George Washington - The father of our country
George Washington, the first president of the United States, is considered to be perhaps our greatest president. Everyone recognizes him; his face is on American money, we’ve all heard the story of him chopping down a cherry tree and we know that he had wooden teeth.
George Washington was born in 1732 in Virginia. From 1759 to the outbreak of the American Revolution, George Washington managed his lands around Mount Vernon and served in the Virginia House of Burgesses. He married Martha Dandridge Custis and soon voiced his disapproval of the restrictions placed on the American people by the British.
When the Second Continental Congress assembled in Philadelphia in May 1775, George Washington, one of the Virginia delegates, was elected Commander in Chief of the Continental Army. On July 3, 1775, at Cambridge, Massachusetts, he took command of his troops and embarked upon a war that lasted six long years, the French and Indian War.
When the new Constitution was ratified, George Washington was unanimously elected as president. He served two terms and then retired to his Mount Vernon home. Three years later, in 1799, he died from a throat infection.
That is the story of George Washington in a nutshell. However, there is a story about George Washington that was once shared in classrooms, that is no longer shared, although it should be.
During the French and Indian War, the French and Indian warriors were quickly depleting the soldiers of the British army. The British’s battle lines and bright red coats made them easy targets, especially those on horseback. When there was just one soldier left on horseback, the Indian warriors—a mix of Ottawa, Huron, and Chippewa tribes—aimed their rifles directly at him. Round after round was aimed at this one man. Twice the soldier’s horse was shot out from under him. Sharpshooters fired countless rounds. Still, the soldier remained unhurt.
The natives stared at him in disbelief. They seldom missed their mark. Suddenly, the chief realized that a mighty power must be shielding this man. He commanded his warriors to stop firing stating that this man is under the special protection of the Great Spirit. Another Indian nearby stated that “this man was not born to be killed by a bullet.”
That evening, the soldier noticed a hole in his coat, a bullet hole. He rolled up his sleeve and looked at his arm directly under the bullet hole. There was no mark on his skin. He took off his coat and found three more holes where bullets has passed through his coat and stopped before they reached his body.
Nine days after the battle, the soldier had heard a rumor about his own death. He wrote his brother to confirm that he was, in fact, alive and well. In the letter he wrote, “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!”
Of course the soldier in this story was George Washington. George Washington often recalled this dramatic event in his life and stated that it helped shape is character and confirm God’s call on his life. Death was not part of God’s plan for George Washington at that time, as he had a great legacy to fulfill. To learn more about George Washington, search online or visit your local library.