The Liberty Pole

That means, TWICE as many awesome history articles, TWICE as many great After Action Reports, TWICE as many marksmanship tips. ALL for the same low price of FREE, just for being a Prokect Appleseed supporter!

As always, thank you for your continued support. We hope to see you again on the line soon. HERE is a link to our event schedule. In the meantime... "Shooters! Your Preparation Period Begins Now!"

In each issue of our newsletter, we will be highlighting one of our events. In this issue, we want to showcase a recent Ladyseed in Homestead, Florida on December 10-11. 

Some words from the Shoot Boss (JustKim) –

“It was a beautiful weekend at the Homestead Training Center!

We had 14 amazing ladies come out with teachable attitudes.  They were very attentive to both the history and instruction.  Our first red coat showed that we had some work to do, but the ladies applied all of the instruction and new skills learned as shown by the very first squares they shot!!  They continued to make progress all weekend.  We ended the event with 1 new riflewoman, 1 repeat riflewoman, 4 sharpshooters and 3 shooting marksman scores.  CONGRATULATIONS ladies!!! ” 

Click HERE to view the full After Action Report.  

On October 10th, Project Appleseed was privileged to host The Leadership Institute at the Rivana Rifle & Pistol Club in Charlottesville, Virginia and subsequently The Liberty Pole published an article in the November newsletter. Now, I am delighted to be able to include a follow-up piece to that article straight from the The Leadership Institute itself. 

In their own monthly publication, the Leadership Institute did an excellent write-up of an amazing individual I am blessed to call friend, as he is known to many of you. Others as CokeGuy. And the rest of the world as Everett Womack. Those who know Everett know he has led a fascinating life. I've know him for years and am still constantly amazed by his stories. 

Excerpt from the article below:

"LI donor Everett Womack — pictured in red [BELOW] — conducted a clinic in marksmanship and Revolutionary War history for this semester’s class of Leadership Institute interns through his non-profit work with Project Appleseed. In response to the Leadership Institute’s Leaders for America plan, Everett increased his support to create budding conservative leaders like these high-caliber interns."

For the full story, click HERE.

The Battle of Cowpens took place on 17 January 1781. It became known as the turning point of the war in the South, part of a chain of events leading to Patriot victory at Yorktown. The Cowpens victory was won over a crack British regular army and brought together strong armies and leaders who made their mark on history.

The Southern Campaign, especially in the backcountry, was essentially a civil war as the colonial population split between Patriot and Loyalist. Those of both sides organized militia, often engaging each other. The countryside was devastated, and raids and reprisals were the order of the day.

Into this conflict, General George Washington sent the very capable Nathanael Greene to take command of the Southern army. Greene split his army, sending General Daniel Morgan southwest of the Catawba River to cut supply lines and hamper British operations in the backcountry, and, in doing so "spirit up the people". General Cornwallis, British commander in the South, countered Greene's move by sending Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton to block Morgan's actions. Tarleton was only twenty-six, but he was an able commander, both feared and hated - hated especially for his victory at the Waxhaws. There, Tarleton was said to have continued the fight against remnants of the Continental Army trying to surrender. According to tradition, his refusal to offer quarter, led to the derisive term "Tarleton's Quarter".

These events set the stage for the Battle of Cowpens. On January 12, 1781, Tarleton's scouts located Morgan's army at Grindal Shoals on the Pacolet. As Tarleton grew closer, Morgan retreated north to Burr's Mill on Thicketty Creek. On January 16, Morgan and his army made a hasty retreat. Morgan decided to make a stand at the Cowpens, a well-known crossroads and frontier pasturing ground.

Dawn at the Cowpens on January 17, 1781 was clear and bitterly cold. Morgan, his scouts bearing news of Tarleton's approach, moved among his men, shouting, "Boys, get up! Benny's coming! Tarleton, playing catch up, and having marched his army since two in the morning, ordered formation on the Green River Road for the attack. His aggressive style was made even more urgent, since there were rumors of Overmountain men on the way, reminiscent of events at Kings Mountain. 

