TDIH: Nathanael Greene on the Revolution
“We fight get beat rise and fight again. The whole Country is one continued scene of blood and slaughter.”
On this day in 1781, one of George Washington’s officers writes of the American Revolution. “We fight get beat rise and fight again,” Nathanael Greene wrote. “The whole Country is one continued scene of blood and slaughter.”
The letter offers a small glimpse into what the war was like for our ancestors. Greene wrote this letter mere months before the final American victory, but he couldn't then know the end was so near. In that moment, he instead surely felt that the war was endless. Nevertheless, our ancestors picked themselves up, brushed themselves off, and fought on each and every day. They knew it was the only route to freedom.
This is our heritage: Grit. Perseverance. Determination. So much to be proud of!
Dear regular readers: A quote today because I am trying to wrap up a new story for tomorrow. The event has been called “one of the strangest episodes” of World War II. Any guesses as to what it is?
Finally, a logistical note for those who care: Sometimes this quote appears with the phrase “get beaten” instead of “get beat.” I am using the quote as it appears in Greene’s biography.
Greene used the phrase again, a few days later, in separate letters to George Washington and the Marquis de Lafayette. In the letter to Washington he wrote: “We fight get beat and fight again. We have so much to do and so little to do it with, that I am much afraid these States must fall never to rise again . . . .”
Amen, our heritage is perseverance, grit and determination. We have always fought, gotten beat, rose and fought again, as a nation. Americans don't quit. There have been times when discretion or politics disallow a victory, but otherwise, we fight until we win. Nathaniel Greene was just uncertain about the final decision in the Revolutionary War when he wrote to George Washington and others of his fears. Thank you Tara.
Betsy Tara Ross 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸 Gumption!