[Pages H3422-H3425]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

EXPRESSING SUPPORT FOR THE CELEBRATION OF PATRIOTS' DAY AND HONORING
THE NATION'S FIRST PATRIOTS

Mr. JANKLOW. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to
the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 149) expressing support for the
celebration of Patriot's Day and honoring the Nation's first patriots,
as amended.
The Clerk read as follows:

H. Con. Res. 149

Whereas on the evening of April 18, 1775, Paul Revere was
sent for by Dr. Joseph Warren and instructed to ride to
Lexington, Massachusetts, to warn Samuel Adams and John
Hancock that British troops were marching to arrest them;
Whereas after leaving Charlestown on his way to Lexington,
Paul Revere alerted the inhabitants of the villages and towns
along his route, stopping in Medford (formerly Mystic) at the
home of Isaac Hall, the captain of the Medford Minutemen
during the Revolutionary War, before continuing on through
Arlington (formerly Menotomy) and arriving in Lexington
around midnight;
Whereas William Dawes and a third rider, Dr. Samuel
Prescott, joined Paul Revere on his mission and they
proceeded together on horseback to Lincoln;
Whereas while en route they encountered a British patrol
that arrested Paul Revere, but William Dawes and Samuel
Prescott managed to escape and continued on to Concord where
weapons and supplies were hidden;
Whereas the midnight ride of Paul Revere was brilliantly
and forever commemorated by the great American poet Henry
Wadsworth Longfellow in his 1861 poem ``Paul Revere's Ride'';
Whereas the actions taken by Paul Revere, William Dawes,
and Samuel Prescott afforded the Minutemen time to assemble
to confront the advancing British troops and were heralded as
one of the first great acts of patriotism of our nation;
Whereas 38 Lexington Minutemen boldly stood before 600-800
British troops who had gathered at Lexington Green;
Whereas Captain Parker of the Lexington Minutemen commanded
his men, ``Don't fire unless you are fired on; but if they
want a war, let it begin here.'';
Whereas when the British continued onto Concord, a battle
ensued at the Old North Bridge, where Minutemen from every
Middlesex village and town routed the British and forced them
into retreat back to Boston;
Whereas Ralph Waldo Emerson immortalized this moment in
American history as where ``the embattled farmers stood and
fired the shot heard 'round the world.'';
Whereas the United States has recognized the historic
significance of the Nation's original patriots with the
creation in 1959 of the Minute Man National Historical Park,
located in Concord, Lincoln, and Lexington, Massachusetts, to
preserve and protect the numerous significant historic sites,
structures, properties, and landscapes associated with the
opening battles of the American Revolution, and to help
visitors understand and interpret the colonial struggle for
their rights and freedoms; and
Whereas the heroic acts of April 19, 1775, are celebrated
in Massachusetts and Maine every year as part of Patriots'
Day with a reenactment of Paul Revere's famous ride, battle
reenactments and educational programs, parades, and civic
activities, and remembered by Americans across the United
States: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate
concurring), That Congress--
(1) expresses support for the annual celebration of
Patriots' Day;
(2) recognizes the extraordinary dedication to freedom
demonstrated by the Nation's first patriots during the
earliest days of the Battle for Independence in April 1775;
and
(3) honors those first patriots who lost their lives in
defense of liberty and freedom.

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
South Dakota (Mr. Janklow) and the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Davis)
each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from South Dakota (Mr. Janklow).

