- In 1752, the 19-year-old Washington was on an expedition in the wilds of Pennsylvania. His Indian guide took a shot at him that whizzed by his head.
- In 1755, Washington was serving as an aide to British Gen. Braddock and participated in the Battle of the Monongahela. He had two horses shot from under him, four bullet holes in his coat, and his hat shot off. (below on the white horse)
- In 1775, he came up with a risky plan to make an amphibious landing to attack Boston. It almost surely would have been a disaster, but bad weather caused its cancellation.
- In 1776, his army was defeated badly on Long Island. The British did not press the retreating army when it was vulnerable to destruction. That night, Washington was able to escape in boats in a fog.
- In 1776, he made a daring plan to attack the fearsome Hessians in Trenton. If it would have failed, most of his soldiers were planning to go home since their enlistments were up. It totally relied on surprise. The night before the battle, a spy delivered a note warning of the attack to the Hessian commander. He was playing cards and put the note in his pocket, he never read it.
- In 1777, when Washington’s army recrossed the Delaware and camped near Trenton, the British swooped down on his army. Washington was very vulnerable, but Lord Cornwallis decided to not attack until the next day. During the night, Washington snuck away to attack Princeton.
- At Princeton, Washington attacked, but there was a moment when part of his army was pushed back. Washington rode up to rally his men. He was in front of them when the British fired a volley from about 30 yards away. His aides closed their eyes, fearing the worst, but when the smoke cleared, Washington was still there, unscathed.
- In 1777, Washington was out on a personal reconnaissance when he encountered Patrick Ferguson. Ferguson was considered the best shot in the British army. He had invented a very accurate breechloading rifle. He could have easily shot the unknown horseman from that distance. He decided not to.
- In 1778, Washington wanted to attack the British rearguard as it moved to New York City. Gen. Charles Lee was given command of the attack. When his men approached the British, they responded by sending back a large force to reinforce the rearguard. Lee did not push the attack and his men retreated on their own. He did not rally them. When Washington came up and saw the retreat, he exploded at Lee. Washington organized a defense against the approaching army. His men fought well on the defensive and held the battlefield as the British backed off at the end of the day. It was a morale-boosting victory that gave the Continental Army something to build on leading to Yorktown. But if Lee had carried out Washington’s wishes and attacked the rearguard, he would have been marching into a trap and likely would have been badly handled.
https://www.cracked.com/article_20182_5-reasons-george-washington-was-either-lucky-or-wizard.html
https://www.americanheritage.com/miraculous-care-providence#3
0 Comments