| Show A IPA oti 01 4 7 n w 01 A 1 f ff p I 1 can assure these gentlemen officials held responsible for suffering at valley forge that it is a much easier and less distressing thing to dra draw w up remon st rances in a comfortable room by a good fireside than to occupy a cold bleak hill and sleep under frost and snow without clothes or blankets however though they aey seem to have little feeling for the naked baked and distressed soldiers I 1 feet feel superabundantly for them and from my soul I 1 pity these miseries miseries which it is neither in in my power to relieve nor prevent general washington george washington believed sincerely in the inborn inalienable rights of 0 men born on this soli soil or transferred to it spiritually its as well as physically to the fruits of 0 freedom and independence because he believed that tills this nation was to be held by them free of ull all oppression whether in tile tho form of unjust taxation or any other infringement of the interests welfare and principles of the inhabitants he receives today the homage of the millions who enjoy the heritage of the free america for which lie he fought and which lie he helped establish ta blish jn in this lie he wits at one with other great men bred in the new free spirit and atmosphere of the tha colonies ile he did not seek to set himself over them but to work woric with them contributing as ills his part in the struggle gle his military genius and ex per lence find and ills carefully trained executive ability his ideal was the common good for that he gave his time and strength throughout ills career the one reward he sought ought was that lie might partake in the midst 0 of f my fellow citizens the benign influence of good laws under a free government the ever favorite object of my heart washington although possessing wealth and position although observant vant of forms and ceremonies tri was lif in the best sense a democrat a man who sought the same privileges and opportunities for every one of his fellow citizens which he enjoyed and icho devoted lils ills gifts and energies to that end that they might have thern them he be not only expended freely his energies of mind and body but he constantly exhorted his fellow countrymen to prepare themselves for the high destiny that he foresaw for this country first by raising and equipping an adequate army a task that frequently hung leaden on his hands and secondly by properly safeguarding their rights after they had been won george washington rec received elved less education in 46 school than most lads of poor parentage do today he left school before he was six sixteen teen years old and except in mathematics in which he had advanced through geometry and trigonometry y hia education did not extend beyond that which boys usually get in the grammar grades of the public schools bools what lie he studied he knew however as hla carefully kept notebooks attest he manifested a special aptitude for surveying find and for military affairs tills this taste led to his having a royal warrant obtained for him when he was fourteen years old and only because of his mothers reluctance to have him go to england was he spared to fight for the colonies colon lei instead of becoming nn fin officer in his maje service ile he had been out of school only a few months when he got ills first job ns n surveyor it was a good one too for lord fairfax having noted the lads mental equipment and his intrepidity gave him a commission to survey his wild acres in the shenandoah valley so bo well did washington accomplish the arduous task that he was made a public surveyor almost coincident with his entrance upon a private career young washington identified himself with public interests rond fond of athletics and sports as well as of military affairs lie he joined the local militia and when nineteen epars old was made a major when he wnm still in ills twenties lie he won his first colonelcy in his gallant hut but disastrous first ca campaign against th alip french it was there that he first tasted the bitter bitt r fruits of when washington went to philadelphia as a member odthe of alic second continental congress he wore ore his ats provincial uniform an instructive expression x pres slon of his feeling in lu regard to the crisis that flint was to come in its way n fulfillment of prophecy fr for during the session lie he was put at the head odthe of the irregular army near boston ile he found th eliat at army not only without discipline and equip ment but without pow fler men who h had i nd enlisted f finlof anly afir n few months ran nay washington V ardently appealed to tho thil continental and pro congresses to provide for longer enlist 4 i tr W L S at i r al ON 7 ments and an adequate system of recruitment such authority as he had he used with diligence and forethought under ills his orders a few fast vessels were fitted out and armed as privateers at the nearest safe ports marblehead volunteers in the army were put aboard them for crews and the supplies including mue much h needed powder were captured upon the seas and brought overland into the american camp after a long period of walting waiting the americans were on dorchester heights and the british evacuated boston keen sense told him that the die was now cast that peace was impossible that england would speedily pour re enforce ments to reduce the colony to a proper sense of its duty conservative find and aristocrat as lie he was classed washington now favored the radicals who sought to break alth the home government find and set up their own 1 I have never entertained the idea of an accommodation lie he said since I 1 heard of the measures which were adopted in consequence of the bunker hill fight ills his stanch attitude was maintained in the midst of disheartening experiences not only with the L nemy enemy in the field but with trouble troublemakers makers in ills own camp 1 I know the unhappy predicament in W which I 1 stand stan he wrote 1 I know that much Is expected of me I 1 know that without men without arms without ammunition without anything fit for the accommodation of a soldier little Is to be lone done and what Is mortifying I 1 know that 1 I cannot stand justified to the world without evi efa posing my own weakness and injuring the cause by declaring my wants my situation has been such ruch that I 1 have had to use art to conceal it even from my off officers leers 11 jealousies hampered him so sorely that lie he sternly proclaimed the general most earnestly entreats the officers find and soldiers to consider consequences that ue can no way assist our enemies more than by making divisions among ourselves that the honor and success of the army and the safety of our bleeding country countr y depend upon ba harmony and good agreement with each other that the provinces are fill all united to oppose the common enemy and all distinctions in the name of america to make this name honorable find and to preserve the liberty of our country ought