Posted by
Georgetwin on Tuesday, February 10, 2009 5:02:14 PM
Well Inauguration Day came and went, the sun STILL rose in the East and set in the West on January 21st. So it looks like we will survive. Something else happened on January 21st also. Now ACORN Hopey McChange has OWNERSHIP of The Economy, The Wars and The Bailout. BTW, I encourage one and all to donate to Norm Coleman’s Recount Fund. Using the Wal-Mart Theory of a FEW dollars from MANY people, we should be able to generate a considerable sum. Whether you are a Coleman Supporter or not, The money WILL go to a good cause, EXPOSING AL FRANKEN as a Liar, Cheat and Coward! In other words, A Typical Liberal.
Recently Wal-Mart has had rereleases of nearly ALL of Louis Lamour’s Books on sale. From the western novels to pulp detective stories to the last book he wrote, a Cold War THRILLER called Last of the Breed. The best of them are Psychological Thrillers that you CANNOT put down. So I have been stocking up on them as MANY of my copies are dog eared, faded and dry rotting from being read SO MANY TIMES. I HIGHLY recommend that you go to Wal-Mart, pick out ANY of them, spend the $4.00, go home and START READING! IF you do not like the book, hit me on my blog and if I DO NOT have that book, I WILL buy it from you.
In the late fall and early winter, a determined band of PATRIOTS had suffered one DEVASTATING and/or HUMILIATING defeat after another. Finally with winter upon them, they retreated into the wilderness. Their spirits broken, their bodies bruised and battered and their future uncertain. Sounds METAPHORICALLY like The Winter of 2008-2009 for Conservatives doesn’t it? The folks it is ACTUALLY written about would’ve GLADLY traded places with us. That is one description given of The Continental Army as they retreated to Valley Forge.
After STUNNING Defeats at Brandywine, Germantown and The British Capture of The US Capital, Philadelphia at the time, The Continental Army went into Winter Quarters in Valley Forge, PA. Located 18 miles northwest of Philadelphia, the area was close enough to the British to keep their raiding and foraging parties out of the interior of Pennsylvania, yet far enough away to halt the threat of British surprise attacks. It was on high ground which eased recon duties and was bordered on the North by the Schuylkill River, which made the area easily defensible.
Though they were safe from their British Enemies, the OLDEST enemies of man, Cold, Hunger, Disease and Thirst were OMNIPRESENT in camp. They had NO SHELTER, their diet consisted of firecake (1 part water, 1 part flour and 1 part fire) and water. Their clothing was RAGGED and many of them were BAREFOOT. They arrived at Valley Forge before Christmas, but they were Malnourished, Exhausted and Freezing to Death. To add to the gloom, when they awoke on Christmas Day,4 inches of snow had fallen. I’m guessing that not many carols were being sung. All their High Hopes, High Ideals and High Minded Rhetoric had landed them in what would be, for some of them, A Frozen Graveyard. RIGHT THEN & THERE, The American Revolution was all but SNUFFED OUT! WHY didn’t the Fire of Liberty go out? WHO kept the fire burning? HOW did they do it? WHAT kept them going when all was seemingly lost? WHERE did they go from here?
The first priority was the building of huts. An order issued by General George Washington spelled out the style and size of these Spartan Quarters. 12 men would share a 16’x14’ log hut with walls six and a half feet high. Each would have a stone fireplace. The roof would be of wood board. Most huts were built in a pit about two-feet below the ground. Can you imagine digging a 2 foot deep, 16’x14’ hole in frozen ground?!?!?! Generally, there was only a dirt floor and some sort of cloth covering for a door. The huts were drafty, damp, smoky and terribly unhealthy and I am sure they would NEVER be mistaken for a rose garden.
Housing the Army was fairly simple. Clothing and Feeding the troops was a DAUNTING Challenge. Transportation was the major stumbling block. The supplies were out there. Getting them to Valley Forge seemed impossible. Roads were rutted quagmires. It was difficult to recruit wagoneers. Continental Money was NEARLY Worthless, so Pennsylvania Farmers often hid their horses and wagons rather than contract with the Army. The man in charge of Military Transportation, Quartermaster General Thomas Mifflin, hated his job. Mifflin was a wealthy Philadelphia merchant and a born politician who wanted glory on the battlefield not the headaches of transportation. He literally ignored the job.
