The Revolution Today: Not Knowing - Jane Hampton Cook

“In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight” Proverbs 3:6

"Not knowing. Not knowing how badly hurt he was, not knowing how he was doing, not knowing what the next step would be,” is how Bonnie Reid described the hardest part of learning her husband’s plane had been shot down in Vietnam in 1972.

“I wasn’t notified when Vic was taken to the MASH unit in Da Nang until Vic called his father who was at Webb Air Force Base in West Texas. His dad called my dad and my dad told me,” Bonnie recalled. She was told Vic had lost his leg. And although the greatest miracle was Vic’s survival, their ability to speak to each other while Vic was in the hospital at Clark Air Force Base in the Philippines was also remarkable.

“Unable to get a call through to him, I called a general at Hickam Air Force Base in Hawaii, who was the father of one of Vic’s classmates. His daughter and I were also good friends. I explained the situation to General McNabb and he sent a priority message to the Clark Air Force Base hospital that Lieutenant Reid was to have an immediate line to call me stateside,” Bonnie said. Vic and Bonnie were then able to talk, which brought her great relief. It turned out Vic had not lost a leg. Instead, shrapnel had severed ligaments in his left foot.

“Fortunately, I never received a phone bill for all of my calls to the Philippines. Unbeknownst to me, someone who worked at the phone company knew my dad and took care of it for me. As you can imagine, the bill would have been huge,” Bonnie said with relief. Vic spent a month in the hospital and then went to Thailand to finish his required days in country.

“Once I was able to talk with him, it was better. I actually had a calm about me. I had total faith that God would not let anything else happen to him. It was clear to me that God had saved Vic for a reason. After all, out of fifteen crewmembers on that plane, only three got out alive. God had to have had a reason He kept Vic alive,” she said.

“Over the years it has been made clear to me that that was correct. Vic has touched so many lives with his testimony. I remember vividly when we were stationed at Castle Air Force Base in Merced, California, and we had one of Vic’s students over for dinner. This young man told us he was an atheist. I asked him why and his reply was simply that he did not believe in a God. I told him about Vic’s experience and explained that there had to be a God and why I believed so. That young man became a Christian.”

Like Col. John Trumbull after the battle of Newport in 1778, Vic and Bonnie Reid turned their worst “not knowing” moment into opportunities to acknowledge God and the miracle he had worked in their lives.

PRAYER: I salute you today, Lord, and acknowledge your presence in my life and the lives of others.

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
$16.99

©Jane Hampton Cook, used with permission.

The Revolution Today: Survival - Jane Hampton Cook

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding” Proverbs 3:5

Col. John Trumbull was amazed that his white “headdress” did not make him more of a target that bullet-ridden day at Newport in 1778. He experienced what many soldiers, mariners, and pilots have encountered ever since: the mystery of survival. Trumbull did not understand how he made it after being so exposed to danger and seeing bullets and cannon blasts blow off men’s arms in his path. Like many before and after him, he turned to God for answers.

Trumbull’s story has been repeated throughout history. And during Vietnam, another young man encountered the same phenomenon of protection. “Vic left for Vietnam on March 22, 1972, for a year tour as a crew member aboard an AC-130 gunship,” his wife Bonnie Reid explained.

Their first child, Sherry, was only six and a half weeks old at the time. Less than three months later, on June 18th, Bonnie and Sherry went over to a friend’s house for dinner. Vic’s college roommate from Texas A&M University and his wife had invited them.

“We had finished dinner and I was sitting on the couch with Sherry when I had a strange feeling sweep over me. I excused myself and went home with Sherry. (It was already Sunday, June 19th in Vietnam),” Bonnie described of the prompting. She didn’t know until later why she had suddenly become so disturbed.

“Unbeknownst to me, Vic had been on a mission and his plane was hit by a surface-to-air Missile, lost a wing, and was blown apart. There were fifteen crew members aboard the plane and only three got out alive—Vic being one of them.” The area, a remote spot at the time, was covered by the North Vietnamese army, who beat the trees to try to scare survivors out of their hiding places. The AC-130 flew its missions at night.

