Posted on 06/12/2012 7:10:47 PM PDT by Pharmboy
Somebody gets it...
Washington was a genius of a spymaster. A lot of his victories came from that. He really loved the art, and used to stage elaborate schemes to fool the enemy.
Washington at Princeton
The RevWar/Colonial History/General Washington ping list...
George Washington, genius of creation and nation-building, meet Barack Obama, genius of destruction and nation-destroying.
Which side will win out...?
Washington's second major strength was his charismatic and awe-inspiring persona, daring bullets at the very front of the battle, astride his huge stallion in full dress uniform, to rally his troops. His survival was another divine miracle.
bump
Indeed...one of my favorite stories was the Quaker woman from Philly who gave him key information before Germantown, I believe. Another one relates to the NJ hunter/trapper (quite a character, he) who informed on troop movements. He never seemed to have trouble getting people to risk it all for him and the Patriot Cause...one reason was that they trusted him completely.
Thanks for posting this!
Agreed on the Divine Miracles.
A month or so ago on FR there was an article about a bunch of British historians having a conference. Part (or all) of the conference was to answer the question “Who was Britain’s most difficult military foe?” (Something like that) It was for all of history, so Napolean, Hitler, and a bunch of other dead guy’s whose names I forget. But they put Washington at the top of the list.
Of course I suppose they may have also observed the hand of God with Washington. That may have added a few points to the scoring system!
True--he was a great diplomat with congress, but his troops loved him which, I believe, was even more important. His troops came through for him more often than congress.
But, we quibble. The fact that people who have read about the RevWar and the General give many different answers to the question: "What was Washington's greatest strength?" only speaks well of him.
There have been tens of thousands of great Americans. George Washington is the greatest American of them all as he was the single most indispensable to the victory in the War of Independence and to the preservation of the constitutional principles of the the Revolution post war.
This is the ONLY American that should have his very own holiday. The fact that MLK is the only American with his own distinct holiday is a reflection of the nadir to which Political Correctness has sunk us as a nation.
There are many many stories about how the best marksmen couldn't hit him - many bullet holes in his coat, etc.
That God wanted him to live, and this 'Christian Nation' to be founded seems near inescapable on close examination of the almost overwhelming forces which Washington defeated.
A few years ago we visited the Delaware Crossing and heard about Washington’s exploits, and shrewdness in his Christmas attack on the British. Remarkable man, trying to keep his army together in the face of unbelievable obstacles. And, yes there were stories of intrigue from “pillow talk” messages received from girl friends of the British officers giving Washington valuable humintel in a timely manner!
Eventually, though, the north found Grant, and succeeded in wearing down the south. Lee comes out as the loser, but I think he was a worthy successor to Washington.
I was reading that Christie’s is auctioning off Washington’s own, hand annotated copy of the Constitution he used when starting work as the President. He put his name on it like you would your copy of a working paper or printed instruction manual.
Someone can get me that for Father’s day.
Thank God Ferguson never took that shot.
Fortunately, George Washington Had a Better Crew
'During a publicity event at the Village Community Boathouse on Pier 40 overlooking the Hudson, owners of bookstores and people who were attending the BookExpo America convention at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center listened as Mr. Sullivan discussed the historical importance of Manhattans waterways.
So inspired, several of the audience members decided to try historical immersion for themselves.
Two rowboats built at the boathouse to imitate 19th-century New York Harbor craft known as Whitehall gigs left the pier loaded with booksellers, volunteer coxswains and local residents who had heard about the boathouses rowing program.
The first boat struck a pier at North Moore Street and flipped over, dumping three BookExpo conventioneers, two instructors and two others into 60-degree water, according to the Fire Department. Five of them were pinned against the pier and climbed onto it, while the other two drifted 100 yards away. Mr. Sullivan was not in the boat.
Washington made his nighttime crossing without the loss of a single life. Mr. Sullivans flotilla suffered no fatalities, either, although one woman suffered minor injuries and was treated briefly at New York Downtown Hospital, the Fire Department said. (All three BookExpo participants were back at the Javits Center on Wednesday.)'
Excellent.
The greatest American, period.
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