After shelter, The first priority of the soldiers was keeping warm and dry. The troops faced a typical Delaware Valley Winter with temperatures mostly in the 20s and 30s. There were 13 days of rain or snow during the first six weeks. Illness, NOT musket balls, was the great killer. Dysentery and Typhus were rampant. Many makeshift hospitals were set up in the region. The Army's medical department used at least 50 barns, dwellings, churches or meetinghouses throughout a wide area of Eastern Pennsylvania as temporary hospitals. These places were mostly understaffed, fetid breeding grounds of disease. All were chronically short of medical supplies. America's first true military hospital — constructed for that purpose — was built at Yellow Springs, a popular health spa about 10 miles west of the encampment. About 300 sick men were accommodated in the large three-story wood structure. General George Washington once visited the Yellow Springs Hospital and stopped to exchange a few words with each patient. Dr. Bodo Otto, an elderly German and his two physician sons, ably ran the hospital until the end of the war.
Much of the sickness was traceable to unhealthy sanitation and poor personal hygiene. General Washington constantly complained of the failure to clear the encampment of filth, which included rotting carcasses of horses. The Commander-In-Chief even issued orders concerning the use and care of privies, but men relieved themselves wherever they felt like it. "Intolerable Smells" finally prompted General Washington to issue orders that soldiers who relieved themselves ANYWHERE but in "A Proper Necessary" were to receive Five Lashes. In the absence of wells, water was drawn from the Schuylkill River and nearby creeks. Men and animals often relieved themselves upstream from where water for drinking was drawn.
One of General Washington's major worries was an outbreak of Small Pox. Inoculation was still relatively new and controversial, but General Washington was a firm believer in the procedure. The winter before at Morristown, N.J., he ordered inoculation for all those who had not already had the disease. A survey at Valley Forge showed many vulnerable soldiers. Some 3,000 to 4,000 men were vaccinated. Knowing how unhealthy the congested the huts were, General Washington ordered windows cut for circulation in the spring and even encouraged some to move from their squalid quarters into tents. Just how many became seriously ill during the Valley Forge encampment and how many died of these illnesses is not known. Even in the mild weather of late spring, the medical department informed General Washington that 1,000 men were too ill for combat. Those who died at camp or in hospitals have been estimated as high as 3,000.
As if ALL OF THAT wasn’t enough, there were some in the Army who felt they were better qualified than George Washington to command The Continental Army and several politicians were critical of his performance. In fact, with the exception of brilliant but minor victories at Trenton and Princeton, General Washington had LOST all his battles with the British. On the other hand, General Horatio Gates' Victory at Saratoga had resulted in the surrender of 6,000 British Troops. In truth, General Benedict Arnold and Daniel Morgan had saved the day at Saratoga with LITTLE help from Gates. The so-called "Anti-Washington Cabal" was a lot of mutterings and niggling criticism that finally broke out in the open with the help of an arrogant Irish-born, French-reared soldier of fortune, Thomas Conway. He was recruited in France by Silas Deane and was granted the rank of Brigadier General. General Washington and MANY other American Officers took an immediate dislike to the BOASTFUL Conway. It seems that Conway along with English Army Veterans Charles Lee and Gates all felt they had better Military Credentials than General Washington and would make better commanders.
Washington's civilian critics included Philadelphia physician and radical patriot Dr. Benjamin Rush; New Englanders John and Sam Adams and Elbridge Gerry. The man most responsible for the supply problems at Valley Forge, Thomas Mifflin, was another loud critic. The whole Anti-Washington movement was brought to a head when an aide to Gates, General James Wilkinson, revealed over drinks, details of a certain letter to Gates from Conway that was Highly Critical of General Washington. General Washington was informed of the Conway Letter by General William Alexander "Lord" Sterling. Conway's letter allegedly stated, "Heaven has been determined to save your country; or a weak general and bad counselors would have ruined it." General Washington confronted Conway with the insult, which brought Gates into the fray and eventually the whole thing became a matter for Congress. In the end, General Washington emerged STRONGER THAN EVER! In truth, most of the officers and men suffering at Valley Forge worshipped General Washington. Many historians say that General Washington’s calm, caring, presence during those horrible winter months was the most important factor in preventing The Continental Army from disintegrating.
So through a BITTERLY COLD and BRUTAL winter, The Continental Army licked their wounds, so to speak, got well, learned they could depend on EACH OTHER and on GENERAL WASHINGTON. Moreover, the HUMILIATION of their RESOUNDING defeats AND their loss of The US CAPITOL, Philadelphia, rankled and morphed into SEETHING RAGE and BURNING DESIRE to have another crack at The British. So now they were A UNIT, having known the same hardships and the same privations. Yet at the same time, they NOW had the same desires, a common enemy and confidence in their leader. What happens next has been ascribed to PROVIDENCE, i.e. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/providence , in the writings of General George Washington.
