A good and faithful servant is never afraid, or unwilling to have his conduct looked into, but the reverse; because the more it is inspected, the brighter it shines.” – George Washington
Read: George Washington in a letter to Tobias Lear, June 15, 1791
“Gentlemen, You Must Pardon Me” by Mort Kunstler
“The time is near at hand which must determine whether Americans are to be free men or slaves.” George Washington
Historical Information
Newburgh, New York, March 15, 1783
One final trial remained in the Winter of 1782-83, Washington’s army was wracked by hardship and unrest as the American economy neared collapse. Money had almost entirely lost its value. Soldiers received news from home that their farms and businesses were failing, and that their wives and children faced the specter of poverty and starvation. Their only hope was that Congress would follow through on its earlier promise to provide veterans and their families with substantial pensions and back pay. But this Congress now refused to do so. The government was out of money, and the states refused to supply the funds necessary to run the country, let alone to support veterans. Enraged, many soldiers and officers spoke of marching on Congress and enforcing their will on the nation at the points of bayonets. A manifesto spread through camp attacking “a country that tramples upon your rights, disdains your cries and insults your distresses,” and called on Washington to spearhead a military rebellion. On the brink of total victory, democracy in America hung by a thread.
This was Washington’s hour. No other man in America possessed the power to step into the gap that yawned between soldiers and civilians and pull the country back together. Had he sought personal power, Washington might easily have joined with his soldiers and taken over the country. Instead, on March 15 he appeared before his officers, assembled in a large wooden building at Newburgh, New York. His bearing was grave but firm. In a stirring speech, he begged the officers to convince their men to desist from talk of rebellion, and to trust him and Congress to do their duty. In doing so, he said, “You will give one more distinguished proof of unexampled patriotism & patient virtue, rising superior to the pressure of the most complicated sufferings; And you will, by the dignity of your Conduct, afford occasion for Posterity to say, when speaking of the glorious example you have exhibited to mankind, ‘had this day been wanting, the World had never seen the last stage of perfection to which human nature is capable of attaining.'”
His speech completed, Washington paused. He glanced at his audience, which remained silent, and pulled out a letter – unfortunately rather dull – describing Congress’s troubles in raising money. Before starting to read, Washington paused again, reached in his coat pocket, and pulled out a pair of spectacles. He had never worn them in public. By way of explanation, he gazed at his officers and said, “Gentlemen, you must pardon me. I have grown gray in your service and now find myself growing blind.” It is unlikely that any of the officers heard a word that followed as he read the letter, but their eyes were cloudy with tears. Washington strode out of the room, and the officers voted unanimously to abandon all talk of rebellion and profess total obedience to Congress. With a simple gesture, Washington had saved democracy in America.
(Source: http://bit.ly/2ohHjtR)
Welcome to LeHewtown, Col. Washington (Winter 1755) by Mort Kunstler
“I have no object in view incompatible with the constitution, and the obvious interests of this country.” George Washington
Historical Information
Twenty years before being appointed as a full General and Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army, George Washington was a lieutenant colonel and eventually commander of the Virginia Regiment. As the French and Indian War raged on, George Washington spent a great deal of time along the western frontiers of Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. He hoped that the war might provide an opportunity to expand trade and agriculture westward, and looked to ensure profit to Virginia and himself. Washington also chose the Virginia frontier as the best ground for concentrating and training a new force called the Virginia Regiment. At places like Fort Cumberland, Maryland and LeHewtown (later Front Royal), Virginia, Washington posted his troops to defend the frontier against Indian raids and worked to meld them into fighting outfit worthy of comparison with the best the British Empire had to offer. His goal was not just to earn honor for himself (and possibly a royal commission), but to prove that Americans could do anything the British could do – and possibly better.
