It’s October 19, 1781. I’m with General Washington at the Yorktown surrender, watching the British troops march away.
JG: “General Washington, why is the band playing Yankee Doodle?”
GW: “Mr. Gillespie, Yankee Doodle was sung and played in every Patriot camp during the revolution. My boys often whistled the tune and battle. In fact, General Gage heard it so much at Concord, he exclaimed, ‘I hope I shall never hear that tune again!’ Well, I just want to remind the Redcoats that Yankee Doodle shall never stop fighting for freedom.”
Read more about the song Yankee Doodle.
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.
