By Allen Hamrick
As we get nearer to July 4, 2026, and the 250 years young anniversary of our country, we stand at a true milestone. No other country in existence at the time ever gave the USA much of a chance to survive in its first years as a country, but people who seem to have had it all way underestimated what a ragamuffin bunch of people would do to gain freedom. We have heard about the price for freedom many, many times from classrooms to campfires. Regular citizens, farmers, merchants, tradesmen and lawyers dared to imagine a world where they could govern themselves. I believe we should look at the summer of 1776 and what it was actually like, both in Philadelphia as well as the rugged hills of the Appalachians in what we now know as West Virginia.
We often picture the signing of the Declaration of Independence as a stoic even with high strung politicians and smug officials, but that’s not entirely true. These men were under intense pressure and just signing their name made them outlaws to the most powerful country on earth. To sign would mean their deaths as well as that of any who backed them. July 2, 1776, was the actual day those brave men parted the seed corn with England, and July 4, 1776, was the date they all agreed on the wording and sent it off to be printed. Since there was no form of communication other than people on horses, it took even longer than that for word to reach people that had spread around the country… probably weeks.
However, before the ink was dry at the printing press, here in Western Virginia men were already gearing up for what they knew was coming. These Appalachians were filled with fiercely independent and free-spirited people who had a large disdain for royalty. Most of the time battles were fought in the bigger cities or areas close to them, but not all. We have all heard the phrase, “Make a bee line to the door.” Interestingly enough, that might have originated in 1776 from what was called the Bee Line March. General Washington desperately needed reinforcements to surround the British in Boston. To answer that call a unit of a hundred plus men from the Eastern Panhandle stepped up. Keep in mind that at the time our part of the country was all rugged frontiers. All these men took with them was the clothes on their backs and Pennsylvania long rifles, some of the deadliest and most accurate guns of the time.
It took those men just 24 days to go 600 miles; folks, that’s marching and running 25 miles a day with no roads. It was reported that George Washington was moved to tears at the sight of such patriots and what these mountain men accomplished. Here in Clay the land was still a wilderness, and it would be decades before those like Sinnett Triplett and David McOlglin settled here. The families that eventually moved into this region were cut from the same cloth as those patriots, and many of them had families involved in the revolution.
When we all gather for fireworks in a couple of weeks, let’s remember we are not just celebrating a date but are celebrating the regular people, from statesmen to the pioneers, who carved out a civilization here in the Appalachians. We should remember and celebrate those who believed that liberty was worth fighting for. I challenge you to read the history of the Bee Line March, it is a great account of people just like you and me who went well above the call of duty to defend our lands. As a matter of fact, Morgan’s Grove just outside of Shepherdstown is considered by the US Army as its birthplace because of this event. Check it out; be educated about your heritage and proud of your ancestry.
