would lead this army through some of the most brutal battles of the war: the Seven Days, Second Manassas, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, the Overland Campaign and Petersburg.

Ulysses S. Grant

Hiram Ulysses Grant was born in an Ohio River town in southern Ohio in April 1822. His upbringing would be vastly different than R.E. Lee’s as he did not have the family name or the connections Lee would benefit from. He was an excellent equestrian and enjoyed reading. What he did not like to do was spend time in his father, Jesse Grant’s tannery. He could not stand the sight of blood and was disgusted by the smell. Unlike Lee, Grant was never particularly close with his mother.

Jesse, knowing young Ulys did not desire to follow in his footsteps, secured him an appointment to West Point. Unlike Lee, Grant would not graduate at the top of his West Point class. While he wanted to join the cavalry service, he would instead be assigned to the 4th Infantry Regiment and head to Jefferson Barracks in St. Louis. While there, he would meet Julia Dent, sister of his fellow classmate, Fred Dent, whom he would later marry.

During the Mexican War, Grant would be assigned quartermaster’s duties for his regiment. Inevitably this would help him later in his career, when he was responsible for large armies. Not wanting to be away from the fighting, while in Mexico, he would volunteer to help along the infantry lines and was cited for gallantry. After the Mexican War he would be sent to upstate New York, where he could enjoy Julia’s company. But that would be short lived, as he was soon transferred to the west coast where it would be too difficult to have his family with him. Missing his family desperately, he would resign his commission and move to St. Louis where he would scratch out a living on the Dent family’s farm.

By the time of Lincoln’s election, Grant had moved his family to Galena, Illinois to work in his father’s store. As secession was taking place, Grant offered his services to the U.S. Army, but received no response. He would end up helping organize volunteer regiments in Springfield and would eventually earn a commission as colonel of the 21st Illinois Infantry. Through well placed friends in Washington City, he would quickly be promoted brigadier general, volunteers and would earn a reputation as an aggressive fighter at the Battle of Belmont (Missouri).

As mentioned previously, Grant would never lose a battle or campaign during the Civil War. He became a celebrity after capturing forts Henry and Donelson in Tennessee – which would open both the Tennessee and Cumberland rivers. These battles would earn a promotion for Grant, to major general, volunteers. He would go on to win battles at Shiloh, Vicksburg and Chattanooga before being brought east to command all Union armies. This move brought him promotion to lieutenant general in the regular army – a rank not given since George Washington received it.

Never wanting to be away from the fighting, he would set up his command with Major General George Meade‘s Army of the Potomac. Here he would oversee the gruesome fighting at the Wilderness, Spotsylvania Courthouse, the North Anna, Cold Harbor and Petersburg. After capturing Petersburg, he would command the forces chasing Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia during the Appomattox Campaign – eventually receiving Lee’s surrender at Appomattox Court House. He was the only Union commander to capture a Confederate army, until Major General William Sherman captured the remnants of the Army of Tennessee, in North Carolina to end the war. Grant captured three armies.

Was Grant or Lee the “Butcher?”

It is said, that after the fierce fighting a Cold Harbor, Mary Lincoln called Grant a butcher. Yes, Grant was aggressive. He would send his infantry to attack prepared positions. He would hammer away at entrenched lines, always looking for a weak spot. He did this at Donelson, Vicksburg, the Wilderness, Spotsylvania, Cold Harbor and to a degree, at Petersburg. But Lee was also very aggressive, often dividing his army in front of vastly larger forces. He would also hammer at entrenched lines in several battles: Malvern Hill, Gettysburg and Petersburg come to mind. Did Grant deserve the moniker, “butcher,” or was Lee’s aggressive fighting more deserving of this title?

Let’s look at some actual numbers from when Lee faced off against Grant, starting in the spring of 1864. These numbers are taken from Edward H. Bonekemper III’s fabulous book, “A Victor Not A Butcher: Ulysses S. Grant’s Overlooked Military Genius.”

