Not So Fast
Wise words from a subordinate at the Second Battle of Trenton.
That he would “bag the old fox” in the morning was the confident forecast of Cornwallis.
“If Washington is the General I take him to be, his army will not be found there in the morning,”was the cautious rejoinder of Sir William Erskine, Baronet, Colonel and aide-de-camp to the King.
It wasn’t.
Military Thingies | Crusader | 
July 3, 2005 11:33 pm
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Link’s broken.
(Fixed NOW, by George.) Thanks John!
I’m descended from some of those Hessian mercs mentioned in the article. Washington offered them pardon and the chance to stay after the war, and because Hesse Cassel was such a pigsty at the time (due to internecine German squabbling), they stayed. And ironically intermarried with the families of American soldiers. Hah. My family fought on both sides of both the Revolution and the Civil War. Ain’t this country grand?
So there’s a reason for your evenhandedgoodtemperedness ~ genetics!
Personally, I find the Revolutionary War to be the most fascinating. I’ve always been enthralled by the characters and stories associated with it. ‘The Swamp Fox’, ‘Mad Anthony Wayne’, ‘Molly Pitcher’ (another bad ass Jersey girl), ‘Mrs. Moore’, on and on. LOVE it! Right down to eating the namesake burgers at the ‘Anthony Wayne’ in Wayne N.J. as a child and still calling them that to this day. Major Dad will be firing up the coals, schmacking patties into shape, checking for fixin’s and I’ll hear “do you want an Anthony Wayne burger?” Having a New Jersey spouse is corrupting to even the strongest pysche.
We took Patrick Henry literally – If this be treason, make the most of it. Still the land of the free and home of the brave; land of opportunity and liberty; the mightiest agent of change for good in the world (perhaps ever). Overcoming Congress since 1787! Go America!