Experience the American dream with today’s Patriot of the Past interview. I’m your host, John Gillespie.
It’s May 13, 1779. I’m in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, with the governor of Spanish Louisiana, Bernardo de Galvez,
JG: “Governor de Galvez, why are you helping the cause for American freedom?”
BDG: “Senor Gillespie, I respect your country’s love of freedom. I’ve put together a patchwork army of free African-Americans, Creoles, and Spanish troops. We will defeat the British at Fort Baton Rouge and help General Washington with his southern campaign.
Bernardo de Galvez did help Washington’s campaign, and for his heroics, he was memorialized in Texas, where the city of Galveston is named after him.
Read more about Bernardo de Galvez and the Battle of Baton Rouge.
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.
