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Washington: The Indispensable Man by James Thomas Flexner

Jan17

The book I read is a condensation and rewrite of Flexner’s four volume biographical study of the life of Washington. As he says in the preface, Flexner at first wanted to write a one volume biography, then felt he could not do justice to the man and his indispensable role in the founding of the country in less than four volumes, and then finally felt pressured to “distill what I had discovered into a single volume” that would “present in essence Washington’s character and career.”

In meeting his stated goal, Flexner was quite successful. In fifty-two chapters Flexner carries our hero, and Washington is indeed a hero in this book although not without flaws, from his youth as an obscure younger son from the backwoods of Virginia through his days as a soldier, a general, a planter, and a statesman, to his death in December of 1799. As for character, the Washington of this biography is a self-controlled man, fond of company and friends, but also temperate, quiet, a peacemaker, nevertheless at infrequent times giving way to an enormous temper.

George Washington, in this biography, truly is the indispensable man. It isn’t too much to say that without him the revolution would not have been successful, and that if it had been successful, the nation formed as a result of that revolution would have soon come apart and resolved itself into thirteen (or more) individual competing countries. Washington first holds the Continental Army together against all odds and at the expense of his own health and financial interests. Then after spending eight happy years in retirement at Mount Vernon, The Indispensable Man is called back into public life and given the responsibility of first moderating the Constitutional Convention, and then of presiding over a new, fledgling nation with deep sectional and philosophical rifts in opinion, culture and practice. If he couldn’t bring Jefferson and Hamilton and their followers together in the end, he at least managed to keep them from tearing the nation apart while they attacked each other and each other’s ideas and policies.

Although the book is certainly not hagiographic, Washington does fare well under scrutiny in this biographical treatment. Others of our founding fathers who figure in the story of Washington’s life do not make such a favorable impression. John Adams is a jealous and bitter wanna-be vice-president who can’t wait to take center stage as soon as Washington declines a third term as president. Jefferson is a trouble maker, untrustworthy, willing to advocate things in public and in the press to advance his own long term goals and policies, words and ideas that he repudiates in private because he knows they are impracticable or impolitic. Hamilton is a better friend to Washington, but still jealous of his own reputation and zealous for more power. Madison and Monroe are portrayed as Jefferson’s sycophants, willing to do almost anything to thwart the Federalist opposition even at the expense of the U.S. national interest.

In the portrayal in this book at least, Washington stands head-and-shoulders above all the other men of his time. Even late in his second term, when the author says several times that Washington is “losing his mental powers” and becoming weak and vacillating, he remains an admirable figure, one who is trying to do his best to serve the nation that has called upon him to give his best years to its service.

From this book I formed a better appreciation for Washington and his labors in the founding of our nation. I also began to suspect the actions and motives of others of our founding fathers. We’ll see how they fare in their own biographies as I read about the other presidents. Next up: John Adams by David McCullough.

Heaven by Randy Alcorn

Jan12

Part 1: A Theology of Heaven

I started reading Randy Alcorn’s book, Heaven, the January selection for my Semicolon Book Club. I hate to admit it: I found the first part a little bit . . . boring. I think I must learn better through story than through exposition. I frequently find myself skimming through books that explicate Scripture, just as I zone out during sermons sometimes whether I intend to do so or not. It seems that I’ve heard most of this first part before, and I’m hoping to get to the “good part” soon, the part that tells me what I can expect heaven to be like.

Each sub-section begins with a question. I’ll give you a list so that you can see what I mean about having heard it before, and then you can know whether you should read the first part or skim it to get to the next part.

1. Are You Looking Forward to Heaven? Yes, I am. I know that lots of people have a misguided and uninformed idea of what heaven will be like. Clouds and harps and lots of singing. I don’t exactly have that problem, but I do have a somewhat “unformed” idea of what heaven will be like. I’m pretty sure it won’t be boring, and it won’t be repetitious, and it won’t be what I expect. But what will it be?

2. Is Heaven Beyond Our Imagination? Alcorn says no. “Everything pleasurable we know about life on Earth we have experienced through our senses. So, when Heaven is portrayed as beyond the reach of our senses, it doesn’t invite us; instead, it alienates and even frightens us. Our misguided attempts to make Heaven ‘sound spiritual’ (i.e., non-physical) merely succeed in making Heaven sound unappealing.”

