Eight Years of War
Editor’s Note: In preparation for the 250th Anniversary of the American Revolution, the Four Rivers Chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution (SAR) Member William Sanders is sharing messages of the impact of the war on today’s society.
There is nothing that exhibits the spirit of us as Americans more than the way we respond in times of war. How we answer the call to serve, to sacrifice, to bear the loss of parts of our bodies and even our lives. It has always been that way even before we were a nation.
The Revolutionary War or as the British call it the American War of Independence began on April 19, 1775 and ended September 3, 1783, a little over 8 years. The longest war we have ever been involved in was Afghanistan, 19 years and 10 months, but to fight for 8 years and 4 months on your own soil must have seemed like an eternity.
Nothing summarizes the American Spirit during time of war better than the name of a pop music band from the late 1960's and early 1970's. The band was Blood, Sweat, and Tears (check them out on YouTube). Although they took their name from a Johnny Cash album, Winston Churchill (not to be confused with the cigarette) used similar words in a speech given to the House of Commons on May 13, 1940. In it he said, 'I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears, and sweat.”
Because most of us have British roots, another quote from a Churchill speech says the way Washington and his men must have felt. On June 4, 1940, Churchill delivered a speech that said, 'We shall go on to the end. We shall fight in France, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be. We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender.” The British fought the Germans for 7 years. We fought the British for over 8 years.
If Washington had known Churchill, he might have quoted one of his other speeches, 'Never give in. Never give in. Never, never, never, never in nothing, great or small, large or pettynever give in, except to convictions of honor and good sense. Never yield to force. Never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy.” Although Washington never said anything similar to this, surrender was not an option to him. He never talked of surrender even though there were times things got pretty bad.
The big question you have to ask yourself in all this: Was Divine Providence working behind the scenes protecting and shaping our Nation during these 8 years? I say yes. There is a book from the 1980's that explores this. It is called The Light and the Glory written by Peter Marshall and David Manuel. Numerous events are revealed in the book. Among them, during the French and Indian War, Washington served under British General Edward Braddock. In one major battle, numerous Indians shot at him at point blank range missing him. Bullets killed several of the horses he was riding or passed through his coat, but he was unharmed. There is another account during the Revolution where a mysterious fog hides the Continental Army.
In my ramblings today, I want to talk about one other idea. Seventy-eight years from the end of the American Revolution another major war happened. This war mirrors a lot of what occurred 78 years earlier. Historians would never call the American Revolution a civil war. By definition a civil war has to take place in a country between citizens of that country. Citizens from a country can't move from the country they lived in to another country and then fight citizens from the country they moved from. Or can they? In the American Revolution, you had individuals that had served in the British Army now fighting against the British Army. You had families divided against each other on opposing sides. Most of these folks had come from England not too long ago, and some still had relatives there. In 78 years Freedom turned into a dirty word called Secession. Remember when your mama used to say don't say that – it's a cuss word.