“Vic was not supposed to be on that flight since he had flown the night before. The guy that was supposed to fly took himself off flying status because a Buddhist Monk told him something was going to happen. The person they tried to get to replace him was downtown, so they went and got Vic out of bed to fly,” Bonnie explained. “Vic found a downed tree that had a hollow area beneath it. He crawled under it and covered himself with leaves, etc., to conceal himself. This was after he dug a hole and buried a picture of me and Sherry, and his Aggie ring, so if he was captured they would not find them on him.”

Although one of his two radio transmitters did not work, Vic was able to use the other one to call the aircrews searching for him. He helped them to pinpoint his location, which was unmapped at the time. Eighteen hours after his plane went down, Vic Reid was rescued. And like John Trumbull two centuries earlier, he experienced two miracles beyond his understanding that night: surviving a plane crash and being rescued.

PRAYER: Your ways are mysterious, Lord, and beyond my understanding. I seek to trust you with life’s mysteries.


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
$16.99

©Jane Hampton Cook, used with permission.

Headdress - Jane Hampton Cook

“But not a hair of your head will perish. By standing firm you will gain life.” Luke 21:18, 19

It soon became evident that the attempt was vain, so long as the enemy could receive supplies and reinforcements by water, unmolested,” Col. John Trumbull wrote of the army’s decision to retreat from Newport. The enemy, however, was not going to allow the Americans to leave without a fight.

“Soon after daybreak the next morning [August 29th], the rear-guard, commanded by that excellent officer, Colonel Wigglesworth, was attacked on . . . Windmill Hill; and General Sullivan, wishing to avoid a serious action on that ground, sent me with orders to the commanding officer to withdraw the guard,” Trumbull wrote. Trumbull’s mission proved to be one of the most dangerous moments in his life. The hill he faced was too steep for his horse to trot much less

He was forced to ride at a leisurely pace, increasing his risk of being hit by flying bullets. “Nothing can be more trying to the nerves, than to advance thus deliberately and alone into danger. At first, I saw a round shot or two drop near me and pass bounding on,” he recorded in his memoirs, noting that he also saw a man hit among the hailstorm of musket balls. Trumbull then relayed his conversation with Wigglesworth.

“I know your errand, but don’t speak; we will beat them in a moment,” Wigglesworth said when Trumbull arrived. “Colonel Wigglesworth, do you see those troops crossing obliquely from the west road towards your rear?” Trumbull said. “Yes, they are Americans, coming to our support,” Wigglesworth answered. “No, sir, those are Germans; mark, their dress is blue and yellow, not buff; they are moving to fall into your rear, and intercept your retreat. Retire instantly—don’t lose a moment, or you will be cut off.”

Wigglesworth retreated. But Trumbull’s mission was not over. He continued to deliver messages throughout the day, but with an inconvenience: a mark on his head.

“Soon after this, as I was carrying an important order, the wind, which had risen with the sun, blew off my hat. It was not a time to dismount for a hat. I therefore tied a white handkerchief round my head . . . I formed, the rest of the day, the most conspicuous mark that ever was seen on the field,” Trumbull wrote of the target that made him stand out like a lone cloud in an otherwise clear blue sky.

“For never was [an] aid-du-camp exposed to more danger than I was during that entire day, from daylight to dusk,” he concluded. Col. John Trumbull then praised God for his survival. “With this headdress, duty led me to every point where danger was to be found, and I escaped without the slightest injury. It becomes me to say with the Psalmist, ‘I thank thee, Oh thou Most High, for thou hast covered my head in the day of battle!’” (140:7 KJV).

PRAYER Thank you for caring so much for me that you know the number of hairs on my head at any given moment. I seek to stand firm for you under your head covering of protection.

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
$16.99

©Jane Hampton Cook, used with permission.
with help and hope for the future through God’s message of hope.

Rebuke's Respect - Jane Hampton Cook

“Better is open rebuke than hidden love." Proverbs 27:5

I am glad to hear General Greene is Quartermaster-General; it is very interesting to have there an honest man and a friend of yours,” the Marquis de Lafayette wrote to General Washington. Lafayette had no idea just how anguished Greene was over a rebuke he had recently received from Washington.

Because of the overwhelming demands of being quartermaster, Greene had reported the findings of a land survey in writing, not in person. Washington’s rebuke of Greene’s choice, however, forced Greene to explain his actions. Greene’s response showed his clear conscience while also revealing his respect for his commander- in-chief.

