98 Ibid., vol. 3, 9-14-1775.
99 Ibid., vol. 31, 3-15-1790. To a Committee of Roman Catholics.
100 Ibid., vol. 4, 1-27-1776.
101 Ibid., vol. 30, 5-26-1789.
102 Ibid., vol. 30, 5-26-1789.
103 Ibid., vol. 30, 10-29-1789.
104 Ibid., vol. 30, 10-9-1789. To the Synod of the Dutch Reformed Church in North America.
105 Ibid., vol. 30, 10-9-1789. To the Synod of the Dutch Reformed Church in North America.
106 Ibid., vol. 35, 9-19-1796.
107 Ibid., Vol 30, 10-23-1789.
108 Ibid., Vol 30, 10-23-1789.
109 Ibid., vol.4, 12-18-1775.
110 Ibid., vol. 27, 8-21-1783. To the Magistrate and Inhabitants of Elizabeth.
111 Ibid., vol. 35, 3-2-1797. To the Rector, Church Wardens, and Vestrymen of the United Episcopal Churches. “Gentlemen: To this public testimony of your approbation of my conduct and affection for my person I am not insensible, and your prayers for my present and future happiness merit my warmest acknowledgments....Believing that that Government alone can be approved by Heaven, which promotes peace and secures protection to its Citizens in every thing that is dear and interesting to them, it has been the great object of my administration to insure those invaluable ends; and when, to a consciousness of the purity of intentions, is added the approbation of my fellow Citizens, I shall experience in my retirement that heartfelt satisfaction which can only be exceeded by the hope of future happiness.” We know that this “hope of future happiness” to which Washington refers is eternal life because the letter that Washington is responding to says, “May you have the additional enjoyment of health; and of whatever else can tend to the happiness of the remainder of your life. And above all, it is our prayer, that you may at last enjoy a better Rest, in which no labor for the happiness of your fellow men will have been in vain.” George Washington Papers at the Library of Congress, 1741-1799: Series 2 Letterbooks Philadelphia United Episcopal Church to George Washington, March 2, 1797 Letterbook 40, Image 290 of 307.
112 Ibid., vol. 28, 10-1-1785.
113 Ibid., vol. 29, 5-5-1787.
114 Ibid., vol. 13, 10-12-1778.
115 Ibid., Vol 33, 5-26-1794.
116 Ibid., vol.4, 3-31-1776.
117 Ibid., vol. 1, 9- 6-1756.
118 Ibid., vol. 5, 7-2-1776.
CHAPTER 32
1 WGW, vol. 35, 6-4-1797.
2 Ibid.
3 Ibid., vol. 30, 7-20-1788. To Jonathan Trumbull. “My dear Trumbull: I have received your favor of the 20th of June and thank you heartily for the confidential information contained in it. The character given of a certain great Personage, who is remarkable for neither forgetting nor forgiving, [Note: King George III.].
