By William Haupt III | The Center Square contributor
General George Washington and the Continental Army
crossing the Delaware River in boats on Christmas Day
"We
must remember, mankind allows that all those who conduct themselves as worthy
members of the community, are equally entitled to the protections of civil
government." – George Washington
The greatest Christmas gift the world received was the
night of our savior's birth. And its greatest gift to world freedom came on
Christmas Eve, 1776, on the banks of the Delaware River – America.
The birthing of America was not easy. Only a third of the
colonists supported a Revolution. It pitted neighbors against neighbors. These
patriots were not only rebelling against the British. They were fighting other
colonists who were loyal to British King George, parliament and the English
church.
Often overlooked are the "fence sitters" who
were content living free from monarchical dominance. They enjoyed colonial
religious and economic freedoms, and tolerated the British as a necessary evil.
The patriots needed to earn the support from these neutralists in order to win
the Revolution.
The patriots humiliated the Loyalists in public and
subjected them to violence, intimidation, ridicule and harassment. They
vandalized their property and burned down their businesses. Even families were
divided. Ben Franklin's son William, governor of New Jersey, was loyal to the
king.
“He
that would live in peace and at ease must not speak all he knows or judge all
he sees.” – Ben Franklin
Colonists who did not join the patriots united with the
British as obedient subjects. Others thought they could profit from selling
arms and war supplies to the British without true allegiance to anyone.
Patriots had been building support for the Revolution
since the end of the French and Indian War in 1763. In severe debt, the British
enacted the 1765 abusive Stamp and the 1767 Townshend Acts. Following the
patriots 1773 Tea Party in Boston Harbor, they passed The Coercive Acts in
1774. And that was the final insult the patriots needed to win the war of
propaganda against the British!
Gifted orators like Patrick Henry and Enlightenment
thinkers John Locke and Thomas Paine kept the momentum for revolution growing
with colonial statesmen, politicians and with uneasy patriots.
“If
there must be trouble, let it be in my day, so that my children may have
peace.” – Thomas Paine
No man in the colonies was more persuasive with the
commoners and the peasants in promoting the Revolutionary War than
Enlightenment thinker and gifted English writer Thomas Paine. He had led reform
movements in Europe and Paine inspired farmers, workers and commoners to
revolt.
Paine went from towns, hamlets and villages distributing
copies of his 90-page booklet, "Common Sense." Paine preached the
rewards and the substantiality of independence to patriots who never dreamed it
was an option.
“The
mind once enlightened cannot again become dark.” – Thomas Paine
On April 18, 1775, the British marched from Boston to
Concord, Massachusetts, to seize stockpiled colonial weapons. Paul Revere rode
through the streets of Boston rallying the patriots: "The British are
coming, the British are coming!" The next day, when the patriots and the
Redcoats clashed at Lexington and Concord, it was "the shot heard round
the world.” This signified the beginning of the Revolution and, most
importantly, it marked the birthing of America as the guardian of global
liberty.
When the minutemen fired the first shots of the
Revolution, the Redcoats were well prepared. They had superior weapons, ammo,
uniforms and abundant food and medical supplies. They were ready to defend
their turf. They were prepared to fight a marathon battle to stop the colonial
insurrection.
On the other hand, the colonies had a volunteer army with
no central government and little money. They sent troops to the Continental
Army, but kept many behind to protect themselves. Many of the colonies were
more concerned for self-survival, while the British were determined to win the
war.
Late in 1776, the Revolutionary War looked like it was a
lost cause. The patriots lacked uniforms, food, ammunition and weapons and some
were even shoeless. There was tremendous suffering from cold and starvation. A
series of defeats had depleted morale, and many had already deserted.
In the bitter cold on Christmas Eve 1776, dogged by
pelting sleet and snow, George Washington knelt in prayer at McKonkey's Ferry
asking the Lord for the right words to inspire his troops to keep going. They
needed to cross the Delaware River for a surprise attack on the British.
Historian James Cheetham wrote: "As Washington mounted his horse that night he pulled a draft of
Thomas Paine's 'American Crisis' from his saddle bag. As he began reading it,
he knew that it was the answer to his prayers. When he returned to camp he
ordered it read to his troops immediately.''
“The
summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the
service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and
thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we
have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious
the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness
only that gives a thing its value. Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon
its goods; and it would be strange indeed if so celestial an article as freedom
should not be highly rated.” – Thomas Paine
The next morning, Christmas Day 1776, Washington’s army
crossed the icy Delaware and won two crucial battles. He defeated the British
at Trenton and a week later he executed a daring night raid to capture
Princeton on January 3. This gave control of New Jersey to America and turned
around the morale and unified the colonial army. Washington's insightful
reading of "The American Crisis" on Christmas Eve 1776 turned a
humbling defeat into a glorious victory for the American patriots!
Shortly after the war John Adams remarked: “Without the pen of Paine, the sword of Washington would have been wielded in vain.”
Washington’s men basked in its victory at Trenton since they had defeated a
much mightier foe. Moreover, they realized Washington was a true leader and he
could unite the colonies into a strong nation. Washington's faith in the Lord
and his respect for the scholarly works of our Enlightenment thinkers like
Thomas Paine, John Locke and others would help him articulate the Philadelphia
Convention and write the world's longest lasting constitution.
The Lord guided Washington to victory on Christmas in 1776 at a time America needed a miracle to become a nation. He showed our founders how to form a more perfect union of states in 1787. He has continued to bless this nation in so many ways since 1776. Let us pray He will help us unite this divided nation so we can always defend our liberty.
Merry Christmas!
