By Family Research Council
Over the weekend, President Trump celebrated his birthday, which coincided with the 250th birthday of the U.S. Army, with a “Big Beautiful” Military Parade in Washington, D.C. The White House also released another video in their “The Story of America” series to commemorate the anniversary. Produced by Hillsdale College and hosted by Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, they recounted the vote by Congress on June 14, 1775, the appointment of General George Washington as commander in chief, and some of the early battles.
Other than the blessings invoked at the end, God was not a part of this version of our history. Yet a closer look reveals that God was very much a part of the birth of the American army.
Faith Undergirds a Growing Army
In the late spring of 1775, the Massachusetts countryside was alive with a martial spirit. Following British-initiated bloodshed at Lexington and Concord on April 19, the patriot militia harassed the defeated red-coated regulars all the way back to their base in occupied Boston. During their retreat, Dr. Joseph Warren, who had dispatched Paul Revere, William Dawes, and Dr. Samuel Prescott to warn fellow patriot leaders John Hancock and Samuel Adams that the “British are coming,” joined the action at West Cambridge and narrowly escaped death when a British musket ball grazed the side of his head, knocking out a hairpin.[i]
The next day, General Artemas Ward arrived from Shrewsbury and took charge of the Massachusetts militia.[ii] The 47-year-old veteran of the French and Indian War (aka Seven Years War) was described as a “God-fearing man, strongly believing in and living up to the religion he professed,” as well as “somewhat slow in speech and with a biblical turn to his conversation… fully convinced that the Massachusetts Bay Colony was the land most approved by Providence, and that those of Massachusetts were the Chosen People.”[iii] Yet soon General Ward would find himself leading militia companies from other New England colonies, who were streaming into Cambridge, Medford, and Roxbury, encircling occupied Boston.
Among them, Peter Brown wrote his mother back in Rhode Island about God changing his summer plans:
“I had plan’d out to go to Connecticut where I expected to work the Summer; but the Allwise in his providence hath very differently plann’d my summers work, which I hope may turn to his Glory and my good… I was at Westford… call’d about Day-light, or a little after, and rode as post that forenoon, before I could get to Concord, after which I pursu’d with the rest and fought that day, tarried at Cambridge that Night… I did not know what I could do better than to en-list.”[iv]
Again, the air was filled with more than military tension ?” it throbbed with spiritual intensity. Even as troops from Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island gathered in makeshift camps, resolved to fight against British tyranny, many turned to prayer and the Scriptures with the support of their pastors and chaplains who had marched with them.
Amos Farnsworth, a young soldier from Groton, Massachusetts, recorded in his diary the deeply religious rhythm of camp life. On Sunday, April 23, he recorded: “lay Stil in the fore noon in the Afternoon the Regiment to the meeting hous And herd a fine Sermon from Timothy 2[:]3 [?”] thou therefore Endure Hardness as a good Solder of jesus Christ.”[v] On April 25, he wrote: “in the afternoon we went up to the Genarals And Receved ordars and marched to Cambridge Agiin. oh the goodness of God in Preserving my life from Danger.”[vi] On the last day of the month, Sunday April 30, he recorded: “Retired alone in the morning for Secret Prayer. Preaded the Sun half a Nour hie for Prayers And then About Ten oclock went to a Barn And herd the Rev Mr Emerson from the first Book of Samuel 30[:]6 [?”] and Daved was gratly Distressed &c.”[vii] Rev. William Emerson was the bold Concord pastor, who raised the town militia, mustered with them when the alarm rang out on April 19, stood with them in the famed engagement at the Old North Bridge, and then marched with his parishioners to Cambridge.
Corporal Farnsworth continues: “And in the afternoon herd the Re* Mr Goodridge From those words in judges 20 C 22 & 23 Verses more Porticuly the last Claus in the 23 Varse And the Lord Said go Up Against him. An Exelent Sermon he incoridged us to go And fite for our Land And Con try : Saying we Did not do our Duty if we did not Stand up now.”[viii] These were not perfunctory pieties. These prayers and sermons were biblical bricks fortifying these men for battle, and for some, the ultimate sacrifice for liberty.