4 See the chapters on Washington and Communion.
5 John Corbin, The Unknown Washington of the Republic (New York: Charles Scribner Sons, 1930), p. 43-47.
6 Weems, Life of Washington. p. 187-189.
7 WGW, vol. 8, 6-10-1777. General Orders. “It is with inexpressible regret the Commander in Chief has been driven to the necessity of doing a severe, but necessary act of Justice, as an example of what is to be expected by those daring offenders, who, lost to all sense of duty, and the obligations they owe to their Country, and to mankind, wantonly violate the most sacred engagements, and fly to the assistance of an enemy, they are bound by every tie to oppose. A spirit of desertion is alone the most fatal disease that can attend an army, and the basest principle that can actuate a soldier; Wherever it shews itself, it deserves detestation, and calls for the most exemplary punishment. What confidence can a General have in any Soldier, who he has reason to apprehend may desert in the most interesting moments? What, but the want of every moral and manly sentiment, can induce him to desert the cause, to which he has pledged his faith, even with the solemnity of an oath, and which he is bound to support, by every motive of justice and good will to himself, and his fellow creatures? When such a character appears, it may almost be said in reference to it, that forbearance is folly; and mercy degenerates into cruelty. Notwithstanding this, and tho’ the General is determined to convince every man, that crimes of so atrocious a nature shall not be committed with impunity; yet as He is earnestly desirous to shew that he prefers clemency to severity — pardoning to punishing — He is happy to proclaim, the remission of their offences, to all the other prisoners now under sentence, and a releasement to all those now under confinement for trial — He hopes that they, and all others will have a proper sense of this Act of lenity, and will not be ungrateful or foolish enough to abuse it. They will do well to remember that Justice may speedily overtake them, as it has done the unhappy man, whom they have seen fall a Victim to his own folly and wickedness. Those who are pardoned can expect no favor on a second offence. But, Why will Soldiers force down punishment upon their own heads? Why will they not be satisfied to do their duty, and reap the benefits of it? The General addresses himself to the feelings of every man in the army; exhorting one and all to consult their own honor and wellfare — to refrain from a conduct that can only serve to bring disgrace and destruction upon themselves, and ruin to their country. He intreats them not to sully the Arms of America, by their Infidelity, Cowardice or Baseness, and save him the anguish of giving Guilt the chastisement it demands. They are engaged in the justest cause men can defend; they have every prospect of success, if they do their part. Why will they abandon, or betray so great a trust? Why will they madly turn their backs upon glory, freedom and happiness?”
8 Fields, Worthy Partner, p.189. February 7, 1783. “Yesterday there was an interesting scene at Headquarters. Over fifty soldiers, thinly clad, and with pale but happy faces, whom the General had pardoned in the morning for various crimes, came to express their gratitude for his mercy and kindness to them. They had come in a body. One of them was spokesman for the rest. My heart was touched and my eyes were filled with tears. I gave the speaker some money to divide among them all, and bad them ‘go, and sin no more.’ The poor fellow kissed my hand and said ‘God bless Lady Washington.’ Poor fellows.” Location unknown. From Lossing, Mary and Martha, p220. “Lossing does not give his source, although he states it was written to Mrs. Washington’s sister, Anna Maria Bassett. This is obviously incorrect, since Mrs. Bassett died in 1777. If based on an authentic letter, it has been substantially edited. In the General Orders of February 6, 1783, General Washington granted ‘a full and free pardon to all military prisoners now in confinement.’ Writings 25:102-03.”
9 James Baldwin, An American Book of Golden Deeds, (1907), p. 102-107.
10 E. Gordon Alderfer, The Ephrata Commune: An Early American Counterculture, (University of Pittsburgh Press, 1985), pp. 166-167. Note at end of paragraph — The story of Widman has no known contemporary documentation, but see Sachse, Sectarians, II, 426-432; Zerfass, Souvenir Book, 11, 22-23; and Randolph, German Seventh Day Baptists, 1163-67, who claims he got the story “from the original manuscript,” otherwise unidentified.
11 Douglas Harper, “The Widman Incident: Revolutionary Revisions To An Ephrata Tale,” in Journal of the Lancaster Country Historical Society, vol. 97, Num. 3, 1995, pp. 94, 96.
12 The following discussion of the details of the Widman-Miller-Washington story is the result of a synthesis of the following relevant historical documents:
Joseph Townsend, Some Account of the British Army, Under the Command of General Howe, and of The Battle of Brandywine on the Memorable September 11th, 1777, and the Adventures of that day, which came to the Knowledge and Observation of Joseph Townsend, (Philadelphia: Townsend Ward, 1846).
Charles William Heathcote, Washington in Chester County (Washington Bi-Centennial bulletin, 1732-1932).
A History of Chester Country Pennsylvania, eds. C.W. Heathcote, Lucile Shenk (Harrisburg: National Historical Association, Inc., 1932).
James I. Good, (Reading: Danile Miller, Publisher, 1899) History of the Reformed Church in the United States 1725-1792
Joseph Henry Dubbs, The Reformed Church in Pennsylvania (Lancaster: Pennsylvania-German Society, 1902).
Life and Letters of the Reverend John Philip Boehm: Founder of the Reformed Church in Pennsylvania, 1683-1749, Ed. William J. Hinke, (Philadelphia: Publication and Sunday School Board of the Reformed Church in the United States, 1916).