“Your Excellency well knows how I came into this department. It was by your special request, and you must be sensible there is no other man upon earth would have brought me into the business but you,” Greene wrote in his July 21, 1778, letter to Washington.

Greene explained why he accepted the quartermaster job. “The distress the department was in . . . and the difficulty of engaging a person capable of conducting the business, together with the hopes of meeting your approbation, and having your full aid and assistance, reconciled me to the undertaking.” Greene also reminded Washington of the department’s progress. The time to prepare for the summer campaign seemed shorter than a day.

Yet Greene had found enough supplies for the army’s journey from Valley Forge to New York, which resulted in the Battle of Monmouth. “And reflect with what ease and facility you began your march from Valley Forge . . . you will do me the justice to say I have not been negligent or inattentive to my duty,” Greene requested firmly. This quartermaster then reaffirmed his commitments.

“I have, in every respect, since I had my appointment, strove to accommodate the business of the department to the plan of your Excellency’s operations. And I can say, with great truth, that ever since I had the honor to serve under you, I have been more attentive to the public interest, and more engaged in the support of your Excellency’s character, than ever I was to my own ease, interest, or reputation,” he explained confidently.

Greene’s devotion to a job he didn’t want proved his loyalty. He had learned the art and science of management from his father’s Quaker work ethic and his family’s iron foundry. History reflected fondly on quartermaster Greene and this episode. “The system with which Greene performed all his duties was soon apparent; the army was regularly furnished with provisions and ammunition, so that it could be ready to march at a few minutes’ notice,” historian William Jackman wrote.

His response to George Washington’s rebuke for not reporting his river survey in person reinforced his loyalty. Nathanael Greene’s open rebuttal revealed his love for a cause and his respect for his commander.


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
$16.99

©Jane Hampton Cook, used with permission.

A Blue Greene - Jane Hampton Cook

“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
$16.99

©Jane Hampton Cook, used with permission.

The Warning - Jane Hampton Cook

“Like a gold ring in a pig’s snout is a beautiful woman who shows no discretion.” Proverbs 11:22

Sleep completed eluded Lydia Darrah that night. She was completely shocked at the conversation she had overheard among the British officers, who demanded to use her home and ordered her to leave them alone while they met. But Darrah had daringly eavesdropped on their closeddoor meeting. What she learned terrified her. The British planned to march from Philadelphia and attack General Washington’s army at White Marsh. No matter what this Quaker’s religious beliefs about war, her country was in danger.

“Should she awaken her husband and inform him? That would be to place him in special jeopardy . . . No, come what might, she would encounter the risk alone. After a petition for heavenly guidance, her resolution was formed,” the American Quarterly Review wrote.

The next morning Lydia told her husband she needed to obtain flour from a nearby mill. She acquired a pass to cross British lines, dropped her sack at the flour mill, and walked in the snow “with all haste towards the outposts of the American army. Her determination was to apprise Washington of the danger.”

On her way she saw Lieutenant Colonel Craig, an acquaintance. “To him she disclosed the secret, after having obtained from him a solemn promise not to betray her individually, since the British might take vengeance on her and her family,” the article explained.

Lydia retrieved her sack, filled it with flour, and returned home. The next day a knocking on her door drained all color from her face. She mustered her composure and once again welcomed the British officer into her home. ‘‘With a pale cheek, but composed, for she placed her trust in a higher Power, Lydia obeyed the summons . . . ‘Were any of your family up, Lydia, on the night when I received company in this house?’

“‘No,’ was the unhesitating reply. ‘They all retired at eight o’clock.’

“‘It is very strange,’ the officer said, then mused a few minutes. ‘You, I know, Lydia, were asleep; for I knocked at your door three times before you heard me—yet it is certain that we were betrayed. I am altogether at a loss to conceive who could have given the information of our intended attack to General Washington! On arriving near his encampment we found his cannon mounted, his troops under arms, and so prepared at every point to receive us, that we have been compelled to march back without injuring our enemy, like a parcel of fools.’”

The man left and a relieved Lydia closed the door behind him.

