Happy Thanksgiving

George Washington, who had uttered many prayers for divine guidance had much to be thankful for in 1789 when he proclaimed the first Thanksgiving of the new nation:

Whereas it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor, and whereas both Houses of Congress have by their joint Committee requested me "to recommend to the People of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness. Now therefore I do recommend and assign Thursday the 26th day of November next to be devoted by the People of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being, who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be. That we may then all unite in rendering unto him our sincere and humble thanks, for his kind care and protection of the People of this Country previous to their becoming a Nation, for the signal and manifold mercies, and the favorable interpositions of his providence, which we experienced in the course and conclusion of the late war, for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty, which we have since enjoyed, for the peaceable and rational manner, in which we have been enabled to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national One now lately instituted, for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed; and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and in general for all the great and various favors which he hath been pleased to confer upon us. And also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech him to pardon our national and other transgressions, to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually, to render our national government a blessing to all the people, by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed, to protect and guide all Sovereigns and Nations (especially such as have shown kindness unto us) and to bless them with good government, peace, and concord. To promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the encrease of science among them and Us, and generally to grant unto all Mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as he alone knows to be best. Given under my hand at the City of New York the third day of October in the year of our Lord 1789.

Read more at Wikipedia.

A short piece by Jane Runyon at an educational website says this about that terrible winter of 1777-1789 when all appeared lost:

They arrived at Valley Forge on December 19. It had taken them eight days just to march thirteen miles. A snowstorm and icy rain had slowed their progress. They had to build a makeshift bridge to take the troops across the Schuylkill River. There are those who say that you could track the American army by the blood in the snow. The feet of those with no boots were cracked and bleeding. They tied rags around the bloody feet when they could. A day of Thanksgiving was declared by Washington when they were just a day away from Valley Forge. Their Thanksgiving feast consisted of a half cup of rice and a tablespoon of vinegar.

Note: It could be argued that we have little to be thankful for this year. We have a sinister president of the EU, America has in the White House a man with no feelings at all for the traditions of the country he governs, France is on the brink of disaster.

When Washington was faced with similar hoplessness at Valley Forge in 1777-1778, he prayed. There is a controversy as to whether or not he actually prayed, and atheists want to say he did not, secularists want to ban paintings of him praying from our schools, historians enter into long debates on the probability that he did or did not pray. Here is the closest we have to an eye witness testimony - a letter from Rev. Nathaniel Randolph Snowden who quotes Isaac Potts, a Quaker who claims to have seen and heard Washington at prayer:

"I knew personally the celebrated Quaker Potts who saw Gen'l Washington alone in the woods at prayer. I got it from himself, myself. Weems mentioned it in his history of Washington, but I got it from the man myself, as follows:
I was riding with him (Mr. Potts) in Montgomery County, Penn'a near to the Valley Forge, where the army lay during the war of ye Revolution. Mr. Potts was a Senator in our State & a Whig. I told him I was agreeably surprised to find him a friend to his country as the Quakers were mostly Tories. He said, 'It was so and I was a rank Tory once, for I never believed that America c'd proceed against Great Britain whose fleets and armies covered the land and ocean, but something very extraordinary converted me to the Good Faith!'

'What was that,' I inquired? 'Do you see that woods, & that plain. It was about a quarter of a mile off from the place we were riding, as it happened.' 'There,' said he, 'laid the army of Washington. It was a most distressing time of ye war, and all were for giving up the Ship but that great and good man. In that woods pointing to a close in view, I heard a plaintive sound as, of a man at prayer. I tied my horse to a sapling & went quietly into the woods & to my astonishment I saw the great George Washington on his knees alone, with his sword on one side and his cocked hat on the other. He was at Prayer to the God of the Armies, beseeching to interpose with his Divine aid, as it was ye Crisis, & the cause of the country, of humanity & of the world.

'Such a prayer I never heard from the lips of man. I left him alone praying. 'I went home & told my wife. I saw a sight and heard today what I never saw or heard before, and just related to her what I had seen & heard & observed. We never thought a man c'd be a soldier & a Christian, but if there is one in the world, it is Washington. She also was astonished. We thought it was the cause of God, & America could prevail.' He then to me put out his right hand & said 'I turned right about and became a Whig.'"

Below, a sketch of Thanksgiving during the Civil War 1861.


The vintage card at the top is from Collectibles.