On May 2, Dr. Warren was elected president of the Massachusetts Provincial Congress, taking over for John Hancock, who would travel to Philadelphia along with Samuel and John Adams and others as delegates to the Second Continental Congress. Like Hancock the year prior, Warren was chosen to deliver the annual Oration commemorating the Boston Massacre to a standing room crowd at the Old South Church back on March 6, dramatically entering through a window, wearing a Roman senatorial toga, reprising his college portrayal of brave Cato, declaring:
“Our streets are again filled with armed men; our harbour is crowded with ships of war; but these cannot intimidate us; our liberty must be preserved; it is far dearer than life, we hold it even dear as our allegiance; we must defend it against the attacks of friends as well as enemies… The man who meanly will submit to wear a shackle, contemns the noblest gift of heaven, and impiously affronts the God that made him free.”
The next day, May 3, Warren requested that his current pastor, the Rev. Dr. Samuel Cooper of Brattle Street Church in Boston, serve as Chaplain to the Provincial Congress.[ix] Dr. Cooper agreed to serve. Cooper and Warren were kindred spirits, with the former having been accused by Loyalist Peter Oliver as a member of the “dissenting Clergy, who took so active part in the Rebellion.” Indeed, Oliver labeled Cooper one of the “Black Regiment,” a nod to his black clerical robes, but no less deadly as a patriot militiaman armed with a musket.[x] Indeed, the ministers were more dangerous by means of their sermons because they were mass recruiters of their congregants, force-multipliers for the sacred cause of liberty.
General Artemas Ward Assumes Command
The Second Continental Congress convened on May 10, 1775, in Philadelphia at the State House, which is now referred to as Independence Hall. On that same day, Colonel Benedict Arnold, sanctioned by the Massachusetts Provincial Congress, joined forces with Colonel Ethan Allen and his “Green Mountain Boys” with the objective of taking the British stronghold of Fort Ticonderoga in New York, confiscating the arsenal and artillery pieces. Allen famously seized the fort “in the name of the great Jehovah and the continental Congress.”[xi]
Under Dr. Warren’s predecessor, the Provincial Congress had set May 11 as a “Day of Humiliation, Fasting and Prayer.” In fact, Warren had written Samuel Adams previously: “I think religion and policy require that a day be set apart for publicly addressing the King of kings.”[xii] On the Fast Day, Corporal Farnsworth records that he heard Rev. Amos Adams of Roxbury, Joseph Warren’s former pastor, preach from Psalm 50:15 ?” “Call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me”[xiii] On May 14, he listened to Rev. Mr. Noble preach from Isaiah 59:1: “Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save.” Farnsworth jotted in his journal, “O the Goodness of God in Promoting me the Liberty of Prayer and to hear Preaching.”[xiv] On May 21, a Sunday, he wrote: “Etended Prayers on the Common in the morning… herd the Revent Docter Langdon from Hebrews 2:10… he incorridge us to Enlist our Selves under the Great Jeneral of our Salvation.” Dr. Samuel Langdon, the president of Harvard College and a former New Hampshire pastor, preached frequently to the troops.[xv]
On May 25, British military Governor Gage welcomed reinforcements to Boston as well as three new generals: William Howe, John Burgoyne, and Henry Clinton. Also on May 25, the Massachusetts Provincial Congress accepted a committee recommendation on providing chaplains for the army:
“Whereas, it is necessary that chaplains should be appointed in the Massachusetts army, under the command of the Hon. Artemas Ward, Esq…. and, whereas, it has been represented to this Congress, that several ministers of the religious assemblies, within this colony, have expressed their willingness to attend the army aforesaid, in the capacity of chaplains, as they may be directed by this Congress; therefore, Resolved, that it be, and it is hereby recommended, to the ministers of the several religious assemblies within this colony, that, with the leave of their several congregations, they attend said army in their several towns, to the number of thirteen at one time, during the time the army shall be encamped…”[xvi]
Thus, the Massachusetts Provincial Congress set an example, along with other colonies, for the Second Continental Congress to do the same on June 29, 1775. Then the Provincial Congress further: “Resolved, unanimously, that the president [Warren] be desired to deliver to Gen. Ward, the commission prepared for him by this Congress, as general and commander in chief of the Massachusetts forces.”[xvii]
As the newly minted commander in chief, General Artemas Ward had his hands full. While the militia forces that bottled up the British in Boston fluctuated between 12-20,000, they were a loose confederation lacking a regimented command structure. Assuming military action would be over quickly, most militia companies came unprepared and ill-equipped for a long campaign. Consequently, they came and went at the whim of their company officers. Though some of the older soldiers had seen action in the French and Indian War, most had never seen combat, having only drilled with their town companies and used their muskets to shoot wild game. In addition to their general lack of battlefield experience, they lacked sufficient quantities of the basic material of war: gunpowder, musket balls, and artillery pieces. Yet they believed that the Lord of Hosts was on their side, and that would make all the difference.
