“On the eighteenth of April, in Seventy-five; Hardly a man is now alive, Who remembers that famous day and year….” ~~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
I suspect that there are a large number of thoughtful Americans who believe the US Constitution to be divinely inspired. It was the first written constitution in the world. Since then, most nations of the world have themselves adopted written Constitutions and our US Constitution was a model for almost all of them. Those facts alone are awe-inspiring. However, it was George Washington who described its drafting in a 1788 letter to General Lafayette, as “little short of a miracle.”
“It appears to me, then, little short of a miracle, that the delegates from so many different states (which states you know are also different from each other in their manners, circumstances, and prejudices) should unite in forming a system of national Government, so little liable to well-founded objections.”
GEORGE FISHLEY was “a soldier in the Continental army. When the British army evacuated Philadelphia and raced toward New York City, his unit participated in the Battle of Monmouth. He was part the genocidal attack on Indians who had sided with the British, a march led by General John Sullivan through ‘Indian country,’ parts of New York and Pennsylvania. Fishley was a famous character after the war in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, where he lived and was known as ‘the last of our cocked hats.‘
See more: Faces of the American Revolution
Few Americans understand how prevalent were blacks or “colored” soldiers amongst those serving in George Washington’s Continental Army.
“During the winter of 1777-78, dozens of black Virginians served in every one of the state regiments, freezing, starving, and dying at Valley Forge. By February 1778, the survivors were marching with white comrades through the snow, practicing Baron von Steuben’s as yet unfamiliar drill. When the Steuben-trained army proved its mettle at Monmouth in June, about 700 blacks fought side-by-side with whites. Eight weeks later, an army report listed 755 blacks in the Continental Army, including 138 Blacks in the Virginia Line. During the winter of 1777-78, dozens of black Virginians served in every one of the state regiments, freezing, starving, and dying at Valley Forge. By February 1778, the survivors were marching with white comrades through the snow, practicing Baron von Steuben’s as yet unfamiliar drill. When the Steuben-trained army proved its mettle at Monmouth in June, about 700 blacks fought side-by-side with whites. Eight weeks later, an army report listed 755 blacks in the Continental Army, including 138 Blacks in the Virginia Line.” (“The Revolution’s Black Soldiers” by Robert Selig)
On the eve of the Battle of Brandywine, George Washington established his headquarters in the home of a Quaker farmer and miller, Benjamin Ring. The house was near Chadd’s Ford where the British were expected to cross the river. With superior tacts and knowledge of the terrain, the British easily outwitted General Washington and the Americans lost the battle September 11th, 1777.
The image, Washington’s Headquarters – Benjamin Ring House, is subject to copyright by Edna Barney. It is posted here with permission via the Flickr API by barneykin, an administrator of “The Revolution ed” pool.
The portrait here is of General Lafayette of Revolutionary War fame. I snapped the portrait hanging on a wall at Bassett Hall in Williamsburg, Virginia.
I recently came upon a story relating to General Lafayette’s servant James. James was an enslaved man of Mr. William Armistead of New Kent County, Virginia. With his master’s consent, James joined the Continental Army and was assigned to serve the Marquis de Lafayette. At the risk of his life, James entered British camps and brought back information to the Marquis. After the war was won, a petition was offered to gain James his freedom and to compensate his master. Adopting the the patronymic of General Lafayette, James Armistead Lafayette began his new life as a free man.
James’s story was found in “Forgotten Patriots.”