3. Is Heaven Our Default Destination . . . Or Is Hell? Ouch. Most people think that they and their loved ones are headed for heaven. Unfortunately, the Bible says that ALL of us are headed for hell. Only those who grab onto life through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ are destined for Heaven.

4. Can You Know You’re Going To Heaven? Yes. Romans 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.” What a wonderful, life-giving promise!

5. What is the Nature of the Present Heaven? Alcorn distinguishes between what he calls “the Present Heaven.” the place where those who trust in Christ go as soon as they die, and the Future Heaven/New Earth, the place that God is preparing for all for his saints to live after the return of Christ. Alcorn’s Present Heaven sounds a lot like purgatory to me, but I’m sure he wouldn’t appreciate that identification.

6. Is the Present Heaven a Physical Place? Alcorn says yes. We are physical beings, with physical bodies, made to live in a physical place.

7. What Is Life Like in the Present Heaven? Based on Revelation 6:9-11, Alcorn says that the saints who have died have gone to a place where they remember their lives on earth, where they know what is happening on earth now, where they pray for those of us who are still on earth, and where they learn and have fellowship with God. It’s as if they’re on the outskirts of Heaven, and in C.S. Lewis’s image headed “further up and further in.”

The first two sections of Heaven give much more detailed answers to the above seven questions. The next section is about redemption in a cosmic, eschatological sense. I’ll write some more after I’ve read that part. In the meantime, what does your imagination conjure up when you hear the word “heaven”? What do you know to be true, or think to be true, about heaven?

12 Best Reading Lists of 2008

Jan2

Jared’s Jesus Reading List at The Gospel-Driven Church. No, I haven’t read any of these, but I’d like to try to read at least one of the books on the list this year. Which one does anyone suggest I read first?

Image Journal’s 100 Writers of Faith. I’ve read thirteen of the 100 works listed, or at least attempted thirteen of them. I simply could not get through A Prayer for Owen Meany. I thought the style was annoying and the characters were not enjoyable. Some of the others on the list are favorites of mine, though, including Kristin Lavransdatter and Till We Have Faces and of course, The Lord of the Rings.

Lord Acton’s 100 Best Books, courtesy of Kevin Stilley. This list is good for making one feel uneducated and frivolous in comparison to the well-educated nineteenth century gentleman. Of the 100, I’ve read portions of four: Pascal’s Pensees, St Aungustine’s Letters, Dante’s Divine Comedy, and The Federalist Papers.

Season FIve of LOST premieres Wednesday January 21, 2009. To tide you over until then, ABC and the producers of LOST have a LOST book club with a list of all the books featured, pictured and referenced in the first four seasons. I’m still rather fond of this list at Coyote Mercury, and LOSTpedia also has a list with annotations and program notes. And here’s my LOST books post from last year.

Tullian Tchividjian’s Top 40 Books on Christ and Culture. This list is mostly, maybe all, nonfiction, and I’ve read very few of the books on the list. But I probably should read some of them.

The U.S. Presidents Reading Project has a list of all of the U.S. presidents and suggested reading selections (non-fiction) for each one. The challenge is to read one biography of each one.

Did you know that there’s a new edition of Peter Boxall’s 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die, and Arukiyomi has a new Excel spreadsheet for tracking your progress in reading the new list? My count for the old list from the first edition: 129. My count for the new list: Not sure yet?

The 100 Favorite Mysteries of the 20th Century as selected by the Independent Mystery Booksellers Association’s online members. I just found this list this year, so it’s new to me.

The Headmistress’s Worthwhile Reading Challenge with links to others’ lists of 12 worthwhile books to read in 2009.

The Conservative Exiles’ Reading List by Joseph Duggan in University Bookman. I may need to read some of these just to keep myself sane during an Obama administration.

Librarian Nancy Pearl DIps Below the Reading Radar. Almost all of these suggestions sound fascinating.

My very own Semicolon Book Club list which was compiled and finalized in late December 2008, and is now revealed to the sound of a drum roll:

January: Nonfiction inspirational (For January only there are two selections. Book club participants may choose to read either or both of the books.)
1. Heaven by Randy Alcorn. Tyndale House Publishers (October 1, 2004) $16.49 from Amazon.
2. Heaven: Your Real Home by Joni Eareckson Tada. Zondervan (October 10, 1997) $11.69 at amazon.

February: Christian classic novels
The Love Letters by Madeleine L’Engle. This book may be my favorite of Ms. L’Engle’s novels; it deals with marriage, faith, the meaning of love, and forgiveness, alternating settings between twentieth century Portugal and New York and a 17th century Portuguese convent.

