As we feast upon our abundant Christmas dinner and snuggle by our warm hearths surrounded by family this Christmas, let us take some time to reflect upon Christmas of 1777.
The setting was Valley Forge where General Washington was encamped with his troops for the winter. There were no Christmas trees, no gifts, no firesides to warm their frozen bodies, and no family to warm their lonely hearts.
"During those months at Valley Forge, hundreds of horses died of starvation...More tragic, about twenty-five hundred troops - a full one-quarter of Washington's army - died of cold, starvation, and disease. Several thousand more deserted, some two thousand of which joined the British in order to secure the basic necessities of food and warm clothing which were virtually nonexistent in the American camp. Yet those who stayed gave new vitality to the American army. They knew they had looked death full in the face without quavering. Those who survived came out of the winter far stronger than they were when they went into it." (The Real George Washington, p. 272)
Let's take some time to reflect upon and thank those soldiers (and their families!) of Christmas 1777 which made it possible for us to have our Christmas dinner, our warm homes, and our warm hearts this Christmas season.
Merry Christmas to all!
