Firewall99
RWVA Instructor
Got your Winterseed Patch yet?
Winterseeds are starting early this season. This is the first time we are having one before Christmas. Winter 2011-2012 seems to be shaping up to be a strong one, so we should have plenty of snow (knocking loudly on wood!).
So dig out your long underwear, heavy boots, and waterproof outers, and let's have some fun!
Below is a writeup by Fred extolling the virtues of those hardy enough to venture out in the cold, proving they are not mere "summer soldiers and sunshine patriots."
Sign up now and earn the respect your deserve!
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Summer Soldiers
During the 1770's, as the American War of Independence developed, soldiers who joined the Continental Army during the spring or summer but went AWOL in the fall or winter were known as “summer soldiers.” Many of the summer soldiers were farmers who would join up with the Army when their crops were planted, fight with them during the summer, and then go back home to help with the harvest. So, some had quasi‐reasonable excuses. Others would stay with the Army through the harvest, but sneak off in the middle of the night once the weather got cold.
Sunshine Patriots
Meanwhile, the people who supported the revolutionaries when the revolution was going well—but not otherwise—were called “sunshine patriots.”
What It Means
So in the famous passage from The Crisis, where Thomas Paine wrote:
“The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country.”
He was talking—quite quite literally in the former case—about the fair‐weather friends of the revolution.
So YOU, just by showing up at a Winterseed, proffer yourself as a true patriot and Appleseeder of the highest caliber.
When you attend such an event, you and your equipment will be tested in Valley Forge weather conditions—can you make the grade? If so, we have a special patch for you!
For more information, please visit www.AppleseedUSA.org
— Fred, Founder of the Revolutionary War Veterans Association (RWVA) and the Appleseed Project
Winterseeds are starting early this season. This is the first time we are having one before Christmas. Winter 2011-2012 seems to be shaping up to be a strong one, so we should have plenty of snow (knocking loudly on wood!).
So dig out your long underwear, heavy boots, and waterproof outers, and let's have some fun!
Below is a writeup by Fred extolling the virtues of those hardy enough to venture out in the cold, proving they are not mere "summer soldiers and sunshine patriots."
Sign up now and earn the respect your deserve!
**********************
Summer Soldiers
During the 1770's, as the American War of Independence developed, soldiers who joined the Continental Army during the spring or summer but went AWOL in the fall or winter were known as “summer soldiers.” Many of the summer soldiers were farmers who would join up with the Army when their crops were planted, fight with them during the summer, and then go back home to help with the harvest. So, some had quasi‐reasonable excuses. Others would stay with the Army through the harvest, but sneak off in the middle of the night once the weather got cold.
Sunshine Patriots
Meanwhile, the people who supported the revolutionaries when the revolution was going well—but not otherwise—were called “sunshine patriots.”
What It Means
So in the famous passage from The Crisis, where Thomas Paine wrote:
“The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country.”
He was talking—quite quite literally in the former case—about the fair‐weather friends of the revolution.
So YOU, just by showing up at a Winterseed, proffer yourself as a true patriot and Appleseeder of the highest caliber.
When you attend such an event, you and your equipment will be tested in Valley Forge weather conditions—can you make the grade? If so, we have a special patch for you!
For more information, please visit www.AppleseedUSA.org
— Fred, Founder of the Revolutionary War Veterans Association (RWVA) and the Appleseed Project
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