With the 4th of July right around the corner, I thought we could all use some fun facts regarding our cherished holiday.

So here are 4 fun facts surrounding the 4th of July.

1) Hot Dogs…nothing says backyard BBQ than a grilled hotdog.

According to The National Hot Dog and Sausage Council (NHDSC), founded in 1994, Americans consume more than 150 million hot dogs on the 4th of July! That’s a lot of hot dogs!!

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2) Our independence was almost derailed by a British Officer named Patrick Ferguson.

Officer Ferguson was a 33-year-old Scotsman that was what we would consider a sniper today. He was known as the best shot in the British Army.

On September 11th, 1777 he came across our troops at Brandywine Creek. He noticed an officer leading our troops and had the chance to kill that officer.

So how did Ferguson change history? He had the American officer in his sights, back turned, but Ferguson felt it was dishonorable to shoot a man in the back. That Officer he had in his sights was none other than General George Washington himself.

There is no way of knowing how the war would have turned out but, we won the war because of General George Washington.

3) Our Declaration of Independence was not signed on July 4th.

We declared our freedom from Great Britain on July 2nd, 1776. We celebrate on the 4th because that is the day it was published in the newspapers. Hence the celebration on The 4th of July.

4) James McCory, who was in what we today would call the secret service, was assigned to guard General George Washington. Why is this relevant you are asking yourself?

In 1815, James McCory moved to what is now called Tuscaloosa. He lived out the rest of his life here until his passing in 1840. He is buried in The Old Bethany Primitive Baptist Church Graveyard located in Pickens County, Alabama.

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