The Men Who Saved the Liberty Bell

By Raymond C. Wilson

After General George Washington's defeat at the Battle of Brandywine in September 1777, Philadelphia was under imminent attack by the British Army. In order to prevent capture of the city's tower bells, these bells were taken down and transported out of the city. This book tells the story of the two citizen-soldiers (John Jacob Mickley and Frederick Leaser) and the clergyman (Reverend Abraham Blumer) who were instrumental in saving the Liberty Bell. In addition, this book shines a spotlight on the Liberty Bell itself -- one of the most recognizable symbols of America. If you think of all the other national relics, the Liberty Bell supersedes all of them in the imagination and in the reality. We have a cornucopia of symbols to choose from, but every group has always picked this one -- probably because of the liberty connotation, through its inscription 'Proclaim liberty throughout the land to all inhabitants.'

• Language: English
• Publisher: Raymond C. Wilson
• Release date: Nov 22, 2021
• ISBN: 9781005783648

Raymond C. Wilson

Raymond C. Wilson is a military historian, filmmaker, and amateur genealogist. During his military career as an enlisted soldier, warrant officer, and commissioned officer in the U.S. Army for twenty-one years, Wilson served in a number of interesting assignments both stateside and overseas. He had the honor of serving as Administrative Assistant to Brigadier General George S. Patton (son of famed WWII general) at the Armor School; Administrative Assistant to General of the Army Omar Nelson Bradley at the Pentagon; and Military Assistant to the Civilian Aide to the Secretary of the Army at the Pentagon. In 1984, Wilson was nominated by the U.S. Army Adjutant General Branch to serve as a White House Fellow in Washington, D.C. While on active duty, Wilson authored numerous Army regulations as well as articles for professional journals including 1775 (Adjutant General Corps Regimental Association magazine), Program Manager (Journal of the Defense Systems Management College), and Army Trainer magazine. He also wrote, directed, and produced three training films for Army-wide distribution. He is an associate member of the Military Writers Society of America. Following his retirement from the U.S. Army in 1992, Wilson made a career change to the education field. He served as Vice President of Admissions and Development at Florida Air Academy; Vice President of Admissions and Community Relations at Oak Ridge Military Academy; Adjunct Professor of Corresponding Studies at U.S. Army Command and General Staff College; and Senior Academic Advisor at Eastern Florida State College. While working at Florida Air Academy, Wilson wrote articles for several popular publications including the Vincent Curtis Educational Register and the South Florida Parenting Magazine. At Oak Ridge Military Academy, Wilson co-wrote and co-directed two teen reality shows that appeared on national television (Nickelodeon & ABC Family Channel). As an Adjunct Professor at U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, Wilson taught effective communications and military history for eighteen years. At Eastern Florida State College, Wilson wrote, directed, and produced a documentary entitled "Wounded Warriors - Their Struggle for Independence" for the Chi Nu chapter of Phi Theta Kappa. Since retiring from Eastern Florida State College, Wilson has devoted countless hours working on book manuscripts.

Book preview

THE MEN WHO SAVED THE LIBERTY BELL

Written by

RAYMOND C. WILSON

Author of:

Out of Necessity

Commander in Chief

Martyr of the Race Course

America’s Five-Star Warriors

The Men Who Saved West Point

Pennsylvania Bucktails: Civil War Sharpshooters

Wounded Warriors - Their Struggle for Independence

European Royal Bloodlines of the American Presidents

Pass in Review - Military School Celebrities (Volume One)

Pass in Review - Military School Celebrities (Volume Two)

Pass in Review - Military School Celebrities (Volume Three)

Pass in Review - Military School Celebrities (Volume Four)

If These Walls Could Talk: Huling Hotel and Pack Horse Inn

Beyond the Bighorn: The Afterlife of George Armstrong Custer

Pass in Review - Military School Celebrities (Presidential Edition)

Custer’s Luck Has Run Out: George Armstrong Custer’s Changing Image

THE MEN WHO SAVED THE LIBERTY BELL

Published by Raymond C. Wilson at Smashwords

Copyright 2021 Raymond C. Wilson

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

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Cover artwork by Davis Gray

Table of Contents

Introduction

Liberty Bell before British Occupation

British Occupation of Philadelphia

John Jacob Mickley

Frederick Leaser

Reverend Abraham Blumer

Liberty Bell at Zion Reformed Church

Liberty Bell after British Occupation

Afterword

Bibliography

About Raymond C. Wilson

Introduction

The United States has many symbols of its greatness such as the Statue of Liberty, the Washington Monument, the White House, and Mount Rushmore. One of the more unlikely of these symbols is the Liberty Bell.

The bell was a failure at the beginning of its career, since it broke the first time it was rung, and the American colonists had to recast it ... twice.

It was only a coincidence that the bell was associated with the independence of the United States. Had the First Continental Congress chosen to meet in New York City (New York), Boston (Massachusetts), or Williamsburg (Virginia), for instance, the Liberty Bell never would have been rung for the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence.

It is also purely coincidental that the inscription on the bell says, proclaim liberty throughout the land, since the bell was ordered by the Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly in 1751 -- twenty- five years before the American colonies declared their independence from England.

And the Liberty Bell got its name not because of the Declaration of Independence but because of a poem written in an abolitionist pamphlet that was published by the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Fair in Boston in 1839.

The Liberty Bell

By H.R.H. Moore

Ring loud that hallowed Bell!

Ring it long, ring it long;

Through the wide world let it tell

That Freedom's strong:

That the whole world shall be free —

The mighty crowd, the mighty crowd —

That the proud shall bend the knee,

The haughty proud.

Ring, ring the mighty Bell,

In the storm, in the storm!

Brothers! It shall herald well

Fair Freedom's form.

Ring it Southward, till its voice

For slavery toll, for slavery toll;

And Freedom's wakening touch rejoice

Both limb and soul.

Ring it o'er the negro's grave!

Ring it deep, ring it deep;

Its tones are sacred to the slave,

In Freedom's sleep.

Ring it, till its startling tones

Thrill young and old, young and old;

Till despots tremble on their thrones,

And their blood run cold.

Ring it, till the slave be free,

Wherever chained, wherever chained;

Till Universal Liberty

For aye be gained.

Ring it, till the young arise

To Freedom's fight, to Freedom's fight;

Spring gladly toward the kindling skies,

All clothed in light.

Ring it, till the bonds of sect

Be torn away, be torn away;

Till every man, as God's elect,

Kneel down to pray.

Ring it, till the world have heard,

And felt, at length, and felt, at length;

Till every living soul be stirred,

And clothed with strength.

After General George Washington's defeat at the Battle of Brandywine on 11 September 1777, Philadelphia, then capital for the Second Continental Congress, was under imminent attack by the British Army under General William Howe. On September 14th, to prevent capture of the city's tower bells, which could be melted into cannonballs, the Supreme Executive Council of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania ordered that these bells be taken down and transported out of the city.

The Liberty Bell, then known as the State House Bell, from Independence Hall was among these bells and was secured on John Jacob Mickley's wagon. Private Mickley was a member of Captain Benjamin Weiser’s Militia Company. When Mickley’s wagon broke down on September 23rd near Bethlehem, the Liberty Bell was then transferred to the wagon of Sergeant Frederick Leaser, who delivered it on September 24th to the Zion Reformed Church in Allentown, where it was hidden by Reverend Abraham Blumer until June 1778.

Many people know that the Liberty Bell