In time, the British admitted that Washington’s Virginians were a “fine body of men,” and consented to their full and honorable participation in the conflict. Washington’s careful attention to the needs of his troops earned him their complete devotion. When he resigned to marry Martha Custis in 1759, his officers wrote him a heartfelt address, praising his conduct as their leader and wishing him the best in domestic life. “Your approbation of my conduct, during my command of the Virginia Troops,” Washington replied, “I must esteem an honor that will constitute the greatest happiness of my life, and afford in my latest hours the most pleasing reflections. I had nothing to boast, but a steady honesty – this I made the invariable rule of my actions; and I find my reward in it.” He could not then imagine the greater responsibilities, plaudits, and awards that would follow before he reached his “latest hours.”
Winds of Change by Mort Kunstler – Washington at Valley Forge, March 4, 1778
“It is with pleasure I receive reproof, when reproof is due, because no person can be readier to accuse me, than I am to acknowledge an error, when I am guilty of one; nor more desirous of atoning for a crime, when I am sensible of having committed it.” George Washington
Read: George Washington’s letter to Governor Dinwiddie, Aug. 27, 1757
Washington on his Deathbed by Junius Brutus Stearns, 1851
“A slender acquaintance with the world must convince every man that actions, not words, are the true criterion of the attachment of friends.” George Washington
Read: George Washington Eulogy by Henry “Light Horse Harry” Lee
“The Birth of Our Nation’s Flag” by Charles Weisgerber
“Real Patriots, who may resist the intrigues of the favourite, are liable to become suspected and odious; while its tools and dupes usurp the applause and confidence of the people, to surrender their interests.” George Washington
Read: George Washington’s Farewell Address, 1796
Our Country’s Flag
Said Washington to Betsy Ross, “A flag our nation needs
To lead our valiant soldiers on to high and noble deeds
Now can you make one for us, to which she made reply,
“I am not certain if I can; At least I’ll gladly try.”
Chorus:
So she took some red for the blood they shed
Some white for purity,
Some stars so bright from the sky overhead
Some blue for loyalty,
And sewed them all together,
For loyal hearts and true,
And hand in hand as one we stand
For the red, the white and the blue.
Said Betsy Ross to Washington, “Your country’s flag behold!”
And through his tear-dimmed eyes he saw the stars and stripes unfold.
Then to his breast he clasped it, and looked to heaven above.
“Oh may it ever stand,” he cried, “For rights and truth and love.”
(Popular school song, as recalled and submitted by Anne Dreisbach)
Read: Betsy Ross and the American Flag
“George Washington and Family” by Thomas Prichard Rossiter
“The value of liberty was thus enhanced in our estimation by the difficulty of its attainment, and the worth of characters appreciated by the trial of adversity.” George Washington
Read: George Washington’s Letter to the People of the State of South Carolina, May 1790
“I am now Imbarked on a tempestuous ocean, from whence perhaps no friendly harbor is to be found. I have been called upon by the unanimous voice of the Colonies to the command of the Continental Army. It is an honor I by no means aspired to. It is an honor I wished to avoid, as well as from an unwillingness to quit the peaceful enjoyment of my Family, as from a thorough conviction of my own Incapacity & want of experience in the conduct of so momentous a concern; but the partiallity of the Congress, added to some political motives, left me without a choice.” George Washington
Read: George Washington’s letter to Colonel Bassett, June 19, 1775
Remember: 10 Articles of Advice by George Washington
George Washington and the Continental Congress
“The necessity of reciprocal checks in the exercise of political power, by dividing and distributing it into different depositories, and constituting each the guardian of the public weal against invasions by the others, has been evinced by experiments ancient and modern, some of them in our country and under our own eyes.” George Washington
Read: George Washington’s Farewell Address, 1796
Subscribe: Founder’s Daily Quote, The Patriot Post
“George Washington at Yorktown” by N C Wyeth
“Let us unite, therefore, in imploring the Supreme Ruler of nations, to spread his holy protection over these United States; to turn the machinations of the wicked to the confirming of our constitution; to enable us at all times to root out internal sedition, and put invasion to flight; to perpetuate to our country that prosperity, which his goodness has already conferred, and to verify the anticipation of this government being a safeguard to human rights.” George Washington
Read: Sixth Annual Address by George Washington (November 19, 1794)
George Washington Society 