Newspaper Article in The Journal (Johnson Co. Indiana)

[indyjoe]

Learning marksmanship a blast at Appleseed event

By BRANDON BUTLER

Aug. 27, 2008

On April 19, 1775, a group of British soldiers, intoxicated by power, casually calculated it was once again time to loot and pillage the helpless colonists.

As they had time and time before, the British regulars figured they could swoop into Concord and take what they wanted from the underprotected colonial stores of military supplies and, for that matter, whatever else the foreign troops fancied. The colonists, however, had another idea.

Militia Captain John Parker is famous for proclaiming, "Stand your ground. Do not fire unless fired upon. But if they mean to have a war, let it begin here!"

And so it did. On that fateful night, a revolution was born. The British rolled past Parker and his men on the village green in Lexington, but upon their arrival in Concord, the British would suffer their first lesson of American marksmanship.

At the time of the American Revolution, the term "aim" was not included in the British manual of arms. They instead emphasized the bayonet.

England had been fighting wars with hand-to-hand combat for many centuries, so it is plain to see their slow adaptation to distance warfare.

The colonists, on the other hand, had learned to depend on marksmanship in hunting to provide food for their families. A couple of months into a long winter, a hunter surely wanted to make an accurate shot on a week's worth of groceries.

So, once fighting erupted in Concord, the colonists picked the British apart by firing from behind trees, around corners, under wagons, wherever they could shoot, drop out of sight, reload and once again shoot a well-aimed shot.

On April 19, 1775, the colonists were outnumbered four to one but sustained only 93 casualties to England's 273.

The Revolutionary War Veterans Association is dedicated to preserving the skills of marksmanship that played such an integral role in securing the birth of our nation. Through their Appleseed Project, the association promotes the skill of becoming a rifleman. To be considered a rifleman, one must be able to effectively and regularly hit a man-sized target at 500 yards.

The Appleseed Project has ignited across the country. Shooting and marksmanship remain highly popular.

And when combining these skills with a history lesson regarding the founding of the United States, it is easy to understand the passion many feel for this organization.

Ed Yeager is the Indiana coordinator for the Appleseed Project.

"Marksmanship is what we teach at an Appleseed," he said. "An appreciation of our common heritage that was forged on April 19, 1775, is the why of what we teach.

"Everyone learns something at Appleseed shoot. Some folks learn a great deal, some add maybe 10 percent to an already deep understanding."

There are two remaining shoots (in Wabash and Evansville) this year in Indiana. The 2009 schedule is filling up fast.

Josh Streiff of Bloomington said the event featured "traditional marksmanship, sling use, breathing and body control, history, camaraderie and tons of gun owners hanging out. It is a blast."

If this sounds like a blast to you, visit to learn how you can participate in the Appleseed Project.

[B9]

Great write up! Maybe post this in the general section for guests to view also.

[Nickle]

Good one. Just one flaw that I saw.

The Redcoats weren't foreign, they were the King's Army, and at the time, the colonies, including Massachussetts, were part of Great Britain.

I know, even scarier.

[Scout]

Is this an add that already ran, or is coming up? If it ran you let us know and get a copy to myself or nickle for posting in the Appleseed scrapbook? Thanks IndyJoe. Is that Indianapolis Joseph? or Indian Joe from Tom, Becky and Huck?  

Regardless, Thanks Joe and welcome aboard. You are making a good start by getting an article in a paper before your fourth post here. Keep up the hard work!

[hawkhavn]

IndyJoe,

Thanks for the heads up I was looking for it in the Bloomington papaer today, I'll go back and check yesterday's.  That's Techres and myself they quoted in the paper.

Indyjoe, coming out to Riley this weekend?
Last question, you're active on INGO right?

Hawkhavn

[funfaler]

It is your Appleseed Project and you are making good use of it! 

Keep up the good work, help your fellow Appleseeders by posting in general section and offering to help them. 

Good work!

[indyjoe]

Is this an add that already ran, or is coming up? If it ran you let us know and get a copy to myself or nickle for posting in the Appleseed scrapbook? Thanks IndyJoe. Is that Indianapolis Joseph? or Indian Joe from Tom, Becky and Huck?  

I can't take credit for the article, just posting it here.  It was posted on Ingunowners.com and thought it would be appreciated here.  I looked for a day old paper today, when I was at the store, but no luck.  The story ran yesterday.  And I'm a Joe from Indianapolis (although I just moved down to Greenwood now.)  Otherwise, I'd be Injun Joe not Indian Joe. 

I am heading out to Riley for Saturday only, for my first Appleseed.  We have been moving and I've been swamped for two months.  This will be a great day of "not working", even though I imagine it will be plenty of work.  I am hoping to bring my fiancee, but she is under the weather tonight and doesn't know if she will be up to it.  I'm heading to Atterbury immediately after work tomorrow to get my two 10/22 LTRs sighted in at 25 meters.  I tried that earlier in the week, but I had forgotten to Locktite the front sights, which fell off.  (And of course I forgot the hex key for them at home, 30 minutes away.) 

[hawkhavn]

Indyjoe,

Thanks for stepping up and we'll see you on Saturday then.

Hawkhavn

[Cal 7.62]

I searched for The Journal's website (found it), then searched for the article by typing in "learning marksmanship". I got the "Learning Marksmanship" story link (?) but couldn't go to it because i'm not a subscriber. If you want to try here's "The Journal" 's search page.
http://dailyjournal.net/Search.asp
for the search from date go back to 8/26/08

[indyjoe]

Yes, we had to get a subscriber to pull out the article for us.