Long before the Declaration of Independence in 1776, a band of battle-hardened frontier riflemen drafted a little-known proclamation that captured the revolutionary spirit brewing in the American colonies. The Fort Gower Resolves, delivered on November 5, 1774, by veterans of the Battle of Point Pleasant, blended pledges of loyalty to the British Crown with a stark warning: their allegiance depended on remaining “a brave and free people.”
The Battle That Forged a Declaration
The resolves emerged from the aftermath of one of early America’s most brutal frontier clashes. In October 1774, Shawnee Chief Cornstalk led a coalition of Native warriors in a surprise attack against Virginia militia at Point Pleasant—a strategic confluence of the Ohio and Kanawha Rivers. Outnumbered colonists, including expert marksmen armed with Pennsylvania long rifles, turned the tide through innovative sniper tactics, fighting in rotating pairs from cover.
After the battle, these frontiersmen learned of British crackdowns in New England—seizures of gunpowder, disarmament attempts, and growing tensions. Gathered around a campfire at newly built Fort Gower, they drafted a series of resolutions that colonial newspapers would later circulate as far as London.
A Loyalty With Strings Attached
The document’s carefully worded language paid nominal allegiance to King George III while telegraphing colonial resolve. “We will bear the most faithful Allegiance to his Majesty… whilst his Majesty delights to reign over a brave and free People,” they declared, adding that their famed marksmanship stood ready to defend American rights. Historian Patrick K. O’Donnell, author of the forthcoming Revolutionary Snipers, notes this was effectively an ultimatum—Britain could either preserve colonial freedoms or face rebellion.
Overlooked Prelude to Revolution
Though overshadowed by later events, the Fort Gower Resolves marked a critical shift. As O’Donnell emphasizes, these frontiersmen—literate, politically aware, and fiercely independent—represented a new American identity taking shape. Their proclamation, circulated among colonies already chafing under British policies, helped galvanize revolutionary sentiment months before “the shot heard round the world” at Lexington.
Now, as the U.S. approaches its 250th anniversary, O’Donnell’s research spotlights how these early declarations and battles laid the groundwork for independence—a reminder that revolution wasn’t born on a single day in 1776, but through years of defiance by those determined to live free.
Source: www.breitbart.com — https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2026/11/06/exclusive-odonnell-resolved-that-we-will-live-as-a-brave-and-free-people-a-forgotten-declaration-before-the-declaration-of-independence/