“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.

“There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells” Psalm 46:4

[We] entered the town with them pell-mell,” Henry Knox wrote to Lucy, about the army’s headlong rush to take down the Hessians’ pickets, or advanced guards, at Trenton. The surprise attack began about 8:00 a.m. on December 26, 1776. The enterprise was more incredible than anything Knox had ever before seen. After a series of disasters in New York, Knox was hungry to see success. To this man of artillery, this revolutionary battle seemed stripped from the pages of Revelation.

“Here succeeded a scene of war of which I had often conceived, but never saw before. The hurry, fright and confusion of the enemy was [not] unlike that which will be when the last trump shall sound,” Knox described the chaos. The Germans fighting for the British could not have been more surprised at the Continentals’ attack had the heavens cracked and burst forth with the army of God.

“They endeavored to form in the streets,” Knox described of the Hessians’ hasty attempt to form their lines along the town’s cobblestones. He noted the Continentals had placed cannons at the heads of the streets to prevent the Hessians from such boulevard maneuvers.

“These, in the twinkling of an eye cleared the streets,” he wrote of his artillery’s success in stopping the street activity. Although the Hessians tried to take shelter behind houses, the Continentals’ “musketry soon dislodged them,” Knox wrote. He had observed that Trenton was an open town, accessible from all sides.

The Hessians tried to take advantage of the terrain by moving the battle away from the settlement. “Finally they were driven through the town into an open plain beyond. Here they formed [their lines] in an instant,” Knox wrote of their professionalism and ability to quickly get into place. “Measures were taken for putting an entire stop to their retreat by posting troops and cannon in such passes and roads as it was possible for them to get away by. The poor fellows after they were formed on the plain saw themselves completely surrounded, the only resource left was to force their way through numbers unknown to them,” reported Knox.

And as was typical of Knox, he not only counted the Americans’ cannons, but also the enemy’s. His account of the enterprise would not have been complete without his assessment of the Hessians’ artillery power. “The Hessians lost part of their cannon in the town: they did not relish the project of forcing, and were obliged to surrender upon the spot, with all their artillery, six brass pieces, army colors &c.;,” he wrote of the surrender.

The crossing of the Delaware River led to victory in the city. As a result, Henry Knox, a man of faith, would soon see Providence shine on him in a whole new light.

PRAYER God, you are the Great Creator, the One whose rivers lead to your dwelling place in a city on high.

Best selling author and columnist Jane Hampton Cook, 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 (1998-03), Jane is the author of Stories of Faith and Courage from th 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.

“The river gates are thrown open and the palace collapses.” NAHUM 2:6

But as I was certain there was no making a retreat without being discovered and harassed on repassing the river, I determined to push on at all events,” George Washington wrote of his decision to press ahead on the morning of December 26, 1776. The risk of detection was just as great in the sunlight, whether his army re-crossed the Delaware River or attacked Trenton. Following pragmatism and courage, Washington nimbly chose offense.

With his decision made, the commander-in-chief turned his attention to the battle plan. He divided his nearly three thousand men into two divisions. One approached the Hessian position from the north. The other approached from the south. “They marched in two divisions, one led by Washington (with whom were Generals Greene, Stirling, Mercer and Stephen), by a circuitous route to the north of the town, while the other, under Sullivan . . . was to advance by a direct road along the river to the west and south side. Sullivan was to halt at a certain point to allow time for the main division to make the circuit,” described historian William Jackman.

Jackman noted Washington’s division did not arrive in the “immediate neighborhood of Trenton” until eight in the morning, well past daylight. The hailstorm may have slowed their march, but it also had an unexpected benefit. “It [the storm] had also aided to conceal their movements from the enemy,” Jackman wrote.

However, a man by the roadside saw Washington’s division as they arrived. The advance party had no idea if this farmer-type was someone they could trust or if he was a loyalist like many of those who had tried to block their flight from New York through New Jersey the previous month.

“Washington, who had pushed on with the advance, asked of a man who was chopping wood by the roadside the way to the Hessian picket,” Jackman told the story.

“He answered gruffly, ‘I don’t know,’ and went on with his work. ‘You may tell,’ said Captain Forrest of the artillery, ‘for that is General Washington.’ ‘God bless and prosper you,’ exclaimed the man, raising his hands to heaven, ‘the picket is in that house, and the sentry stands near that tree,’ ” Jackman chronicled.

Within minutes, Washington’s advance party overtook the Hessian’s picket-guards.

“Late as it was, the Hessians were completely surprised. According to their custom, they had indulged freely in the festivities of Christmas, and were resting thoughtless of danger, when the drums suddenly beat to arms. All was confusion,” Jackman wrote.

And that is how the Battle of Trenton began. George Washington made his choice, and the river gates to the palace were thrown open.

PRAYER Thank you, God, for showing your hand in the unlikeliest places, from a storm in the sky to a woodsman by the roadside.

Best selling author and columnist Jane Hampton Cook, 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 (1998-03), Jane is the author of Stories of Faith and Courage from th 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.