General Leave

Mr. JANKLOW. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their
remarks on H. Con. Res. 149.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from South Dakota?
There was no objection.
Mr. JANKLOW. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, House concurrent resolution 149 introduced by my
distinguished colleague, the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Markey),
expresses the support of this Congress for Patriots' Day and honors
this Nation's first patriots.
April 19, 1775 was an incredibly unique day in the world. In
Lexington, Massachusetts and in Concord, Massachusetts, we had
individuals who had gathered, patriots, none of them paid, none of them
in any organized sense, but they gathered together in Lexington and
Concord, having made a determination that they would no longer yield to
the tyranny and the oppression that they perceived from their masters.
As these people gathered, one of the places they gathered was Concord
Bridge. Colonel Prescott was there with these patriots. And as the Red
Coats advanced he said, ``Don't fire unless fired upon. But if we must
have war, let it begin here.''
And then shortly thereafter was the shot that has been described as
having been heard round the world, as these patriots stood their ground
against the oncoming British professional infantry and refused to yield
and refused to back up. As a result of their having taken that stand,
the Revolutionary War went forward and ultimately, this band of
patriots that gathered on that day at Lexington and Concord were really
the impetus that drove the colonialists to move forward, and ultimately
to create the freedom that we know in this country today.
Seven years later, the Revolutionary War was over. The surrender had
taken place, but the important thing is that these people, Colonel
Prescott, Paul Revere, William Dawes and the others, many of whom we do
not even know their names, were individuals who had drawn the line in
the sand and determined that never again would they yield to those
kinds of forces and tyranny.
What is the point of this resolution? The point of this resolution is
that today, in today's world, we have a responsibility to continue to
be reminded about these kinds of patriots. Even today, in the Nation of
Iraq, we have patriots from this country policing the streets of that
country, assisting the individuals in Iraq to move forward towards a
more democratic future.
The important thing that we all have to recognize is just as those
patriots back in 1775, these individuals today are also volunteers.
They are volunteers in our active Armed Forces and they are volunteers
from our Reserves and our National Guard, and men and women from our
various branches.
So I would like to thank the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr.
Markey) for having brought this to our attention that we should focus
on this. The gentleman from Massachusetts has done a service to all of
us, and I ask my colleagues to unanimously consent to the passage of
this resolution commemorating April 19 as Patriots' Day and every year
forward on that particular day.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, as the ranking member of the Committee on Government
Reform's Special Panel on Postal Reform and Oversight, I join my
colleague in the consideration of H. Con. Res. 149, legislation
introduced by my good friend and colleague, the gentleman from
Massachusetts (Mr. Markey), on April 10, 2003.
H. Con. Res. 149 is a concurrent resolution expressing support for
the celebration of Patriots' Day and honoring

[[Page H3423]]

the Nation's first patriots. The measure expresses support for the
annual celebration of Patriots' Day and recognizes the extraordinary
dedication to freedom demonstrated by the Nation's first patriots
during the early days of the Battle for Independence in April of 1775.
Finally, it honors those first patriots who lost their lives in defense
of liberty and freedom. H. Con. Res. 149 has the support and
cosponsorship of the entire Massachusetts delegation.
The dictionary defines patriot as ``a person who vigorously supports
their country and is prepared to defend it.'' It is only fitting and
proper that we join with the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Markey)
and the Massachusetts congressional delegation and the Senate in
honoring the men who allowed the Minutemen to assemble and confront the
advancing British troops. The actions of those men, Paul Revere,
William Dawes and Samuel Prescott, were the first great acts of
patriotism of our Nation.
Who could ever forget the midnight ride of Paul Revere when he rode
through the streets warning, ``The British are coming.'' His famous
ride through the countryside was duly and forever celebrated by the
American poet, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, in his poem entitled Paul
Revere's Ride. I remember even as a small child learning that poem:
``Listen, my children, and you shall hear of the midnight ride of
Paul Revere, on the 18th of April in '75; hardly a man is now alive who
remembers that famous day and year.''
The passage of H. Con. Res. 149 will ensure that we will continue to
honor and recognize the first patriots. We will also long remember and
never forget the lists of patriots who have given their lives in the
defense of our country. Every day, Mr. Speaker, men and women honor the
definition of a patriot by bravely answering the call to support and
defend the United States of America. We owe them a great deal of
gratitude and, like the resolution before us, we owe it to their
actions to forever preserve and protect the historic sites so that
others will never forget the struggle for freedom.
I commend my colleague, the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Markey)
for introducing this measure, and I urge its swift adoption.
Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to yield such time as he may consume
to the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Markey), the author of this
resolution.
Mr. MARKEY. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Illinois and the
gentleman from South Dakota for their support for this resolution. The
entire Massachusetts delegation appreciates the recognition which these
couple of days have played in the history of our country, and over in
the Senate, Senator Kennedy was able to pass the identical resolution,
because it does mean a lot to Massachusetts and to Maine, as both
States celebrate this day as a holiday. But it also means a lot to our
country, because it was a shining moment in the history of the United
States, because it was the beginning of the most enduring, free, and
democratic experiment in the world. These were, after all, Minutemen,
people who left their homes to fight an enemy from abroad, much like
our Army reservists, our National Guardsmen are doing right now. These
are the original Minutemen, the original guards, the original militia
that fought to protect our country.
On April 19 in 1775, the American colonists in Lexington, in Concord,
in Medford, in Arlington, in Lincoln, and in ``every Middlesex village
and town rose'' up to claim their inherent right to govern themselves,
free of the whims of the English king.
While this day is already celebrated as a State holiday in both the
Commonwealth of Massachusetts and in the State of Maine, and the
national significance of the events surrounding the ``shot heard 'round
the world'' is unquestioned, the recent establishment of a national day
of remembrance on September 11 as ``Patriot Day'' has understandably
confused some Americans regarding ``Patriots' Day'' in April.
Today's resolution helps remind everyone that while we now observe a
solemn moment in our country's history every September 11 in honor of
the victims of that terrorist attack, the freedoms which we cherish had
their origins more than 2 centuries ago. And the legacy of those
fateful spring days in April of 1775 define the core of our American
character.
The words are etched into the brains of every American school child
and they resonate still:
``One if by land, 2 if by sea! Listen, my children, and you shall
hear of the midnight ride of Paul Revere. Here once the embattled
farmers stood and fired the shot heard 'round the world.''
It is the foundational poetry of a free people, the remembrance of
our roots, and it is the inspiration for the annual proclamation of
Patriots' Day, both in Massachusetts and Maine, and similar observances
in many other States as the schools, historical societies and other
organizations devoted to the living memory of American milestones make
a special effort to relearn the lessons of the past as a guide to an
uncertain future.
So today, we ask the House of Representatives to unite in celebration
of Patriots' Day, a day of soaring significance not just to our own
free people, but to people everywhere who aspire to a system of
government that respects the rights and the liberties of all of its
citizens.
Mr. Speaker, I will include for the Record at the conclusion of my
remarks the poem ``Paul Revere's Ride'' by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
and ``The Concord Hymn'' by Ralph Waldo Emerson. First, I would just
carry on a little bit further than the gentleman from Illinois (Mr.
Davis) did with his reading of ``Paul Revere's Ride,'' although I will
not read it in its entirety. His voice is something that I think does
greater justice to the poem than I could possibly hope to attempt, but
I will very briefly just remind people of that great poem.

