Founding Fathers ~ Washington

In the late colonial period, America had created a new and distinct national identity. While still linked to England as a colony, many of the colonists began to think of themselves as Americans, not Englishmen. The more the British monarch tried to hold them down, the more they pulled away.

There are many men - and women - of that period who rose to the cause of liberty and independence in the face of many more who did not want to challenge the status quo.  Some were firebrands who sought to rattle the sword.  Others were quiet men who served, not for honor, but for love of country.  George Washington was one of these.

According to one source [1], Washington was the first of the Founding Fathers and, in many ways, the most important. If they want an argument from me, they need to chose a different subject! Just as Christopher Columbus felt that he had been called and directed by God throughout his life, so I believe that Washington likewise called and directed.was

He was born in Virginia in 1732 to Augustine and Mary Ball Washington.  His father died when he was 11 and his mother followed when he was 12.  As an orphan, George lived with his older half-brother, Lawrence, until he was 16.  Lawrence died in 1752 and George inherited Mt. Vernon, the family's 10,000 acre estate.

In 1959, at the age of 27, George married Martha Custis, who was a young widow with 2 children.  The Washingtons had no children of their own.

Washington was a surveyor by profession and served in the British Army in the French and Indian Wars.  He later served in the Virginia House of Burgesses (the colonial legislature) and spoke out against British policies.  During the Revolutionary War, he was the Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army.  After the war, he retired to Mt. Vernon.  He was called out of retirement to chair the Constitutional Convention in 1787.  Without his presence, there may not have been a convention or a constitution.  He was elected President in 1789. [2]

There is much that can be said of Washington, but I'd like to focus on the miracles he prayed for and experienced during the Revolutionary War. I truly believe that without this divine intervention, there would have been no way that 13 colonies with a rag tag army could have prevailed against the most powerful empire of the 18th Century.

For a detailed discussion of these miracles and of Washington's sincere belief in God, I refer you to Timothy Ballard's marvelous book, The Washington Hypothesis.  Here are just few highlights from that book:

• During the French and Indian War, Washington gained the reputation of being bullet-proof.  This continued throughout his military career when he was often in the thick of battle with balls striking all around him without ever being hit.
• On one occasion, the American Army was bivouacked at West Point.  As the enemy moved in, Washington was surrounded and sure to be taken.  They could not retreat without being the proverbial sitting ducks.  Washington, who always instructed his men to be prayerful and righteous (he didn't allow profanity or fighting) prayed for a miracle.  That night, an unseasonable fog rolled in, completely blanketing the point.  Washington and his little army were able to escape in the fog without detection.  Had the army been captured, that would have been an end to the war for independence.
• Another well-known miracle occurred on Christmas day in Trenton, NJ.  The Americans had suffered one loss after another, always miraculously able to retreat to safety, but national moral was low. Washington took his troops across the Delaware River on Christmas Eve, again under a blanket of fog.  The surprised the Hessians at Trenton, who were sleepy and hung over from a night of celebration.  The surrender of the British at Trenton lead to other victories and the tide of the war turned.
• Washington's victory over British General Cornwallis and his ultimate surrender effectively ended the war and gave Americans the independence they sought.  That victory, too, was miraculous and aided by a freak storm that kept the British ship that was coming to the aid of Cornwallis from ever reaching its destination.

If you'd like to learn more about Washington's faithfulness before the Lord and his subsequent preservation by heavenly intervention, I'd again invite you to read Ballard's book

Since this series of posts that began last April, "The Last, Best Hope," was of the theme of the role of religion in the founding of America, I'd like to close on that note.  Washington, by all accounts, was a man full of faith.  He relied on God all of his life and had full faith that his prayers would be answered.  He lived true to his faith and admonished those within his stewardship to do likewise.  His frequent call to prayer and repentance during the war was proof of Washington's unwavering testimony. He was a national hero after the war and was offered a kingship.  He refused because he knew that America's only true King was Jesus Christ.  As soon as he was inaugurated as president, he led all members of Congress to a near-by church for solemn prayer of thanksgiving.  He recognized that America owed its very existence to God.

I pray that today's Americans would recognize that as well.  We need God to bless America as much today as we ever have.  Our enemies are far more subtle and more dangerous than any red-coated ranks of Britain.  Our enemies are secret.  Our biggest threats come from within.  Like Washington at Valley Forge, we should all fall to our knees and ask the Lord's blessing upon our beloved land.  God bless America!

©Gebara Education, November 25, 2017

[1] https://www.thoughtco.com/george-washington-first-president-united-states-104657
[2] Ibid. All information about Washington's life came from this source