SHOOL OF FREDOM

[William M. Finley]

(Not a student yet?  Enroll for free at www.gwschool.net.)

There is probably no American that is more respected and beloved by the American people than is George Washington. This esteem is not just because he was our first president, but something that was earned by his personal conduct and integrity throughout his entire life.

Washington was indeed a most remarkable man as reflected in the writings of many who authored books about him.  Jay A. Parry, in the book The Real George Washington, stated of Washington, "The story of his life is the story of the founding of America.  His was the dominant personality in three of the most critical events in that founding" the Revolutionary War, the Constitutional Convention, and the first national administration.  Had he not served as America's leader in those three events, all three would likely have failed.  And America as we know today would not exit."

                                                                           The Real George Washington Preface p xi.

A higher compliment than that is hard to find of any American leader.

It seems that George Washington was destined and prepared for his role in American history from his early life to become the great American hero and leader that he came to be. His great grandfather, John Washington, a descendant of Odin, left England in the 1650's during the early years of the British colonialization of America and settled in the colony of Virginia where he accumulated a sizeable estate and reared a family.  George was the first child of his widowed father's second wife and so from an early age shouldered heavy responsibilities on his father's farm.

                                                                                                The Real George Washington p.5-6

Washington was tall in stature for his age time period.  At maturity he stood at 6 feet three and a half inches tall. Though he has not been classed as a brilliant military genius, his faith in the hand of Providence and his bravery and dedication to his troops offset any of his military genius short falls.

One American officer wrote from Morristown in early 1777:  "Our army love their General very much, but they have one thing against him, which is the little care he takes of himself in any action. His personal bravery, and the desire he has of animating his troops by example, make him fearless of danger. This occasions us much uneasiness. But Heaven, which has hitherto been his shield, I hope, will still continue to guard so valuable a life."

                                                                                                       The Real George Washington p 371

Further more, during the terrible winter months at Valley Forge, Washington suffered along with his troops from the cold and lack of food and shelter.  The following is an account of the extreme suffering and depravation that Washington and his men suffered during that harsh winter at Valley Forge:

What is the cost of freedom? 

At what cost was it given to us by our forefathers?

Estimates are that 10,000 of Washington's men were injured, 4,435   were killed in battle, and during the winter at Valley Forge 3,000 men died of disease, of freezing, and of sheer starvation. We understand the first two figures, but what is the story behind the seemingly needless suffering at Valley Forge?                                                                                             http://www1.va.gov/opa/fact/amwars.asp

The wondrous story of our forefathers' willingness to suffer because of their love of freedom must be told and emulated if we are to preserve the government they gave us.

Some of that story is told by historian, Sharon Ann Holt, regarding the choices General Washington and his men had to make at Valley Forge in order to honor the principle of government of the people and by the people.

She wrote:            

Washington considered the possibility of permitting his soldiers to seize the supplies they desperately needed and Congress lacked the power to purchase.  But it is a remarkable fact of American history that Washington turned away from the temptation to overpower or maneuver around the weakness of American civilian government.  He resisted so scrupulously, in fact that thousands of his men starved or froze to death that second winter of the war.  While their suffering and loyalty is justly recognized as the great legacy of Valley Forge to the nation, it is only part of the story.  The other part is in Washington's choices.

Washington had not wanted to take the army to Valley Forge for the winter encampment in the first place.  Though Congress began pushing Washington to take his army there for the winter ... Washington argued strenuously against their choice. The army should winter in a good-sized town, he asserted, where shelter and provisions could be had to sustain them through the winter.  But Congress, which had fled to York when ...the British marched into Philadelphia ..., wanted the army nearby to defend them ....  They------insisted --------on the unsettled hills of Valley Forge,    ...even though they had no funds to feed, clothe, or house the army there.

                                               Letter, John Cadwalader to Washington, 3 Dec. 1777, Historical Society of Pennsylvania

As he marched his army to the desolation of Valley Forge, Washington must have feared it would become a death-trap, but he was resolute that he and his army would obey the will of the Congress.  

Throughout the winter months, the British in Philadelphia feasted on Pennsylvania's rich bounty.  Continental soldiers knew that Pennsylvania farmers had barns full of wheat and corn and herds of cattle and sheep.  The British could pay for these treasures in gold, while the farmers,... scorned the nearly worthless Continental paper money.  Soldiers grumbled about seizing what farmers would not sell.  Determined not to proceed without Congress's authority, Washington wrote ceaselessly to York about the state of the men, petitioning Congress relentlessly either for supplies or for the authority to commandeer them. Meanwhile, ...........  The soldiers made do with whatever came to hand, however grotesque or inadequate. 