“But the pious Quakeress blessed God for her preservation, and rejoiced that it was not necessary for her to utter an untruth in her own defence,” the article concluded. Lydia Darrah’s daring and discretion kept Washington’s army out of the vulture’s beak. Once again God preserved the army. This time it was through a quiet Quaker pacifist.

PRAYER: Thank you for using discretion in a mighty way during the Revolution. Show me when I need to hold my tongue and when I need to speak.

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
$16.99

©Jane Hampton Cook, used with permission.

The Revolution Today: Numbers - Jane Hampton Cook

“Take a census of the whole Israelite community by their clans and families, listing every man by name, one by one” NUMBERS 1:2


Miami, 2007: Coaches score a Super Bowl touchdown in black history,” a headline could have read that year. Not only will Super Bowl XLI be remembered as the day the Colts beat the Bears, but it will also be remembered for its marker along history’s timeline. For the first time, the Super Bowl’s head coaches were African Americans. Appropriately, the game took place during February—Black History Month.

Unlike most of the Super Bowl’s oddball-humored commercials, Coca- Cola heralded this historic milestone with a simple, poignant ad. The commercial featured dates and short sentences in plain letters against a simple background. Next to each statement was the outline of green-glassed Coca-Cola bottles, whose changing shapes and sizes reflected the corresponding year.

“North Pole, 1909: A black man is on top of the world,” the first tribute flashed. The timeline began with a salute to Matthew Alexander Henson, the indispensable assistant to Robert Peary. Together, they reached the frozen wonder.

“Tuskegee, 1941: Pilots prove heroism has no color,” the commercial continued, referring to World War II’s first black fighter pilot unit.

“Brooklyn, 1947: Baseball shows us courage, it’s #42,” the ad flashed, applauding Jackie Robinson’s accomplishment as the first black player of the modern major leagues.

“Montgomery, 1955: Woman remains seated. And stands for justice.” The commercial praised Rosa Parks’s unwillingness to give up her seat on a passenger bus to a white man.

“DC, 1963: A man inspires a nation to dream together.” The ad reminded viewers of Dr. Martin Luther King’s famous speech that defined the American civil rights movement.

The ad then switched to the modern day, exchanging its nostalgic green-glass Coca-Cola bottles for a red one. “Coca-Cola celebrates black history: Especially today,” it concluded, saluting the Super Bowl’s coaches.

Dates are important to history, but the significance of a timeline is not its numbers but the people behind them. If Coca- Cola had existed during the Revolutionary War, its commercial could have started with this line:

“Monmouth, 1778: After freezing at the Forge, seven hundred black Continentals fired their heat in the heat.”

Gen. George Washington approved the request by the leaders of Rhode Island to create an all-black regiment that first fought at Monmouth. This force of freemen and former slaves would become one of the army’s finest. The Bible’s book of Numbers is a Super Bowl of statistics. The word number appears sixty-six times. Dates and numbers are sometimes boring, but they also give us a chance to take stock and count our blessings.


They can leave us with a “census” of our lives, of where we have been and where we need to go.

PRAYER: Father, allow me a moment today to take stock of my life and count the blessings you have given me.

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
$16.99

©Jane Hampton Cook, used with permission.

Monmouth Matters - Jane Hampton Cook

“Behold, I have given him for a witness to the people, a leader and commander to the people” - Isaiah 55:4 KJV

General Lee’s insubordination literally thrust General Washington into the line of fire. At one o’clock in the afternoon on June 28, 1778, with less than half a mile separating the armies, Washington stepped in and personally commanded his troops in the Battle of Monmouth.

“Washington hastily formed the men on a rising ground. The enemy came up in force [within an hour], and other divisions of the Americans also mingled in the conflict,” historian William Jackman described. Washington led with fierce determination. He had worked too hard rebuilding his army at Valley Forge to lose because of Lee’s foolishness.

“He then does something astounding. He rides back and forth in front of his lines to rally the troops, putting himself in the line of the fire, risking his life as he asked his own men to risk theirs,” recounted historian Bruce Chadwick.

As a veteran of the French and Indian War, Washington knew what it was like to have four bullets go through his coat and two horses shot from beneath him. He had faced death before. “People who know Washington in the war think that he has a feeling of invincibility because he puts himself in the line of fire so often,” Chadwick added. “The British open up on him and miraculously miss him.”

