There is an old saying that rejects not only the concept of the “randomness” of history but of mankind’s involvement in that history. It identifies situations addressing external forces acting on human beings and in so doing influencing history itself. This maxim states that, “Man proposes but God disposes.” For there is overwhelming evidence of the existence of something other than the activities of men or the workings of random happenstance that validate this belief even by those embracing a purely secular worldview.
Furthermore, throughout history there have been individuals whose lives seem almost immersed in occasions testifying to the intervention of things beyond their – or anyone else’s – control! These people appear directly connected to circumstances providing them with moments of “Divine intervention” or “Providence” far beyond the ordinary. Often they are famous for doing things that few others do and, perhaps as a result, they are gifted with such “providential assistance” for that very reason! One of these unique individuals is the man known to us as “the Father of His Country,” George Washington. Indeed, Washington’s relationship with, to use his own word “Providence,” is so extraordinary and well documented as to be undeniable in its evidence, astounding in its largesse and awe-inspiring in its frequency!
But not all of Washington’s interactions with “Providence” were positive or “beneficial” save that the issue or issues frequently prevented something worse or, in the alternative, did not result in the dire consequences ordinarily suffered by others so afflicted! Indeed, Washington’s health issues early in his life must be seen as more curse than blessing! And yet, conditions that quickly dispatched other people left him alive and, in one important instance, immune to the deadly disease to which he had so “unfortunately” fallen victim. Any study of the man’s life clearly indicates that though such occurrences were plentiful, in the end, Providence either provided some benefit or prevented the matter leading to fatal consequences.
Of course, these situations were not all of a type though they can be placed into certain groups giving further credence to the belief that they were neither haphazard nor purposeless. Some directly affected Washington personally. These were matters of health and human relationships. Some affected matters external to his person, but involving his activities whether personal, political or, especially, military. Others seemed to be totally external and unrelated to the man, but, in the end, proved to have direct consequences to his situation at the time of their occurrence. Among this last group are the countless occasions of unusual weather provided by Providence to Washington at times of his greatest need! Indeed, these situations are so prevalent that this fact alone precludes simply dismissing the matter as random or conjectural.
Let us look at some of these providential “interventions” beginning with the last mentioned group, that is, weather and limiting our observation to the Revolutionary War. The first appreciable weather-related matter occurred during the siege of Boston. Washington sent Colonel Henry Knox to Fort Ticonderoga to retrieve its cannons for the use of the Continental Army – if possible! The journey was not only long, but took place through unbroken wilderness in winter! But though it was winter, the weather was sufficiently moderate that Knox was able to prevail! Surely that testifies to not only the ability of the Colonel and his command, but to the relative clemency of Providence for had the winter been harsh it is probable that Knox would not have been successful!
With the Knox expedition, the return of the cannons could be called a mixed blessing. First, Washington lacked gunpowder and ammunition not only for the guns of Ticonderoga, but for the cannon he already had as well as the pistols, muskets and rifles of his own troops! Cannons without powder exist only as a visual threat and so in order to get any advantage at all, Washington had to find some other way to use them. For this, he decided to place his (apparently) daunting weapons where the British could not only see them, but also believe that they presented a great danger to the troops in Boston as well as the Royal Navy in Boston Harbor! And so, His Excellency determined to place his beautiful – if relatively useless! – new cannons on Dorchester Heights, a position that gave him at least the appearance of ultimate power over the enemy below. Yet, Washington worried that when he moved to place his new artillery, this being seen would provoke a British counterattack to which he would be unable, lacking powder and shot, to successfully respond. If that happened, all would be lost – cannons notwithstanding.
And so, as they began to situate the cannons on the Heights in the darkness, Washington waited anxiously for any British response. Very quickly, he received word that something “strange” was happening! It was reported that a low cloud had formed between the city and the Heights, screening the American efforts from the British while leaving the Heights clear enough to mount the cannons! Such odd local weather conditions often occur in coastal regions, but this one was particularly well placed to suit the purpose of the Continentals! But the weather was not finished with its gifts! When the gun placements were seen the next day, General Howe made immediate plans to send large numbers of troops by boat to attack the Heights before the full weight of the guns could be brought to bear upon the city and the harbor! But, again, most fortunately for Washington, a nor’easter suddenly appeared preventing the British assault by boat, and Howe was forced to evacuate Boston in fear of cannons that, frankly, could not have been utilized! From beginning to end, Washington and his cannons had been directly “blessed” by Providence through the means of weather!
