On July 4th, 1776, the Continental Army crushed the British redcoats with an avalanche of giant gems. To commemorate the occasion, Sega will be offering the puzzle game Columns for free to iPhone and iPod Touch owners all this weekend.

Columns, first released in 1990, invites obvious comparisons to Tetris. Gems fall down the screen and you have to align them so they match and disappear. Over time, the gems begin to fall faster and faster. There's three levels of difficulty and three different game modes: Timed, Challenge, and Endless.

The giveaway's not live as of right now. Presumably it begins tomorrow, as loads of folks have that day off from work. Even if you miss out on this non-sequitir celebration of American Independence, the game's only $1.99 normally so no biggy.