Happy St. Patrick’s Day! 247 Years Ago Today the British Left Boston Like the Russians Left Bucha.

This St. Patrick’s Day in 1776 was being celebrated in Boston like no other because the British were finally leaving after an eight-year occupation (Boston campaign - Wikipedia). Massachusetts had been in a “kinetic” war for a year, ever since the first shots were fired at Lexington and Concord in 1775.

By March 5, 1776, the Continental Army had artillery troops in position around Boston, including the elevated position at Dorchester Heights, overlooking the city. British General William Howe realized Boston was indefensible to the American positions and decided, on March 7, 1776, to leave the city. Ten days later, on March 17, 1776, the eight-year British occupation of Boston ended when British troops evacuated the city and sailed to the safety of Halifax, Nova Scotia. The Siege of Boston - HISTORY

The “invincible” (sound familiar) British army was sent running, never to return.

St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated BIG in Boston and throughout New England. Parades last for hours with unimaginable numbers of bag pipers and Irish dancers – and politicians! Not to mention the limitless flows of green beer and Irish whiskey being imbibed. One can only imagine if people realized the importance of the date in Boston history how much more raucous the whole event might be. I’ll certainly have a shot and a toast to George Washington and Boston’s patriots on their victory today.

At this point in 1776 Thomas Paine’s Common Sense had just been published and these immortal words with such applicability to Ukraine today, had yet to be penned:

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.—That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed,—That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. United States Declaration of Independence - Wikipedia

We like Ukrainians because they fight so hard with so little – and win! We love them because they are so much like us with their love of country, their families, and their liberty.

It is sobering to note that while we celebrate the defeat of the British in Boston we have to note that the war was just getting started. It would be another five years of hard fought battles in the colonies until Yorktown and another two years before the war was finally over. American Revolutionary War - Wikipedia

The biggest source of angst in Ukraine is not whether Ukraine will win. Rather it is the question of when. How much longer will it last? We hear it repeated over and over in our new film Back to Bucha.

​If America’s Revolution is any indication, it could be a while.