Battle	Lee	Grant
Wilderness	11,125	17,666
Spotsylvania C.H.	13,421	18,399
North Anna River	3,766	3,986
Cold Harbor	4,595	12,737
Petersburg Assaults (prior to siege)	4,000	11,386
Petersburg Siege	28,000	42,000
Appomattox Campaign	41,666	10,780
Totals	106,573	116,954

There is much which can be learned by these overall numbers. First, they contain all casualties for each belligerent: killed, mortally wounded, wounded, captured and missing. After taking command of all Union forces, Grant made his headquarters with Meade’s Army of the Potomac near Warrenton, Virginia. While later in the fighting in Virginia, he would become involved in tactical decisions, early on he let Meade manage the fighting. And thus, he advised Meade, “Lee’s army will be your objective point. Wherever Lee goes, there you will go also.” While strategically quite sound, this mandate would inevitably cause much bloodletting.

By the spring of 1864, Lee’s situation was extremely precarious. He had suffered tremendous losses at Gettysburg, retreating to Northern Virginia to lick his wounds. Over the fall of 1863 and the winter of 1863-1864, his Army of Northern Virginia would also bleed losses from desertion. Simply put, the Rebel soldiers were becoming aware of the inevitability that the Union juggernaut doomed their cause – they did not want to die for a doomed southern independence. So, the diminishing numbers of troops fit-for-battle required that Lee keep his army almost exclusively on the defensive. While he would try to take advantage of offensive opportunities – especially in the Wilderness – for the most part he would keep his army in fixed positions behind entrenchments.

Grant was much wiser than his naysayers gave him credit for. Going into the Overland Campaign, he knew Lee’s army was suffering from severe attrition and that the key to winning the war was constantly hammering the Army of Northern Virginia. And so the blood flowed heavily throughout the Overland Campaign and during the initial attacks against Lee’s lines around Petersburg and Richmond. But what the raw casualty numbers do not reflect, on face value, is that Lee’s overall strength during this time was 1/2 that of Grant’s. With his Army of Northern Virginia behind very heavy earthworks, especially starting at Spotsylvania Court House, Lee would still suffer a higher percentage of losses than Grant with one glaring exception: Cold Harbor. Lee’s desperation led to his high losses. Grant’s realization that the Civil War had become a battle of attrition led to his high losses. The Union’s ability to replenish their forces and Lee’s inability to do so made it thus.

One last analysis of Grant’s overall losses during the entire Civil War bears some examination. Grant would suffer 153,642 total casualties compared to 190,760 Confederate losses. Much of the lopsidedness of these losses were because Grant captured three complete Confederate armies at Donelson, Vicksburg and Appomattox. But based on raw numbers, especially with the never ending manpower reserves of the North, Grant should not be considered the “Butcher.”

In closing, your ever lovable Grey Beard Biker greatly respects the generalship of Robert E. Lee. He proved himself cunning, brave and willing to risk his Army of Northern Virginia when the potential outcome was worth the risk. Grant, undoubtedly is one of the United States’ premier generals. Without his leadership, the Civil War would have at least dragged on much longer. He recognized early on that the war was not a war of capturing territory, but rather a war of annihilating the Confederate war machine. Both of these generals should command respect.

The Grey Beard Biker™️
gbb@TheGreyBeardBiker.com
@Biker4Life on Gab

Note: Besides referencing Bonekemper’s book, this entire post is primarily written from memory. Any mistakes are fully the responsibility of your bearded author.

Opinion

The Decay of America

July 15, 2019 By The Grey Beard Biker™️ 7 Mins Read

It’s happening right before our very eyes. America is in a state of decay. What happened to our great country? Our Founding Fathers, nearly 2 1/2 centuries ago, took 13 small British colonies and declared them independent of the British throne. They knew that the throne would consider them traitors and that they may all swing from the nearest tree. But these brave men created the greatest country on the face of the earth. Since then, we cleansed ourself from the shackles of slavery – with a loss of nearly 10% of our men – in the Civil War, fought fascism and Nazism in Europe and became the world’s greatest superpower. The Patriots who founded our country, and those who paid the supreme sacrifice to promote freedom, must be ashamed of what we have become.

