CORRUPTION AND PROFITEERING, PAGES 44-45
Profiteering takes place during every war, and the Revolutionary War was no exception. Chase and Sands, cited here, are two notable examples of corruption among many hindering the American war effort. (See Thomas Fleming, The Perils of Peace, 187.) The victims of those who profited were the half-naked and distressed soldiers. This precipitated the eruption of Washington’s volcanic temper about the triumph of private greed over public spirit. Washington said, “Chimney corner patriots abound: venality, corruption, prostitution of office for selfish ends, abuse of trust, perversion of funds from a national to a private use, and speculations upon the necessities of the times pervade all interests” (Gore Vidal, Inventing a Nation, 48).
The General, as was usually the case, did not let his anger escape into print. That he left to his aide Alexander Hamilton, who wrote scathing letters under the pseudonym Publius attacking Chase, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, for sullying the American cause by trying to corner the wheat market in advance of the arrival of the French fleet. (See Alexander Hamilton, American by Richard Brookhiser, 40.)
AMERICAN SOLDIERS OVERCOMING INCREDIBLE ODDS, 46
The theme of the American soldier overcoming incredible odds in prevailing over the more numerous, better trained, and better equipped troops of the British Empire was expressed many times by Washington, although never more eloquently than in the letter to General Greene:
“If Historiographers should be hardy enough to fill the page of History with the advantages that have been gained with unequal numbers (on the part of America) in the course of this contest, and attempt to relate the distressing circumstances under which they have been obtained, it is more than probable that Posterity will bestow on their labors the epithet and marks of fiction; for it will not be believed that such a force as Great Britain has employed for eight years in this Country could be baffled in their plan of Subjugating it by numbers infinitely less, composed of Men oftentimes half starved; always in Rags, without pay, and experiencing, at times, every species of distress which human nature is capable of undergoing.” (“Letter to Nathanael Greene,” The Writings of George Washington, 484.)
In overcoming the improbable odds, Washington is careful to never refer to his generalship but instead always refers to the valor of the American army.
BAND OF BROTHERS, 47
The phrase “band of brothers” was probably first uttered by King Henry V in his St. Crispin’s Day speech in Shakespeare’s King Henry V. It has recently been the title of Stephen E. Ambrose’s book on a US army airborne company in World War II and the title of an album by Willie Nelson, and has been attributed to Lord Admiral Horatio Nelson in describing his captains in 1798. But years before Lord Nelson, George Washington was using the phrase to praise those who came together from thirteen states to fight under his leadership. His most notable use was in his farewell address to the armies of the United States on November 2, 1783, when Washington, after again pleading for just treatment for his troops, marvels at how troops from such diverse backgrounds had come together to overcome the might of the British Empire (again modestly overlooking his own role):
Who, that was not a witness, could imagine that the most violent local prejudices would cease so soon, and that Men who came from the different parts of the Continent, strongly disposed, by the habits of education, to despise and quarrel with each other, would instantly become one patriotic band of brothers, or who, that was not on the spot, can trace the steps by which such a wonderful revolution has been effected, and such a glorious period put to all our warlike toils? (See The Writings of George Washington, 543)
In another reference, Washington in a later letter writes to General Knox, “My first wish would be that my Military family, and the whole Army, should consider themselves as a band of brothers, willing and ready, to die for each other.” (John Frederick Schroeder, Maxims of George Washington, 95; Joseph J. Ellis in His Excellency cites Washington’s use of the phrase in his farewell at Newburgh, 146.)
WASHINGTON’S FIRST COMBAT EXPERIENCE, 47-48
While Washington was restrained in describing his French and Indian War experiences to Josiah, Washington describes his first combat with French and Indian forces in a letter to his brother John Augustine in May of 1754. After laying out the results of the victory and assuring his brother that he was not wounded, Washington closes by stating, “I can with truth assure you, I heard bullets whistle and believe me there was something charming in the sound” (The Writings of George Washington, 48). The words found their way into a London periodical, and King George III reportedly commented, “He would not say so if he had been used to hear many” (Ron Chernow, Washington, 44).
WASHINGTON’S VALOR COMPARED WITH THAT OF OTHER GENERALS, 48
When compared to other generals of that period (American and particularly British), Washington’s desire to rush to the fore was notable not just to Josiah and made him beloved by his troops. “March on, my brave fellows, after me” and “Parade with us, my brave fellows” were words of Washington quoted by observers at many battles. (See, for example, David Hackett Fischer, Washington’s Crossing, 241, 249, 334.) While almost every book about Washington has numerous reports of his great leadership when his men went into combat, I have found no accounts of British generals, such as Gage, Howe, Cornwallis, or Clinton, demonstrating similar leadership.
MEDALS FOR ENLISTED MEN, PAGE 48
While at Newburgh, Washington introduced awards for service by enlisted men. This may not sound like much, but no army, as far as it is known, had previously given awards to other than officers. To Washington, this was a way to boost morale and recognize that the American army was different than the armies of kings. First came a white stripe for three years’ service with “bravery, fidelity and good conduct,” and then two white stripes for six years of such service. Beyond that, Washington created a badge of merit, which later became the Purple Heart, an award for military merit for both officers and enlisted men with a figure of a heart in purple cloth or silk edged with narrow lace or binding to be worn over the left breast. Wearers could pass guards without challenge like officers, and names were recorded in a book of merit, even if the wearer had been previously punished. While the chevrons were awarded to many, and the purple hearts, at least then, were awarded to few, the idea for decorating enlisted men was clear to Washington: “the road to glory in a patriot army and a free country is thus open to all” (William M. Fowler Jr., American Crisis: George Washington and the Dangerous Two Years After Yorktown, 1781–1783, 103).