It’s interesting to note that years before the founding fathers gathered to declare the nation’s independence from England and its King, the men and women who settled the frontier land of Tennessee, Virginia, North Carolina, and Kentucky were already fiercely independent.  They had taken the risk to trek through Appalachia and settle in the most remote parts of the country. They cleared the land. They made treaties with and fought against Native Americans. They had built forts and defended them. They were a strong-willed, self-sufficient people, who had little help from or need for a King.

I shot the image below at Ft. Martin at the Cumberland Gap for the Remington Poster Series project. It is a scene that played out in the early frontier of this country many, many times. Isn’t revolution an amazing thing?

Have  a safe and happy 4th of July. Happy Birthday, America.