{time} 1545

Listen my children and you shall hear
Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere,
On the 18th of April, in seventy-five;
Hardly a man is now alive
Who remembers that famous day and year.
He said to his friend, ``If the British march
By land or sea from the town to-night,
Hang a lantern aloft in the belfry arch
Of the North Church tower as a signal light,--
One if by land, two if by sea;
And I on the opposite shore will be,
Ready to ride and spread the alarm
Through every Middlesex village and farm,
For the country folk to be up and to arm.

So through the night rode Paul Revere, and so through the night went
his cry of alarm to every Middlesex village and farm; a cry of defiance
and not of fear; a voice in the darkness, a knock at the door, and a
word that will echo forevermore.
For born on the night wind of the past, through all of our history to
the last, in the hour of darkness, in peril and need, the people will
wake and listen to hear hurrying hoofbeats of that steed and the
midnight message of Paul Revere.
This was the beginning of our country, and it is appropriately
commemorated both by the celebration of Patriots' Day and by this
resolution today.
I thank the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Davis) for his work, and I
thank the gentleman from South Dakota (Mr. Janklow) once again for his
eloquent words on this subject.
I include for the Record the poems ``Paul Revere's Ride'' by Henry
Wadsworth Longfellow, and ``Concord Hymn'' by Ralph Waldo Emerson.
The poems referred to are as follows:

Paul Revere's Ride

(By Henry Wadsworth Longfellow)

Listen my children and you shall hear
Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere,
On the eighteenth of April, in Seventy-five;
Hardly a man is now alive
Who remembers that famous day and year.

He said to his friend, ``If the British march
By land or sea from the town to-night,
Hang a lantern aloft in the belfry arch
Of the North Church tower as a signal light,--
One if by land, and two if by sea;
And I on the opposite shore will be,
Ready to ride and spread the alarm
Through every Middlesex village and farm,
For the country folk to be up and to arm.''

Then he said ``Good-night!'' and with muffled oar
Silently rowed to the Charlestown shore,
Just as the moon rose over the bay,
Where swinging wide at her moorings lay
The Somerset, British man-of-war;
A phantom ship, with each mast and spar
Across the moon like a prison bar,
And a huge black hulk, that was magnified
By its own reflection in the tide.

Meanwhile, his friend through alley and street
Wanders and watches, with eager ears,

[[Page H3424]]

Till in the silence around him he hears
The muster of men at the barrack door,
The sound of arms, and the tramp of feet,
And the measured tread of the grenadiers,
Marching down to their boats on the shore.

