🤬 The Iron Will: Built on Bullshit and Stolen Lives

By Roseanne Milton | January 7, 2026

When we talk about the American Revolution, we are often fed a sanitized, glorious narrative. But the truth, the one that runs through my veins, is brutal and ugly.

My ancestors—19 of them—were enslaved at the Catoctin Iron Furnace in Maryland. And let me be clear: the entire foundation of their forced labor, the system that stole them from their home country and chained them to a furnace, was bullshit. It was pure, violent theft of human life.

The Paradox of Patriotism

This furnace, powered by the sweat, skill, and suffering of my family, was a critical armaments manufacturer for the Continental Army. They weren't fighting for "freedom" for my people; they were producing the very tools needed for white colonists to gain their own.

Cannonballs: My ancestors made the ammunition—the cannonballs—that helped secure the decisive victory at Yorktown in 1781.

Pig Iron & Shells: Their specialized knowledge was used to fulfill contracts with the Colonial Council of Safety and the U.S. Board of War.

Everything: From mining the ore to burning the charcoal to casting the metal, every piece of iron that supported the rebellion was the product of stolen genius and stolen time.

They literally forged the tools of American liberty while living under the heel of American bondage. There is no greater hypocrisy in our nation's founding story.