Experience the American dream with today’s Patriots of the Past interview. I’m your host, John Gillespie.
It’s February 17, 1776. I’m in the Bahamas with the commander of the first American Navy, Commodore Esek Hopkins.
JG: “Commodore Hopkins, what are your orders from the Continental Congress?”
EH: “Mr. Gillespie, I’ve been ordered to destroy all the enemy’s naval force. They may have eighty ships and we only have eight, but we have faith that God will guide us.”
Commodore Hopkins went on to take several British warships at Black Island and capture the British fort at New Providence in the Bahamas.
Read more about Esek Hopkins and his military career.
John and Jan Gillespie are the founders of the Rawhide Boys’ Ranch; they have fostered 351 teenagers and wrote the book Our 351 Sons; they have also assisted numerous churches in developing youth programs and expanding their total church ministries. After running for U.S. Senate, John founded 1776 American Dream, which exists to demonstrate the vision of our founding fathers and help our generation of youth passionately embrace those values.