Then he climbed the tower of the Old North Church,
By the wooden stars, with stealthy tread,
To the belfry chamber overhead,
And startled the pigeons from their perch
On the sombre rafters, that round him made
Masses and moving shapes of shade,--
By the trembling ladder, steep and tall,
To the highest window in the wall,
Where he paused to listen and look down
A moment on the roofs of the town
And the moonlight flowing over all.

Beneath, in the churchyard, lay the dead,
In their night encampment on the hill,
Wrapped in silence so deep and still
That he could hear, like a sentinel's tread,
The watchful night-wind, as it went
Creeping along from tent to tent,
And seeming to whisper, ``All is well!''
A moment only he feels the spell
Of the place and the hour, and the secret dread
Of the lonely belfry and the dead;
For suddenly all his thoughts are bent
On a shadowy something far away,
Where the river widens to meet the bay,--
A line of black that bends and floats
On the rising tide like a bridge of boats.

Meanwhile, impatient to mount and ride,
Booted and spurred, with a heavy stride
On the opposite shore walked Paul Revere.
Now he patted his horse's side,
Now he gazed at the landscape far and near,
Then, impetuous, stamped the earth,
And turned and tightened his saddle girth;
But mostly he watched with eager search
The belfry tower of the Old North Church,
As it rose above the graves on the hill,
Lonely and spectral and sombre and still.
And lo! as he looks, on the belfry's height
A glimmer, and then a gleam of light!
He springs to the saddle, the bridle he turns,
But lingers and gazes, till full on his sight
A second lamp in the belfry burns.

A hurry of hoofs in a village street,
A shape in the moonlight, a bulk in the dark,
And beneath, from the pebbles, in passing, a spark
Struck out by a steed flying fearless and fleet;
That was all! And yet, through the gloom and the light,
The fate of a nation was riding that night;
And the spark struck out by that steed, in his flight,
Kindled the land into flame with its heat.
He has left the village and mounted the steep,
And beneath him, tranquil and broad and deep,
Is the Mystic, meeting the ocean tides;
And under the alders that skirt its edge,
Now soft on the sand, now loud on the ledge,
Is heard the tramp of his steed as he rides.

It was twelve by the village clock
When he crossed the bridge into Medford town.
He heard the crowing of the cock,
And the barking of the farmer's dog,
And felt the damp of the river fog,
That rises after the sun goes down.

It was one by the village clock,
When he galloped into Lexington.
He saw the gilded weathercock
Swim in the moonlight as he passed,
And the meeting-house windows, black and bare,
Gaze at him with a spectral glare,
As if they already stood aghast
At the bloody work they would look upon.

It was two by the village clock,
When he came to the bridge in Concord town.
He heard the bleating of the flock,
And the twitter of birds among the trees,
And felt the breath of the morning breeze
Blowing over the meadow brown.
And one was safe and asleep in his bed
Who at the bridge would be first to fall,
Who that day would be lying dead,
Pierced by a British musket ball.

You know the rest. In the books you have read
How the British Regulars fired and fled,--
How the farmers gave them ball for ball,
From behind each fence and farmyard wall,
Chasing the redcoats down the lane,
Then crossing the fields to emerge again
Under the trees at the turn of the road,
And only pausing to fire and load.

So through the night rode Paul Revere;
And so through the night went his cry of alarm
To every Middlesex village and farm,--
A cry of defiance, and not of fear,
A voice in the darkness, a knock at the door,
And a word that shall echo for evermore!
For, borne on the night-wind of the Past,
Through all our history, to the last,
In the hour of darkness and peril and need,
The people will waken and listen to hear
The hurrying hoof-beats of that steed,
And the midnight message of Paul Revere.
____

Concord Hymn

(By Ralph Waldo Emerson)

By the rude bridge that arched the flood,
Their flag to April's breeze unfurled,
Here once the embattled farmers stood,
And fired the shot heard 'round the world.

The foe long since in silence slept,
Alike the Conqueror silent sleeps,
And Time the ruined bridge has swept
Down the dark stream which seaward creeps.

On this green bank, by this soft stream,
We set to-day a votive stone,
That memory may their deed redeem,
When like our sires our sons are gone.

Spirit! who made those freemen dare
To die, or leave their children free,
Bid time and nature gently spare
The shaft we raise to them and Thee.

