Jewells of Thought

Artemus Ward, George Washington, Joseph Reed, Nathanael Greene and Henry Knox: these are a very short list of the countless names imprinted on our American story. Do you know each name and what each one of them gave and did for us to have our Freedoms today.

Last night I was blown away by the answers from the Indiana Gubernatorial Debate. Out of that one hour of questions and answers only one man out of the three stood out. Of the three a Republican incumbent, a Democrat Doctor, and lastly but absolutely not last, a Libertarian. Only one man sounded down to earth. This is the only race I will not be voting Republican. The other two men reminded me of those Royal Governors from the 1770’s that our Colonies were fighting against. God Bless this Hoosier State and pray for guidance in choosing our leaders; especially our Governor.

The Freedoms we have are ours because men stepped up like General Ward. Artemus Ward was our first Commander in Chief of our Continental Army. His civic position because of his Patriotic tendencies. The Lord was working through this and used his sentiments and authority for a bigger purpose. Titles like General, Brigadier General, and Commander in Chief, would be defining moments for him. Although he lacked formal military discipline.

The Army that George Washington was given the reins of would not have been, without Ward’s contribution. Commander in Chief Washington, again, saw the Lord’s hand all over the men and women who served in many capacities to nature giving them the upper hand. Dorchester Heights is a prime example. The Continental Army literally overnight produced a set of breastworks, a temporary fortification. The Colonials surprised everyone in how quickly they set it up. The British Army absconded early due to a storm. The fog on the Hudson River saved the Revolutionaries to fight another day.

Another Rebel of the Crown was Joseph Reed. His trade was learned and studied in Philadelphia within the London style. He was a lawyer who dropped everything on a whim. All of the names mentioned above are written about in David McCullough’s book, ‘1776’. I bought this book years ago and read some of it but not all of it, being a World War II aficionado. it was kind of forgotten. This year it seemed I needed to re-read this lovely book and hopefully finish it this time. Please read this book it has so much information of how God worked through these men, only because they first sought Him to be first in this Country!

Anyhow, Joseph was only supposed to accompany the new Commander in Chief to his new headquarters posting. Something happened to this man, being in the presence of such a charismatic figure. It pointed him in the opposite direction of his new business. Actually, from this assigned duty, signed on to become the Commander’s new secretary, while basically forgetting about his family and where they would go. McCullough says Washington did have a magnetic-like hold and that Reed defines if most beautifully in ‘1776’.

Reed was eventually named as Adjutant General, but was sure he was not capable of extolling the duties thereof. This is the beauty of the times. People were forced into positions they knew they had no qualifications for but they flourished into those roles very well. Joseph Reed was one of those men from this amazing generation of men who let God and duty guide them with George Washington’s assistance. Although their lack of experience and qualifications were in black and white parchment paper; each man’s character and skills were being developed in ways they could not have expected in those positions. Every single name mentioned is a man who was not expecting the title he was given and was a little afraid of it at first. God and their sense of duty ultimately projected these men into the Hall of our American Progenitors!

The youngest General of the Continental Army was Nathanael Greene, from Rhode Island. A self-made soldier, this man read everything he learned about being a soldier from books. Greene had not been in any campaign, unlike any other of his peers, at the time. Yet at only six months of being in the Army, he had gained through his reading such knowledge of strategy from books; was named General. How do these amazing feats happen, if not for God’s providential hand guiding these men? Greene’s, Rhode Island Regiment, was the most efficiently disciplined and sharp looking regiment of all the Colonial Army.

The final name is Henry Knox. There is a whole section in McCullough’s book about the miracle Knox was able to facilitate. Dorchester Heights was made possible in part due to the journey of a lifetime Knox and his brother and many others made with them. Artillery that had been captured and left at Fort Ticonderoga was figuratively speaking to Knox. he, a young fella of 25, got the idea to use that forgotten artillery and requested to be in charge on the convoy that would arduously parade the guns to their new post. When this impossible convoy victoriously arrived every gun was accounted for… amazing as it seemed. So Washington promoted Knox to Commander of the Artillery.

Today we lack the ingenuity, determination and downright lack of conviction of these men. They were fighting for what we have taken for granted for so long. We now have to fight the establishment in our own country. I enjoyed watching the National Treasure movies as a young college student. This generation of American men are our Countries Treasures. We need to delve into the papers and books of that day; these men were absolutely inspirational. They sought God and He intervened time and time again because they heeded His calling.

I wrote this right before the 2020 Election, it seems like a lifetime has passed since these words were typed. ‘Legendary Commanders’ and ‘A Special Miracle’ were written not necessarily as a trio, but they were created after reading and with an election in mind!