The next direct assistance from that quarter came when the remnants of the Continental Army after suffering a disastrous defeat on Long Island, found themselves trapped on Brooklyn Heights with the British army in their front and the East River at their back. This was, perhaps, the most danger in which Washington’s army – and Washington personally – would find themselves until the Second Battle of Trenton (Assunpink Creek). Again, however, Howe’s reluctance to attack entrenched positions left the remnant of Washington’s army trapped on the Heights to await the final slaughter or surrender that would certainly occur on the following day. To further trap Washington thus making Howe’s victory absolute, the British fleet proposed to sail up the East River placing itself between the Continentals and Manhattan in a perfect blocking maneuver! However, a contrary wind arose that prevented Admiral Howe’s navy from moving up the river, while allowing Washington to secretly extract his 9,000 plus men by boat into Manhattan. Of course, the night was not long enough for the withdrawal to be completed before sunrise and as Washington had sworn to leave on the last boat – he did! – he found himself together with over a thousand men still in Brooklyn as the light returned. All seemed lost until the wind suddenly died and, in the resulting stillness, a great fog arose, smothering everything to the point at which men could not see objects mere feet away! The fog was not native to the place or time of year but remained until the Continentals had completed their strategic withdrawal. Had George Washington ordered the weather he needed to conceal his army’s escape he could not have chosen better than that which Providence provided!
And then there were many other strange weather occurrences such as the snow/rain/sleet storm on Christmas night as Washington’s enfeebled army went south to attack Trenton. While the temperature caused problems with ice in the Delaware, preventing the crossing of the three other commands ordered to trap the Hessians in Trenton, the night was so miserable that the Germans believed that nobody in their right mind would launch an attack! As well, the storm also kept things so dark that though the Continentals arrived well after daybreak, they were still at least partially screened from enemy eyes by the elements! But it was the actions directly after Trenton occasioned by providential weather – along with the excellent generalship of George Washington – that not only won two albeit small battles but, in consequence, the Revolution itself. This matter is covered in depth by author David Price in his book The Road to Assunpink Creek, Liberty’s Desperate Hour and the Ten Crucial Days of the American Revolution. In Appendix A, Price writes:
“Day 9 (of the 10 crucial days) – Thursday, January 2, 1777: Battle of Assunpink Creek (or the Second Battle of Trenton.) Continental Army units led by Colonel Edward Hand, totaling about 1,000 men, fight a delaying action against 8,000 British and Hessian troops under General Charles Cornwallis in Maidenhead and the outskirts of Trenton for several hours. Aided by muddy roads resulting from overnight rain and unusually warm temperatures, the rebel skirmishers slow Cornwallis’ march from Princeton to Trenton long enough to prevent a full scale, coordinated assault in daylight against Washington’s army arrayed behind the Assunpink Creek. The opposing armies at the creek engage in a fierce artillery duel, and the Continental soldiers and militia beat back a series of probing attacks by British and Hessian forces in the area of the stone bridge over the creek as darkness descends on the battlefield. This is the only engagement of the “Ten Crucial Days” in which Washington’s army fights British and Hessian troops in the same action, is outnumbered by the enemy and faces soldiers commanded by a British general. . . .In the course of the extended confrontation, casualties among the crown’s forces outnumber American losses by more than three to one.”
Had it not been for the delaying tactics of Colonel Hand and the thawing of frozen ground occasioned by a change in the weather, it is probable that Cornwallis with his much larger army would have been able to overcome Washington’s smaller force and do what the British had been trying to do since they arrived in New York, that is, destroy the Continental army and capture or kill George Washington. According to all sides who have studied the matter from that day to this, such a result would have ended the Revolution! In other words, the Second Battle of Trenton would have been the end of the American Revolution and the attempt by the American colonists to gain independence from Great Britain.
