For all who have sacrificed for us by donning our country’s uniform, with gratitude and humility I offer this tale in your honor:
During the Revolutionary War, the British army seized Philadelphia, the “rebel capitol” where the Congress had been meeting. They marched into the city with colors flying and bands playing and made themselves at home for the winter. General George Washington could do nothing to stop them. Once the British were in the city, the only thing he could do was see that they did not get out into the countryside to do any greater mischief. So, he chose for his winter quarters Valley Forge, a place only a few miles from Philadelphia. There the American army could defend itself if attacked, and it could keep watch on the British.
It would have been easier to fight many battles than to spend that winter in Valley Forge. It was December, and there was no shelter of any kind. Men and officers bravely set to work constructing huts for themselves. They built some of heavy logs, with roofs made from small trees wrapped with straw and laid side by side. Clay was spread on top of that. The windows were simply holes cut through the logs and covered with oiled paper.
Such quarters, however, were the exception and considered the height of luxury at Valley Forge. Most of the huts were made of piled-up sod, or fence rails held together by twisted twigs and daubed with clay. The snow sifted in at every opening, the rain dripped through even the best of the roofs, and the frigid wind howled and roared and blew in at every crevice. There were few blankets, and many brave defenders of their country lay directly on the frozen ground because they had not even straw to put under their heads. Sometimes they sat up all night, crowding up to the campfires to keep from freezing.
Their clothing was worse than their shelter. The whole army was in rags. Many of the men had no shirts, even more were without shoes. Wherever they walked, the snow was marked with blood. Some cut strips from their precious blankets and wound them about their feet to protect them from the freezing ground.
Food was scanty. Sometimes for several days the soldiers went without meat, and some companies went without even bread. When the word went around “no meat tonight,” the soldiers groaned, but they never yielded.
Here is an entry in the diary of one of the men:
“There comes a soldier—his bare feet peep through his worn-out shoes. His legs nearly naked from the tattered remains of an only pair of stockings…his shirt hanging in strings…his face meager—his whole appearance pictures a person forsaken and discouraged. He comes, and cries with an air of wretchedness and despair…I am sick, my feet lame, my legs are sore, my body covered with this tormenting itch. My clothes are worn out, my constitution is broken, my former activity is exhausted by fatigue. Hunger and cold. I fail fast. I shall soon be no more.”
One cold day a Quaker farmer was walking along a creek at Valley Forge when he heard the murmur of a solemn voice. Creeping in its direction, he discovered a horse tied to a sapling, but no rider.
The farmer moved nearer, following the sound of the voice. There through the thicket, he spied a lone man, on his knees in the snow.
It was General Washington. His cheeks were wet with tears as he prayed to the Almighty for help and guidance.
The farmer quietly slipped away. When he reached home, he said to his wife, “The Americans will win their independence! George Washington will succeed!”
“What makes thee think so, Isaac?” she asked.
“I heard him pray, Hannah, out in the woods today,” he said. “If there is anyone on earth the Lord will listen to, it is this brave commander. He will listen, Hannah. Rest assured, He will.”
Almighty God: We make our earnest prayer that Thou wilt keep the United States in Thy holy protection; that thou wilt incline the hearts of the citizens to cultivate a spirit of subordination and obedience to government and entertain a brotherly affection and love for one another and for their fellow-citizens of the United States at large. And finally, that Thou wilt most graciously be pleased to dispose us all to do justice, to love mercy and to demean ourselves with that charity, humility and pacific temper of mind which were the characteristics of the Divine Author of our blessed religion without a humble imitation of whose example in these things we can never hope to be a happy nation. Grant our supplication, we beseech Thee, through Jesus Christ, Our Lord, Amen.
–A Prayer by George Washington This prayer is used regularly at “The President’s Chapel” of the George Washington University and voices the aspirations of the University for the fulfillment of civic duties and the promotion of national welfare.
Have an AWE-full Veterans Day Weekend!
William “Bill” Bacque