All we knew at that time was what we continue to hold true today: that there is a difference between right and wrong and between freedom and tyranny, that what we do in each moment matters, and that a better future for our families is always worth fighting for.

Happy Independence Day, Boston.

250 years ago, Washington had only began transforming our militia into an organized army, we had just lost the Battle of Bunker Hill, and the British burned Charlestown to the ground and occupied Boston.

There was no way of knowing then that a year later we would declare our independence.