March: Biography/History
John Adams by David McCullough. Simon & Schuster (January 29, 2008) 768 pages.
I plan to read this book and then watch the mini-series based on the book.

April: Poetry Month
All poems are about God, love or depression. Susan Wise Bauer in The Well-Educated Mind.
Paradise Lost by John Milton. “Recommended edition: The Signet Classic paperback, Paradise Lost and Paradise Regained, edited by Christopher Ricks. (New York: Signet Books, 1968, $7.95) This edition has explanatory footnotes at the bottom of each page. These are extremely helpful since Milton uses archaic expressions and hundreds of obscure classical references.” (SWB, The Well-Trained Mind)

May: YA or Children’s award winner
The Underneath by Kathi Appelt is the book I think will win the Newbery Award in 2009.

June: Chunky Classics
David Copperfield by Charles Dickens. 1024 pages.

July: Just for Fun and Adventure
River Rising by Athol Dickson.
River Rising is set in southern Louisiana, near the mouth of the Mississippi River, just before and during the Great Mississippi River Flood of 1927. The characters are residents of Pilotville, LA, a small town surrounded by swampland, and one stranger who comes to town to find out about his parentage. Hale Poser, the stranger, grew up in an orphanage, became a preacher, and now has come to Pilotville in hope of finding out something about his heritage. As soon as Rev. Poser hits town, strange things start happening, odd things like fruit growing where no fruit is expected to be, things that are attributable either to God or to chance or to Hale Poser the Miracle man. I’ve already read this book, but I’m looking forward to discussing it with a group.

August: Shakespeare play
Hamlet. Hamlet is a hero trapped by his own indecision in an insoluble quandary: should he take revenge on his father’s murderer or remain silent, tolerate evil, and live in a world that is “out of joint” —or perhaps commit suicide to escape it all?

September: Prize winning adult novel
Andersonville by MacKinlay Kantor.
Pulitzer prize winning Civil War novel brings to life the inmates and the masters of the notorious Andersonville Confederate prisoner of war camp.

October: Love to Laugh
Scoop by Evelyn Waugh. Scoop is a comedy of England’s newspaper business of the 1930s and the story of William Boot, a innocent hick from the country who writes careful essays about the habits of the badger. Through a series of accidents and mistaken identity, Boot is hired as a war correspondent for a Fleet Street newspaper. The uncomprehending Boot is sent to the fictional African country of Ishmaelia to cover an expected revolution. Although he has no idea what he is doing and he can’t understand the incomprehensible telegrams from his London editors, Boot eventually gets the big story.

November: Love to Think
A Walk with Jane Austen by Lori Smith. “In this engaging, deeply personal and well-researched travelogue, Smith journeys to England to soak in the places of Jane Austen’s life and writings. The book is sure to ride the wave of Austen-philia that has recently swept through Hollywood and a new generation of Americans, but this is an unusual look at Jane Austen. Readers will learn plenty of biographical details-about Austen’s small and intimate circle of family and friends, her candid letters to her sister, her possible loves and losses, her never-married status, her religious feelings, and her untimely death at the age of 41. But it is the author’s passionate connection to Jane-the affinity she feels and her imaginings of Austen’s inner life-that bring Austen to life in ways no conventional biographer could. Smith’s voice swings authentically between the raw, aching vulnerability of a single Christian woman battling a debilitating and mysterious chronic illness and the surges of faith she finds in the grace of a loving God.”
(Publisher’s Weekly review)

You are quite welcome to join in the Semicolon Book Club by leaving a comment or shooting me an email (sherryDOTearlyATgmailDOTcom). Just read along, and we’ll discuss toward the end of the month. The physical meeting time for those who live in the Houston area will be the fourth Saturday of the month at my house.

The Whiskey Rebels by David Liss

Dec29

Financiers and businessmen blackmail the U.S. government into covering their poor business decisions and bad debts as government officials, especially the Secretary of the Treasury, fear the collapse of the entire U.S. economy if banks and financial speculators are allowed to reap the consequences of their bad gambles. The government spends money that it doesn’t have, and taxes the poor who can least afford to pay, for the benefit of greedy rich men who are said to be the only bulwark that is propping up the U.S. economy.