Mr. JANKLOW. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Once again, I urge my colleagues to support this resolution. April
18, 1775: patriotism, sacrifice, and volunteerism, three of the basic
principles that help create this country; things so important that a
short time later they wrote in a document that there were self-evident
truths: life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. They wrote in that
same document that all men and women were created equal, something this
country has struggled to bring to reality, but something this country
fulfills as a mission every single day.
So in the spirit of how this country was founded, sacrifice,
patriotism, volunteerism, the Minutemen were individuals willing to die
and pledge their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor for
things that are more important than wealth or notoriety or publicity.
That is the kind of tribute that we ought to continue to remind
ourselves is our responsibility as Americans.
So, Mr. Speaker, I congratulate the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr.
Markey) for authoring this. I would urge all my colleagues to please
support this resolution.
Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may
consume to the gentleman from American Samoa (Mr. Faleomavaega), a
place far from Massachusetts, which is an indication of how much this
country has grown, expanded, and developed.
(Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA asked and was given permission to revise and extend
his remarks.)
Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Mr. Speaker, I do want to offer my commendation to
the gentleman from South Dakota (Mr. Janklow) and my dear and good
friend and colleague, the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Markey),
for bringing this important resolution here for consideration by this
body.
I could not help but reminisce, Mr. Speaker, in listening to my dear
friend, the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Markey), reciting this
famous poem by the great writer, Longfellow. I reminisced that in my
youth in this little high school in Hawaii where I was raised, Kahuku
High School, we were literally required to memorize the whole poem by
this great American writer Longfellow.
If I could just say basically,

Listen my children
And you shall hear
Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere
On the 18th of April in '75.
Hardly a man is now alive
Who remembers that famous day and year.
One if by land, two if by sea,
And I on the opposite shore shall be,
Ready to ride, to spread the alarm
To every Middlesex village and farm. . . .

Yes, that was the declaration, and I am sorry, I have forgotten the
other verses.
I think the gentleman from South Dakota (Mr. Janklow) could not have
said it better. What better, more fitting occasion for our
congressional leadership, both in the Senate and in the House.
The great State of Massachusetts, one of the great founding States of
this great Nation of ours, what a tremendous asset to our Nation. We
think of Harvard University, we think of Ralph Waldo Emerson.
I remember what Mr. Emerson said, something that was a lesson to me
as a youth, and maybe this is something we could also learn: ``The
years teach much which the days never know.'' I bring this to the
attention of my colleagues, Mr. Speaker, because I think it is
important.
We talk about honoring Patriots' Day. As a Vietnam veteran, I think
of all those who have made tremendous sacrifices, and the ultimate
sacrifice. As I have said previously to my colleagues in this Chamber,
we can always rebuild airplanes. We can make bullets, and if they are
destroyed we can do it again. But when a person sacrifices his life to
maintain our freedoms, that is the ultimate sacrifice.
I think it is most fitting as we discuss this issue of Patriots' Day,
as we recall what happened on September 11, as we recall what happened
in the situation that we are now in, and our unfortunate situation in
the Vietnam

[[Page H3425]]

