Watched the PBS series Liberty again this month. It is so good, one of my better investments. But, it is so weird to listen to people writing or speaking to us from over two centuries ago and they’re complaining about the same damn problems. One scene had material from Cornwallis to his commander in New York. The good general had just spent the better part of six months trying to catch up with Major General Nathaniel Green and his forces. Trouble is Green wouldn’t stay put and he wouldn’t fight unless he had to. Nathaniel Green is probably one of the most creative losing officers we've ever had. Probably couldn't get away with it now. Now that I think about it, that tactic sounds kind of familiar too.
Anyway, Cornwallis’ troops were sick, exhausted, and keeping their quartermaster supplied off the land had exhausted the patience of even the most die-hard loyalists.
After limping back to the Virginia coast with about 500 fewer healthy troops than he started with, Cornwallis basically told his commander, General Clinton, that if he had a plan he would appreciate knowing what it was. And if he didn’t, “what are we doing here?” Sound familiar? At that point I totally lost it and I think mom was looking for the eggs.
4 comments:
War is war. Stupidity is stupidity. Past, present, or future. Lisa :-/
(shaking head and moaning) Ohhhhhhh....--Cin
I can't top either of the other two comments here. I wish our "decider" would decide to resign.
Russ
Wouldn't it be nice if our Decider-In-Chief had more of a grasp of history? There are so many lessons to be learned from the past. Instead, it feels like we are learning it all the hard way for the first time, wasting lots of blood and treasure.
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