THE CROSSINGS IN 1776

During the recent long Fourth of July weekend I turned to YouTube to watch snippets of the film musical 1776, one of my favorites since my wife and I first viewed it in Oklahoma City in 1972. Although there are numerous historical inaccuracies and being a musical as such, 1776, I believe, captures the essence of the independence debate in the Continental Congress resulting in our Declaration of Independence. While I realize that our Founders were not perfect, they did set in motion an empire of liberty that is self-correcting in its imperfections. Therefore, I concur with Abraham Lincoln, the heir to the Founders, that the United States is the last best hope of the world with ideally that our government is of the people, by the people, and for the people.

I also turned to YouTube to watch an entire film entitled The Crossing starring Jeff Daniels as George Washington. The movie premiered in 2000 and my wife and I eagerly watched it from our television. The Crossing depicts in a fairly historical way the dilemma General Washington faced as his army was in full retreat before the British forces. The Continental Army found refuge in Pennsylvania on the west bank of the Delaware River but Washington knew that once the river surface totally froze that the British and their Hessian mercenaries would cross over and the American defeat would be inevitable and independence would be lost.           

Washington also knew his army was dwindling due to illness and desertions as well as many enlistments were up in less than two weeks. So he devised one of the greatest tactical maneuvers in all of military history. In rain later turning into a blizzard the first American offensive amphibious operation was executed. On the night of December 25-26, 1776 several thousand soldiers with some horses and artillery were hauled across the Delaware River to the east bank in New Jersey, a watery transfer of up to 300 yards. The army assembled and marched ten miles to Trenton. There they surprised a Hessian regiment and after a brief engagement captured hundreds of the enemy with their weapons and supplies. The Americans retreated back across the river with their prisoners and bounty later recrossing to win yet another battle at Princeton. The army stayed intact and independence survived.

My YouTube viewing revealed two crossings- the Continental Congress declaring independence and the Continental Army securing independence. The lesson for leaders that it is not enough to have purpose in desiring an end result as leaders also need power to achieve the desired result. Leaders need to use both purpose and power in tandem to be successful. We owe a debt of gratitude to the Continental Congress and the Continental Army for our independence. May we celebrate both on each July 4 and the ideals of liberty, freedom, and justice for all. We Americans have come a long way and we have a way to go.