Main Stream Media

One need look no further than the current Main Stream Media (MSM) to see the decay. While they claim to be presenting the news, nearly everything they report as “real” news is shrouded in a blanket of ideology. Their ratings have continued to decline over the past decade, but their followers believe what they spew because it validates their own beliefs. This is not journalism – this is the promotion of one political viewpoint over another – which is not American.

Leftist Politicians

This same MSM provides a platform for politicians they agree with: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Elizabeth Warren, Kamala Harris, Robert “Beto” O’Rourke, Ilhan Omar, Kirsten Gillibrand, Cory Booker, Bernie Sanders and all the other leftist politicians. Some of those they are providing a microphone to preach anti-American garbage, anti-Semitic trash and socialist doctrine. These politicians do not hold the same views as the average American and are chipping away at what has made America great for over 200 years.

Their policies promote open borders, expansion of the welfare state, Medicare for All, free secondary education and the slow erosion of our Second Amendment. They cannot win on the battlefield of ideas. Their platform is hollow and revolves around class warfare, racism and redistribution of wealth. Simply put, they have to give things away to receive votes. Unfortunately, the entitlements they promote will come at a punitive cost to the American taxpayer.

Antifa

Antifa is a stain on the great fabric of our country. While peaceful protests and civil disobedience have been key to the advancement of our great nation, Antifa represents neither. Antifa is an acronym for Anti-Fascist and represents a broad militant group. Fascism, according to Merriam-Webster, is defined as:

“A political philosophy, movement, or regime that exalts nation and often race above the individual and that stands for a centralized autocratic government headed by a dictatorial leader, severe economic and social regimentation, and forcible suppression of opposition.”

Nazism during Adolph Hitler’s formation of the Third Reich has many of the same traits as fascism: nation above its people, centralized autocratic government, a dictatorial leader and suppression of opposition.

Antifa claims to be anti-fascist, often trying to suggest President Donald J. Trump is a fascist, but this is simply not true. Trump is not a fascist. He does not forcibly suppress those who disagree with him. Rather, he calls out his opposition to ensure the people understand what he is dealing with. He is not in charge of an autocratic government. He is the chief executive of a government which still has three distinct branches. Lastly, Trump does not promote the government over the people. He understands that the government is the subject of the people and not the other way around.

Antifa, on the other hand, is fascist in nearly every way. While their chosen name may lead one to believe they are truly anti-fascist, their actions do not support that position. They are protesting a government in which the people vote their legislators and president into office – far from an autocratic form of government. Unlike in a fascist government, the President of the United States can only serve two terms. Antifa members have become violent against many of those they protest, recently beating up a gay reporter, confronting Pro-Life marchers, attacking Trump supporters and blocking traffic. This is nothing like the civil disobedience Henry David Thoreau promoted from Walden Pond. Lastly, they claim to be against white supremacy but come to their protests behind masks – much like the Ku-Klux-Klan did during the 19th and early20th centuries. This is unacceptable in a country which was built upon providing its citizens the freedoms enumerated in our Bill of Rights.

Indoctrination of the People

The Democrats having been losing in the arena of ideas since the Ronald Reagan years. Since the election of William Jefferson Clinton as president, this country has been moving more towards a far-left ideology – one drip at a time. Both Hillary Clinton and Barack H. Obama are disciples of the teachings of Saul Alinksky. Alinsky was the first “community organizer” and wrote the book, “Rules for Radicals” – which provides the modern Democrat Party many of the tactics they use today. The current hatchling of Democrat 2020 hopefuls, and their minions in congress, have not mastered all of Alinsky’s Rules, but some of them they have. Grey Beard has graded their mastery of each one:

