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If we win a key battle…

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by Paul McKellips Adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, the Declaration of Independence boldly announced that 13 American ­colonies (then at war with Great Britain) regarded themselves as 13 ­sovereign states and no ­longer subjects to the British throne. But making a simple d ­ eclaration wasn’t going to persuade the British any more than my sleeping in the garage would persuade my father that I was a car. Adams, Franklin and Jefferson could agree upon the words, but Washington, and an ­inexperienced army of patriots, would need to win some battles. Even though he had the newly inked Declaration of Independence read to his army, General George Washington retreated from Long Island, New York, in late August of 1776 and back across the East River after the largest battle of the American Revolutionary War. We lost that battle, but not the war. On September 15, 1776 the British landed 12,000 men in lower Manhattan and quickly took control of New York City. Americans withdrew and fled to the north. October 26 brought the Battle of White Plains. We lost almost all of the early battles, but not the war. British General Lord Cornwallis chased Washington and his overwhelmed band of farmers, militia, Minutemen and conscripts down through New Jersey but inexplicably let them escape over the Delaware River on December 7, 1776. Thomas Paine was traveling and retreating with Washington’s dwindling Continental Army of 5,000 men; after they crossed the Delaware, Paine penned the now famous phrase: “These are the times that try men’s souls.” We were ­losing every battle, but not the war. Washington knew that his army of 5,000 would decrease to only 1,400 on

Colonel John Stark’s First New Hampshire Regiment was long overdue for a ­furlough, but w hen word came t hat G eneral Washington desperately needed help, most of the enlistees held their positions and marched south towards Trenton. Among them—and not willing to abandon his ­loyalty to General Washington or the cause of freedom—was one Samuel McKellips, my grandfather five times removed. McKellips’s one-year enlistment was to end on December 31, 1776. But I imagine he thought: “If we could win one battle, perhaps we could win the war.” Brigaded under General John Sullivan, Samuel McKellips crossed the icy Delaware River with General George Washington, which led to the capture of more than 1,000 Hessian mercenaries and a decisive victory in the Battle of Trenton. The American

Revolutionary War would last much longer and beyond that 1776 victory on Christmas Day in Trenton. But on that day—with one key battle victory—the words written in the Declaration of Independence came to life. Sometimes, we just need to win a key battle before we can win an entire war. Pe r h ap s a n a r my o f b i o m e d i c a l ­researchers sometimes feel outgunned and ­outmaneuvered by the superior enemy, ­d isease: cancer, Alzheimer’s and cystic ­f ibrosis. They huddle in the ­challenging ­c onditions of their own Valley Forge as research funding is s­ equestered and the lowhanging fruit of previous ­breakthroughs has already been c­ onsumed. Resupplies of research ammunition can’t reach the front lines, and ­animal rights snipers continue to pick off ­patriots. Many are discouraged. Some look at their ­p otential retirement dates and plan an early exit while others face a very u ­ ncertain future in the midst of ­challenging ­conditions. But what if we could win a key battle? Could it be the turning point in an entire war on disease? Perhaps, like our founding fathers did, we need to convene and write down the words to our own Declaration of Independence. Perhaps the entire world needs to know that we intend to stay and fight because we believe that all children should be free from cystic fibrosis. We believe that our elderly should not be imprisoned by Alzheimer’s. And we believe that our mothers, sisters and ­d aughters should be liberated from breast cancer. We hold all of these truths to be self-­ evident. We, too, declare our desire for ­independence from the tyranny of d ­ isease and the taxing burden of debilitating ­conditions. If we win a key battle, we can win this war!



Volume 43, No. 7 | JULY 2014 253

December 31 when enlistment c­ ontracts expired. They camped in the frigid ­c onditions of Valley Forge, outmanned and ­outmaneuvered by a far superior and better-trained opponent, huddling for warmth, scouring for food and waiting for death. Those whom the British couldn’t kill or capture were left ­v ulnerable in bare feet to the cold and diseases such as ­smallpox. Washington turned the ­eventual ­outcome of the war with an innovative, bold and risky Christmas Day plan— he went on the offensive. If he could win one key battle, perhaps he could ultimately win the war.

Sometimes, we just need to win a key battle before we can win an entire war.

McKellips is Executive Vice President of the Foundation for Biomedical Research in Washington, DC.

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If we win a key battle

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