Joining the cautious General Ward in the war council was the aggressive Connecticut General Israel Putnam, another veteran of the French and Indian War. Indeed, he was a member of the famed Roger’s Rangers, a special warfare unit recruited and commanded by Captain Robert Rogers of New Hampshire, which specialized in long-range reconnaissance and covert operations. Roger’s Rangers were the predecessors of today’s Army Rangers. During his eventful service, Putnam had been badly burned while heroically putting out a fire in 1757, captured by Kahnawake Indians in 1758 but escaped their plan to burn him alive by ritual execution through a providential rainstorm, survived shipwreck in Cuba in 1762, as well as enduring other close calls in battle.
When Putnam returned from war to his homestead in 1765, his wife died, the mother of their 10 children, leaving behind a son in infancy. Yet in his grief, he turned to the Lord for comfort and hope, publicly professing faith in Christ and joining the Congregational Church in Brooklyn under the ministry of Rev. Dr. Josiah Whitney.[xviii]
Having come out of retirement and joining the militia companies around Boston, Putnam’s battle-scarred reputation as a fearless wolf hunter and grizzled war fighter was the topic of tall tales. His men apparently lionized him, as an acrostic in the newspapers of the day shows:
“Pure mass of courage, every soldier’s wonder,
Unto the Field he steps, enrobed with martial Thunder,
Tares up the elements, and rends the Earth asunder,
Nature designed him for the Field of Battle,
Unused to Statesmen’s wiles or courtier’s prattle,
Mars-like, his chief Delights, where thundering cannon rattle.”[xix]
In fact, “Old Put” was celebrated throughout Connecticut and other colonies, who described the conflict in biblical terms: “the British were the Philistines and Putnam, the American Samson, a chosen instrument to defeat the foe.”[xx]
Success in the First Naval Engagement of the War
Stuck in the middle between Ward and Putnam who were polar opposites, Dr. Warren once remarked to Putnam, “I admire your spirit, and respect General Ward’s prudence. We shall need them both, and one must temper the other.”[xxi] Nevertheless, Putnam convinced Warren, Ward, and the council to go on the offensive and conduct a covert operation on the night of May 26 to deprive the British of access to the free ranging livestock and fodder on Noddles and Hog Islands. Spearheaded by former-fellow Ranger, Captain John Stark, and his 1st New Hampshire regiment of 300 men along with Massachusetts Colonel John Nixon and his nearly 300, the overnight maneuver was successful in driving the cattle, sheep and horses across patriot lines and setting fire to the haystacks and barns.[xxii]
However, by mid-morning the next day, the British had discovered the patriot mischief, and Vice-Admiral Samuel Graves dispatched the HMS Diana, other gunships, as well as the Royal Marines, who engaged patriot forces. In response to the call for reinforcements, General Ward dispatched General Putnam and 1,000 men from Cambridge, one of whom was Dr. Warren.[xxiii] The combined forces were able to frustrate the British advance as well as destroy the Diana in the first Naval engagement in the War for Independence.