Power is not what you have, but what the enemy thinks you have: B- (they attempt to show their power, but the majority of Americans still recognize them as weak – especially on the laws of the land)
Never go outside the experience of your people: D– (they are constantly failing here – with the same tired old faces spewing the same old hatred)
Whenever possible, go outside the experience of your enemy: C- (Trump usually has them tongue tied and resorting to the same old talking points)
Ridicule is man’s most potent weapon: B+ (Ridicule and class warfare is literally the only thing many of them are accomplished at)
A good tactic is one that your people enjoy: A- (Their people love to see them attack Trump, capitalism and religion)
A tactic that drags on for too long becomes a drag: F (Their call for impeachment and continued investigations of Russian Collusion is way beyond its expiration date – move on already)
Keep the pressure on: B (One must give them credit – they are trying)
The threat is usually more terrifying than the thing itself: C (most of their plans are still quite terrifying to Patriots)
The major premise for tactics is the development of operations that will maintain a constant pressure upon the opposition: B (They have been building their organization through societal indoctrination for many years)
If you push a negative hard enough, it will push through and become a positive: B (Medicare for all is a good example of their success – the more moderate Democrats have been slowly coming around to this)
The price of a successful attack is a constructive alternative: C- (This may be the least understood of Alinsky’s Rules – the newest socialist members are trying to do this by throwing out something really unacceptable – like the Green New Deal – with the more moderate Dems offering a compromise which a short time ago no one would have ever seriously considered – this is perhaps the most dangerous of the Rules)
Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it: A+ (Credit where credit is due – the Left has built an entire political agenda around attacking Trump and impeaching him)

Grey Beard Biker’s Summary

Do not underestimate the power these far-left ideologues have to fundamentally change our country. For years they have been formulating their tactics and have quietly worked to take over our education system, starting with the most malleable in society: our children. The leftists knew this was a long-term play – sowing the minds of these children would take a great deal of time before bearing fruit. Today’s Millennials represent a bumper crop for the Left. They have been patient, and unfortunately, they have succeeded in brainwashing an entire generation. All of us Patriots need to start taking these young people back. The risk of not doing so is beyond grave.

The Grey Beard Biker™️
gbb@TheGreyBeardBiker.com
@Biker4Life on Gab

Medal of Honor

First Lieutenant, Alonzo Cushing

July 1, 2019 By The Grey Beard Biker™️ 5 Mins Read

The Civil War was the most significant war in the history of the United States. A war which would ultimately lead to over 600,000 soldiers and sailors giving, “the last full measure of devotion.” – Abraham Lincoln, the Gettysburg Address. This was a fratricidal war of brother fighting brother, neighbor fighting neighbor and in some cases father fighting son. One of the most significant fratricidal fighting grounds – or battlefields – was Gettysburg, Pennsylvania where for three hot days in July 1863, the Confederate Gray fought the Union Blue in a sanguinary slugging match which ended in a near draw, with CSA General Robert E. Lee blinking first, retreating to Dixie shortly after the guns fell quiet on July 3.

Cushing at Gettysburg

Over those first three days of July 1863, Blue and Gray combined would suffer over 51,000 casualties – of which 7,000 were killed in action or mortally wounded. One of those mortally wounded soldiers was Lieutenant Alonzo Cushing who would fall commanding his artillery battery on Cemetery Ridge. His bravery has been praised since the battle, and written about in many historical narratives.

One of Grey Beard Biker’s favorite narratives of Cushing’s stand at Gettysburg was written by historian Noah Andre Trudeau in his well known, “Gettysburg: A Testing of Courage:”

On crossing the road, Garnett’s (Brig. Gen. Robert B. Garnett) formation was thrown into some disorder after his right regiment, the 8th Virginia, had to divide to get around the Codori farm. As the brigade pushed ahead, musketry blasts exploded from its ranks, many of them aimed at the section of wall harboring Cushing’s two guns. The young officer was struck twice, taking a terribly painful would in his genitals. Despite his pain, Cushing kept monitoring the effect of each shot, calling out corrections all the while. A soldier in the 69th (Pennsylvania) remembered hearing him declare, “‘That’s excellent, keep that range,'” just moments before am infantryman commented that “that artillery officer has his legs knocked out from under him.” Cushing was yelling another order or correction when a Rebel bullet entered his mouth, killing him instantly. Soon after this, his two guns exhausted their supplies, thus creating an inviting chink in the Union line.

