The price of freedom is the willingness to do sudden battle, anywhere, any time and with utter recklessness. - Robert A. Heinlein
When eighty-year old farmer Samuel Whittemore, a veteran of the French Indian War, saw the approaching Regulars on April 19, 1775, he left his plow and, to the astonishment of his family, strapped on his prized dueling pistols and a captured French sword, grabbed his musket, and stepped out to make war one last time. Whittemore ambushed the column at close range, firing first with his musket, and then drawing his dueling pistols. He fired a total of five shots, killing three regulars and wounding another before being overrun. He then drew his sword and attacked. He was shot in the face at close range and bayoneted thirteen times and left for dead. When his grieving family came to collect his body, they were amazed to find him still alive and attempting to reload his musket for a parting shot at the now distant column.
Whittemore said he fought because he wanted his children to live without being subject to a distant King. Some have questioned his tactics, but never his resolve. Perhaps he felt he was just too old to "run and gun" with the others and chose to make his shots count, at close range. Or, perhaps, at the ripe old age of eighty, he had decided "today is a good day to die." Despite his grievous wounds, he survived and lived another eighteen years, dying of natural causes at the age of ninety-eight.
At Bunker (Breed's) Hill, another "dangerous old man" was overheard saying a prayer before the Regulars made their first charge. Was the old man asking God to keep him safe in the coming battle? No. He was down on his knees thanking God for preserving him long enough so that he could fight that day. That is the spirit of a free man who understands the big picture - that none of us gets out of here alive, and what counts most is whether we leave our children free.
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