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One of the subjects that I have found many don’t find very interesting is History. Throughout my life, when I have talked to people about school subjects we liked or didn’t like growing up, History was the subject that most likely fell into the “subject I didn’t like category”. It didn’t matter if we were talking about grammar school, high school, or college, the answers, for the most part, were the same. I’d bring up the subject of History and get something like this, “Ugh…History… boring!”
I find this answer interesting for a few reasons. As you can already probably tell where this blog is headed. Yes, I am a history buff, this is true. However, I would like to explain why because I think it’s very important. In doing so, I would like to explain something that I don’t think gets analyzed much, if at all when considering history. I will then prove it with a miraculous story you probably don’t know about…until now. Please stay with me.
What I find fascinating is history holds TRUTH and yet we don’t think of history this way. I did a blog a little while back on how Historical Evidence actually carries Scientific Evidence. As I pointed out in that blog, you wouldn’t even know what the Scientific Evidence is unless you used the Historical Evidence, aka data that was collected, to analyze and determine the results that proved it. You wipe out the Historical Evidence of the data and Scientific Evidence simply cannot exist. It is that simple. To make it even more clear, you cannot have Scientific Evidence without history, but you can have history without Scientific Evidence. Think about that for a moment…if the history of your data and results produced no concrete Scientific Evidence, you still have the history of that data and results. But turn that around and it is not possible, nor does it make sense. You can’t say I have Scientific Evidence and yet have no historical evidence that backs it up. Historical Evidence stands on its own, Scientific Evidence cannot. The moral of the story here is quite clear. As we throw away history, along with it goes truth as well. If we continue to think of History as uninteresting, and boring, and therefore consider it unimportant, sadly what might we be saying about the importance of TRUTH right along with it? Without truth, we end up with lies and deception. I don’t think it takes a Rocket Scientist to explain to anyone where a road that is filled with lies and deception will ultimately lead us.
In the United States, sadly there has been an all-out attack on God’s role in our country’s history. It started gradually but has continued down the road of trying to fully eliminate Him today altogether. Many would like to re-write history as if God had nothing to do with the forming of America, but fortunately, this is not the case. Our earlier history books tell a different story. In fact, God is written all over our history books. The story I am about to tell you is a glaring example of what I mean. Although this story is not the only one that references God’s role in our history, it surely is one of the most incredible! So, let’s get started.
What if I told you that George Washington credited the miraculous saving of his life during a war to God? And not only he did, but so did others, including the Indians who tried to kill him. I am going to take you back in time to July 1755. To set the stage, during the French and Indian War, England’s General Braddock invited George Washington to join his staff to march against Fort Duquesne which was possessed by the French. As they were getting close to the Fort, they got ambushed by French and Indians who were hiding in the brush. General Braddock was mortally wounded as were many other officers leaving only Washington as the lone officer left able to distribute orders and get whatever men he could to safety. Many of their men were slaughtered in a gruesome fashion. During the ambush, Washington had two horses shot out from under him and had four bullet holes in his coat, yet he did not take a wound. He credited God for saving his life as there was no other explanation. This fascinating story does not end there. An Indian warrior and an Indian chief on that day attested to the miraculous saving of George Washington that they simply could not explain outside of the Divine. They were expert marksmen, they didn’t miss often, and yet they could not hit him. So much so that they gave up shooting at him.
The story of Washington miraculously surviving this battle and attributing it solely to God’s protection over him is a story I had never heard before. I have taken one too many history classes in my life…through grade school, high school, and college…and yet I had to stumble across this to find it. I somehow got turned on to it by David Barton. He is the founder of Wallbuilders, an organization dedicated to preserving the truth of our American heritage and foundation. I heard him tell this story and I found it unbelievable. I thought there was only one way to find out if this miraculous story on Washington was true. Did this story really sit in our earlier history books as David had claimed? I wasn’t just going to take this man’s word for it. I thought it would be quite easy to test this. I just needed to independently track down a couple of antique history books on my own and see if this story did indeed show up on the antique pages that made up its contents. If this story had any legs of truth to it, enough so that it would dawn the pages of our history books, then surely there was something to this! And sure enough, it did.
I have in my hand two antique history books that I have bought. One is from Anderson’s Historical Series called “New Grammar School United States History” by John J. Anderson, PhD copyrighted in 1887. The one I have in my hand is dated 1889. I also have in my hand a history book called, “Leading Facts of American History” by D.H. Montgomery copyright 1890-1920. Both authors wrote many different history books in addition to these two I am presenting to you. Even though I am physically holding these books in my hand, I decided to look them up online and I found them. You can find these books, and the images of the pages that reference this story, on the Library of Congress’ website. (The Library of Congress provides Congress with objective research to inform the legislative process, administers the national copyright system, and manages the largest collection of books, recordings, photographs, maps, and manuscripts in the world.)