At the time of his death, Cushing was 22 years old and in command of Battery A, 4th U.S. Artillery. Happenstance brought him to a copse of trees on Cemetery Ridge, the exact focal point of Pickett’s Charge. There he was in command of 110 men manning six artillery tubes. By the time he pushed his 3-inch ordnance rifles to the fence line, based on orders from General Alexander Webb, he only had two functioning rifles left. 150 years after his heroics at Gettysburg, Cushing was awarded the Medal of Honor. Over 3,400 brave souls have received the Medal of Honor – none have waited as long as Lieutenant Cushing: 150 years.

Cushing Medal of Honor Citation:

First Lieutenant Alonzo H. Cushing distinguished himself by acts of bravery above and beyond the call of duty while serving as an Artillery Commander in Battery A, 4th U.S. Artillery, Army of the Potomac at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania on July 3, 1863 during the American Civil War. That morning, Confederate Forces led by General Robert E. Lee began cannonading First Lieutenant Cushing’s position on Cemetery Ridge. Using field glasses, First Lieutenant Cushing directed fire for his own artillery battery. He refused to leave the battlefield after being struck in the shoulder by a shell fragment. As he continued to direct fire, he was struck again, this time suffering grievous damage to his abdomen. Still refusing to abandon his command, he boldly stood tall in the face of Major General George E. Pickett’s charge and continued to direct devastating fire into the oncoming forces. As the Confederate Forces closed in, First Lieutenant Cushing was struck in the mouth by an enemy bullet and fell dead beside his gun. His gallant stand and fearless leadership inflicted severe casualties upon Confederate Forces and opened wide gaps in their lines, directly impacting the Union Forces’ ability to repel Pickett’s Charge. First Lieutenant Cushing’s extraordinary heroism and selflessness above and beyond the call of duty, at the cost of his own life, are in keeping with the highest traditions of military service and reflect great credit upon himself, Battery A, 4th U.S. Artillery, Army of the Potomac and the United States Army.

Lieutenant Cushing, you may have waited longer than any other soldier to receive your Medal of Honor, but it was worth the wait. You will forever be remembered for what you did on Cemetery Ridge, in Gettysburg, on July 3, 1863. Thank you for your service, bravery and intrepidity in the face of overwhelming odds! If it had not been for the stand you made there, the Battle of Gettysburg may have been a turning point for the Confederate States of America instead of the United States of America!

The Grey Beard Biker™️
gbb@TheGreyBeardBiker.com
@Biker4Life on Gab

Opinion

Taking a Lesson from History Instead of Banishing It

June 10, 2019 By The Grey Beard Biker™️ 6 Mins Read

This is the age of the P.C. police. And the P.C. police have nothing to do with that portion of first responders who put their lives on the line every day when they go to work – those who respond to an active shooter situation, a domestic disturbance or a strong-armed robbery. The P.C. police are those who police our society looking for potentially hateful symbols, speech or groups of people they disagree with. Upon finding something they despise, they go after it with every form of vitriol they can summon to prove how hateful, those they hate, are. Kind of ironic isn’t it? The Grey Beard Biker thinks so.

Debate has had a place in our country’s history since the First Continental Congress met to promote the interest of the British colonies in America. Debate is good. Debate, when used persuasively can change opinion and build respect amongst those who oppose each other. But what the P.C. police are doing is shutting down the constitutional rights of groups they disagree with. They succeed in yelling louder than those they disagree with. In your ever-lovable Grey Beard Biker’s opinion, they are trampling on the U.S. Constitution – and they know it. They simply don’t care.

