Posted on 02/20/2012 7:07:34 AM PST by yinandyang
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Washington had made every mistake in the book in the New York campaign. He had misread the enemy’s intentions; he had divided his forces in the face of superior numbers; he had provided no cavalry; he had hesitated almost fatally to get his army out of Manhattan once he grasped the folly of keeping it there; he had allowed Greene to persuade him against his better judgment to keep men in Fort Washington; he had allowed a wealth of precious tents, flour, ordnance, and ammunition at Forts Washington and Lee to fall into enemy hands. And now, on December 17, he had two weeks before the enlistments for most of the rest of his army expired.
-snip-
“These are the times that try men’s souls,” Paine passionately proclaimed, telling his exhausted fellow troopers just what they hungered to hear. “The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman.” Let’s not talk about “peace in my day” but think instead that, “If there must be trouble, let it be in my day, that my child may have peace.”
-snip-
“The achievements of Washington and his little band of compatriots between the 25th of December and the 4th of January, a space of 10 days,” pronounced one of the era’s foremost generals, Frederick the Great, “were the most brilliant of any recorded in the annals of military achievements.”
(Excerpt) Read more at city-journal.org ...
bfl
Marking...
Useless AND disrepectful.
The longest freepathon ever, if I am not mistaken, and the most spamming of the threads ever.
Hmmmmm
The RevWar/Colonial History/ General Washington ping list...
**** “if there must be trouble, let it be in my day, that my child may have peace”. Can’t find folks like that anymore. ****
Agreed. I don’t know if I didn’t pay attention because I was a rowdy kid, or that schools didn’t emphasize enough, but the true nature of the founders is just amazing. Men of position and power who risked it all for principle.
Washington wasn’t flawless, but from what I’ve seen and read in my adult years, he did have fine qualities. He was courageous, learned quickly, and was a leader. Washington wasn’t schooled as a tactician, but he did learn on the job, and we likely wouldn’t be the USA without him.
Moving forward in time, it is ironic that the greatest generation is directly responsible for the worst generation. My parent’s generation, the ones who were raised during the depression, and fought World War II, raised the hippies. The hippies are the poison pill. They have killed America. The country is dying, and the hippies have their hands around her throat.
I can’t put into words my sadness... and yes, despair, over what has become of America, and Americans. I thank God that I likely won’t be around to witness the worst of it.
We need new equipment to keep us going, and perhaps get us moving a little quicker. The FReepathon is requiring more money to do so.
Many of us are under-employed (me) and some are unemployed.
Now is not the time to be a negative nellie (as I have recently learned).
CC
Adding pharmboy...
Now that is what I call an endorsement. I wonder if His Excellency heard that.
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What had to have been the most elegant sword used by the General is now exhibited at the New York State Library in Albany. This sword is reputed to be the sword sent to Washington in 1780 by Frederick the Great with a verbal message: “From the oldest General in the World to the Greatest”.
You, Sir, are correct in that it is a long read. But I attest that it is well worth the time and effort to be humbled by what our ancestors suffered to give us the greatest form of government to ever exist on the Earth. My only regret is that we Americans today are pissing away their hard won victory by allowing our current elected “officials” to run roughshod over We the People. I strongly believe Thomas Jefferson was correct when he stated,
“The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.”
Your legacy should be to teach as many people as you can what it means to be an American. It must be done before everyone who remembers is gone.
mark
Celt,
Agreed! Don’t forget, though, his famous “Farewell to his Lieutenants” at Fraunce’s Tavern.
Oldplayer
Of course the Puerto Rican terrorists who murded several with their brief case bomb in the 70’s were pardoned by Clinton on his last day in office. But, that’s an entirely different story. . ..
“Our only dependance now, is upon the Speedy Inlistment of a New Army,” he wrote Lund Washington, his cousin and trusted manager at Mount Vernon; “if this fails us, I think the game will be pretty well up, as from disaffection, and want of spirit & fortitude, the Inhabitants instead of resistance, are offering Submission, and taking protections from Genl Howe in Jersey.”
And now came one of history’s miraculous turning points, in which a handful of men transformed failure into triumph.
How similar is our situation! If the socialists continue winning, the choice for most Americans will be to submit to it, or else they and their families will suffer. They are for liberty, but will give in to tyranny, once it is clear that tyranny is going to triumph. We need to pull off a clear victory against tyranny, and then begin the long war to defeat it. We are close to the same point that Washington was at in December 1776. I sure hope we can pull off the same miracle and preserve what he and his countrymen created.
Yep, you’re mistaken. It’s not the longest FReepathon, but it’s the most money we’re trying to raise.
New servers are on order.
Thanks very much for your loyal support!
Actually it happened before that. When he surrendered his commission at Annapolis in 1783. (Our governor McKeldin wrote a tiny little book on this called “Washington Bowed”, of which I have a copy.)
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