Tarleton pressed the attack head-on, his line extending across the meadow, his artillery in the middle, and fifty Dragoons on each side. To face Tarleton, Morgan organized his troops into three lines. The first line, out front and hiding behind trees, were selected sharpshooters. At the onset of battle, they picked off numbers of Tarleton's Dragoons, shooting especially at officers. With the Dragoons in retreat, the sharpshooters retreated to join the second line. Some of the militia got off two volleys as the British neared, but, as they retreated, Tarleton sent his feared Dragoons after them. As the militia dodged behind trees, William Washington's Patriot cavalry thundered onto the field. The surprised British Dragoons were overwhelmed and lost eighteen men in the clash. As they fled the field, infantry on both sides fired volley after volley. The British advanced in a trot. Riding to the front, Morgan rallied the militia.

Now Tarleton's 71st Highlanders entered the charge toward the Continental line. John Eager Howard's order for the right flank to face slightly right to counter a charge from that direction, was, in the noise of battle, misunderstood as a call to retreat. Morgan spurred his horse on and ordered the retreating units to face about, and then, on order, fire in unison. The firing took a heavy toll on the British. This event and a fierce Patriot bayonet charge in return broke the British charge and turned the tide of battle. The re-formed militia and cavalry re-entered the battle, leading to double envelopment of the British, perfectly timed. British infantry began surrendering en masse.

The battle was over in less than an hour. It was a complete victory for the Patriot force. British losses were staggering: 110 dead, over 200 wounded and 500 captured. Morgan lost only 12 killed and 60 wounded.

"Adapt and overcome". News flash. It IS possible to do an Adaptive 4 Minute AQT.
Yes, there's photographic proof (in case it takes a while to be able to do it again. 🤣)

In transforming my own gimp-ness over the past 21 months😂, perhaps hard earned knowledge will indeed help and/or encourage other mobility challenged students or instructors.

First off, none of the regular seated positions have been possible for me…. yet. What does work is the open leg position with the derrière on a chair instead of on the ground. Exactly the same steady hold factors and shifting still apply.  See picture.

After being told by the orthopedic doc, "you need to forget about a low stoop", the going prone part remains a work in progress. Adapt and Overcome. Upon seeing video of my impromptu 4 min AQT, my talented physical therapist suggested some video homework to come up with best body mechanics to avoid further injury. 😁 Of course work continues on other deficits too.

I had been thinking about doing the 4 Minute AQT for quite some time, but not totally sure how to adapt. In an impulsive moment, I just did it for real with prepped mags already sitting in the range bag which meant stage 2 & 3 each got shot with a mag change. Dang! Add the super slow moving shooter time to that and it meant firing at almost hyperventilating rifleman cadence. 🤣 Thank goodness the slow getting up after it's all over isn't timed!😜

True confessions…It is less time with "ouch" to do 4 Minute AQT than a regular one.  

Read the full thread HERE.

As promised, Appleseed Playing Cards are back in the store! Each card features the name and inspiring story of a patriot who risked everything for Liberty on April 19th, 1775.

Also, check out the new Rifleman Quarter Zip sweatshirts. Heather Grey Fleece 1/4 Zip Sweatshirt available for approved Rifleman only!  

We have TONS of upcoming events lined up all across the country. Below are just a few of the special interest events that we want to mention. Reserve your spot today!  

Below is just a sample list of some of our upcoming events!

Do you shop at Amazon? Did you know that when doing so, you can donate to Project Appleseed at absolutely NO COST to you?

Help keep Appleseed growing into the future!  Change your bookmark for shopping at Amazon now to Use Amazon Smile  and RWVA receives a small donation for each purchase you make. Just designate RWVA as your charity of choice, and shop as usual!  You get the same great prices and you don't even need to be a member of Amazon Prime to participate.  Tell everyone you know and let's take advantage of this great program to help generate some funds for Appleseed! It's not a ton of money, but every little bit helps! 

I hope you enjoyed this issue of Project Appleseed's, "The Liberty Pole". Please follow us on the social media links below and keep an eye on our schedule for future events to stay up to date about Project Appleseed. Lastly, if you would like to reach out to the editor, please send an email to newsletter@projectappleseed.net.  Thank you again for taking the time to read this newsletter and especially for being a part of Project Appleseed.

In Liberty,

Roswell "Ross" Crutchfield
Project Appleseed - a 501(c)3 Organization
Lead Newsletter Editor
Designated Shoot Boss 

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