Colonial Campaigns Club (CCC)

The tone of several posts in the past few weeks has shown me why there was a Revolution. There have been references made, by several members of the British Army, to <i>"untrained militia", "rabble"</i> and <i>"colonials"</i> as if the <b><font color="blue">BLUE-BLOODED</font id="blue"> <font color="red">REDCOAT</font id="red"></b> were somehow their superior. This elitist tone, suggesting that the British were somehow better, is reminiscent of Cornwallis' line from the movie the Patriot "...these rustics are so inept..."

It says something of the character of these Lobsterbacks, that they just can't face facts. Say what you may but history speaks for itself. I offer the following from the Diary of Frederick McKenzie (A <b><font color="red">Redcoat </font id="red"></b>Officer) which tells of the efforts of untrained militia against the highly trained British <b><font color="red">Redcoats </font id="red"></b>on the very first day of the war.

"...During the whole of the march from Lexington the Rebels kept an incessant irregular fire from all points at the column, which was the more galling as our flanking parties, which at first were placed at sufficient distances to cover the march of it, were at last, from the different obstructions they occasionally met with, obliged to keep almost close to it. Our men had very few oppurtunities of getting good shots at the Rebels, as they hardly ever fired but under cover of a Stone wall, from behind a tree, or out of a house; and the moment they fired again they lay down out of sight until they had loaded again, or the Column passed. In the road indeed in our rear, they were most numerous, and came on pretty close..."

and later in the same entry

"...The Rebels now appeared in considerable numbers, drawn up in a regular manner, keeping prinicpally on the high grounds, firing occasionally on the troops, but never attempting to make a regular or serious attack. As soon as they found the troops got into a Column of march, they grew bolder, extended themselves on the flanks and rear of the column, and fired briskly from behind any thing which afforded them shelter. The Troops returned thier fire, but with too much eagerness, so that at first most of it was thrown away for want of that coolness and Steadiness which distinguishes troops who have been inured to service."

Proof positive <i>(and from a British source)</i> that an "untrained rabble" can put to shame a highly trained professional army.

The <b><font color="red">Redcoat's</font id="red"></b> official <i><b>"Return of the Killed, Wounded, & Missing in Action of the 19th April 1775"</b></i>

<center><font size="5"><u><b>68 killed--167 wounded--22 missing</b></u></font id="size5"></center>

<center><i>all by untrained rabble militia</i></center>

<center><i><b>Oh, and by the way...remind me...who won the war?</b></i></center>

<center>[:D][8D][:D][:p][:D]</center>