Fourth of July 2010.

Now, way back to the summer of 1775.

And American reinforcements are coming for Gen. George Washington in Boston...


A snippet from this source:

David McCullough's 1776.


Page 38

"One Virginia company, led by Captain Daniel Morgan, had marched on a bee - line for Boston, covering six hundred miles in three weeks, or an average of thirty miles a day in the heat of summer.

"At a review they demonstrated how with their long - barreled rifles, a frontier weapon made in Pennsylvania and largely unknown in New England, they could hit a mark seven inches in diameter at a distance of 250 yards, while the ordinary musket was accurate at only 100 yards or so.

"It was rifling -- spiraled groves inside the long barrel -- that increased the accuracy, and the new men began firing at British sentries with deadly effect, until the British caught on and kept their heads down or stayed out of range..."