In early March, after General Washington settled the question of WHO would lead The Continental Army, the energetic and competent General Nathanael Greene was appointed Quartermaster General, and soon things improve rapidly. Greene got down to business by dispatching engineers to improve bridges and roads between Valley Forge and Lancaster. Wagons began arriving with clothing and food. Also in early March, a baking company of some 70 men headed by Philadelphia gingerbread baker Christopher Ludwig arrived at camp. The German-born patriot REFUSED to profit from his labor. Eventually, each soldier got the daily pound of bread promised by Congress. Ludwig, himself, baked for the headquarters staff and often spoke with General Washington. In April great schools of shad surged up the Schuylkill River to spawn. Thousands were netted, and the soldiers gorged themselves. Hundreds of barrels were filled with salted shad for future use. One soldier wrote, "For almost a month the whole camp stank and men's fingers were oily."
While brave, Continental Troops possessed few skills in the art of 18th century warfare. They didn't know how to march in ranks or maneuver on the battlefield. The bayonet — crucial to battlefield success — was used mostly to cook over a fire. There were no regular roll calls. Sizes of units that were supposed to be equal varied radically. Orders prohibiting gambling, fighting, selling Army equipment and wandering away from camp were routinely ignored. Despite General Washington's daily orders, there was little real Military Discipline in the camp. General John Sullivan once commented, "This is not an Army; it's a mob."
ONCE AGAIN, Providence intervened on behalf of The United States of America with the arrival in late February of Friedrich Wilhelm Ludolf Gerhard Augustin Stueben, known to history as Baron von Steuben. The title was of his own making. He had served in the Prussian Army of Frederick the Great but rose no higher than Captain. Now, at age 47, he was out of work and applying for military posts in several places. In Paris, Steuben impressed American Envoys, Benjamin Franklin and Silas Deane, who provided the German with a glowing letter of recommendation. Like the Marquis de Lafayette, the Baron said the right words when he spoke to members of the Congress and the Board of War: He would serve without a salary. He did, however, want his expenses paid. Both the War Board and General Washington liked the man's modesty and viewed Steuben as a possible candidate for Inspector General of the Army.
Baron Von Steuben was appalled by what he observed during his first weeks at Valley Forge. General Washington asked the German to study the situation and provide reports on camp defenses, troop morale and military readiness. Steuben's reports were detailed and astute. In a short time, Baron Von Steuben was named Acting Inspector General. His primary mission involved training, and he attacked the task with dedication and zeal. General Washington liked Baron Von Steuben immediately even though the Prussian could not speak English. But he could speak French, and General Washington appointed two of his French-speaking aides, Alexander Hamilton and John Laurens to work with the Prussian. Baron Von Steuben has been called history's only popular drillmaster. The men loved his gruff manner, his cursing in broken English and his hands-on-style of demonstrating every move personally. He insisted that officers drill with their men, and he pared down the officers' staffs of personal servants.
He created his own manual of arms and drill to fit the American Situation. Simplicity was the Keynote. The training started with a select group of 100. When these men knew what they were doing, he released them to teach others. Soon he was drilling large masses of entire regiments and brigades. He constantly taught the use of the bayonet. He gave lessons in mounting guard and sentry duty. He insisted that every watch be synchronized with the headquarters' clock. Page-by-page, Baron Von Steuben wrote in French an army drill book that was then translated into English. "Regulation for the Order of Discipline of the Troops of the United States" was then copied by an officer in each brigade. Within weeks, everyone could see a new proficiency and new pride among the formerly dispirited men.
There were other factors coming together to boost morale and send sagging spirits soaring. Most important, France entered the war as an ally of the new nation. America got the good news in April. Great Festivities were held in camp on May 5. Along with prayer, parading and gun salutes, each man was issued a gill of rum. French-made uniforms and military gear soon began arriving in camp. Back in March, an extra month's pay was issued to all in camp for having stuck it out through the miseries of the winter. General Washington added a ration of rum for each soldier. Farmers began bringing their produce to a camp market and fresh military units arrived at Valley Forge.
NOW at LONG LAST, The Continental Army was an ARMY in EVERY sense of the word. Then yet AGAIN, Providence intervened on behalf of The United States of America. Philadelphia was a difficult place for the British to defend. Now that France was in the war, the city was also vulnerable to attack or blockade from the sea. It was decided to abandon the Quaker City and move British forces back to their base in New York City. The British completed their evacuation on June 18th. An estimated 3,000 Tories left the city with the troops. Within hours, American cavalry arrived in the city. Ready to move against the retreating British, General Washington abandoned Valley Forge on June 9 by crossing the Schuylkill River and setting up camp a mile away. He ordered work parties to clean up the old campgrounds, filling the latrines and burying all garbage. The general was waiting for the British to make their move north through New Jersey. And when word came that the Red Coats were gone on June 18th, he followed immediately.