to be our only emulation find and he will lie he the best soldier and the best patriot who contributes most to this glorious work whatever his station or from whatever part of the country he may come let all distinction of nations countries find provinces thereof be lost in the generous contest who shall behave with the most courage toward file enemy and the most kindness and good humor to each other ifancy if any be so lost to virtue and love of co country antry ns as to continue in such practice n after after fter tills this order they will be severely punished and discharged from the service in disgrace 11 after the disastrous battle of long island washington once more took the liberty of mentioning to congress that no dependence could be put in it militia or other troops than those enlisted and ambo embo embodied for a longer period than our regulations have heretofore our liberties must of necessity be greatly hazarded if not entirely lost if their defense la is left to any hut but a permanent standing arroy army I 1 mean one tr exist during war men alen who have been beed free and subjected to no control cannot be ba reduced to ordering order in an In instant slant there I 1 Is no situation on earth earile less enviable or more distressing continues washington than that flint person who Is nt at the head of troops regardless of order and disel discipline p line prid ind with almost every nee nalty i the that haye hate stir surrounded rounded roe me since 1 in the service have hil ie kept my mind constantly upon the stretch the wounds which my feelings as nn an officer have received by a thousand things ehni that have happened contrary contrad to my expectations and wishes the effect of my own conduct and present pres eni appearance of things so little plea pleasing sing to myself as to render it ametter a matter of no surprise to malf me lf I 1 should stand capitally censured by congress induce a thorough conviction in my mind that tha it will he be impossible unless there Is a thorough change in our military system for me to conduct matters to give satisfaction to the public which is all ahe the recompense I 1 aim at or ever wish for tills this unhappy state of things wag almost wholly due to tile the feeling manifested in several sections of the country persisted in to t the lie if hampering am of campaign and to the detriment of the cause congress was fin finally illy prevailed upon by representations representation s and the tardily dawning consciousness that war was inevitable and that being SO BO meant calamity on oil december 20 1776 he wrote to tile the president of cong congress fess short enlistments and a mistaken dependence upon a our militia have been the origin of all our milfort misfortunes unes and great alcum accum accumulation of our debt I 1 beg leave to give it as my humble opinion that 88 Vatta battalions lions are by no means equal to the opposition you are to anice find and that not a moments time Is to be lost in raising n greater number not less in my opinion and that of my off officers leers than in my judgment this is not a time to stand upon expense our funds are not the only object of consideration it may be thought that abat I 1 am going a good deal out of my line of duty to advise thus freely A character to loose an estate to forfeit the inestimable blessings of liberty at stake and a life devoted must be my excuse far from holding holdim himself alook aloof and wanting to keep all power I 1 in his own hands washington welcomed co operation cooperation after ne had been invested with the dictatorial powers necessitated by the emergency of public affairs the council of safety of now new york apologized for certain measures they had taken in regard to new york troops troop which were inter discovered to have been an infringement on his authority tho rity washington replied 1 I should be unhappy in the belief that any part of my letter to you could be construed into the slightest hint that you wish to interfere in the military line lice heaven knows that I 1 greatly want the aid of every good man tind and that there are not such enviable cn lable pleasures pleasure attending my situation sf to snake make me too jealous of its prerogatives rather than dom complain plain of your sour I 1 late a te efforts in the military way you deserve the thanks of us nil fill anaa and I 1 feel happy in this opportunity of you mine in the greatest truth and sincerity at valley forge where troops were vere almost naked had few bev blankets and scanty food lip lie was moved to resentment against the gentlemen without knowing whether tho army wits really going p into winter quarters or not reprobating the measure as much ns as if they thought the soldiers were made of stocks and stones and equally insensible of frost and snow a and nd moreover as if they conceived it easily practicable for an inferior army under the disadvantages I 1 have described ours to be to confine n superior one in all respects well appointed within the city of philadelphia and to cover from depredation and waste the states of pennsylvania and new jersey I 1 can assure these gentlemen that it Is a much easier and less distressing thing to draw up dinces in a comfortable for table room by a good fireside than to occupy a cold bleak hill find and sleep under frost and snow without clothes or blankets however 11 91 at belr although they chev seem to have little feeling for the naked nake d distressed soldiers sod lera I 1 feel superabundantly un dantly for them and from my soul I 1 pity those ml miseries serles which it Is neither in my power to relieve nor prevent genf 11 washington made persistent efforts effort to ti get a guarantee of half any for his after the war himself having no personal interest Int orest in Is 1 me hie measure lie he had declared from the alib clist ihne he would never profit by it to tile the a single penny ne ile deprecated deprea abed constantly the jealousy of the military part of the government by the civil department if we would pursue puisne a right system of policy he be wrote to ton n of congress in my opinion there would he be none of those distinctions we ve should all congress and army be considered ns as one people in one enuse cause in one fh interest terest acting on an alil lie saine mime principle and to the same same end in 1793 in llis his second term as president wrote to congress that while he sought peace and urged n faithful discharge of every duty toward others lie he recommended prompt measures measure not only for defense but for foi enforcing just caal claims in s thre there th re Is IB it a rank ran k due aue the united states tes among other nations which will b he te withheld if not absolutely sol lost by the reputation of weakness if we desire to avoid insult we must be able to repel it if we d delre to secure pence peace one of the most powerful instruments of our prosperity it f must be known that Y we e are at all times ready for war rewrote he wrote is i S |
