Posted on 11/30/2017 5:51:23 AM PST by iowamark
Thank you.
How is that statue still standing?
GW could have been a Caesar; he opted instead to be a Cincinnatus.
Thank you for posting this interesting reminder that real events do not wrap up neatly like movies or television episodes. Even historical texts can only summarize sweeping events, leading us to believe that transformative changes in the past were more certain in their outcomes and more quickly completed than they actually were.
I would explain to my 7th-grade history students how Cincinnati was named after George Washington. Of course I’d then have to explain about Cincinnatus, who all educated 18th century people were aware of, but now, not so much.
I cannot believe that the convergence of remarkable people like Washington, Franklin, Madison, Hamilton, Jefferson, and the rest was just a coincidence.
I have long believed that it was Divine Providence that brought those people together, at that particular time, to create what would become The United States of America. It pains me to see what we’ve allowed to become of this great, G-d given gift.
When I hear our founders repeatedly attacked and denigrated by mental and moral midgets, I’m amazed at how shallow and ignorant they are.
Were our founders perfect? Absolutely not, but they were among the best of their time, and their remarkable vision and fortitude in creating the basis for what became the greatest nation in history was a gift from The Lord.
I only hope that we, as Americans, can see that gift for what it is, and begin to unwind the damage done. I believe that President Trump’s election was a first step in that direction, but there is a very long way to go.
Mark
Just another example of the corrupt, patriarchal, slave-owning, bourgeoisie white guys - oh, if only Obama was around then....
Cincinnati, Iowa ?
mark
Apparently, lots of Revolutionary War vets got land grants in the Northwest Territory—Ohio mainly, and Washington’s officers created the ‘Order of Cincinnatus’ to honor him.
And as an aside, the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 prohibited slavery in the territory which lets us know that the Founding Fathers recognized slavery as wrong and did what they could to limit its spread.
There was still some fighting in the US. In 1782, the British and their Indian allies unsuccessfully besieged Fort Henry at what is now Wheeling, West Virginia, a battle featured in Zane Grey's first novel, Betty Zane (New York: Grosset & Dunlap, 1903).
Meanwhile, the fighting raged on overseas after Yorktown. The Spaniards besieged Gibraltar, but its defenses held, and in the Caribbean, the British crushed the French navy in the Battle of Les Saintes in 1782, the biggest naval battle of the war.
French and British fleets also fought off the coast of Africa, and the armies of both nations clashed in India. Probably few Americans know that the last battles of the war were fought at Cuddalore, in India--off the coast between the British and French fleets and on shore between the French army, together with the army of the Indian state of Mysore, and the British.
Well if he had been like Abraham Lincoln, he would have just insisted that another 735,000 people be killed if necessary, to get his way.
Fortunately for us, Mad King George III was more rational than Lincoln.
I attended the Evacuation Day 225th anniversary ceremony in NYC, followed by lunch at Fraunces Tavern. It was great. It commemorates the date the British sailed out of NY harbor, November 25, 1783. The British had raised the Union Jack at Battery Park which is at the bottom of Manhattan so their fleet could sail out under their flag. They also greased the pole so the flag couldn’t be taken down. But with some American ingenuity they took the British flag down and raised the American. And despite what Wikipedia says I’ve read that the last shot fired by the British was fired at the flag raiser as he secured the American flag at the top of the pole. They missed.
“Ive read that the last shot fired by the British was fired at the flag raiser as he secured the American flag at the top of the pole. They missed.”
Perhaps they were giving our flag a 21-gun salute on the way out? /s
The city of Cincinnati, Ohio, is named for the Society of the Cincinnati—an organization of the officers of the Continental Army (including Frenchmen who came over to help during the war), and their descendants. Three Presidents have been members—George Washington, James Monroe, and Franklin Pierce (whose father fought in the Revolutionary War). The society is still going strong—but it’s very difficult to qualify for membership.
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