by Martin Green

In this Supercentennial Segment, we now leap ahead 155 years from our mention of the kind assistance and invaluable guidance provided by Samoset and Squanto, whom the Pilgrims regarded as “a special instrument sent of God for their good,” to certain events of the Revolution upon whose outcome the future of America now depended.

Some reading this might be familiar with stories which may have, over time, taken on an almost mythical quality regarding George Washington’s apparently indestructible nature. But for those who aren’t, we will look at a few of these instances which, when seen amidst the whole tapestry of divine orchestration in the weaving together of our republic, must certainly be regarded as one of the most spectacular threads.

For example, Washington:

• Survived the deadly ravages of smallpox as a young man.

• Survived being shot with a musket ball at point blank range from a distance of fifteen feet. The projectile completely missed him.

• Survived an encounter with a Native American warrior chief who shot at Washington fifteen times — and missed him every time.

• Survived an ambush in a battle with Indian warriors and French and Canadian militiamen while suffering from a debilitating case of dysentery.

• Survived an encounter with four expertly concealed British sharpshooters. Once aware of the snipers, Washington simply turned his horse around and calmly rode away without ever being fired upon.

• Survived a battle in which, among seventy mounted officers, Washington alone escaped unscathed. Two horses were shot out from under him, and five bullets pierced his clothing, one of which knocked the hat off his head. None of these missiles even so much as grazed his body.

One survivor declared, “I expected every moment to see him fall. Nothing but the superintending care of Providence could have saved him.”

As for his own appraisal of the numerous instances of divine intervention of which he was the grateful recipient, Washington himself reached much the same conclusion: “The miraculous care of Providence,” he later wrote, “protected me beyond all human expectation.”

A venerable Native American sachem recounted an earlier experience in which he and his men attempted to kill Washington, and with uncanny prescience, declared his reverential esteem for the man:

“Quick, let your aim be certain, and he dies. Our rifles were leveled, rifles which, but for him, knew not how to miss — ‘twas all in vain, a power mightier than we shielded him from harm. He can not die in battle….Listen! The Great Spirit protects that man and guides his destinies — he will become the chief of nations, and a people yet unborn, will hail him as the founder of a mighty empire!”

General George Washington and his Continental Army face a myriad of obstacles and dangers during the eight years of the Revolutionary War, any one of which might have spelled their almost certain demise. And yet, remarkable occurrences accompanied the founding of our “mighty empire” in which the heroic patriots achieved victory over their more numerous and experienced foes.

As fascinating as it would be to describe these extraordinary accounts in greater detail, space will not permit us here to narrow down to one singular event that which so dramatically underscores the miraculous heavenly assistance they received in the face of overwhelming odds.

Apparent freak changes in natural phenomena proved several times to protect the American troops in astonishing ways from the militarily superior British forces seeking to destroy them. These were meteorological events so unprecedented that were they not a matter of historical record, we would find it difficult to believe their epic proportions.

In several pivotal battles, precisely placed fog, strategically directed nearly hurricane force winds, driving sleet, a brutal blizzard, Nor’easter, total solar eclipse, blistering heat wave, and horrifyingly destructive thunder and lightning aided the American troops with supernatural support and provided them with concealment and the means of escape from almost certain annihilation by the British in locations such as Valley Forge, Bunker Hill, Dorchester Heights, Brooklyn Heights, Long Island, and the East River.

Years later, Washington said, “In tendering this homage to the Great Author of every public and private good … No people can be bound to acknowledge and adore the Invisible Hand which conducts the affairs of men more than those of the United States. Every step by which they have advanced to that of an independent nation seems to have been distinguished by some token of providential agency.”

In our next Supercentennial Segment, we will explore the most crucial spiritual influence upon the colonies, which provided the impetus and moral courage for the Revolution. We will also learn how nearly intractable differences among the states’ delegates to the Constitutional Convention threatened to tear apart the fledgling nation, and we’ll identify the turning point which transformed the contentious proceedings into consensus and concord.