Continuing from yesterday`s post about Lord Percy, "At Lexington, Brigade Commander Lord Percy routed the Americans with cannon and musket fire, burning several houses to prevent militiamen from using them for cover. They dispersed the Americans sufficiently at Concord to execute search-and-seizure operations.

"The British had a map, prepared by one of their spies, showing suspected places where arms and stores were secreted, and they proceeded to search numerous farms and houses for the contraband. They discovered 500 pounds of musket balls and dumped them into the mill pond. Major Pitcairn seized and disabled a cannon, which Ephraim Jones, the town jailer and an innkeeper, had hidden; the major manhandled and threatened Jones and then ate breakfast at his inn, paying the tab. In other incidents, Concord`s women persuaded soldiers not to search certain rooms of houses where supplies were hidden. Most of the stores went undiscovered."

From Halbrook, The Founders` Second Amendment: Origins of the Right to Bear Arms, pgs. 77-78.

Image: "The Soldier`s Wife" by Henry E. Kidd
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#americanrevolution #thefounderssecondamendment #lexingtonandconcord #lordhughpercy #weaponssearch ...

"Lord Hugh Percy, of His Majesty`s forces,...wrote a letter on September 12 [1774], deploring that `the People here openly oppose the New Accts. They have taken up arms in almost every part of this Province, & have drove in the Govr & most of the Council.` Percy groused about his superior Gage: `The General`s great lenity and moderation serve only to make them more daring & insolent.` Percy then added:

" `What makes an insurrection here always more formidable than in other places, is that there is a law of this Province, wh[ich] obliges every inhabitant to be furnished with a firelock, bayonet, & pretty considerable quantity of ammunition. Besides wh[ich], every township is obliged by the same law to have a large magazine of all kinds of military stores.

" `They are, moreover, trained four times in each year, so that they do not make a despicable appearance as soldiers, tho` armed with firelocks, provided they only come in small nos.`

"Yet Gage was no pansy. He had already incensed the colonists by seizing large quantities of ammunition from the powder houses...."

From Halbrook, The Founders` Second Amendment: Origins of the Right to Bear Arms, pgs. 41-42.

Image: "Colonial Militia Scout" by Randy Steele.
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#americanrevolution #thefounderssecondamendment #2ahistory #lordhughpercy #generalgage ...

I wonder what tune she`s whistling as she confidently strides home with her rifle on her shoulder and dinner in hand.

Photo: This photograph most likely dates to the early 1940s.
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#rabbithunting #smallgamehunting #rabbithunter #womenthathunt #vintagehuntingphoto ...

In 1866, "Buffalo Soldiers," an all-Black army regiment, was formed to serve on the Western frontier. These men proved to be brave and dedicated as they worked to control Native American tribes of the Plains, catch cattle thieves, protect national parks, and protect settlers, travelers, and railroad crew, all in the Wild West. They fought in numerous wars including the Spanish American War and World Wars I and II. The Buffalo Soldier regiments were finally disbanded during the Korean War, when the U.S. military was desegregated.

It is said that the Native American tribes called these men "Buffalo Soldiers" because of their fierce way of fighting and their dark, curly hair.

Dr. John Morton-Finney (1889–1998) was a Buffalo Soldier who served with the 24th U.S. Infantry Regiment in the Philippines before fighting in France during WWI. An avid learner, he earned 11 academic degrees, including five in law. Once he became a lawyer, he did not retire until his 107th birthday and is believed to have been the oldest practicing attorney in the U.S.

President George H.W. Bush officially proclaimed July 28th as Buffalo Soldiers Day in 1992.

Photo: African American soldiers of the U.S. Army`s segregated 92nd Infantry Division (Buffalo Soldiers) walking past a disabled German Tiger I heavy tank on a road in Italy." (September 1944.) [warfarehistorynetwork.com]
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#BuffaloSoldier #BuffaloSoldiers #africanamericanhistory #wildwesthistory #blackamericanhistory ...

