Woods Workbench

This is a relevant quote attributed to George Washington by D.S. Freeman's biography of him:

"Outwitted and outnumbered, the troops saw no alternative to destruction except immediate retreat.  By early afternoon, most of the Continentals who had escaped the bayonets of the British had reached the Brooklyn defences, where Washington himself shared the work of rallying them.  'Remember what you are contending for,' he cried to some of them but he did not have at hand the leaders the men knew best.  Stirling was missing, Sullivan had faild to fight his way out.  Several promising officers were known to have been killed." (p. 286).

In the Battle of New York (1776), this occurred after the British using the Jamaica Road outflanked the American line over Flatbush and routed it.

This has similarities to defeatism today over Iraq.  Now is the time for a leader to proclaim and explain "Remember what you are contending for!"  The first one to hear such a speech should be the moderate President Bush.

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• #1 Comment from rtaylortitle 
  8/11/06 4:00 PM | Permalink

  Great comments.....I'm afraid something 'major' is going to have to occur stateside to finally wake up this country for the sheeple here wake up and 'remember'.  Thank goodness Gore lost...but I am so disappointed in our President and his feeble 'call to arms'(and I am a Texan as well).  If only we had a Reagan-type in there now with the ability to rouse the populace and the troops like Washington did.