One Founding Father’s admiration for a bird that would become America’s most famous holiday dinner.

Benjamin Franklin had a rather high opinion of the American turkey. He considered it courageous, respectable, and in some ways a better representative of the young republic than the bald eagle.

Unfortunately for the turkey, Americans had other plans.

Every November, millions of Americans gather around their tables to celebrate Thanksgiving. And there, occupying the place of honor, is the very bird Franklin admired—usually surrounded by stuffing, cranberry sauce, and mashed potatoes.

Franklin’s opinion came in a 1784 letter to his daughter, Sarah Bache. He criticized the bald eagle as a bird of questionable character, accusing it of stealing food from other birds. The turkey, on the other hand, was a bird of courage, willing to defend its farmyard against an invading British grenadier.

Contrary to popular legend, Franklin never formally proposed replacing the eagle with the turkey as America’s national emblem. But his admiration was genuine.

Not so genuine, apparently, that he refused to eat one.

Franklin enjoyed turkey at the dinner table and even experimented with using electricity to kill birds for cooking. On one occasion, he accidentally shocked himself instead.

Perhaps the turkey had finally fought back.

Franklin may have lost his argument with the eagle, but the turkey eventually secured a place in American tradition that few other birds could rival.

Unfortunately, it was on a platter.

And every Thanksgiving, as Americans gather to give thanks for their blessings, perhaps we should spare a thought for Franklin’s courageous bird.

It might have stood its ground against a British grenadier. But against an American family armed with carving knives, it never stood a chance.