For five hours in unbearable heat the Americans successfully repelled assault after assault. Had General Howe been in charge of the British, he no doubt would have been shocked to see these Americans. This was not the frightened fleeing force of 1776 or the half-disciplined army of 1777. This was an army knitted together with skills, strength, and spirit. Nightfall brought a temporary ceasefire. “The Americans slept upon their arms, expecting to renew the contest in the morning. But Clinton skillfully drew off his army during the night, and at daylight was far on his way. Washington did not attempt to pursue, as the weather was intolerably warm, and the march through a sandy region, destitute of water,” chronicled Jackman.

Washington gave his men time to recuperate. Then he marched them across New Jersey to White Plains, New York. There he waited for word of the French fleet’s arrival.

“The Americans lost altogether about two hundred, many of them on account of the extreme heat: the British lost three hundred in the battle, and on the march two thousand Hessians deserted,” Jackman noted. Some historians have concluded that Monmouth was a draw, others have credited the Americans. Regardless, for the first time, the Continentals proved their pluck through battlefield tactics, not surprise attacks or retreats. They held their own.

Monmouth also mattered because it also showed the military mettle of the man of manners. This “forever solidifies Washington’s position as the unquestioned commander-in-chief,” asserted Chadwick.

PRAYER Thank you for the leaders you have placed in my life. Grant them wisdom.

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


©Jane Hampton Cook, used with permission.

Finishing the General - Jane Hampton Cook

“If you take your neighbor’s cloak as a pledge, return it to him by sunset.” Exodus 22:26

I will finish the war here, or it will finish me,” Baron von Steuben wrote. This man of military maneuvers had become one of George Washington’s best generals.

The war would not finish von Steuben, but it would finish one of his most unreliable colleagues. “When it was known that a French fleet was expected on the coast, the British hastened to evacuate Philadelphia and retreat to New York,” historian William Jackman wrote, noting that Congress reoccupied Philadelphia.

Washington now had the opportunity he needed to show off his larger, stronger, and more disciplined army. His thirteen thousand men were emboldened by von Steuben’s tactics. As General Clinton, who had replaced Howe at the king’s request, and his army of ten thousand marched from Pennsylvania through New Jersey to New York, Washington waited for the right moment to strike. The heat was high both in Washington’s heart and in the countryside.

“Washington was soon in pursuit. The weather was excessively warm, and the heavily armed British moved very slowly. The Americans soon came up,” Jackman wrote of the 104-degree heat.

Not only did June 1778 bring the worst heat wave to strike the colonies in decades, but it also fired tension between old rivalries. Gen. Charles Lee had recently returned to the army after a prisoner exchange. Washington held a war council to discuss whether to attack or merely harass Clinton’s troops during their New Jersey march. Generals Greene and Lafayette favored attacking. Lee preferred harassment. With his disagreement well known, the rash Lee quickly gave up his seniority and allowed Washington to choose another general to lead the battle in his place.

“Washington therefore sent Lafayette forward with two thousand men, to take position on the hills, and thus crowd Sir Henry Clinton off into the plain. The next morning Lee had changed his mind and asked to be given a command. Washington sent him forward with two brigades,” recounted Jackman.

Lee approached the British camp at Monmouth Courthouse on the morning of June 28, 1778. Claiming the thick woods obstructed his view, Lee retreated instead of attacking as Washington had ordered. Lee’s men, not knowing what to do or where to go, fled in confusion.

Washington was angry. He confronted Lee and relieved him of his duty. Lee later received a court-martial, which resulted in his dismissal. Thus the war did not finish von Steuben, but it did Lee. Folly and imprudence had led to his complete downfall.

Decades after the war, historians discovered Lee’s letters in Britain’s royal archives. During his captivity, Charles Lee had written plans showing the British how they could overtake the Americans. For whatever reason, the British ignored his plans. Perhaps they couldn’t trust a chameleon.

PRAYER Strengthen me that I may keep my word to those around me. Let discretion, not folly, govern my promises to others.


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


©Jane Hampton Cook, used with permission.