It sounds like the lead into an analysis of the U.S. economy at the end of the year 2008, doesn’t it? And yet it’s a summary of the plot of the novel The Whiskey Rebels by David Liss, published in 2008, but set in the late 1700’s. The Treasury Secretary is not Henry Paulson, but rather Alexander Hamilton, the first to hold that office. The greedy speculators are not Wall Street gamblers and bankers and auto industry tycoons, but rather investors in the new Bank of the United States and land speculators who sell worthless Western lands in exchange for government securities and promissory notes that the fledgling government gave to soldiers of the Continental Army in place of the money that it didn’t have at the end of the Revolutionary War.

Based on true historical events and peopled actual historical characters, Liss’s novel was both an education in the history in the time period and an occasion for me to think about the parallels that exist between that time of economic turmoil and our own financial difficulties today. Just as there is now, there was a contingent who said that the government should let the financial markets do as they would, let the banks and financiers fail or bankrupt themselves, and deal with the consequences afterwards. “Better anarchy than an unjust nation that masquerades as a beacon of righteousness. That would be worse than outright tyranny.” Others said the result would be “the collapse of our economic system.” “Banks will fail, so merchants will fail, and then farms. And then starvation. That is the best we can hope for.”

It’s the same argument we’re having over two hundred years later, and the corrupt forces of financial chicanery have us in their grip just as surely as the wheelers and dealers of the American republic had the nation in a financial panic in 1792. Only the names and some of the details have changed. I’m amazed to think that this book was written before our current financial and political difficulties came to a head, and the parallels to today’s news in the book are unplanned and all the more striking for being so.

As for the novel itself, Mr. Liss is a decent writer, has a good handle on the setting and circumstances of the early years of our American experiment. The book is quite violent, presumably because as the author says, “Conditions on the western frontier were every bit as brutal as I describe, and probably more so.” The main characters in the novel are Ethan Saunders, a drunken and disgraced ex-Continental Army spy, and Joan Maycott, a settler with her husband in the wilds of western Pennsylvania. These two tell the story, each from his or her own point of view, in alternating chapters, and the first intriguing problem that the reader is set is to figure out how their stories are intertwined, if they are. As the two protagonists’ paths do cross in Philadelphia, the next puzzle is to find out which has the upper hand and which will win the battle of wits that becomes a fight for the survival of the newborn United States of America.

Anyone who is interested in the history of the Republic or in financial crises or in the arguments for and against government intervention in the financial world will find this book enlightening and absorbing. If you don’t mind some violence and a little bit of bad language, not too much, and if the subject interests you, take a look. I like my economic and political lessons in a fictional package, so this book was just the ticket, even though I’m still not sure what to think of the government’s robbing the poor to bail out the rich supposedly in order to save both from irreparable financial ruin. It’s a conundrum that I can’t quite resolve.

Twelve Projects for 2009

Dec27

Last year instead of resolutions, I thought in terms of projects, lots of projects that I wanted to complete in 2008. I wouldn’t say I was any more or less successful with my projects than most people are with resolutions, but I like the tradition anyway and plan to to continue it this year. So here are my twelve projects for 2009, with evaluations of how I did on some of the same projects in 2008.

1. BIble Reading Project. Last year’s BIble reading project was a qualified success. I didn’t read every day, and I didn’t study the books and passages I chose as intensely as I wanted, but I did read and study some. This year’s BIble reading plan is the same as last year’s: choose a book or part of a book of the BIble for each month of the year, read it daily, and study it using some good study tools. Take notes in my Bible and maybe this year in a journal, too. The selections for this year:

January: II Samuel 1-8 Last year I read and studied I Samuel, so II Samuel seems to be next.
February: I Thessalonians
March: II Samuel 9-16
April: II Thessalonians
May: II Samuel 17-24
June: I Timothy
July: Joel
August: II TImothy
September: Amos
October: Titus
November: Psalms 1-5
December: Psalms 6-10

2. Pulitzer Project. This one will have to be a repeat from last year since I read only one of the books on my list, The Optimist’s Daughter by Eudora Welty. I didn’t review it because I didn’t really care for it much.

3. My Newbery Project for last year was also something of a bust. I think I got stuck because the winners for 1925 and 1926 were both story collections, and I don’t like story collections. I may skip the storybooks and get back on track this year.

4. My Madeleine L’Engle Project also failed to get off the ground last year. I think I just have so many good books to read, and not enough time. Anyway, this is another one I want to try again this year.

