by Rev.

Steve
THE FATHER OF OUR
COUNTRY
The problems which
Qeorge Washington
overcame during the War of
Independence are truly
incredible and ought not to
be forgotten. Washington
was highly esteemed in this
nation for good reason.
He had to depend upon
volunteers (since the
Congress had no power to
draft) and there were veJ)l
few at the beginning willing
to volunteer (upwards of
40% of the population was
pro-British). Those who did
volunteer were poorly
trained (if trained at all) and
would frequently desert
because of the conditions
that existed. For this reason,
!:,:':
"j
Washington had to fight
with an army of between
3,000 and 15,000 men who
were poorly supplied and
often in desperate straits,
against the well supplied
British troops which
numbered well over 60,000.
Though many have
sought to malign
Washington, he appears to
be a sincere Christian. His
mother was often to remind
him, "Remember that Qod
only is our sure trust. To
Him, I commend you. My
son, neglect not the duty of
secret prayer." The prayers
written when he was a
young man of twenty show
that he took her exhortation
to heart:
"Let my heart, therefore,
gracious Qod, be so affected'
with the gloJ)l and majesty
of (Thine honor) that I may .
not do mine own works, but
wait on Thee, and discharge
those weighty duties which
Thou requirest of me ...
o Qod, who art rich in
mercy and plenteous in
redemption, mark not, I
beseech Thee, what I have
done amiss; remember that I
am but dust, and remit my
transgressions, negligences
and ignorances, and cover
them all with the absolute
obedience of Thy dear Son, .
that those sacrifices (of praise
and thanksgiving) which I
have offered may be
accepted by Thee, in and for
the sacrifice of Jesus Christ
offered upon the Cross for
me ...
Thou gavest Thy Son to
die for me; and hast given
me assurance of salvation,
upon my repentance and
sincerely endeavoring to
conform my life to His holy
precepts and example:'
(Prayers from Washington's
manuscript which he
entitled Daily Sacrifice)
When Washington took
cQmmand of the colonial
forces, he was shocked at
their condition. Not only
were they poorly supplied,
they Were as poor a fighting
force as almost was ever
February, 1997 'I THE COUNSEL of Chaltedon 'I 17
assembled, undisciplined, Patriotism, who should
untrained, nQ respect for labour to subvert these great
authority, and almost no Pillars of human happiness ..
officers who could . Let it simply be asked
authority. After , where is the security for
Washington took charge the , property,fot reputation, for
changes he brought were as , ' life, if the sense of religious
dramatic as they were rapid. obligation desert the oaths,
The day after he took . which are the instruments of
command, this order was investigation in Courts of
issued: JusticelAnd let us with
"The, Cieneral, ,most . caution indulge the
earnestly requires and supposition, that morality
expects a ,due observance of can be maintained without
those articles of war religion. Whatever may be
established for the ' conceded to the influence of
government of the army,
which forbid profane
cursing, swearing and
drunkenness. And in like
he requires and .
expects of all officers and
soldiers not engaged iJl
actual duty, a punctual
attendance of Divine
services, to implore .the
blessing of Heaven upon the.
means used for our safety'
and defense: (Ibid., p.289J.
. , .
His concern for the
. refined education on minds
of peculiar structure, reason
and experience both forbid
us to expect that National
morality can prevail in
exclusion ofreligious .'
principle: !Washington: A
CoUection,p: '51)
integrity, general
fortItude, and raw courage
inspired his men and almost
singlehandedly he can be
credited for keeping an army
on the field. These traits
maintenance of Christianity early on
WilS frequently expressed, " in his career: During the
but no where perhaps more ., Battle of the' Monongahela, .
fully than in his Farewell in the French and Indian
Address: will; ' he had horses
"Of all the dispositions and
habits which lead to political
prosperity, ReligioH and
morality are indispensable '
supports. In vain would that
man claim the tribute of
shot from under him and
bullets had pierced almost
every item of his clothing,
yet, he himself emerged "
without a wound. And his '
action th(j.t day , ,
18 l' THE COUNSEL of i' February, 1997.
astonished the old soldiers
present, who agreed with
the young Colonel when he
acknowledged the
miraculous care of
Providence that protected me
beyond' all human
expectation. (M. E. Bradford,
A Worthy Company, p.
