Recently, I've been researching the soldiers, officers, minutemen, and militia who responded to the alarm Paul Revere delivered, letting the colonists know the British were coming and not for a tea party. It was April 19, 1775. Imagine the fear and adrenaline pumping through the colonists' veins in these small towns as men left their wives and children to defend the colony. They had no idea they would go down in history as the first men to enter the American Revolution. Where do we find such bravery and courage?
Reading through the names of the brave men, I wondered if the people who originally wrote them were writing by candlelight using a quill for a pen. Some were so unfamiliar, I assumed they were misspellings or transcription errors - Azariah, Eben, Eliale, Eliaphaz, Gershom, Ithamar, Issachar, Jesiah, Jeshua, Joatham, Jotham, Ziba, Shubael, and Solenas, for example. There were even three men named Shadrack, Meschec, and Abednego. As it turns out, these are all Biblical names - mostly spelled correctly.
Other names found in the rolls were old fashioned names like Amasa, Archelaus, Asa, Cornelius, Barnabas, Rufus, Jeremiah, Moses, Ebenezer, Eleazer, Eliphalet, Elisha, Ephraim, Nathaniel, Nehemiah, Phinehas, Reuben, Rufus, Samson, Simeon, Thaddaeus, Solomon, and Uriah - all names of Biblical origin.
There were also many men with more common Biblical names among the rolls, John being the most common. Many were named Thomas, Andrew, Peter, Samuel, David, Joshua, Caleb, Benjamin, Isaac, Jacob, James, Daniel, Joseph, Aaron, Abel, Abraham, Joshua, Philip, Jesse, and Stephen, for example. Many of these names are still very popular today and although giving a child a Biblical name doesn't guarantee the family is Christian, I don't believe non-Christians have ever generally made a practice of giving their children Biblical names. Perhaps today they might, not realizing or caring whether or not a name is found in the Bible, but in most cases, those who are opposed to the Bible probably wouldn't give their child a Biblical name.
Of the 4,006 men listed in Massachusetts Muster Rolls of men who participated in the events of April 19, 1775, the distribution of names is as follows:
418 (10%) of the soldiers' names named after royalty: Charles (15), Edward (32), George (21), Henry (23), Richard (27), Robert (35), Edmund (13), Francis (30), and William (217).
181 (5%) of the soldiers' names were neither Biblical nor royal names. Of these, Oliver (34), was the most common, although it is said that the name Oliver derives from Olivier - French meaning Olive Branch - (Biblical). About half of these names include surnames given as first names - Leonard, Allen, etc. Others included Ambrose, Christopher, Theodore, Norman, and Willard. Also included in this number are names such as Hopestill, Increase, Justice, Purchase, and Unite. These were verb names were traditionally given by Puritans.
3,409 (85%) of the soldiers' names were from the Bible. There are 147 different names. Each Biblical name found in the rolls, along with the number of occurrences are shown here:
To me, this is a very interesting revelation. This demonstrates that from the arrival of the Mayflower and the years following, the Puritan Migration, to the time of the Revolution - for 155 years, their descendants continued strong in the faith. Perhaps this is where those brave men found their hope and their help to win the war. In fact, I'm sure of it. How else could a few patriots who were in the minority stand a chance against a Kingdom like Great Britain who was planting colonies around the globe? King George III had all his judges and magistrates in place and his "regulars" fully occupied Boston. He even had the loyalty of many of the colonists who didn't mind conforming to Parliament's new laws, paying their new taxes, and not having a say in any of it. Against all their wealth, weapons, and might, the patriots won.
Some people argue that America wasn't founded as a Christian nation, but there is so much documented evidence to show that it was and this analysis of the names of those who physically fought to make our independence possible is just another piece of evidence. The Pilgrims and Puritans emigrated to America in search of a home where they could practice their Christian walk without persecution, which was often very severe, even deadly. Their goal was to demonstrate to the world what a nation with God on it's side could become - "a city upon a hill", and that goal was achieved for the past 400 years. Even today, 250 years later, 63% of Americans are Christian - 42% Protestant and 21% Catholic, although the numbers are dwindling as people stray further from God. [1][2] Just as we were an example of what a blessed nation can become, we can also be an example of what happens when a blessed people forget all that God has done for us, reject his laws, and lose his blessing.
Finally, as a sidenote, I found it interesting that April 19, 1775, fell squarely in the middle of Passover. In 1775, Passover began on Friday, April 14th and ended on Saturday, April 22nd [3]. While most Christians don't celebrate Passover today, it is one of the few holidays God commanded the Israelites to keep. It is a profound parallel, for those who know the story of Passover in the Bible and what it symbolizes, and even more so for those who know about the diaspora and the Lost Tribes of Israel. I'm sure I could write for days about it, but I'll leave it at that.
Click here to search the Patriot's Day Database to see if any of your ancestors or relatives were among the bravest on that day. Let us never forget them or their bravery and sacrifice and may we keep the same faith. God bless America!
Sources:
[1] How U.S. religious composition has changed in recent decades (PewResearch)
[2] America's Christian majority is shrinking, and could dip below 50% by 2070 (NPR)
[3] Hebrew Calendar (HebCal)
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