5. Operation Clean House. I figure if I take a room or area of the house and concentrate on that section each month, I might get somewhere with the de-cluttering and cleaning. Maybe.
January: My closet and dressing area.
February: The rest of my bedroom.
March: Front hallway and entryway.
April: Living Room.
May: Kitchen.
June: Laundry room.
July: Half of the gameroom.
August: The other half of the gameroom.
September: Front bathroom.
October: Z-baby’s bedrooom.
November: Karate Kid’s bedroom.
December: Sit back and enjoy my reorganized home?
I might even, if I’m brave enough, post before and after pictures to keep myself motivated.

6. LOST Reading Project. I really want to get back to this project this year.

7. The U.S. Presidents Reading Project has a list of all of the U.S. presidents and suggested reading selections (non-fiction) for each one. The challenge is to read one biography of each one. I would really like to start this project this year.

8. American History Project. In conjunction with the U.S. Presidents Reading Project, I’ll be teaching American history at home and at co-op next school year. So I’m working on planning a high school level literature/history class for co-op and condensing the Sonlight third and fourth grade curriculum suggestions for American history into one year for my little girls.

9. Poetry Project: I would like to get my urchins memorizing and reading poetry. I would like to read and memorize poetry. I would like to have more Poetry Parties.

10. Prayer Project. I need to spend some daily concentrated time in prayer and meditation. My plan is to pray and read my Bible before I get on the computer each day so that I can bathe all these projects and all my children and my husband in prayer.

11. Book Club Project. I’m really, really, truly starting my book club this year. We’re having our first meeting to discuss the books for the year this afternoon. If any of you are interested in participating (virtually), email me at sherryDOTearlyATgmailDOTcom, and I’ll send you the details. I’ll also be posting the book club selections for each month of 2009 here at Semicolon soon.

12. VIdeo Project. Engineer Husband and I are s-l-o-w-l-y watching the series Band of Brothers at night after the urchins are asleep. After we finish those videos, we’re planning to watch the HBO adaptation of David McCullough’s biography of John Adams, recommended here.

Bonus Project: I’ll keep blogging, the Good Lord willing and the creek don’t rise, and I’ll keep you all updated on all my projects for 2009.

Christmas in South Dakota, 1910

Dec17

She unwrapped an unwieldy bundle, covered with newspapers. Out of it fell a giant tumble weed, its spiny leaves dried on its skeleton stalk; its bushy top mounted on a trunk made of a broomstick. “Do you think that would do fer a Christmas tree?” she asked.

Becky looked at the dry bush with softened eyes.

“I thought maybe I could use some plum brush fer a tree, went on the child. “But I just hate the switchey look of’em for Christmas. So when this whopper tumble weed came along last fall it stuck in our chicken wire, and I hung it up in the barn. It dried just that way, and I thought maybe the children would like it fer a tree. The little ones never seen no pictures of one, even, and they wouldn’t know if it wasn’t just like. I got a pail of sand to stick that broomstick down in. I could hang the popcorn and the light strings on the tumble weed, and put the rest around it. Do you think that would work, Miss Linville?”

“I’m sure the children would love it.”

~The Jumping Off Place by Marian Hurd McNeely

Last night and today I have been enjoying this story, first published in 1929 and republished this year by the South Dakota State Historical Press for a new generation of readers. (The cover pictured here is from the older edition since the new paperback cover is not available at Amazon.) Little House on the Prairie fans who have exhausted Ms. WIlder’s canon and all its spin-offs, should try this story of a family of four orphan children who take up a homestead in South Dakota, determined to hold down their claim for fourteen months until they can gain title to the 160 acres of South Dakota farm left to them by their beloved Uncle Jim. Uncle Jim’s death at the beginning of the story gives the children a grief that is slow to heal, but the words and plans that he left them guide them in their new life on the prairie.

The Jumping-Off Place was a Newbery Honor book in 1930. (Laura Ingalls WIlder didn’t win her first of four Newbery Honors until 1938.) It’s a wonderful story of pioneering on the Great Plains in the early part of the twentieth century. Only one caveat: one of the characters does use the phrase “ni— work” to refer to the hard work of making a life on the prairie, a phrase I’m sure was common usage in that time and place, but offensive to modern ears nevertheless.

The book is for a bit more mature readers than those who first come to the Little House books. Ms. McNeely doesn’t sugarcoat the drudgery and suffering that those who settled the Great Plains had to endure. In one scene a baby dies of snakebite in a poverty-stricken dugout home, and fifteen year old Becky, the oldest of the four children, helps to lay out the body of the little girl and prepare it for burial. Some of the settlers are kind and helpful to the children, while others are mean and ornery. I think older children (ages 11-14 or so) who like this sort of tale will read anxiously to see if and how the children hold their claim and become part of the new Dakota society.