Another member of the operation under Colonel Nixon’s command was none other than Corporal Farnsworth, who records:
“Before we got from Noddels island to hog island we was fird upon by a Privatear Schooner But we Crost the river and about fiften of us Squated Down in a Ditch on the mash and Stood our ground. And thare Came A Company of Regulars on the marsh on the other side of the river And the Schooner: And we had A hot fiar untill the Regulars retreeted. But notwithstanding the Bulets fiue very thitch yet thare was not A Man of us kild Suerly God has A faver towards us : And He can Save in one Place as well as Another… At night Marchd, to Winnisimit ferry whare thare was A Schooner and Sloop Afiring with grate fury on us thare But thanks be unto god that gave vs the Victry [1 Cor. 15:57] at this time for throu his Providence the Schooner that Plad upon us the day before run Aground and we Sot fiar to hur And Consumed hur thare And the Sloop receved much dammage. in this ingngment we had not A man kild : But fore wounded but we hope all will Recover, one of the fore was A tounsing [Townsend] man belonging to our Company the bulet went throu his mouth from one Cheek to the other, thanks be unto God that so little hurt was Done us when the Bauls Sung like Bees Round our heds.”[xxiv]
Again, Farnsworth saw what happened through a providential perspective, giving credit to God. While British forces suffered significant casualties, the Pennsylvania Journal report is filtered through a biblical lens:
“Our killed none! Wounded three! Heaven apparently, and most evidently, fights for us [Deut. 20:4], covers our heads in the day of battle [Ps. 140:7], and shields our people from the assaults of our common enemies [Ps. 3:3]. What thanks can speak our gratitude! These interpositions, and our determined resolutions, may perhaps make our haughty enemies… leave us peaceably to enjoy those rights and liberties which God in our nature has given us, as our inalienable right, and which they are most unjustly endeavoring to wrest from us by violence.”[xxv]
‘I Shall Rely on Providence’: Washington Appointed Commander in Chief
Meanwhile in Philadelphia, President John Hancock presided over Congress and on Wednesday, June 14, they voted to establish a Continental Army:
“Resolved, That six companies of expert rifflemen, be immediately raised in Pensylvania, two in Maryland, and two in Virginia; that each company consist of a captain, three lieutenants, four serjeants, four corporals, a drum-mer or trumpeter, and sixty-eight privates. That each company, as soon as compleated, shall march and join the army near Boston, to be there employed as light infantry, under the command of the chief Officer in that army…
“That the form of the enlistment be in the following words: I ____________have, this day, voluntarily enlisted myself, as a soldier, in the American continental army, for one year, unless sooner discharged: And I do bind myself to conform, in all instances, to such rules and regulations, as are, or shall be, established for the government of the [aforesaid] Army.”[xxvi]
Furthermore, Congress appointed George Washington, Philip Schuyler, Silas Deane, Thomas Cushing, and Joseph Hewes as a committee to bring in a draft of “Rules and regulations for the government of the army.”[xxvii]
On Thursday, June 15, Congress took up the matter of choosing the commander in chief of the newly formed American Continental Army: “Resolved, That a General be appointed to command all the continental forces, raised, or to be raised, for the defence of American liberty… The Congress then proceeded to the choice of a general, by ballot, when George Washington, Esq. was unanimously elected.”[xxviii] On Friday, June 16, President Hancock informed Washington: “that the Congress had by a unanimous vote made choice of him to be general and com[mander] in chief to take the supreme command of the forces raised and to be raised, in defence of American Liberty, and desired his acceptance of it.” Dressed in his uniform, Washington stood and addressed the Congress with an attitude of humility, admitting “with the utmost sincerity, I do not think myself equal to the Command I am honored with.” Yet he pledged: “I will enter upon the momentous duty, and exert every power I possess in their service, and for support of the glorious cause.”[xxix]
