Finding God - in George Washington

There is a movement afoot, courtesy of John White (The Wall Street Journal, 1/28-29/2012), to have the Congressional Medal of Honor posthumously awarded to George Washington.  This highest military award for an American soldier, is given for “gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of life, above and beyond the call of duty” in combat with an enemy of the United States.

President George Washington.  Soldier?  Combat?  A vague recollection of my American history reminds me that Washington, before he was President, was indeed a military leader -  a senior officer in the colonial forces during the French and Indian Wars and subsequently  commander in chief of the Continental Army during the revolution.  We tend to think of senior officers and (especially) Generals dictating the course of battle safely removed from the fray.  Obviously, their loss could very well alter the outcome of a battle, or even an entire war.  But not George Washington.  As revealed in Mr. White’s article, Washington was one of the bravest combat soldiers in American history. 

There are many documented examples of how he constantly put himself in harm’s way in order to command and rally his troops.  This garners even more significance when we pause and contemplate that Washington stood 6’ 3” tall, a literal giant at that time.  Put him in an officer’s, then a General’s uniform, astride a horse, and Washington became a sitting target, with a bulls-eye painted on his back.  And everyone, friend and foe alike, knew exactly who he was, and where he was.

In one two hour engagement during the French and Indian Wars, he rode all over the battlefield, carrying orders to other officers.  Two horses were shot from under him.  At battle’s end, he had four musket ball holes in his greatcoat, and survivors later reported that the hail of gunfire at him was so heavy that they expected to see him killed at any moment.

This heroism was also demonstrated during the revolution.  Washington repeatedly led his forces from the front of the battle.  Once, he was only 30 yards from British lines when he led a charge directly toward British troops, yelling at his own soldiers to rally behind him.  On another occasion, he noted American soldiers retreating in disarray.  Washington rode among them, up and down British lines, to halt and reverse their retreat.   At times he was only 30 to 40 feet from the enemy.

Think of that…only 30-40-90 feet from the enemy…sitting on a horse….in uniform, British soldiers and sharpshooters everywhere.  All reason and logic says that Washington could not possibly survive such exposure.  Yet he was never even wounded in battle!

At various times in my life, I have looked for “proof” of  God – a God who watches over us, protects us, guides our path, and directs our destiny as a people and as a country. This day, I have found such a God.  I can think of no other possible explanation for Washington’s survival than to credit a Higher Power who saw the absolute necessity to protect him, knowing that he, and only he, could lead a fledgling nation through the challenges of infancy toward the promise of its greatness.

Mark Twain Quote:  “I am different from Washington; I have a higher, grander standard of principle.  Washington could not lie.  I can lie, but I won’t.”