My son, not too long ago, said that he would like to be a defender of Freedom when he grows up. Last night as I watched the fire works, I could not help but reflect on the many lives that have been lost in the fight for freedom. As promised, I have been reading my George Washington book and have been amazed to learn more about the perils that the American troops had to endure in their fight for liberty. I have pondered many times the facts of that great revolutionary war and cannot figure out how the Americans won. How could a group of mostly farmers have overcome the great British Empire?


Here is what I have found out:


George Washington wrote "It will not be believed that such a force as Great Britain...could be baffled...by numbers infinitely less, composed of men often times half-starved, always in rags, without pay, and experiencing, at times, every species of distress which human nature is capable of undergoing."

Through eight years of fighting there were monumental successes, and huge disappointments. Hero's were made. Traitors and cowards were found. Losses were many. Somehow, American soldiers won.

"Historians have expended barrels of ink in try to explain how America could have bested the British in war. How did it happen...No one could have foreseen the ultimate cost of that declaration if Independence. Who could have known that the British would send wave after wave of soldiers to the conies, trying to whip the rebels into subjection?And who would ever have supposed that those feeble colonies would have been able to beat back the mightiest nation on earth?"

The American troops did have their advantages though. They were fighting on their home soil, where the terrain was know to them. British troops had to sail on a ship for 2 months to arrive to the battle field. French monetary aid and later sending soldiers also helped. Finally, the British soldiers were merely fighting over the real estate, in contrast the colonists were fighting for their very well being. Their liberty and peace was at risk.

George Washington often encouraged his troops to pray. He also set the example of prayer. "Throughout the war, as it was understood in his military family, he gave a part of every day to private pray and devotion."

Perhaps George Washington's relationship with God (as well as many other's) that tipped the scale in favor of the Americans. Washington believed that the war was won because "God willed it so." He stated this over and over again in letters to "friends, acquaintances, governors, and members of Congress."



Conclusion:

How did the Americans win the war? "The reasons are varied and numerous, but rising above them all is the figure of George Washington. Washington was a the force that kept a ragtag army together through unthinkable trials: Washington's was the mind that saw the way to victory. With faith and steadfastness he varied neither to the right nor to the left. He pursued the ideal of liberty despite the dreadful trials of hunger, death and freezing winter, despite mutiny and inconstant militia, despite deceit and severe financial loss. If Washington had done nothing more than lead his country men to victory, if his public life had begun and ended with the turbulent years of the Revolutionary War, his name would deserve to be celebrated and revered for countless generations to come. "

Winning the war for Independence was nothing less than a miracle. Now the battle for freedom, the fight for liberty is ours. In order to preserve our freedom, which was bought at a high cost, our lives must be full of virtue. In the words of Alexis de Tocqueville we are reminded that "America is great because she is good, and if America ever ceases to be good, America will cease to be great."

May we all be defenders of liberty through the lives that we lead. Let us never forget the many people who have given their lives so that we can have freedom and the right to "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."

Most of the quoted material was taken from the Book "The Real George Washington" by Jay A. Parry, Andrew M. Allison and W. Cleon Skousen