Other read-alikes in the pioneering children and young adults genre:

Hattie Big Sky by Kirby Larson. Another Newbery Honor book, reviewed here at Maw Books Blog.

By Crumbs It’s Mine by Patricia Beatty.

My Face to the Wind: The Diary of Sarah Jane Price, A Prairie Teacher. Broken Bow, Nebraska, 1881 by Jim Murphy

West to a Land of Plenty: The Diary of Teresa Angelino Viscardi, New York to Idaho Territory, 1883 by Jim Murphy.

Any other suggestions?

The American Patriot’s Almanac by William Bennett and John Cribb

Dec16

I just got this book in the mail from Thomas Nelson publishers, and I wanted to get a review posted before it’s too late because I think it would make a wonderful Christmas or New Year’s present for anyone interested in American history or any homeschooler or teacher of American history. As soon as the book came, Brown Bear Daughter was browsing through it, reading me excerpts, partly to avoid finishing her math lesson, but also because she was genuinely interested in the short vignettes from U.S. history.

The book consists of a story for each day of the year related to events that occurred on that date. For instance, for today, December 16th, Bennett and Cribb recount the story of the Boston Tea Party which took place on the evening of December 16, 1773. Then, underneath the short four paragraph account, there’s a list of other events that also happened on December 16th.

I have a similar book called On This Day in History, but what I like about this one is its unabashed Americanism and willingness to mention, and even feature, Christians and spiritual heroes as well as secular ones. For example, the entry for October 5th tells about the Great Awakening and about preacher Jonathan Edwards who was born on that date. Another entry features the first American-born Catholic saint, Elizabeth Seton. Also, I think the entries in The American Patriot’s Almanac are more kid-friendly and interestingly written to draw you into the story and inspire further research.

In addition to the page for each day of the year, there are extra features scattered throughout the book: Flags of the Revolutionary War, The History of the Stars and Stripes, Fifty All-American Movies, Flag Etiquette, The Declaration of Independence (text and history), The U.S. Constitution (text and history), The Gettysburg Address, The Emancipation Proclamation, The Pledge of Allegiance, The American’s Creed, songs and poems of American patriotism, and the written words of various prayers for America called Prayers for the American People. You get a lot of information here, a lot of bang for the buck, packed into 515 pages, including an index.

The American Patriot’s Almanac isn’t a chronological look at U.S. history, but I plan to use it daily next year as we study through the history of our country chronologically. These daily nuggets will review or preview what we’re studying and help me to reinforce the meaning of the events that make up our history. I”ll be using it for blogging, too, since I like to feature birthdays of famous people and events in history. Can you tell that I’m really excited about this book?

Thanks to the folks at Thomas Nelson for sending me a copy of this book for review.

Christmas in Arizona, 1902

Dec12

“In 1902 an Act of Congress officially opened for land claims what had previously been the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation. One fellow, upon hearing the news, immediately rushed there to stake his claims on December 25, Christmas Day. He then rapidly rode on horseback to file them the next day at the government office.”

This eager beaver land claim is what gave Christmas, Arizona its name.

~The Naming of America by Allan Wolk

Christmas in New Jersey, 1776

Dec7

“The attack was set for Christmas night, December 25-26, when most of the Hessians would be drunk or exhausted from the day’s celebrations.

About twenty-four hundred Continentals began marching toward the Pennsylvania side of McKonkey’s Ferry several miles upstream from Trenton late on Christmas afternoon. Paths down to the river were covered with snow. In the failing light, Washington saw the snow marked by the bloody footprints of those who went without shoes. None complained; it wouldn’t have done any good.

It hadn’t been a merry Christmas for those gathered on the shore. Miserable and homesick, they stood about in groups, waiting to board the boats. Rain began to fall, then wet snow. The temperature dropped. All they had to cheer them were the words of Tom Paine’s latest pamphlet, printed in Philadelphia three days earlier.

*****

As the shivering troops waited, Washington had the pamphlet read to them. Paine’s words went to their hearts like flaming arrows.

These are the times that try men’s souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country, but he who stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of men and women. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph . . . “

~The War for Independence: The Story of the American Revolution by Albert Marrin.