In the interests of keeping the historical record straight (without commenting on his position regarding the Pledge of Allegiance), I would like to point out an error found in Christopher Wolfe's July 10 letter to the editor.

His opening statement is, "Our country was originally colonized by Puritans who left England to practice their Christian beliefs freely."

That statement is factually incorrect. Even ignoring a few earlier unsuccessful ventures (e.g., the colony at Roanoke in Virginia and Popham's Colony in Maine), or for that matter Spanish colonies in what became our country, the first two permanent colonies were Jamestown (settled in 1607) and Plymouth (settled in 1620). The Jamestown colony was settled primarily by Anglicans, not Puritans, and the Plymouth colony was settled by Separatists, not Puritans.

Although a few Puritans trickled into the Plymouth colony between 1620 and 1630, the Puritans did not start settling in North America in any great numbers until Winthrop's Fleet of 1630.

If one is to use historical "facts" as part of their argument, one should be sure the "facts" are indeed facts.