An equally useful occurrence happened as Washington stood off Cornwallis in the above described battle. As did Howe in Brooklyn, Cornwallis believed that the Americans were trapped against the river and rather than attempt an assault in the growing darkness after he had lost so many in the first assaults, he decided to wait until the next day to, as he put it, “bag the old fox,” but Washington quietly went round the British left flank and moved north to attack their troops at Princeton, a battle that the Americans also won. The Continentals moved on a road unknown to Cornwallis and were able to sneak away as “the old fox” had left men to tend fires and make noises suggesting that they were digging in against the coming British attack! Yet, the day before that very road had been too muddy to support the transportation of essential artillery. But again (!) the weather changed and the temperature fell so that by the time the Americans quietly withdrew, the road was sufficiently frozen to support Knox’s cannon!
On another occasion, there were a number of efforts to kidnap the Commander in Chief, the most propitious of which was launched in the coldest winter extant during the war while Washington’s forces were in Morristown. It was so cold that winter that the waters between Manhattan and Jersey were frozen solid and British cavalry was able to cross without resorting to boats, a definite problem in the movement of horses. At the time, Washington was a considerable distance from his army though he did have his “Life Guards” with him. Still, the entire plan had been worked out by several knowledgeable British officers and willingly put into effect by General Clinton in the hopes of ending the war with Washington’s capture or death.
Owing to ongoing almost continual blizzard conditions, a great deal of snow lay on the ground and as the British moved toward Washington’s headquarters – apparently undetected – an ongoing light snowfall gradually changed to icy rain. Over the hours as the troops moved toward Morristown, this cold rain quickly formed a thick layer of ice on tree branches, bushes, rocks, fences and, especially, the snow covered ground. This created a great problem for the horses as, with their every step, they broke though the icy coating leaving razor sharp edges around each break, that soon began to damage their delicate legs. Quickly, the commanders of the plan realized that they could not continue or they would cripple their mounts and deprived of horses, they themselves would be in danger. As a result, the plot to capture and send George Washington to London in chains to be hanged, drawn and quartered for high treason, failed through no other agent than a slight change in the weather!
The last notable weather intervention in favor of Washington and the Continentals came at Yorktown, the victory that ended the war if not outright, then by virtue of the inability of Britain to sustain the struggle both at home and abroad. General Cornwallis was among – if not the – most aggressive of the British Generals. He had allowed himself to become trapped on a peninsula because he had no fear of any force overcoming the world’s greatest Navy! But in this, he was mistaken and finding himself without the naval support he required, Cornwallis looked for a way to escape. Of course, this could only be done by water and though he did not have his Navy, Cornwallis had sufficient boats to carry his army to (relative) safety as Washington had done in New York! But even as his army began to disembark, a severe storm suddenly blew up that made any passage in small boats across the York River impossible!
Now let us look at the extraordinary providence Washington personally encountered in war starting with the Braddock campaign. In this case, Washington himself spoke of his miraculous survival against incredible odds! He should have died in the battle itself or in his efforts to bring help after riding miles in great physical anguish or during his rescue of the wounded Braddock and the remnants of both the British army and the Virginia militia. Washington’s protection is well validated by the bullet holes in his coat, his hat being shot off, two horses shot from under him and one hostile’s testimony that he took eleven shots at the tall soldier without hitting him despite being what he himself called “a dead shot!” This Chief had ordered his followers to kill Washington but when he had so spectacularly failed, instructed his braves to cease firing at a man whom he believed to be protected by the Great Spirit! This man testified that he met Washington some years later and told him that he could not be killed in battle! But whether this is truth or legend, Washington’s amazing survival under extraordinarily lethal circumstances in the Braddock campaign cannot be doubted!
