There is nothing to compare with the courage of ordinary people whose names are unknown and whose sacrifices pass unnoticed. – Aung San Suu Kyi

The United States of America was founded on the ideas of no taxation without representation and for each person in the country to have the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That means we, the people of this country, have a voice in how we are governed.  And we have the liberty to better ourselves and the lives of those we love. As we sit back some 246 years from our Declaration of Independence and look at what we have in this country it is easy to forget that it was because of others back then that we have what we have today.

One of the strongest desires of any parent is to have a home that is a safe and comfortable place to raise your family.  The early colonists of this country came here seeking a better place for their families.  A place where they could have a home and raise their children on the value of freedom. Back then, I do not think the heroes and heroines of the Revolutionary War considered the gift they were giving to us.  They were fighting for their rights and their liberties.  And every victory they scored helped lay the foundation for this great country we call home.

There are probably more, but I know the stories of four teenage girls who helped create America.  And I am forever indebted to their parents for raising them so well.

Things had not been easy between England and the colonies of New England.  In 1770 British soldiers killed 5 men in Boston. This became known as “The Boston Massacre.”  There were other skirmishes as well and in 1773 when Boston citizens disguised as Native Americans boarded British ships and tossed 342 chests of tea into Boston Harbor, the British passed a series of acts and taxes aimed at reasserting their dominance over the colonies. 

The First Continental Congress met in 1774 and sent a message to Britain and to Parliament that they were not going to pay taxes without some type of representation.  And that the colonies were not going to maintain British armies they did not consent to having.  In response, the British landed troops in Boston harbor on the evening of April 18th, 1775 and began a march to nearby Concord, Massachusetts in order to seize a Patriot weapons depot.

That was the night that was made famous by Paul Revere, William Dawes, and Samuel Prescott when they made their 16 mile ride through the countryside alerting militiamen of the invasion.  If the length of Revere’s ride was what was impressive. . . or the way they did it – riding at night to alert the citizens of the colony –  then the story of Betsy Dowdy’s journey should have surpassed Revere’s. However, very few people seem to know about her.

In December of 1775, eight months after Paul Revere’s ride, Lord Dunmore had been booted out of his governor’s seat in Virginia, moved his troops south, captured Norfolk and decided to take his troops further and invade North Carolina, shutting off the colonist’s trade routes.  On his way he burned down homes, slaughtered people and destroyed their livestock, then freed their slaves to make them soldiers.

Betsy Dowdy was 16 years old when one evening a visitor came to her house to speak to her father about a serious matter.  She overheard how Dunmore was advancing, burning farms and killing livestock to prevent colonists from being able to transport and sell their goods. Worse yet, he had taken control of the Great Bridge on the Virginia side and shut off the main supply route between there and North Carolina. The visitor said that Colonel Howe was on his way to recapture the bridge but he probably did not have enough troops to defeat Dunmore.  The only soldier group strong enough to defeat them was 50 miles away.  Someone would need to alert them. No one was available and Howe would probably be defeated.

In the quiet of the night  Betsy snuck out of the house, saddled her horse, crossed a river, rode through a swamp and then rode over 50 miles to reach General William Skinner.  Skinner quickly marshaled his men and they marched two days to the Great Bridge.

On December 9th, Dunmore ordered what he thought would be a surprise attack on the Patriots.  As Dumore’s men crossed the bridge they did not see any resistance.  Suddenly, some 80 Patriots rose up, took aim, and quickly thinned Dunmore’s ranks.  Their captain fell just feet from the Patriots and the men turned and fled back to Virginia.  In 25 minutes the first decisive battle of the south was over with 120 British troops dead and one Patriot with a small cut on his thumb. . . all because of 16 year old Betsy Dowdy and her midnight ride of over 50 miles.

Two years later in Putnam County New York, on April 26th, 1777, Sybil Ludington, the oldest daughter of Colonel Ludington climbed onto her horse in the dark of night and rode over 40 miles in driving rain, banging on shutters with a stick, alerting 400 militiamen to assemble because the British were burning Danbury, Massachusetts, just over the border. 

She arrived back home the following morning soaked and exhausted.  The men were ready to march.  The men could not save Danbury that had been burned the night before, but they were able to join the Continental Army the next day and together they forced the British Governor of New York and his troops back onto a ship in the harbor. She was personally thanked by General George Washington for her bravery.

The Bloody Scouts were a group of men commanded by Bill (Bloody Bill) Cunningham.  They went throughout South Carolina murdering Patriots and burning down homes.  Cunningham was known as a very cruel man who enjoyed killing Patriots.  His men would invade a home where the men had left for the war and demand food and lodging from the women and children or they would burn the house down.

The Bloody Scouts arrived at 15 year-old Dicey Langston’s home one day. She heard them talking about how they planned to attack the Elder Settlement at Little Eden the following morning. Dicey’s brother held a small group of soldiers there to protect the settlement and Dicey knew they would not be able to win against the Bloody Scouts. She waited until it was the middle of the night to sneak out. She made her way to the river swollen by the rain and nearly drowned trying to cross it. Then she made her way 5 miles through woods and fields to the settlement to alert her brother James and his men about the attack. Then she made her way back home before anyone knew she was gone. Had she been caught the men would have killed her and her mother and destroyed their home.

When the Bloody Scouts arrived the next morning the settlement was empty.  She had saved her brother and hundreds of lives.

Susanna Boling is known as “The Girl Who Saved The American Revolution.”  It was common in those days for the British to arrive at a plantation where the men and boys had left to join the militia and demand shelter and information about the men who had left.  In May of 1781 British General Cornwallis arrived at the Bolling plantation and demanded food and shelter for his men.  He spoke freely of his plans on the next day to track down and capture American ally and Washington’s closest and most trusted officer, General Lafayette.  Lafayette was at Half Way House in Chesterfield between Petersburg and Richmond.  It was about 10 miles away.    Susanna knew if Lafayette were captured the battle for freedom would be lost.

She left her home through an underground tunnel that led to the river.  At the river she took a canoe and paddled across as quietly as she could.  If she was caught she knew that she and her mother would be hung and their home burned to the ground.  She borrowed a neighbor’s horse and rode as quickly as she could to Chesterfield.  Luckily she found Lafayette and warned him and was able to be home and back in bed before anyone knew that she had gone.

Lafayette got away.  And it was in September that by Lafayette’s planning Cornwallis and his men were trapped at Yorktown and held under siege by General Washington until he surrendered. The American Revolution had been won.  That might not have happened if it was not for a very brave 16 year-old girl named Susanna Bolling.

As we celebrate the 4th of July I think we should understand that each of the girls; Betsy, Sybil, Dicey, and Susanna, was just a teenager raised in a family home by parents who taught them principles and courage and love. 

I believe our freedom will stay with us.  But if it is ever challenged I also believe it will be our children who will help save and then continue on this great democracy.  Let us celebrate our freedom this 4th of July and also our children who will be its guardians.

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Before I started my career as a real estate agent, I found it quite difficult to find informative articles or websites that provided accurate information catered towards selling and buying houses in the San Francisco Bay Area. Yes, there are some out there, but those are not catered specifically towards the Bay Area. Sometimes, even tips and facts regarded as common knowledge aren’t applicable and outdated from a Bay Area perspective. My original intention of starting this blog, was to help shed some light on the seemingly inscrutable real estate market. As a real estate agent who has been practicing for several years, I wanted to provide accurate and relevant information to those who might be interested in buying or selling a home.

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