Tuesday, February 22, 2011

On George Washington’s Birthday – yesterday Presidents’ Day

Comment: Opinion: Was George Washington a Christian? –AOLnews
I recall George Washington's diary is available to historians. The one section I'm familiar with, on his triumphal return and tour of Long Island after winning the war, is his observation of the Bald Hills of Long Island, which he referred to as a "mere trifling" but the diary seems to suggest he was always looking at the land for its "carrying capacity", i.e., its ability to support agriculture or manufacture. He's quoted as saying, as another example, that he thought a dam at the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers, in todays Harpers Ferry, W.VA, might supply all the power needed for the manufacturing in the new republic. Various manufacturers were indeed there though lost to flood and civil war, though a dam never built there. He would be happy that a national Purple Heart Center is now in the former New Windsor Cantonment, a New York State Park, near Vail, NY. It is where he asked the troops to over-winter in case the then recently signed treaty was not honored. Many, I'm sure, wanted to leave, the fighting over. Many non-Christians had also been involved in the struggle and lost lives and livelihoods.

No comments:

Post a Comment