Another incident occurred during the journey to Trenton. Riding along the icy banks of the Delaware, Washington’s horse began to fall. Had the animal done so, he would have crushed his rider and born him down the steep bank into the river. No one was close enough to prevent or intervene had the accident occurred. This was testified to by a Lieutenant Bostwick as reported in author William S. Kidder’s book, Ten Crucial Days: Washington’s Vision for Victory Unfolds. In Chapter 7, Night March to Trenton, December 26, 1776, Kidder writes:
While Washington was riding along the column, Lieutenant Bostwick saw the back feet of Washington’s horse slip from under him on the road ice and begin to fall. In a colorful demonstration of his superb horsemanship, Washington seized the horse’s mane and pulled his head up while shifting his own position to enable the horse to regain its balance and footing. This was one of the many instances that put Washington’s soldiers in awe of him and Bostwick remembered the scene for the rest of his life.
And, of course, there is the narrative of the charge in which Washington led his army in the battle of Princeton. Coming upon the remnants of General Mercer’s men retreating from what he recognized as a relatively small number of the enemy, Washington rode between the two armies and when within thirty feet of the British lines began to rally his men! George Washington was not an obscure figure on the battlefield! He was always magnificently mounted and resplendently attired and, physically, he was very large! He was also the man whom the British most wanted to remove from the conflict! Indeed, General Hugh Mercer had already been fatally wounded in the belief that he was Washington! At that moment with Washington between the two combatant forces already engaged in battle, so greatly did the Americans fear for his life that one of Washington’s aides put his hat over his face to avoid seeing the horrific spectacle he was sure would immediately be revealed to him! Yet, when the smoke cleared, there was Washington on his big white horse calling for his army to “follow” him in pursuit of a fleeing enemy. The “fox” had once again become the “fox hunter!”
There were many other examples of providential “near misses” during the war, as, for instance, the plot to assassinate Washington involving one of his own “lifeguards,” Thomas Hickey. In this case, everything seemed to be going well with the plot until the man was arrested for counterfeiting and confided the plot to his cellmate! Washington was frequently – and providentially! – well served by the mistakes of his enemies! Then consider the Continental officer who had been told to “stand down” when after dark, he saw the British ship Vulture anchored in the Hudson River behind American lines. That officer chose to disobey and fired on the vessel that immediately “upped anchor” and went off leaving British Major John André behind. This led to André’s capture and the discovery of Benedict Arnold’s treason with his efforts to deliver not just West Point, but Washington himself into the hands of the British!
And these matters continued even after the war! Washington’s use of a pair of spectacles prevented a military coup! The strategy was Washington’s as he acted in the belief (or hope) that the officers in that room had enough affection for him personally, that he would be able to overcome their legitimate rage and stop the destruction of the nation that was in the process of coming into being! But it was Providence that provided that affection permitting Washington’s strategy to work! Then there was the post-war time of trial ranging from Washington being called back from voluntary retirement to lead the Constitutional Convention, his personal efforts to have the States ratify that document and his service as the first “Executive Officer” that allowed the Revolution to produce the nation on whose behalf it had been waged! The Constitution’s creation and installation must be greatly attributed to Washington because he was the only man whom the American people absolutely trusted! And after assuming the presidency, it was Washington who produced the success of that office, though frequently only because Providence stepped in when and where its presence was required.
One such instance involved a severe infection in Washington’s left thigh that almost ended his life in the first year of his presidency! In this incident, few today seem to recognize how very serious the condition was or how close he came to dying in office! He not only suffered from the infection, but at the time ran a high fever indicating a systemic rather than a local condition and this in an era before antibiotics! After the carbuncle (as it has been identified) had been cut from his leg – without anesthetics! – Washington’s suffering was so severe that the road in front of the President’s House was closed to traffic to help him get what little sleep he could during his ordeal.
In the following year, the President contracted influenza that soon turned into pneumonia, a disease from which he had suffered several times in his youth. But Washington recovered despite his age! That alone, especially during a period of recognized medical malfeasance, speaks volumes about the intervention of the Divine! And, again, few consider how “lucky” Washington was to escape the yellow fever epidemic that afflicted Philadelphia in 1793 killing over five thousand people! Yes, the First Family left the then Capitol while the plague raged on but it is indeed revelatory to realize that yellow fever was the only perilous disease to which George Washington was exposed but did not suffer though he was no longer a robust youth in his teens and twenties, a period during which, despite his natural strength, he suffered from tuberculosis, malaria, dysentery, smallpox and, as noted, numerous bouts of pneumonia!
