By Robert Hitchman
Seeing that we’re in the season we celebrate the 4th of July and we’re one year away from our 250th anniversary as a nation, I wanted to share some ways in which the Lord helped this country get started. Some things that the secular press and public school system (and even some Christian schools may not know) won’t share.
- WAS GEORGE WASHINGTON BULLETPROOF OR PROTECTED?
First, I’ll start with George Washington, commonly called the father of our nation. Before the American revolution, a 23 year-old Colonel George Washington was a volunteer aide to General Edward Braddock in 1755 at the battle of Monogahela during the French Indian war. Fierce fighting broke out as troops were ambushed by French and Indian forces as they marched through the woods, becoming pinned down in a ravine.
The fighting brought down nearly every officer among Braddock’s forces except young Washington. More than 900 died in the chaotic battle, including General Braddock. Colonel Washington rallied the troops from horseback, an easy target, only 30 feet from the firing line, well in range.
The remaining troops with Washington retreated to Virginia. He later discovered he had four musket-ball holes in his jacket.
In a letter home, he described the miracle of his survival: “But, by the all-powerful dispensations of Providence, I have been protected beyond all human probability or expectation; for I had four bullets through my coat, and two horses shot under me, yet escaped unhurt, although death was leveling my companions on every side of me!”
Was George Washington bulletproof or protected by God? I’ll leave that up to you to decide.
2. DIVINE FAVOR FROM HIS ENEMIES OR JUST LUCKY?
There was another incident regarding George Washington that most people, including amateur historians like me, are unaware of. On September 11th, 1777, at or around the battle of Brandywine creek, Captain Patrick Ferguson, a 33-year-old Scotsman, reputed to be the finest shot in the British army, commanded the British marksmen. They were equipped with fast-firing, breech-loading rifles of Ferguson’s own design. He whispered to three of his best riflemen to creep forward and pick off some of the unsuspecting officers. But before the men were in place, he felt disgust at the idea of such an ambush, and ordered them not to fire. He shouted to the American officer, who was riding a bay horse. The American looked his way for a moment, and turned to ride on. Ferguson called again, this time leveling his rifle toward the officer. The American glanced back before slowly cantering away.
A day later, after he had been seriously wounded himself, Ferguson learned that the American officer he let ride off was most likely General George Washington. “I could have lodged half a dozen balls in or about him, before he was out of my reach,” Ferguson recalled, “but it was not pleasant to fire at the back of an unoffending individual, who was acquitting himself very coolly of his duty—so I let him alone.”
To me it sounds a lot like “When a man’s ways please the Lord, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.” Proverbs 16:7 I know this isn’t exactly what this scripture is talking about but it’s close. How different would our history have been if he had taken that shot!
- MYSTERIOUS FOG THAT SAVED REVOLUTIONARIES
The miracle of right weather is one that God has used in many instances for people and nations who follow Him.
The Revolutionary War itself was indeed a David vs. Goliath mismatch with the most powerful army in the world against a force of patriots who didn’t have the funding or military background – only passion and Providence.
The Battle of Brooklyn found the American forces surrounded by 32,000 British regulars. Trapped near the East River, the British dug trenches around the Americans, planning to finish them off. They awaited British ships to arrive to cut off any possible escape route.
The ships never arrived. Though the plan was set, the wind became still, and they couldn’t sail into place.
It rained all night, and George Washington used all available boats to begin shuttling his troops across the river to safety under cover of darkness. As morning approached, he still had a large percentage of his soldiers awaiting transport.
Their loss could mean disaster for the American Revolution.
Then, a heavy fog settled over the American and British troops. Even after daybreak, the fog lay like a blanket upon both. When it finally lifted, the British were astonished to see every sign of their adversaries gone!
- RISING RIVERS, STORMS, AND A SUDDEN SQUALL
In January 1781, American General Daniel Morgan defeated an advancing British force under General Cornwallis at the Battle of Cowpens in South Carolina in what has been called a “tactical masterpiece and turning point of the war” (Miracles in American History, p. 67). After the battle, Morgan retreated north, chased by the British. Cornwallis reached the Catawba River only hours after the Americans had crossed, “but a sudden storm made the river impassable… the British nearly overtook the Americans at the Yadkin River, but again rains flooded the river slowing the British” and “another flash flood blocked the British” at the Dan River—allowing the Americans to cross into friendly territory in Virginia. British General Henry Clinton described these events as follows: “Here the royal Army was again stopped by a sudden rise of the waters, which had only just fallen (almost miraculously) to let the enemy over” (ibid., pp. 67–68). George Washington wrote in March of 1781, “We have abundant reasons to thank Providence for its many favorable interpositions in our behalf. It has at times been my only dependence, for all other resources seemed to have failed us”
People don’t realize that the Lord will get involved in war if the people involved will seek Him. George Washington, who had his flaws like the rest of us, was a man who sought the Lord and was constantly praying. And the Bible says “He makes nations great, and destroys them: He enlarges nations, and guides them.” Job 12:23 NKJV
So retrospectively, we as a nation, have a lot to be thankful for. But moving forward, we still need to seek the Lord and be prayerful in ALL our ways. Selah!