A few years ago, I was outraged about the removal of Confederate monuments in places like New Orleans, Louisiana, Baltimore, Maryland and Charlottesville, Virginia. As recently as April 2019, Maryland legislators had voted to remove the Robert E. Lee statue from Antietam National Battlefield. Since Antietam is a Federally owned property, Maryland has an uphill battle. My rage a couple of years ago had nothing to do with me agreeing with the beliefs of the men being memorialized by these statues. In fact, I disagree vehemently with nearly everything the Confederate States of America stood for. My rage had everything to do with the P.C. police trying to sanitize the history of our country. Whitewashing our past does not change it – it only dumbs down a society which is already clueless to our history, our form of government (like those who would call the United States a Democracy – it is not) and remove key figures of our Founding generation because they did not agree with beliefs these men held 250 years ago.

This morning, I came across a post on Facebook from a longtime American Civil War historian friend of mine. Unlike me, he keeps his politics to himself (probably something Old Grey Beard could learn from). Harry originally posted the article “Historical Symbols, The Nature of Truth and the Sides of History” on his blog, Bull Runnings, four years ago. He shared it on Facebook today, because there is a movement to cease observing Thomas Jefferson’s birthday. So much Harry originally wrote was prescient then – and spot on today. Obviously the P.C. police want to marginalize Jefferson because he owned slaves.

The point Harry makes in his blog article is that we cannot judge people for their actions in the time they lived in. That was their time, not ours. White supremacists are a blight on our country today. But if they were judged by a southerner in 1872, what they stood for would be viewed differently than today. Harry also makes a great observation that if we were to judge leaders of the past through the corrective lens of what we see today, we would be forced to banish Franklin Delano Roosevelt to the dustbin of history for his treatment of Japanese-Americans after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Naturally, that would lead to the removal of his statues. Interesting to think about, but unlikely to happen since FDR was a Democrat and successfully managed the entry of the United States into World War II – and nearly managed complete victory over all the Axis Powers (this would be finished by his Vice President, Harry S. Truman after Roosevelt’s death).

Grey Beard has lots of friends – and I mean friends – that hold far different views. Some are hesitant to condemn ANTIFA, a group that is fascist in actions and ANTI-FAscist in name. This single group has a goal of shutting down any free speech they do not agree with – even resorting to violence. They will block traffic on the streets of our cities, throw things at passing motorists and assault groups they do not agree with all in the guise that the message their opposition represents is hurtful to them. This is not American. It is not even adult like. It is childish behavior from childish adults. The fact that we will accept this behavior today, when these same groups are trying to erase our past, demonstrates how myopic society is today. If you do not agree with them, you are truly the enemy.

In the Grey Beard Biker’s opinion, Harry gets it right in his article when he says, “What do we do with the wrong side? Erase it? Write over it? Maybe it’s just too hard to interpret it. But isn’t that the historian’s job?” Let’s spend more time trying to understand our history, even the institution of slavery, instead of trying to hide it. Are we going to remove Thomas Jefferson next? Perhaps get rid of the Jefferson Monument? There is even talk today about whether we marginalize George Washington, the father of the United States, in our children’s history books. Who is next? Abraham Lincoln? FDR? What about Ulysses S. Grant? The Civil War may have turned out differently if he had not become commanding general of all Union Forces during the Civil War. His wife owned slaves. Should he be banished to the dustbin of history too?

We should take a lesson from British statesman, Edmund Burke: “Those who don’t know history are doomed to repeat it.” While we don’t have to agree with the beliefs of our important historical figures, we need to understand how the work they did make the United States the shining castle on the hill it is today.

The Grey Beard Biker™️
gbb@TheGreyBeardBiker.com
@Biker4Life on Gab

Here is a link to Harry’s original article on Bull Runnings:

Historical Symbols, The Nature of Truth, and the Sides of History