Certainly, the events contained herein testify to the actions of “Providence” in the life of this amazing man. But alas, today’s WOKE generation reject the moral greatness of Washington using as its “reason” that malignant bogyman of the 21st Century, slavery! Many of our nation’s Founders are roundly condemned for having “owned slaves” even though they were born into that world and, of course, Virginia planter George Washington is not immune! Clearly, “Providence” did not withhold its blessings from Washington and at the end of that remarkable life his relationship with the Almighty saw him reject slavery as contrary to both the Will of God and republican principles leading him to free his slaves upon his death while making arrangements for their welfare and protecting them from the dangers of “freedom” when he would no longer be able to do so. Throughout his life, “Divine Providence” honored George Washington with all his human failings and so should we! It is the right thing to do.
Next thing you know, you’ll say he got a pierced ear at 2000fps…on stage in Pennsylvania.
Thanks for the hard work.
“…the Father of His Country,” George Washington.” Yes, he is the father of this country.
“…this amazing man.” Washington was an amazing man.
“Throughout his life, “Divine Providence” honored George Washington…” “Divine Providence.” Here, this interesting article is vague and imprecise. What is Divine Providence? Or who is Divine Providence? From where does Divine Providence emanate?
I assumed Divine Providence indirectly referred to the God of the Bible. The article got a little bit more exact with reference to the “Almighty,” but that wasn’t until the last paragraph. And then there was the “Will of God,” also in the last paragraph. But what is that? The will of God is spelled out in 1 Timothy 2:4.
Before the last paragraph, it wasn’t anything except this thing called Providence. If Providence was an indirect reference to the God of the Bible, there was no chapter and verse to support the assertion that this thing called Providence intervenes.
Did the God of the Bible intervene? Yes. In God’s program with Israel, where there were signs, wonders and miracles. Yet, even in those times when God intervened, things sometimes did just simply happen. It was by “chance” a Levite priest came by the injured man (Luke 10:31).
That program of signs, wonders, and miracles, God’s program with Israel, was put in temporary abeyance after Acts 7. When God raised up Paul, He put in an unprophesied program, “the dispensation of the grace of God.” God’s man for the Christian today, Paul, and in Washington’s day too, told believer’s that they are to “walk by faith and not by sight.”
God intervened in George Washington’s life, and everybody eles’s, at Calvary.
And also, in my opinion, a strong case can be made that the American Revolution was not the “Will of God.” I was persuaded by Gregg L. Frazer’s book, “God against the Revolution. The Loyalist Clergy’s Case Against The American Revolution.”
You must remember that Washington used the language of the 18th Century, the so-called “Enlightenment.” He was a Christian if you read his collective prayers and he understood salvation as we do but he didn’t use today’s “language” and “phraseology.” You must not attribute meaning to what he and his contemporaries said using today’s use of language. That is not only foolish (for you will be wrong, after all!) but uncharitable. Below is one of those prayers that exemplifies the man’s proper understanding of his Christian faith. I cannot imagine any knowledgeable Christian finding fault with it.
“Almighty and eternal Lord God, the great creator of heaven & earth, and the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ; look down from heaven, in pity and compassion upon me thy servant, who humbly prostrate myself before thee, sensible of thy mercy and my own misery; there is an infinite distance between thy glorious majesty and me, thy poor creature, the work of thy hand, between thy infinite power, and my weakness, thy wisdom, and my folly> thy eternal Being, and my mortal frame, but, O Lord, I have set myself at a greater distance from thee by my sin and wickedness, and humbly acknowledge the corruption of my nature and the many rebellions of my life. I have sinned against heaven and before thee, in thought, word & deed; I have contemned thy majesty and holy laws. I have likewise sinned by omitting what I ought to have done, and committing what I ought not. I have rebelled against light, despised thy mercies and judgments, and broken my vows and promises; I have neglected the means of Grace, and opportunities of becoming better; my iniquities are multiplied, and my sins are very great. I confess them, O Lord, with shame and sorrow, detestation and loathing, and desire to be vile in my own eyes, as I have rendered myself vile in thine. I humbly beseech thee to be merciful to me in the free pardon of my sins, for the sake of thy dear Son, my only Saviour, J. C., who came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance; be pleased to renew my nature and write thy laws upon my heart, and help me to live, righteously, soberly and godly in this evil world; make me humble, meek, patient and contented, and work in me the grace of thy holy spirit, prepare me for death and judgment, and let the thoughts thereof awaken me to a greater care and study to approve myself unto thee in well doing, bless our rulers in church & state. Help all in affliction or adversity—give them patience and a sanctified use of their affliction, and in thy good time deliverance from them; forgive my enemies, take me unto thy protection this day, keep me in perfect peace, which I ask in the name & for the sake of Jesus. Amen.”