[ENGLISH BELOW] Enquanto aguardava seu julgamento no pós-guerra, Pierre Laval, o líder fantoche da França de Vichy ocupada pelos nazistas, "justificou a sua colaboração contínua com os nazistas que agora ocupavam toda a França da seguinte forma: `Se eu tivesse abandonado o meu posto em novembro de 1942, todo o país teria se tornado um vasto Maquis. O custo teria sido de milhares e milhares de mortos. É compreensível que homens corajosos e verdadeiros patriotas não tenham hesitado em expor-seàs consequências do Artigo 10, que os proscreveu como guerrilheiros ou francs-tireurs. Mas como poderia o chefe do governo justificar a tomada de uma decisão que exporia toda a população francesa a este terrível risco?`

"Toda a França como `um vasto Maquis`, como eram chamados os combatentes da resistência rural, significaria uma luta armada popular contra a ocupação nazista. O fato de os guerrilheiros, também conhecidos como francs-tireurs, não serem tratados como prisioneiros de guerra nos termos do Artigo 10 do armistício era uma consequência brutal, mas esperada, de estarem na Resistência. A colaboração contínua de Laval apenas atrasou a derrota da ocupação nazista. Não será preciso dizer que o desastre conjurado não teria ocorrido se Laval, para usar as suas palavras, tivesse abandonado o seu posto."

De Halbrook, Desarmamento Na França Ocupada Pelos Nazistas, pág. 180.
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While awaiting his postwar trial, Pierre Laval, the puppet leader of Nazi-occupied Vichy France, "justified his continued collaboration with the Nazis, who by then occupied all of France, as follows: `Had I abandoned my post in November 1942 the whole of the country would have become one vast Maquis. The cost would have been thousands and thousands dead. It is understandable that brave men and true patriots did not hesitate to expose themselves to the consequences of Article 10, which outlawed them as guerillas or francs-tireurs. But how could the head of the Government be justified in taking a decision which would expose the entire French population to this terrible risk?`

"The whole of France as `one vast Maquis,` as rural resistance fighters were called, would have meant [CONTINUED IN COMMENTS] ...

"On July 17, the Third Circuit declared New Jersey`s ban on semiautomatic rifles and magazines holding over ten rounds to violate the Second Amendment. The case is Ass`n of New Jersey Rifle and Pistol Clubs, Inc. v. Attorney General New Jersey (AJNRPC), and the 10 to 5 en banc opinion is authored by Judge Arianna J. Freeman. This is the first circuit court decision to invalidate an `assault firearm` and magazine ban."
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"Judge Paul Matey`s concurrence minces no words: `Nothing has changed in the decades since the State launched its battle against the Second Amendment and its ongoing defiance of the law.` The terms `LCM` and `assault firearm` have no objective meanings but are `marketing materials recycled into legislation.` Although the opinion of the court doesn`t mention features, Judge Matey explains, `There is too much evidence that all of the arms at issue—pistol grips, folding stocks, magazines containing eleven or more rounds, and the semiautomatic shotguns and pistols New Jersey lumped into the definition of "assault weapons" with no real thought—are and have long been in common use for lawful purposes.`"

The above excerpts are from my Second Amendment Roundup blog post, "New Jersey Rifle and Magazine Bans Bite the Dust" (7/22/26).

Read the post at reason.com/volokh or copy and paste: https://reason.com/volokh/2026/07/22/second-amendment-roundup-new-jersey-rifle-and-magazine-bans-bite-the-dust/

Link can also be accessed through the home page of my website, stephenhalbrook.com
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#magazineban #semiautomatic #njgunlaws #2ndamendmentcases #secondamendmentroundup ...

"This otherwise normal looking rifle has a `fin grip` to comply with California`s prohibition on a rifle with `a grip that allows for a pistol style grasp in which the web of the trigger hand (between the thumb and index finger) can be placed beneath or below the top of the exposed portion of the trigger.` The fin forces the thumb into a `hitchhiker` position instead of encircling what would otherwise be a pistol grip."

From Halbrook, America`s Rifle: The Case for the AR-15, p. 29 (photo and caption).
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#fingrip #springfieldar15 #saintvictorar15 #californiagunlaws #AmericasRifleTheCaseForTheAR15 ...

Of all things, this 1940 wartime-era photo of two men holding M1903s is from a vintage knitting pattern booklet published in 1940, titled "Patons Knitting Book No. 396: Hand Knits for Men."

During World War II, yarn companies and volunteer organizations often published patterns featuring men wearing knitted garments while posing with military equipment, such as the M1903 rifles shown here. The imagery promoted cable-knit sweaters and sweater vests as warm, practical clothing for service members, civil defense, and outdoor activities.
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#patonsknittingbook #M1903 #M1903s #wwiiknitting #wwiiphoto ...