Washington then declined the pay offered, only asking to be reimbursed for his expenses. In reflection on this momentous event, he wrote his wife Martha, beginning with words with which every servicemember can sympathize:
“My Dearest, I am now set down to write to you on a subject, which fills me with inexpressible concern, and this concern is greatly aggravated and increased, when I reflect upon the uneasiness I know it will give you. It has been determined in Congress, that the whole army raised for the defence of the American cause shall be put under my care, and that it is necessary for me to proceed immediately to Boston to take upon me the command of it… I assure you, in the most solemn manner that, so far from seeking this appointment, I have used every endeavor in my power to avoid it, not only from my unwillingness to part with you and the family, but from a consciousness of its being a trust too great for my capacity…”[xxx]
Having expressed his reluctance to be away from his wife and family in the service to his country, Washington then zooms out to consider the bigger picture, trusting in the providence of Almighty God:
“But as it has been a kind of destiny, that has thrown me upon this service, I shall hope that my undertaking it is designed to answer some good purpose… I shall rely, therefore, confidently on that Providence, which has heretofore preserved and been bountiful to me, not doubting but that I shall return safe to you…”[xxxi]
Indeed, his confidence in God was not misplaced. After eight years of war that included several close calls, God indeed returned him safely home. Yet first, Washington must undertake the monumental task.
General Washington arrived in Cambridge, Massachusetts on Friday, July 2. Corporal Farnsworth wrote with gratitude to God: “Felt Lively to Day in Sperital things : Blesed he god for such A Ceson.”[xxxii] On Saturday, July 3, Washington proceeded to take command of the army. He was discouraged by what he found, such as the general lack of command structure, lack of discipline, lack of proper barracks and equipment, as well as a lack of camp and personal cleanliness.[xxxiii] There was much work to do in order to forge these loosely confederated militia companies from towns all over New England into a disciplined army.
Yet the one thing that had to encourage Washington was their mutual faith in God, a faith that he not only shared, but also reinforced by his example and through his orders. In fact, on Sunday, July 4, his general orders stated:
“The General most earnestly requires, and expects, a due observance of those articles of war, established for the Government of the army, which forbid profane cursing, swearing and drunkeness; And in like manner requires and expects, of all Officers, and Soldiers, not engaged on actual duty, a punctual attendance on divine Service, to implore the blessings of heaven upon the means used for our safety and defence.”[xxxiv]
Washington continued to foster the deeply religious rhythm already observed by many of his men. Not surprisingly, Corporal Farnsworth journaled about his “attendance on divine Service” that Sunday: “Etended Publect worship And in ye forenoon herd ye Re? Mr Whitcome from Isaiah: furst Chapter: from ye twenty first verse to ye end of ye 24 verse. And in ye afternoon herd ye Rev Mr [David] Avery: from Stockbridge: who Spoke Exelenty from Job 35…”[xxxv]
The point of Washington’s general orders, as well as succeeding ones throughout the war, is that he intended that the Continental Army not simply put their trust in “chariots or horses” alone but place their trust firmly in “the name of the Lord our God” (Ps. 20:7). To prevail in their struggle against the greatest military power in the world, they unashamedly looked to God as their only hope. Now, 250 years later, America would do well to follow in their footsteps of faith.
AUTHOR
Dr. Kenyn Cureton is Vice President for Christian Resources at Family Research Council.
Notes:
[i] Richard Frothingham, Jr., “History of the Siege of Boston, and of the Battles of Lexington, Concord, and Bunker Hill. Also, an Account of the Bunker Hill Monument” 2d ed., (Boston: Little and Brown, 1851), 77.
[ii] Charles Martyn, “The Life of Artemis Ward” (New York: Artemis Ward, 1921), 90.
[iii] Ibid., 91.