George Washington, Wednesday Morning Prayer recorded in the Prayer Journal, dated April 21-23, 1752; “George Washington, The Christian,” William J. Johnson, editor (New York: The Abingdon Press, 1919)
It was clear in the reply to the recently written article what was being addressed; the reply was mainly about what the article credits for many of Washington’s successes, not the use of language of that time. The assertion in the article was that it was “Providence” which was responsible for Washington’s successes. That was the issue addressed, particularly. The use of the word “Providence” was addressed, but only so far as anyone using that word today and why.
No matter when in whatever time anyone read’s the use of that word, it needs to be defined and made clear who or what Providence is referring to. Who exactly installed Providence? When? Why? For who and what? The God of the Bible? Some Hindu god? The God of the Bible is never identified as Providence, and the apostle Paul does not teach that there is this thing called Providence which watches, intervenes and acts depending on the circumstances. Interestingly, in Washington’s prayer posted, he does not use the word Providence. But then in the reply to the reply to the article, there’s a polite reprimand about not taking into consideration the language of the time of long ago. What?
And interestingly, again, there were two columns on Townhall this week which used the word “Providence” in the titles and articles. In the column titled “Providence and America” it said “Providence is simply an old-fashioned term referring to the Biblical God’s governance of the world—He provides for us and He answers prayers.” God is not governing this world today. Satan is “the god of this world.” When Christ returns, THEN He will govern this world. The Lord is a Royal exile. God didn’t even govern the world in the Old Testament. When He made Israel in Genesis 12, He let the Gentiles go their own way. God “provides” for the Christian in His word.
The first four sentences in the first paragraph of the reply to the reply to the article was not necessary. It’s already understood here that there ought not be an inserting of today’s opinions, thinking or emotions to yesteryear.
Again, God physically intervened in the Bible, mainly in His program with Israel. That program was interrupted by God in Acts 9 upon the conversion of Saul. Acts is a transitional book, so there were still some miracles and signs after Acts 9. However, those things slowly went away (for a reason) in Paul’s day. Once, Paul had healed and raised one from the dead, but near the end of his life, Paul left a saint sick at Miletum, and he gave Timothy medicinal advice for his stomach problems (2 Tim 4). Astonishingly, even what the angel’s do in this age of grace has changed dramatically from what their role was in God’s program with Israel. Angel’s are watching and learning. Today, no one is “touched by an angel.” When the prophetic program resumes, then the presence of angel’s will be more than felt once again.
This is not a commercial for the Old Scofield Reference Bible, he didn’t get everything right, but the former Confederate soldier nailed it in his comment for Ephesians ch. 3, where he said about Paul: “In his Epistles alone we find the position, walk, and destiny of the Church.”
There is no doubt that some amazing and astonishing things happened in Washington’s battle’s against the British, which helped him and the Patriots win in the end. The work of Knox to get the guns from Ticonderoga was truly stupendous. But they were not the interventions of God. It was not Providence. The only nation God fought for, and will fight for in the future, is Israel.
God made provision for Washington and everybody else at Calvary. That is definitely not to to say that Washington need not have thanked God for the seemingly miraculous victories. God did install a “what,” since the conversion of Saul, and that’s His grace. Paul sought the Lord three times to remove the thorn in his flesh. The Lord’s response was, “My grace is sufficient for thee.” The provisions for the believer are in God’s word, and they’re for the inner man.