The final sentence of the United States Declaration of Independence is as follows: And for the support of this declaration, with a firm reliance on the protections of Divine providence we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor.
In 1776 this document represented the greatest long shot in the history of the world.
Not since the Jews exodus from Egypt had a less organized, less trained, and less equipped, group of people taken on such risk.
In 1776, our rulers, the British were the most powerful force in the world. Superior in all aspects of warfare.
I draw your attention to these facts to point out that in the beginning, right after the declaration was presented to the public, General Washington and The Continental Army were largely seen as nothing more than rabble rousers.
Disenchanted miscreants in desperate need of a good thrashing.
And yet, as you well know, they pulled it off.
Divine Providence?
For Example:
At Brooklyn Heights NY the British Army had Washington's army surrounded in a great semi-circle with their backs to the mile wide East River.
The British completely blocked any route on land which left only the wide East River.
Washington set out to evacuate his army by ordering every rowboat, sailboat and seagoing vessel to be collected in the area. At 8:00 pm on the night of August 29, 1776 the evacuation of the troops commenced.
The retreat continued throughout the darkness of the pre-dawn. But as the sun began to rise, many troops were yet to be evacuated. Their death seemed apparent. But again, an astonishing thing occurred.
Major Benjamin Talmage was still on the island and he recorded what happened in his memoirs: "After dawn of the next day approached, those of us who remained in the trenches became very anxious for our own safety and when the dawn appeared there were several regiments here on duty.
At this time, a very dense fog began to rise out of the ground and off the river. It seemed to settle in a peculiar manner over both encampments. I recollect this peculiar Providential occurrence perfectly well. And so very dense was the atmosphere that I could scarcely discern a man six yards distance. We tarried until the sun had risen but the fog remained as dense as ever."
The fog remained until the last boats left Long Island.
Another miraculous event occurring during this retreat was recorded by Washington Irving in his 'Life of Washington'. Near the ferry, where the troops were being evacuated, a family lived who favored the British cause. Upon seeing the army's embarkation, the lady of the house sent a servant to warn the British of what was happening. The servant managed to slip past the American guards but upon reaching the British lines he ran into an outpost of German speaking soldiers (Hessians) and was unable to communicate with them. The servant was put under guard at the outpost as a suspicious person until early in the morning when a British officer examined him.
Pretty incredible, huh?
Now let's juxtapose that to the invasion of Iraq
Superior in every way, the American military wiped the Iraqi Military in no time flat.
The butt whipping was so severe that our Commander in Chief landed on an aircraft carrier under a banner of "Mission Accomplished."
We all know how that turned out.
What happened? Washington lamented his poor predicament but he held true to his integrity and honor and things worked out.
Granted, it took assistance from the French and six more years to get the job done but the little continental army survived and independent from the British we became!
Centuries later......what happened?
Same Nation.
Where was Divine Providence?
ARMOR DOWN UPDATES
This post was guided by the 108th stanza of the Art of Peace, a book written by Morihei Ueshiba
Armor Down is backing Legislation "H.R. 3516" AKA "The Veterans and Armed Forces’ Health Promotion Act of 2013".
This bill will
• Expand the scope of holistic care education and research for signature wounds such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI).
• Establish complementary and alternative medicine pilot programs for mental health and pain management treatment for veterans.
• Create a grant pilot program to upgrade Veteran Service Organization facilities, expanding the reach of wellness services directly into economically strained communities.
Show your support for this legislation by signing this petition.
A new comedy on Fox, called Enlisted is really funny. Check it out.
Folk singer Big Cat Wilson created this song which was inspired by Armor Down.
Mindful Memorial Day is coming in May.
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