“O LORD, do not rebuke me in your anger or discipline me in your wrath. Be merciful to me, LORD, for I am faint; O LORD, heal me, for my bones are in agony.” Psalm 6:1, 2

When Nathanael Greene became the army’s chief food forager, he did not give up his major general responsibilities. For months he single- handedly carried the twin burden. And this double duty turned Greene blue in July, 1778. The rebuke he received from General Washington for not returning to headquarters after a special assignment likely troubled him more than any criticism he had ever received from his fellow Quakers for embracing a musket.

“Your Excellency has made me very unhappy. I can submit very patiently to deserved censure; but it wounds my feelings exceedingly to meet with a rebuke for doing what I conceived to be a proper part of my duty, and in the order of things,” Greene wrote to Washington of his anguish.

Greene refreshed Washington’s memory. Washington had asked him to survey New York’s Croton River. Because Greene, a Rhode Islander, was a stranger to the region, he believed the task required a thorough examination.

With the skill of a lawyer, the unschooled Greene defended his actions. Washington had rebuked him for not returning to headquarters to report his survey in person. Greene reminded him that he (Greene) had written Washington a report of his findings. He did not return to headquarters because of his quartermaster duties. He had more letters to return and matters to regulate than his clock had minutes. Greene also told Washington it was impossible to serve as quartermaster if he spent too much time at headquarters. Constant attendance there was harmful. He needed time to ask farmers for food by knocking door to door. Headquarters was also a half day’s ride from Greene’s camp.

The intense summer heat made the journey unbearable even to Greene, one of the most robust and athletic officers in the service. “And here I must observe, that neither my constitution nor strength is equal to constant exercise,” he wrote of the burden. Greene also noted he did not foresee Washington’s objection to the way he had handled his assignment.

Why? Greene knew he had served with propriety. He had not wasted hours fishing or stargazing. More than any other watchword, diligence had guided his double duties.

“If I had neglected my duty in pursuit of pleasure, or if I had been wanting in respect to your Excellency, I would have put my hand upon my mouth, and been silent upon the occasion; but, as I am not conscious of being chargeable with either the one or the other, I cannot help thinking I have been treated with a degree of severity that I am in no respect deserving,” pleaded Greene.

Because Nathanael Greene had cast himself into a mold of service and not selfishness, he confidently approached George Washington with a clear conscience. By doing so, he brought his request for justice to Washington.

PRAYER: I ask for your mercy today. May I end today with a clear conscience.

Best selling author and columnist Jane Hampton Cook, http://www.janecook.com/, is known for making history both memorable and relevant to today’s news, political events, and issues of faith. A former webmaster for President George W. Bush (1999-03), Jane is the author of Stories of Faith and Courage from the Revolutionary War, a 365-day devotional chronicling the story of the nation’s founding from the viewpoints of 20 key players.

Publisher: Living Ink Books
ISBN-10: 0-89957-042-9
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©Jane Hampton Cook, used with permission.