[iv] Letter from Peter Brown to Sarah Brown, 25, June 1775 (p 1) as found at https://www.masshist.org/database/viewer.php?item_id=725&img_step=1&mode=dual
[v] Samuel A. Green, “Amos Farnsworth’s Journal, Proceedings of the Massachusetts Historical Society, 1897 – 1899,” Second Series, vol. 12, (Boston: Massachusetts Historical Society, 1897-1899), 78.
[vi] Ibid.
[vii] Ibid, 79.
[viii] Ibid.
[ix] William Lincoln, ed., “The Journals of Each Provincial Congress of Massachusetts in 1774 and 1775, and of the Committee of Safety, with an Appendix, Containing the Proceedings of the County Conventions-Narratives of the Events of the Nineteenth of April, 1775-Papers Relating to Ticonderoga and Crown Point, and other Documents, Illustrative of the Early History of the American Revolution,” (Boston: Dutton and Wentworth, 1838), 184.
[x] Peter Oliver, “The Origin and Progress of the American Rebellion: A Tory View,” edited by John A. Shultz, (Stanford, CA: University Press, 1961), 41-44.
[xi] Ethan Allen, “A Narrative of Col. Ethan Allen’s Captivity, Written by Himself,” 4th ed., (Burlington: Chauncey Goodrich, 1846), 14-15.
[xii] Richard Frothingham, Jr., “Life and Times of Joseph Warren,” (Boston: Little Brown & Co., 1865), 317.
[xiii] Farnsworth, 79.
[xiv] Ibid.
[xv] Ibid., 80.
[xvi] Lincoln, 247.
[xvii] Ibid.
[xviii] Increase N. Tarbox, “Life of Israel Putnam (‘Old Put’): Major-General in the Continental Army” (Boston: Lockwood, Brooks, and Co., 1876), 66.
[xix] Richard Frothingham, Jr., “Battle of Bunker Hill” (Boston: Little, Brown, and Co., 1890), 18.
[xx] William F. Livingston, “Israel Putnam, Pioneer, Ranger, and Major-General, 1718-1790” (New York, G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1905), 204-05.
[xxi] Frothingham, “Warren,” 505.
[xxii] See the detailed account by Robert D. McKay, “The Battle of Chelsea Creek: An account of the second engagement of the American Revolution,” May 27, 1775, (Chelsea, MA: n.p.,1925), 1-35 as drawn upon here: https://www.academia.edu/28170390/Chelsea_Creek_First_Naval_Engagement_of_the_American_Revolution
[xxiii] Frothingham, “Warren,” 497.
[xxiv] Farnsworth, 81.
[xxv] Pennsylvania Journal, June 21, 1775 as found in Frank Moore, ed., “Diary of the American Revolution from Newspapers and Original Documents” (New York: Charles Scribner, 1860), 1:86. Scripture references added.
[xxvi] Worthington C. Ford, et al, eds., “Journals of the Continental Congress, 1774-1789,” 34 vols., (Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1904-37), 2:89-90.
[xxvii] Ibid., 90.
[xxviii] Ibid., 91.
[xxix] Ibid., 92.
[xxx] “From George Washington to Martha Washington, 18 June 1775,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/03-01-02-0003. [Original source: The Papers of George Washington, Revolutionary War Series, vol. 1, 16 June 1775??”?15 September 1775, ed. Philander D. Chase. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1985, pp. 3?”6.]
[xxxi] Ibid.
[xxxii] Farnsworth, 82.
[xxxiii] See the letter from George Washington to Samuel Washington, 20 July 1775 in W. W. Abbot, et al., eds., “The Papers of George Washington,” (Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 1987- ), Revolutionary War Series, 1:135. See also his letter to Lund Washington, 20 August 1775, “Papers of George Washington,” 1:335.
[xxxiv] George Washington, General Orders for July 4, 1775 as found in “George Washington Papers,” Series 3, Varick Transcripts, -1785, Subseries 3G, General Orders, -1783, Letterbook 1: July 3,- Sept. 30, 1776. July 3, 1775, 1775. Manuscript/Mixed Material. https://www.loc.gov/item/mgw3g.001/.
[xxxv] Farnsworth, 82.
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