And speaking of history....

On Sep 21, 3:47*pm, wrote:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-...emarks-preside...

Were there really any "Mexicans" in DC way back then...?

Sheesh,

Maybe this can fill in the blanks. It is from "U.S. Latino Patriots:
From the "American Revolution to Afghanistan, An Overview." By Refugio
I. Rochin and Lionel Fernandez." Ever hear of Galveston? By the way,
there is a statue of General Galvez in D.C.. Isn't he in Mississippi's
version of the history of the Revolution? He fought in Mississippi
didn't he? How about Haym Solomon, the financier of the Revolution who
died broke, or the Sephardi Jewish patriots who ran the smuggling
networks that put arms and rations into the hands of Washington's
army? Washington knew these people and praised their contributions.
Funny more people don't know that.

http://pewhispanic.org/files/reports/17.3.pdf

The American Revolution
The American Revolution, (1775-1782), a.k.a. the War of Independence,
was initially a civil war against the British Empire. Later, France
(1778), Spain (1779), and the Netherlands (1780), joined our cause
with a common enemy, creating an international war. Sea power was
important to both sides, providing flexibility in
the conduct of the war. Spain had earlier established an empire that
confirmed it was a world power to be reckoned with. Spain had colonies
in almost every section of North America, Central and South America,
and the Caribbean.
England had defeated Spain in the Seven Years War (1754-1763) and
subsequently Spain was forced to relinquish
its colony in Florida to England. However, Hispanics in the U.S. were
eager to assist the American colonists in
their struggle against England, even though Spain was not, as yet,
officially engaged in the conflict. Spain’s
military contribution to the early development of the U.S. began the
process of demonstrating Hispanic’s
loyalty, commitment and patriotism.
A very important Hispanic figure during the American colonists’ war
against Great Britain was Governor
and General Bernardo de Galvez. He was the Spanish governor of the
Louisiana territories during the time of
the American Revolution and was instrumental in assisting then General
George Washington to fight the British
soldiers who were advancing into the southwestern part of the U.S.
Governor de Galvez helped the
revolutionists by blockading vital British ships although Spain had
not declared war with Britain. In addition,
from 1775-1777, Governor de Galvez provided rations and weapons to the
Continental Army. In 1777, he
arranged safe passage for James Willing, an American agent of the
Continental Congress, who led a successful
campaign along the Mississippi river harassing British shipping,
plantation owners, and military outposts.
It was not until Spain had officially declared war with Great Britain
in 1779 that de Galvez organized a
militia of Native- Americans, freed African-Americans and his own
Spanish regular soldiers to attack British held
forts at Baton Rouge, Louisiana and Natchez, Mississippi. A year
later, he engaged the British at Mobile, Alabama
and a year after that at Pensacola, in western Florida. In each case,
de Galvez was able to force the British from
their entrenchments and freed these cities. His statue resides in
Washington, D.C.
General de Galvez also trained and mentored other Hispanics who would
one day contribute significantly
to the defense of the U.S. One of de Galvez’s officers was Francisco
de Miranda, who was born in Caracas,
Venezuela on March 28, 1750. Subsequently, de Miranda fought in the
siege and surrender of Pensacola, and
5
later in the Spanish capture of the Bahamas, which he negotiated as
the official representative of the governor
of Cuba. While in Cuba, de Miranda played a role in obtaining supplies
for the French Admiral de Grasse who
then sailed to the Chesapeake Bay to assist the Americans to capture
Yorktown, Virginia. As a result of these
contributions to the American Revolution, statues in Washington, DC
and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, a park in
Pensacola, Florida, and a commuter bus in Chicago, Illinois were
dedicated in honor of de Miranda who was also
instrumental in helping Venezuela gain its independence from Spain.
Another Hispanic patriot was Captain Jorge Farragut, who came to the
U.S. from the Spanish island of
Minorca to help the American colonists fight the British during the
American Revolutionary War. He is the father
of another famous Latino patriot, David Farragut.
The contributions of Hispanics such as Bernardo de Galvez, Jorge
Farragut, and Francisco de Miranda
were not uncommon. Hispanic persons participated in the Revolutionary
War. In addition to the significant
contributions of Bernardo de Galvez, there were Hispanic women who
participated in the American Revolution.
In 1781, the French and American forces were about to abandon their
siege of Yorktown, Virginia for lack of
funds. Cuban women collected money and jewelry so the French
Expedition could continue the siege. The
financial support from these Hispanic women redefined the term
patriots. While not soldiers in combat, their
contribution to the war effort was significant.

Dave