By Jared Carman, Head of School
241 years ago this week, after we had won our independence from England, George Washington bade a heartfelt farewell to his officers. They had served together for eight long years, each one from different backgrounds, yet focused on one thing: securing the blessings of liberty for themselves and their posterity. This is the story:
Since the first pilgrims landed in Plymouth and in Jamestown in the 1600s, Americans had enjoyed their independence. This began to change when, in the 1770s, King George and the British parliament began imposing taxes upon the colonists without their consent.
For the first time in more than 150 years, American colonists felt the burden of oppression from a government far away from them. They protested, they wrote letters to the king; they tried to reconcile, but it was of no use. King George was determined that the colonists would submit to his will. In 1775 fighting broke out between the British army and the colonists in Lexington and in Concord, Massachusetts.
By this time, the colonies had already had a series of meetings, called Congresses. In the summer of 1776, each colony sent representatives to Philadelphia to meet in a new Congress. On July 4 they declared independence and all signed the Declaration, a replica copy of which hangs in the hallway of our school.
In order to fight the British and win their independence, Congress needed a loyal and courageous leader. George Washington was asked to lead the Continental Army. He replied that he would lead the army on one condition: that he receive no salary. Congress agreed.
The war lasted for eight long years. Washington and his men had an early victory, driving the British out of Boston. The remainder of 1776 was really more about survival than victories. Washington held his army together despite lack of food and clothing for his men. The men came to trust and even revere Washington. He stayed on mission no matter the circumstances.
On Christmas night in 1776, in a terrible snowstorm, Washington and his men crossed the Delaware river and surprised the enemy encamped, at Trenton, New Jersey. Washington’s victory at Trenton turned the tide of the war. They went on to win again at Princeton, and, many years later, had the decisive victory at Yorktown, Virginia.
The victory was sweet, but some of the Continental soldiers were unhappy. Congress did not yet have power to tax, and so the soldiers had not been paid. A group of officers decided to meet secretly, to talk about the possibility of taking over the government. Some even imagined George Washington as a new king of America.
General Washington surprised everyone by coming to the meeting. He urged his officers to remain loyal to America. For a moment he fumbled with a pair of reading glasses, and said,
“Gentlemen, you will permit me to put on my spectacles, for, I have grown not only gray, but almost blind in the service of my country. "
The men’s hearts melted, and the conspiracy evaporated. Washington solved the problem of payment by contacting a friend, who paid the soldiers and officers out of his own pocket.
In December 1783, with his service complete, Washington resigned his commission as commanding general. He said goodbye to his officers, and on December 23 he went before Congress and said:
"I resign with satisfaction
the appointment I accepted with diffidence;
a diffidence in my abilities to accomplish so arduous a task;
which however was superseded by a confidence
in the rectitude of our cause,
the support of the supreme power of the Union,
and the patronage of Heaven...”
This Christmas season, as we remember our Savior Jesus Christ, let us follow Washington’s example of caritas and actio, as we serve current and future generations.
This historical thought was delivered by our upper school students at devotional on 12/05/2024. Each week one class leads the student body in prayer, the Pledge of Allegiance, scripture recitation, a meditation, and an historical thought. Family and friends are welcome, Thursdays 8:30-9:05 am.
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