Now The Continental Army was ready to fight. Professionalism, confidence and pride marked those who had survived The Ordeal of Valley Forge. The two armies clashed on June 28 at Monmouth Courthouse. The battle was almost single-handedly lost by an inept but always arrogant General Charles Lee. When Washington learned that Lee was retreating instead of advancing, the seemingly stoic commander flew into fury and galloped out to turn the men around and lead the attack. The Battle of Monmouth was inconclusive, but it was the British who retreated this time. And it was clear to everyone that those ragged Continentals — who had suffered SO MUCH at Valley Forge — were now a fair match for the British. From there, we all know how the story goes.
So WHAT can we learn from this story? To my way of thinking this is the VERY FIRST TIME that AMERICANS accomplished something using a STANDARDIZED set of Core Beliefs, albeit unwittingly, that over time have become IMMORTALIZED as AMERICAN VALUES! REMEMBER this takes place only a year or so after The Declaration of Independence. So thinking of themselves as INDEPENDENT AMERICANS was a new experience. Pardon me for repeating, but all their High Hopes, High Ideals and High Minded Rhetoric had landed them in what would be, for some of them, a Frozen Graveyard. In such a small group, it is probable that most of them buried a friend, a neighbor or a family member at Valley Forge. HOWEVER it was in that Frozen Graveyard that they learned:
- Hard Work - Remember cutting trees for shelter and fuel and digging graves and foundations in Frozen Ground. This also gave them a way to VENT their frustration, gave them a sense of accomplishment and kept their minds occupied and off of their failures. Anyone who didn’t CONCENTRATE on their work was likely to lose some toes.
- Teamwork - Working together for a better outcome while giving up personal glory. They learned what their INDIVIDUAL and GROUP strengths were. Who was the best shot and so forth. They learned to work together and were drilled in doing so until it was second nature.
- Perseverance - Plain, Gutsy, GRIND IT OUT, Mental Toughness in the face of adversity. When you get to the end of your Mental Rope, tie a knot and HOLD ON for DEAR LIFE! Ignoring the naysayers, whiners, foot draggers and others NEGATIVE INFLUENCES that sap morale from a unit.
- Discipline - Having the Mental Toughness to DISCIPLINE your own Personal Behavior. Getting up on a FREEZING morning and going on Guard Duty, digging in FROZEN Ground and ENDLESSLY Repeating Close Order Drills and Weapons Drills to the point that you want to SCREAM and/or your hands are BLOODY and/or BLISTERED! Also a LEADER having COMPASSION enough to ENFORCE Discipline that is in the best interests of the group. The 5 lashes that General Washington ordered for ANYONE who voided in common areas for example. Better for 1 to lose a LITTLE skin for the sake of safety than for several to lose their LIVES to disease.
As you have probably read the title, you are probably wondering where I am going with this. OK then let’s tie this all together with a BIG CSC KNOT! 2006 and 2008 were our Brandywine and Germantown. Our Enemy has captured The US Capitol and our Congressional Leaders have been forced to retreat into a defensive position with just enough strength to do recon and keep our Enemy at bay, but not enough strength to mount a counterattack. Election Day was given over to treating the wounded and Inauguration Day was devoted to burying the last of the dead. Last but not Least, Baron Von Steele has arrived and has signaled that he WILL mix it up with The Enemy!
We who are left over are The Conservative Army that has ALREADY gone into battle. We TH Bloggers have formed up, worked out a Reconnaissance System that keeps us apprised of our Enemy’s Moves and WE ARE hitting them HARD! If we are not, then WHY is Boondoggle Hopey Overspent spending SO MUCH TIME trying to sell WE THE PEOPLE on his SPENDULOUS BILL?!?!?! WHY is he BEGGING for GOP Support when he DOES NOT NEED IT to pass his bill?!?!?! Because WE are HAMMERING them to death with Emails, Phone Calls and Poll Results!
We ARE on the right track, we need to shore up our STRENGTHS (I-35, I-81, etc) and cast off OUR Benedict Arnolds (Collins, Snowe, Spector, McAmnesty Midget, etc) and DEMAND our leaders do what has WON Elections for us BEFORE! The Enemy has OVERREACHED and is spread thin and NOBODY among them is displaying any LEADERSHIP! They are spread out and in disarray as The British were at Monmouth Courthouse. Like Monmouth Courthouse, we WILL lose the battle on The Spendulous Bill. But when word of what The Spendulous Bill REALLY contains SPREADS, the heat from BLOWBACK will singe off Michelle Obama’s Unibrow! JUST REMEMBER, even though America LOST THE BATTLE at Monmouth Courthouse, ultimately we WON THE WAR! See you at Yorktown ;)!
God Bless You and Thank You for Your Time,
J. Allen Frye