The book was quite impressive. It is a detailed description of George Washington and his "rabble" as they spent the first year of the War of Independence. I found the book to be very eye opening as it pointed out the dramatic weaknesses of the Americans. In fact most of the "victories" this ragtag militia enjoyed during those early days were not victories at all.
They felt triumphant because they had made a valiant stand against the greatest military force on earth, or because they had successfully retreated from just under the noses of the British.
The book paints a picture of the illustrious George Washington that is, I think, accurate but not flattering. Washington believed that he should lead by example and so acted often in ways that would today seem pretentious or hypocritical. Washington apparently failed miserably over and over again during that first year in terms of strategy.
After he waited and waited during the siege of Boston, he lacked the powder to mount an attack. Finally, he gained the high ground after Henry Knox led a daring expedition to obtain the Guns of Ticonderoga and transport them to Boston.
The British fled but the tables were turned when they met again in New York. Washington's troops retreated from Manhattan, Brooklyn and Fort Washington, and near the end of the year, found themselves scampering to try and evacuate and then defend the capital at Philadelphia.
McCullough pulls no punches when he points out how inept the Americans were.
Yet they stood. They fought - often valiantly.
While McCullough stops short of giving credit to God for the admittedly miraculous events that surrounded this army, he does at least acknowledge that some of the patriots were quick to credit the Almighty with any success they found.
Things like General Washington sitting tall (and quite peaceably) in the saddle all along the front lines as musket balls zinged back and forth around him - he was there to encourage the troops and he dared not show any fear.
There were countless examples of amazing retreats. In one instance, a night time evacuation took place without the notice of the British troops. As dawn approached and the evacuation wasn't nearly complete, an uncanny fog settled into the area and provided cover until the operation was complete.
I was overwhelmingly impressed with the evidence of God's sovereign overseeing of the birth of this nation.
As I neared the end of the book, I was reminded of an American Trait that I had not thought of in quite awhile: The tendency of Americans to stand strong when the odds are against them.
We haven't seen much of that since the apparent establishment of our world dominance after WWII. There has been a trend among liberals since that time for us to fawn over other nations just to prove that we are not the "ugly Americans" they think we are.
But there exists in the hearts of freedom-loving people, a strong constitution to stand even though the cards are stacked against us - event though it seems apparent that we are beaten.
It is a trait that was displayed prominently over the recent mid-term elections by members of the Tea Party. Those who won and those who lost. Those who found little support among the party they were running with and those who ran in the face of petty and ugly personal attack, all stood - they fought the good fight and some won ... others will live to fight another day.
And fight they will, because like those early Americans who realized that 1776 was not the end - it was only the beginning, many Americans are awakening to the same realization.
Washington closed out that year with a tremendous Christmas season victory at both Trenton and Princeton. Yet there were many more battles to face ahead. So they continued resolutely into the next year and the others that followed.
Just as we must do today . . . . it is the American way.
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