The novelist James Michener once noted the curious American tendency to commemorate defeats--Bunker Hill, the Alamo, Pearl Harbor, etc.
And soon the first black president.
And Custers last stand, vietnam, etc etc. Curiously, the English do that a bit as well - Hastings, Dunkirk, The Somme, Spion Kop... The English also have a very endearing quality of having a lot of time for people who beat us fair and square - King Arthur, Rommel, Saladin, Gandhi, Washington. Washington is quite a hero here. My local bar is called “The Washington”, and features a big picture of the man.