[tflabo]

The General (GW) is sorry to be informed —, that the foolish and wicked practice of profane cursing and swearing, a vice heretofore little known in an American army, is growing into a fashion; — he hopes the officers will, by example as well as influence, endeavor to check it, and that both they and the men will reflect that we can have little hope of the blessing of Heaven on our arms, if we insult it by impiety and folly; added to this, it is a vice so mean and low, without any temptation, that every man of sense and character detests and despises it.

Extract from the Orderly Book of the army under command of Washington, dated at Head Quarters, in the city of New York (3 August 1770);

[AU72]

One of the reasons why I won’t see the movie Lincoln is because of the ahistorical use of profanity by Lincoln and others.

[Scram1]

What General Washington did to correct his troops behavior is mild compared to the anecdotal stories about how Colonel Zachary Taylor would grab and shake their heads. I’ve wondered what he said when he was doing that.