War, the Korean War, the two world wars, I do not need to recite to my
colleagues what happens and what it means to be a patriot in this great
Nation of ours.
Yes, it is not a perfect country. If we say that the greatest
blessing of this Nation is based on its diversity, people from all
different walks of life, from all different ethnicities and
nationalities, that the United States truly is a microcosm of the whole
world in itself, and we are here because we believe in the principle
that nobody is above the law. This Nation is founded upon laws and not
men.
How I appreciate the gentleman reminding me, my good friend, the
gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Davis), of how great this country is to
all of us. I am sure our colleague, the gentleman from Rhode Island
(Mr. Kennedy), would have said the same thing. Whether it be the
Kennedys, the Markeys, the Faleomavaegas, what a beautiful Nation in
the diversity it stands for.
Yes, we have problems. Some have asked what America means to me as a
patriot. With all my own imperfections and weaknesses, I would say that
what I recall was said on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in the
summer of 1963 by an African American and a minister by the name of
Martin Luther King, Junior, it could not have been said better what
America is all about as patriots. That is, he had a dream. The dream is
that one day his children will be judged not by the color of their skin
but by their character. I think that is the essence of what America is
about. This is what Patriots' Day is about. Thank God we live in a
country that is free, that allows us to pursue our own sense of
happiness, whatever that might be.
Again, I thank my good friend, the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr.
Markey), for his eloquence and for bringing this resolution to the
floor. I thank my good friend, the gentleman from South Dakota, for
doing likewise.
Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, I want to commend again the gentleman from Massachusetts
(Mr. Markey) for providing the opportunity for this moment. I believe
that it is moments like this on the floor of this House that speak to
the greatness of this Nation and how connected we are and how similar
are our experiences. It does not matter whether one grew up in South
Dakota, in Massachusetts, in American Samoa, or even in a little town
in Arkansas, as I did, but there was a level of connectedness.
Mr. HOLT. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleagues for introducing this
resolution (H. Con. Res. 149) and I applaud Congress for supporting the
annual celebration of Patriots' Day.
Every year the states of Maine and Massachusetts celebrate the events
of April 19th, 1775, when the first American patriots stood up to
British troops, leading to the beginning of the Revolutionary War and
the birth of our nation.
We need to do more to bring national recognition to this celebration
of the brave men and women who sacrificed so much on the battlefield to
help our nation achieve independence. It is important that we honor all
of our first patriots and we should help many more Americans learn as
much as possible about the birth of our nation and the hard-fought
struggle that accompanied it.
That is why Congress should do more to preserve our precious heritage
and to celebrate not just the events and battles that started the
Revolutionary War, but all of the major battles that shaped the outcome
of this historic conflict with has changed the ensuring course of human
history.
We should certainly celebrate Paul Revere's midnight ride and the
Battles of Lexington and Concord as the crucial opening salvos in our
national struggle for independence. At the same time, we should also
recognize that the Revolutionary War spanned six years and claimed the
lives of nearly 4500 Americans, demonstrating not only the cost of
liberty but also the willingness of colonial patriots to make the
ultimate sacrifice to secure our freedom.
In particular, I want my colleagues to know that New Jersey was of
critical importance during the American Revolution due to its strategic
location between the British armies headquarters in New York City and
the Continental Congress sitting in the City of Philadelphia. General
George Washington spent almost half of the period of the American
Revolution personally commanding troops of the Continential Army in New
Jersey, including two severe winter encampments at Morristown.
The early turning point in the war played out across multiple
battlefields in and around my congressional district in Central New
Jersey. It was during ten fateful days of the American Revolution
between December 25, 1776 and January 3, 1777 that General Washington
recrossed the Delaware River and won crucial battles at Trenton and
Princeton, after having retreated from New York City to Pennsylvania at
the risk of near total defeat.
New Jersey's critical role in America's fight for independence is
part of our national story and thus should be preserved for all
Americans. This is why Congressman Frelinghuysen and I have introduced
the Crossroads of the American Revolution National Historical Heritage
Act of 2003 (H.R. 524). Our bill would establish a national heritage
area to preserve, promote, and connect central New Jersey's
extraordinary Revolutionary War battlefield sites through a greenway
and interpretive programs for all Americans to enjoy. We hope this
much-needed, bipartisan legislation can be enacted during the 108th
Congress to protect these hallowed grounds and educate future
generations about the struggle to create this great nation.
I wholeheartedly support the resolution before us and hope for an
ever-widening celebration of Patriots' Day all across America, not just
in Massachusetts and Maine. In the same spirit, I urge our bipartisan
leadership and all of my colleagues to support prompt and favorable
legislative action to create the Crossroads of the American Revolution
National Heritage Area.
Mr. MEEHAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor Patriots' Day and express my
strong support for H. Con. Res. 149--a resolution expressing support
for the annual celebration of Patriots' Day and honoring the Nation's
first patriots. As Massachusetts citizens, every April we are fortunate
to celebrate Patriots' Day in honor of the heroic battles of Lexington
and Concord which were fought on April 19, 1775.
I am proud to represent Concord where Patriots' Day is celebrated on
the actual day, April 19. Each year on Patriots' Day troops of
``Minutemen'' assemble in Concord and the neighboring towns to stage a
mock battle with a troop of ``Redcoats.'' The historic events along
Battle Road marked the beginning of a struggle for Massachusetts
residents to retain their rights. The subsequent national war for
independence and self-government would last another eight years. The
Resolution on the floor today supports the many different ways citizens
throughout Massachusetts and other states commemorate this important
day in our nation's early history and I urge its passage.
Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my
time.
Mr. JANKLOW. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Boozman). The question is on the motion
offered by the gentleman from South Dakota (Mr. Janklow) that the House
suspend the rules and agree to the concurrent resolution, H. Con. Res.
149, as amended.
The question was taken.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds of
those present have voted in the affirmative.
Mr. JANKLOW. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be
postponed.

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