British Lt. Gen Thomas Gage sent a 700-man force from Boston to Lexington and Concord, Mass., to seize a cache of guns and gunpowder. On April 19, 1775, they were met by 77 Colonists bearing whatever guns they could bring. Likely, among them were American made firearms.
More than a year before America declared sovereignty, the heritage of America’s fierce independence backed by private gun ownership had taken root.
The notion of a nation’s citizenry was revolutionary for the time, but not for the Founders.
James Madison, America’s fourth president, wrote in Federalist 46 that private firearm ownership was an essential trait of the American character.
“Americans have the right and advantage of being armed – unlike the citizens of other countries whose governments are afraid to trust the people with arms.”
Yes, we had “Oliver’s” who fought in the Revolutionary War which began on April 19, 1775, and ended on September 3, 1783. My wife Gina Oliver loves tracing my family ancestry. So, I guess you could say being a “gun owner” is in my blood, certainly in my heritage.