A Story from World War II (about understanding) - Larkin Spivey

"The purposes of a man’s heart are deep waters, but a man of understanding draws them out." Proverbs 20:5

George Graves was a corporal with the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment fighting in the hills of Italy. He wrote a lengthy letter to his father expressing a few rather negative feelings about the Italians’ fear and hatred of the Germans. He saw some civilians spitting on German prisoners and others actually threatening them with bodily harm. Even though he was fighting the same enemy, he did not understand this vindictiveness. In the same letter, however, he empathized with what many of these same civilians had to endure:

“We have air raids here about every night, and I have been in those stuffy air raid shelters with crying women and children kneeling down and praying and wondering how our folks back at home would take this if they had to endure it. I am thankful that so far they haven’t had to.”

If you have ever wondered why Europeans might be so different from Americans, you might consider the fact that generations from practically every country in Europe have spent time in bomb shelters. I don’t know how this experience translates into social and political viewpoints later or even if this part of the past is relevant today. However, it is clearly a historical experience that Americans do not share.

On a personal level, differences in past experience also make it difficult for people to understand each other. Like most married couples, my wife and I have gone through a long process of learning about our respective family histories. We both now have an appreciation of each other’s painful experiences in the past that, at times, still dictate our attitudes and reactions as adults.

This knowledge has enabled us to handle conflict without hurting each other. On any level, the more you understand someone else’s past, the better chance you’ll have of building a meaningful relationship.

Larkin Spivey is a decorated veteran of the Vietnam War, a retired Marine Corps officer, and former military professor at The Citadel. He became a Christian at age 53 and from his conversion came an intense curiosity about God’s providential hand and the power of faith during war. His first books include God in the Trenches and Miracles of the American Revolution. His latest release, Battlefields & Blessings: Stories of Faith and Courage from World War II, is a 365 day devotional combining individual stories, Scripture, and historical overviews of key campaigns of World War II. Visit Larkin at www.larkinspivey.com .

Bombed Out - Larkin Spivey

“The purposes of a man’s heart are deep waters, but a man of understanding draws them out.” - Proverbs 20:5

George Graves was a corporal with the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment fighting in the hills of Italy. He wrote a lengthy letter to his father expressing a few rather negative feelings about the Italians’ fear and hatred of the Germans. He saw some civilians spitting on German prisoners and others actually threatening them with bodily harm. Even though he was fighting the same enemy, he did not understand this vindictiveness. In the same letter, however, he empathized with what many of these same civilians had to endure:

We have air raids here about every night, and I have been in those stuffy air raid shelters with crying women and children kneeling down and praying and wondering how our folks back at home would take this if they had to endure it. I am thankful that so far they haven’t had to.

If you have ever wondered why Europeans might be so different from Americans, you might consider the fact that generations from practically every country in Europe have spent time in bomb shelters. I don’t know how this experience translates into social and political viewpoints later or even if this part of the past is relevant today. However, it is clearly an historical experience that Americans do not share.

On the personal level, differences in past experience also make it difficult for people to understand each other. Like most married couples, my wife and I have gone through a long process of learning about our respective family histories. We both now have an appreciation of each other’s painful experiences in the past that at times still dictate our attitudes and reactions as adults. This knowledge has enabled us to handle conflict without hurting each other. On any level, the more you understand someone else’s past experience, the better chance you’ll have of building a meaningful relationship.


Larkin Spivey is a decorated veteran of the Vietnam War, a retired Marine Corps officer, and former military professor at The Citadel. He became a Christian at age 53 and from his conversion came an intense curiosity about God’s providential hand and the power of faith during war. His first books include God in the Trenches and Miracles of the American Revolution. His latest release, Battlefields & Blessings: Stories of Faith and Courage from World War II, is a 365 day devotional combining individual stories, Scripture, and historical overviews of key campaigns of World War II. Visit Larkin at http://www.larkinspivey.com/.

Larkin is an active member of Trinity Episcopal Church in Myrtle Beach, SC, and is actively involved in the Luis Palau Evangelistic Association. He has appeared on numerous nationwide radio and television programs and speaks frequently to civic, veteran, and church groups. Visit Larkin at http://www.larkinspivey.com/

Comparing Trials - Joceyln Green

“Bear one another’s burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ.”

Galatians 6:2 NASB

A woman in my Bible study was having a hard time dealing with the fact that her family had moved across the country. After years of living in the same small town of Homer, Alaska, this woman missed them terribly and was growing bitter about it.