133)
It was this that inspired
the confidence of his men
and united into an effective
fighting force. Washington
loved his men as much as
they loved him. In his
farewell to his officers in
New York after the War,
Washington couldbare/y
speak and, choking back
tears, embraced them all,
one by one.
Washington's phySical
appearance and bearing
added as much to his
authority as his commission
from the Continental
. Congress:
Tall and powerfully built,
the best horseman of his age,
and the most graceful figure
that could be seen on
horseback, as Jefferson put it,
Washington was readily
recognized as the
commander in chiH by
soldiers who had never seen
him before; and it is striking
how ofteri monarchical .
imagery was in
. physical
descriptions of him. An
Englishman said that there
was not a king in Europe
but would look like a valet
de chambre by his side. And
when Abigail Adams, by
then a veteran of receptions
at st. Jamess, finally met
him in 1789, she was
almost moonstruck, gushing
that he moved with a grace,
dignity, and ease that leaves
Royal (jeorge far behind
him. (McDonald, op. cit., p.
the conclusion of the debate,
the question for adjournment
was called for. At this the
(jeneral arose from his seat
and addressed the assembly,
(jentlemen! I am sorry to
find that some one member
of this body has been so
neglectful of the secrets of
the Convention as to drop in
the State House a copy of
their proceedings, which by
accident was picked up and
delivered to me this
found it to be in the
handwriting of another
person. When I went to my
lodgings at the Indian
Queen, I found my copy in
a coat pocket which I had
pulled off that morning. It is
something remarkable that
no one ever owned the
paper. (Bowen, op. cit., pp.
98-99)
Though his enemies, and
he had many, sought to
undennine his reputation by
192)
___ --"",,,--=-__ --, spreading rumors about
Prominent men were
more than once abashed
,:" dJ Jirstin war, firstin
upeace,andfirst contemporaries as the
(,"hei,lrtsofhisl.:ountrY7.... ... greatest leader this
in his presence. Robert
Morris, delegate to the
Convention from
Pennsylvania, once
commented that
Washington was the only
man in whose presence he
felt any awe. (Bowen, op.
cit., p. 194) Even though
the titles of monarchy were
studiously avoided in this
country, Washington, after
he became President, was
generally addressed as His
Highness the President.
(Ibid.)
Once during the
Constitutional convention
one of the delegates dropped
a paper on the floor. It was
picked up and handed to
Washington the next
morning. This constituted il
serious breech of the ruJes of
secrecy that had been
established. Thenext day, at
morning. I must entreat
gentlemen to be more
careful, lest our transactions
get into the newspapers and
disturb the public repose by
premature speculations. I
know not whose paper it is,
but there it is [throwing it
down on the table], let him
who owns it take it.
William Pierce of
(jeorgia gives this account
and says, At the same time
he bowed, picked up his hat
and quitted the room with a
dignity so severe that every
person seemed alanned; for
my part I was extremely so,
for putting my hand in my
pocket I missed my copy of
the same paper, but
advancing up to the table
my fears soon dissipated; I
nation ever had.
When Washington died, his
good friend and fellow
soldier, Lighthorse Harry
Lee (the father of Robert E.
Lee), wrote a eulogy for the
House of Representatives
and delivered it for the entire
Congress in the (jennan
Lutheran Church of
Philadelphia on December
26, 1799. In the eulogy he
described his commander as
first in war, first in peace,
and first in the hearts of his
countrymen. (Bradford,
Against the Barbarians, p.
123) The traditional title,
Father of our country, is not
undeserved and only the
slightest of exaggerations.
(TO BE CONTINVED)
February, 1997 t THE COUNSEL of Chalcedon t 19