Neil Gorsuch: The Heroes of 1776

Author: Neil Gorsuch URL: https://www.thefp.com/p/neil-gorsuch-the-heroes-of-1776 One-line: Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch remembers the signers, soldiers, farmers, fifers, spies, and messengers of the American Revolution, on the occasion of its 250th anniversary.

Note on capture: The saved clipping is a paywalled teaser — it cuts off after the opening anecdotes with a subscribe prompt (“Continue Reading The Free Press”). The claims below reflect only what’s visible in the captured excerpt, not the full essay.

Key claims

• The Continental Army suffered brutally at the 1777 siege of Fort Mifflin in Philadelphia. Survivor Joseph Plumb Martin, then 16, described fighting “without provisions, without clothing,” without “a scrap of either shoes or stockings,” and surveying rows of dead comrades: “if ever destruction was complete, it was here.”
• Soldiers survived on tree bark, dog and horse flesh, and boiled leather, marched 24-48 hours without rest, and were frequently unpaid or paid in devalued currency. George Washington himself remarked that during the winter march to Valley Forge “you might have tracked the army… by the blood of their feet.”
• Ordinary civilians sacrificed alongside soldiers. Women organized boycotts of British goods and joined resistance groups like the Daughters of Liberty; farmers left their fields for local militias; children ran households and businesses in their parents’ absence.
• The essay highlights specific overlooked figures: 18-year-old Emily Geiger, who rode through enemy lines to deliver a message to a patriot general; 10-year-old army fifer Richard Lord Jones, who walked 150 miles home after his three-year discharge; and 21-year-old spy Nathan Hale, executed by the British, who said “I only regret that I have but one life to give for my country.”
• Framed around the Revolution’s 250th anniversary, the essay poses the question of what moved so many ordinary people to extraordinary sacrifice, as a prompt for reflecting on the “enduring task of forming ‘a more perfect Union.’”

Notable quotes

“In the cold month of November,” he fought “without provisions, without clothing,” without even “a scrap of either shoes or stockings.” — Joseph Plumb Martin, quoted in the piece

“If ever destruction was complete, it was here.” — Joseph Plumb Martin

“You might have tracked the army… by the blood of their feet.” — George Washington, on the march to Valley Forge

“I only regret that I have but one life to give for my country.” — Nathan Hale

“This year marks the 250th anniversary of our nation’s independence. We are celebrating with fireworks, barbecues, and parades. But we might also pause to reflect on the courage and sacrifice of the founding generation and ask: What moved so many ordinary people to do so many extraordinary things?”

How it connects

• Neil Gorsuch — author; Supreme Court Justice.
• The Free Press — source publication.
• George Washington — quoted on the Valley Forge march; existing wiki page tracks him as a stabilizing reference point across founding-era biographies.