So the "blacked robed regiment" wasted their lives?
I missed the part where Pastor Weaver claimed that Christ did not purchase independence for His people.
What is wrong with a pastor applying Scripture to the civil realm? Does not Scripture address these issues as well? It sounds like you are arguing for an overly narrow view of what the Bible teaches.
1. An evaluation of the ministerial labors of these men is beside the point. The problem is that the fellow who put together this "sermon" is failing to do what is required by the Christian ministry, namely, to preach Christ and him crucified. The labors of well intentioned ministers of the past are not the gospel, nor are they the proper subject of any Christian sermon (a lecture possibly), and should not occupy the minister's time in the pulpit. It is possible to refer to something like that by way of a supporting illustration, but to make it the sole subject of a 68 min. sermon is being beyond irresponsible to those who would come and hear of the things of Scripture and eternal life.
2. He didn't mention anything about what Christ did or did not do, which is the problem. He explicitly mentioned that it was these men who "purchased our freedom". This is a confusing of the true spiritual freedom purchased by Christ for his people, and a temporary civil freedom that may or may not have been assisted by ministers applying themselves to activities in the civil realm. You came away from that lecture believing that civil liberty was the sole most important thing for which a man could possibly give up his life.
3. There is no problem with a minister applying the Gospel and the admonitions of Scripture to our understanding of the civil realm. However, this fellow did no such thing as his entire sermon was basically attempting to create fan-boy applause for the civil labors of some ministers who took that route. It was a piece that spent its time in adulation of these men, and did not actually apply Scripture to conscience of the Christian regarding the civil realm. His thundering on about "truth" and such was done in a very general manner, and did not ever get to the point of telling us exactly what that truth was, and why it was so important. Truth for truth's sake is neither specifically Christian, nor does it have the power to save and change lives. You can probably find Imams thundering on about the same thing from time to time.
Seminary training at a good, Christ-centered and Reformed institution is very important, and this sermon is yet another example of what can happen when that preparatory step is neglected.