Once, a detachment secured a stash of British army boots.  ...the boots were too small for any soldier to wear... Washington urged the men to boil the boots .......................and eat them. ............................ And they did.[7]

                                                                               Historical Society of Pennsylvania    http://www.hsp.org/default.aspx?id=501

Washington recorded the individual and collective sacrifice of the army, determined that it would be appreciated and recorded in the records of Congress.  He wrote:

"Without arrogance or the smallest deviation from truth it may be said that no history, now extant, can furnish an instance of any army's suffering such uncommon hardships as ours has done and bearing them with the same patience and fortitude.   To see men without clothes to cover their nakedness, without blankets to lie on, without shoes by which their marches might be traced by the blood from their feet and almost as often without provisions as with; marching through frost and snow, and at Christmas taking up their winter quarters within a day's march of the enemy, without a house or a hut to cover them till they could be built, and submitting to it without a murmur, is a mark of patience and obedience which in my opinion can scarce be paralleled."

                              The Papers of George Washington   George Washington to John Banister 21 April 1778

                                                      http://gwpapers.virginia.edu/documents/revolution/banister.html#9     

Washington loved them for their willingness to honor the will of the people as expressed by the orders from Congress and for their love of freedom..............and so should we.

Next question...............what is the cost ....to keep freedom?

It seemed from an early age that Providence watched over him and not only protected him from harm's way, but provided him with seemingly impossible victories throughout both the French and Indian War and the Revolutionary War. Numerous were the occasions in which Washington openly acknowledged the hand of Providence in the protection of his life and in securing military victories that seemed totally out of the American Army's reach.  One such instance was in a battle following an ambush by Indians during the French and Indian War. Young George Washington was serving under the British General Braddock in which ambush the general was killed, but Washington's life was miraculously preserved. Washington later learned that under orders of the Indian chief, he was the repeated target of the Indians, but to their utter amazement, they were unable to kill him.   The Indians came to realize that Washington was being protected by an unseen power.

Another incident during the Revolutionary war follows below: 

George Washington repeatedly claimed that the victory of the war was a result of divine protection and direction.  In one letter he said, "We have...abundant reason to thank Providence for its many favorable interpositions in our behalf."

                              George Washington to Reverend William Gordon (9 Mar 1781), Fitzpatrick 21:332.   The Real George Washington  p.41

One of these "interpositions" occurred early in the war when Washington was still learning what he had to work with and what he had to work against.

In March 1776, encouraged by the arrival of cannon from Fort Ticonderoga and reinforcements from surrounding areas, Washington felt he had the power to drive the British out of Boston. In the dark, he and 3,000 men quietly ascended Dorchester Heights and worked all through the night to set up fortifications and to put in place their most powerful cannon.  As the dawn rose, fresh troops replaced the weary workers of the night and the British awoke to what they described as "a most astonishing night's work."

The amazed British advanced to attack unaware that Washington had also planned for 4,000 men to attack Boston by small boats and another strong army to attack by land.  This time they would not run out of ammunition, and if the American troops were as brave as they had been on Breed's Hill, surely the victory would be theirs.

Before Washington could give the orders for his other troops to attack and before the British could reach their fortifications, the skies darkened and a terrible storm hit Boston. Washington held back, the British retreated to shelter, and all waited till the storm passed away. The tense moment of surprise had passed and the British thought better of their plan. Rather than attack, the British scurried to their ships and within a few days sailed away leaving Boston and many valuable supplies in the hands of the Americans.

As Washington inspected the city he must have been surprised and perhaps felt awe and gratitude for the arrival of the storm.  In a letter he noted that Boston was "almost impregnable, every avenue fortified."  Boston was so fortified that he later said, "Twenty thousand men could not have carried it against one thousand."  Perhaps he realized that he had narrowly escaped destruction.

 

One historian stated,

            "The American commander had yet to learn that in hand-to-hand fighting his farm boys, who considered their bayonets principally useful for roasting meat over campfires, were no match for England's professional killers.  He was to be taught this lesson on terrains where the Americans could save their lives by running away.   But had most of his army been trapped with the murderous British on Boston Neck. Washington might then and there have lost the war.

In Homeric times, it would have been assumed that some pro-American god had ridden the storm, procuring time for the amateur American commander to learn how to conquer. "

                                                                                                                Flexner, Washington: The Indispensable Man. p. 75

But Washington knew that the God to whom he prayed could not only still the seas but, when needed, raise a storm.

 

He later stated to a congregation in Georgia:

            "May the same wonder-working deity who long since delivered the Hebrews from their Egyptian oppressors and planted them in the promised land, whose providential agency has lately been conspicuous in establishing these United States as an independent nation, still continue to water them with the dews of Heaven, and to make the inhabitants of every denomination participate in the temporal and spiritual blessings of that people whose God is Jehovah."

                                                                             The Real George Washington p 417, pp 164-168.

(Not a student yet?  Enroll for free at www.gwschool.net.)

The George Washington School of Freedom 2975 W. Executive Pkwy, Suite 183 Lehi, UT 84043 www.gwschool.net

(Not a student yet?  Enroll for free at www.gwschool.net.)

 

The George Washington School of Freedom Inc, 2975 W. Executive Pkwy. Suite 183, Lehi, UT 84043, USA

To unsubscribe or change subscriber options visit:
http://www.aweber.com/z/r/?jCyc7CwsHLSsTCwcrAycDLRmtOysHIzMjAw=