OPINION:
On a cold night almost 250 years ago, a relative handful of soldiers waited their turn to cross a river and head toward their enemy in hopes of surprising them on Christmas. Most of them had less than a week left in their enlistments and were already preparing to head home.
The fading prospects for American independence would go with them.
It would have been easy for those soldiers to have slipped off into the night, to not have gotten on the boats for this one, final probably pointless battle. Just about all of them, however, stayed to cross the Delaware, to march to Trenton, and surprise and defeat the Hessians there on Dec. 26, 1776. That victory, more than any other, changed the fortunes of the Revolution.
This Monday, we celebrate Gen. George Washington, the author of that victory and much of the reason the Continental Army survived the dark and terrible days of late 1776.
Contrary to popular belief and the efforts of salesmen across the land, no Congress or president ever changed this celebration to the abomination that is “Presidents Day.” That’s good, because most American presidents merit no celebration.
George Washington, born in Virginia on Feb. 22, 1732, is quite another matter.
He never went to college, dropping out of school at the age of 15 to tend to the family farm, survey western Virginia and dabble in real estate. He wrote no books. He wasn’t a particularly gifted orator. He wasn’t the richest man of his time or place.
He was, however, a natural leader and fearless military officer. He was entrusted with commands by the British army during the French and Indian War when he was just 22 years old. He defeated that same British army — considered the best in the world — 25 years later in the Revolutionary War.
He guided the proceedings of the Constitutional Convention and enhanced its deliberations with his calming presence. Those deliberations were, of course, made easier by the certain knowledge among the delegates that Washington would be the first president of the new republic.
He voluntarily stepped down as president after two terms, setting a precedent that no one even thought to challenge until the republic, unfortunately, ran across the authoritarian and grasping Roosevelts.
For 250 years, he has set the standard for presidents, generals, leaders and all Americans. To date, no one has entirely matched it.
Even in death, he helped the nation he did so much to create. In the wake of a civil war that would have destroyed any other country or people, the North and South managed to rally around the memory of General Washington, which became a unifying force.
Construction of the monument that bears his name was restarted after the war (in 1876) and completed in 1884. In 1889, the state of Washington, which had no connection to General Washington, was admitted into the Union.
The wisdom of his advice endures. In his Farewell Address, he touches on the core and essential part of the American experience and American governance: “Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports. … Can it be that Providence has not connected the permanent felicity of a nation with its virtue?”
In 1965, the historian and writer James Flexner called him the “indispensable man.” The British called him “the Fox” because of his consistent ability to elude their superior forces.
Citizens of our nation simply call him the “father of our country” because that is what he was. He made life better for every American who has ever lived, and because America has been a force for good in the world, he, in turn, also made life better for just about everyone on the planet.
That is quite an achievement for one lifetime.
So, if you can spare a moment today, the day his native Virginia celebrates as George Washington Day, make sure to think about the first and greatest president with whom the United States and its people were blessed and be grateful.
• Michael McKenna is a contributing editor at The Washington Times and a co-host of the podcast “The Unregulated.”
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