As I listened to her share with broken voice and many tears, I’m ashamed to admit I had no compassion for her whatsoever. You call that bad? I thought. Try being a military wife! We hardly ever get to live near our extended families. We don’t even live with our own husbands half the time!

I carried my “I have it worse than you” attitude home with me that day. I snuggled up to it to make myself feel more virtuous or worthy somehow. But the tighter I held on to it, the less Christ was able to use me. I used my own trials as something to be proud of. What a ridiculous thing to boast about.

Proverbs 14:10 says, “The heart knows its own bitterness, and a stranger does not share its joy.” When I read that verse, it seems to tell me that each person’s burden causes him/her a pain that should not be diminished just because someone else has it worse. It is worthless to compare trials. A truly humble person will bear one another’s burdens no matter how they “rank” next to their own.

Paul does not say, “Bear one another’s burdens only if you deem them of sufficient magnitude. If it isn’t a big deal to you, go ahead and let your sister in Christ figure it out on her own. She’ll get over it.” We are to “Bear one another’s burdens”—period.

“Do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus.” Now, if anyone had the right to consider other people’s complaints as petty, Jesus did. Jesus knew he would die a horrific death on the cross to pay for the sins of the people who put him there—and yet he comforted and healed thousands of people with lesser trials. May we seek to model Jesus’ humility and compassion in our own lives.


Jocelyn Green is an award-winning freelance writer and author of Faith Deployed: Daily Encouragement for Military Wives (http://www.faithdeployed.com/), from which this devotional was adapted. She and her husband Rob live with their two children in Cedar Falls, Iowa.








Publisher: Moody Publishers
ISBN-10: 0802452507
ISBN-13: 978-0802452504

Marching from the Marsh to the Valley - Jane Hampton Cook

“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven: . . . a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak”

Ecclesiastes 3:1, 7

Dr. Albigence Waldo was a surgeon in George Washington’s army. He was one of the medics who complied with the general’s order to gather the sick, march out of the marsh, and advance into the valley.

“We are order’d to march over the River—It snows—I’m Sick—eat nothing—No Whiskey—No Baggage—Lord Lord—Lord. The Army were ’till Sun Rise crossing the River—some at the Waggon Bridge, & some at the Raft Bridge below. Cold & Uncomfortable,” he wrote in his journal on December 12th.

“Dec. 13th.— The Army march’d three miles from the West side the River and encamp’d near a place call’d the Gulph and not an improper name neither—For this Gulph seems well adapted by its situation to keep us from the pleasure & enjoyments of this World, or being conversant with any body in it,” he recalled of his first impressions.

Valley Forge was a remote place. Waldo thought it was better suited to a retreat for philosophers than a camp for soldiers. He knew Washington had not brought them there to turn them into Epicureans. After a little thinking, Doctor Waldo decided to evaluate the place’s merits.

“No—it is, upon consideration, for many good purposes since we are to Winter here—1st There is plenty of Wood & Water. 2dly There are but few families for the soldiery to Steal from—tho’ far be it from a Soldier to Steal,” he wrote.

Valley Forge’s velvety forests provided forage. The area’s topography was more solid than the marsh, making it a better place to build shelters. “4ly There are warm sides of Hills to erect huts on,” Doctor Waldo wrote.

He also thought the place’s isolation would turn some soldiers into saints. “5ly They will be heavenly Minded like Jonah when in the belly of a great Fish,” he wrote.

But Doctor Waldo also recognized the benefits of the valley’s quietness. Twenty-three miles from Philadelphia, Valley Forge was an ideal place to watch the British movements. Its creeks and rivers provided the army with natural fortifications. He concluded that life in the valley might provide some inspiration.

“6ly They will not become home Sick as is sometimes the Case when Men live in the Open World—since the reflections which must naturally arise from their present habitation, will lead them to the more noble thoughts of employing their leizure hours in filling their knapsacks with such materials as may be necessary on the Journey to another Home,” Albigence Waldo continued.

More importantly Valley Forge’s remoteness might just turn the army into a fighting force. And that was what George Washington had in mind when he selected Valley Forge.

PRAYER God, I take a moment to quietly reflect before you and to count my blessings no matter where my life may be today.


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
©Jane Hampton Cook, used with permission.