I also dug deeper online as I could not get enough of this story and I found more. On pages 86-87 of the Book, The Writings of George Washington Being His Correspondence, Addresses, Messages, And Other Papers, Official and Private Volume 2 by Jared Sparks (1834), George writes a letter to his mother, Mary Washington, on July 18th, 1755, about the events that took place:
“The General (Braddock) was wounded, of which he died three days after. Sir Peter Halket was killed in the field, where died many other brave officers. I luckily escaped without a wound, though I had four bullets through my coat, and two horses shot under me. Captains Orme and Morris, two of the aids-de-camp, were wounded early in the engagement, which rendered the duty harder upon me, as I was the only person then left to distribute the General’s orders, which I was scarcely able to do, as I was not half recovered from a violent illness, that had confined me to my bed and a wagon for above ten days. I am still in a weak and feeble condition, which induces me to halt here two or three days in the hope of recovering a little strength, to enable me to proceed homewards;”
On page 89 of the same Jared Spark’s book, George writes a letter to his brother, John A. Washington, also on July 18th, 1755, about the battle:
“Dear Brother: As I have heard, since my arrival at this place, a circumstantial account of my death and dying speech, I take this early opportunity of contradicting the first, and of assuring you, that I have not as yet composed the latter. But, by all-powerful dispensations of Providence, I have been protected beyond all human probability or expectation; for I had four bullets through my coat, and two horses shot under me, yet escaped unhurt, although death was levelling my companions on every side of me!”
When it comes to the Indians that attested to this miracle, I found more on that as well. Mason Locke Weems (M.L. Weems), a famous biographer of several historical figures, the most famous being George Washington in 1800, gave his account of this story. On pages 47 and 48 of his book, The Life Of Washington (1860), he states:
A famous Indian warrior, who acted a leading part in that bloody tragedy, was often heard to swear, that “Washington was never born to be killed by a bullet! For” continued he “I had seventeen fair fires at him with my rifle, and after all could not bring him to the ground!” And indeed whoever considers that a good rifle levelled by a proper marksman, hardly ever misses its aim, will readily enough conclude with this unlettered savage, that there was some invisible hand that turned aside the bullets.
In the book, Recollections of Washington, by Parke Curtis (1854) a whole chapter (Chapter XI) was written about the “Indian Prophecy”. An Indian War Chief traveled extensively in 1770 to meet George Washington, fifteen years after Braddock’s defeat. The reason he traveled to meet Washington was because he wanted to see and meet the man he believed had been protected by God all those years earlier. On pages 303 and 304 of this book, the Indian Chief said this:
“I am a chief, and the ruler over many tribes. My influences extends to the waters of the great lakes, and to the far blue mountains. I have travelled a long and weary path, that I might see the young warrior of the great battle. It was on the day, when the white man’s blood, mixed with the streams of our forest, that I first beheld this chief: I called to my young men and said, mark yon tall and daring warrior? He is not of the red-coat tribe- he hath an Indian’s wisdom, and his warriors fight as we do-himself is alone exposed. Quick, let your aim be certain, and he dies. Our rifles were levelled, rifles which, but for him, knew not how to miss- ‘t was all in vain, a power mightier far than we, shielded him from harm. He can not die in battle. I am old, and soon shall be gathered to the great council-fire of my fathers, in the land of shades, but ere I go, there is something, bids me speak, in the voice of prophecy. Listen! The Great Spirit protects that man, and guides his destinies- he will become the chief of nations, and a people yet unborn, will hail him as the founder of a mighty empire!”
When I stop and think about this story about the “Father Of Our Country”, George Washington, I can’t help but ponder why this miracle happened. What would the future have held for our nation had Washington been killed in this ambush, as he should have been by all human logic? This man was so important to the foundation of our country. How might things have been different had he perished on that July day in 1755, twenty-one years before the founding of our Nation? But even more incredible to think about is the reason why he didn’t die. Could it be that God did have a plan for him in setting up the foundation for the greatest country that would ever be born to mankind? One that was founded on godly principles that bore with it the freest land in human history? Again, I don’t think it takes a Rocket Scientist to answer any of those questions with the utmost confidence.
And then come full circle…Why is this story not taught in every U.S. History class in America and one of the greatest stories spotlighted in every U.S. History book used today? And why has our country continued to lose the luxuries of our freedom and the greatness of our exceptionalism we once took so much pride in? I think about our nation’s mindset right after 9/11 compared to where we are now and I am heartbroken. How do we get our unity back? Again, I don’t think it takes a Rocket Scientist to answer any of those questions with the utmost confidence. We are a nation that needs the God who had his hand on us right from the start!
This is a story that time has stolen…and, sadly, TRUTH along with it!
Have Character!
J. Noah Russell
