Seeking Courage in Troubled Times
As we prepare to celebrate America’s 250th birthday, I want to share stories of unparalleled American bravery. When terrible scenes, whether in government or on our streets, flood the daily news, seek out courageous stories and pass them on. We need encouragement to be who we are as a nation, to revive, and not give up. Or, as ancient wisdom says, “to repair the years the locust has eaten.” (Joel 2:25)
Endurance Through the Hardships of Valley Forge
Today’s story begins with a powerful example of resilience from our nation’s early history.
Winter at Valley Forge, 1777. Lacking food and supplies, soldiers died at the rate of twelve per day. Over 2,500 froze to death in the bitter cold, or perished from hunger, typhoid, jaundice, dysentery, and pneumonia.
In addition, hundreds of horses perished in the freezing weather. A Committee from Congress reported on the soldiers:
“Feet and legs froze till they became black, and it was often necessary to amputate them.” Wives and children followed the army, mending clothes, doing laundry, scavenging for food, and caring for the sick…” An estimated 500 women died at Valley Forge.
General George Washington wrote the following on April 21, 1778: “No history … can furnish an instance of an army’s suffering such uncommon hardships as ours has done, and bearing them with the same patience and fortitude—
… To see men without clothes to cover their nakedness, without blankets to lie on, without shoes, by which their marches might be traced by the blood from their feet, and almost as often without provisions
…marching through frost and snow, and at Christmas taking up their winter quarters within a day’s march of the enemy, without a house or hut to cover them… and submitting to it without a murmur, is a mark of patience and obedience which in my opinion can scarce be paralleled.”
The Spirit That Shaped a Nation
What an example of America’s courage that paved the way to becoming a nation! How did these early Americans summon unparalleled grit and determination? The last line of the Declaration of Independence gives us a hint: “And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the Protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.”
Join the conversation! https://www.facebook.com/commonsensecivics
Source:
