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"There is much anecdotal evidence which indicates that General George Patton held himself to be the reincarnation of the Carthaginian General Hannibal; a Roman legionnaire; a Napoleonic field marshal; and various other historic military figures. Through a Glass, Darkly seems to describe those experiences."

I am glad you raised the issue of reincarnation. I agree with you that Patton's poem seems to reflect his belief in reincarnation. However, I am pretty sure that reincarnation is not an episcopalian belief. Apparently Patton differed with them at least on this point.

Either that or Patton's belief in reincarnation is just another one of those urban legends, so to speak.

I've read a couple of books on Patton. Patton was a strong Christian, but also a believer in certain types of mysticism, and from the readings, I believe there is ample evidence that he believed in reincarnation, and that he believed he was reincarnated in a line of warriors. His daughter claimed that on the night he died in Europe, that she woke up about 2 AM in her bedroom in the US and saw him sitting at her window sill in his uniform. I am not saying this actually happened, but that his daughter recounted it as being true.

One thing to remember about the movie Patton is that although it was accurate in many areas, the primary adviser to the movie was Omar Bradley (played by Karl Mauldin in the movie), and was based on Bradley's autobiography, A Soldier's Story. Bradley, according to several accounts I've read, was jealous of the fact most people in the US perceived Patton as being the Allies best general. This was supposedly exacerbated by the fact that when the Allies recovered Nazi documents, the documents revealed little fear of Bradley or Montgomery, but considered Patton a military genius.

While the movie Patton is a terrific piece of work, and with a few exceptions historically accurate by Hollywood standards, it should be remembered that the chief adviser to the movie chose to portray himself as the calming hand on Patton, and that some of Patton's eccentricities were exaggerated

The Many Incarnations of George S. Patton

Captain George s. Patton had never before visited Langres, a small town in northeastern France. But in December 1917, having just arrived to operate a tank school, the american newcomer declined the offer of a local liaison officer to show him around the town, once the site of a Roman military camp. "You don't have to," Patton told the surprised young man, "I know it well."

A staunch believer in reincarnation, Patton felt sure that he had been to France before-- as a Roman legionnaire. As he led the way trhough the area, he pointed out the sites of the ancient Roman temples and amphitheater, the drill ground, and the forum, even showeing a spot where Julius Caesar had made his camp. It was, Patton later told his nephew, :As if someone were at my ear whispering the directions,:

Patton may have credited his continuing military success, in part, to having been a soldier in other battles, in past lives. Once, in North Africa during World war ll, a British general complimented Patton: "You would have made a great marshal for Napoleon if you'd lived in the eighteenth century." Patton merely grinned, " But I did," he replied.

There is still reference to reincarnation in the Old Testament. In the year 325 AD the Roman emperor Constantine the great, along with his mother Helena, had deleted references to reincarnation contained in the New Testament. The second council of Constantinople, meeting in the year 553 AD, confirmed this action and declared the concept of reincarnation a heresy (unorthodoxy).

Solomon the son of David, king of Jerusalem speaking in the Old Testament Ecclesiastes wrote:

Ecc 1:9 The thing that hath been, it [is that] which shall be; and that which is done [is] that which shall be done: and [there is] no new [thing] under the sun.

Ecc 1:10 Is there [any] thing whereof it may be said, See, this [is] new? it hath been already of old time, which was before us.

Ecc 1:11 [There is] no remembrance of former [things]; neither shall there be [any] remembrance of [things] that are to come with [those] that shall come after.

And in the New Testament we have these possible examples:

Mat 22:32 I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead , but of the living.

Mar 12:27 He is not the God of the dead , but the God of the living : ye therefore do greatly err.

Luk 20:38 For he is not a God of the dead , but of the living : for all live unto him.