Worried for our children Loc: Massachusetts

America’s history is filled with heroes and amazing events that led to our nation’s founding and continued successes down through the years.

Sadly, today’s students often don’t hear about America’s greatness and specialness much anymore. With the left in charge of public education today, most of what has made America great is either ignored, changed, or distorted to damage our great history.

Yet, the stories are there for anyone who wants to read about America and its amazing story.

One such story revolves around a Revolutionary War event that happened on St. Valentine’s Day – an event that could have destroyed America before it began.

"On the blustery afternoon of February 14, 1781, General Nathanael Greene’s starving, exhausted, and outnumbered army crossed the Dan River, narrowly escaping destruction by a British Army led by General Charles Cornwallis. Referred to as “The Race to the Dan,” this relatively unknown series of engagements and epic escape had a profound effect on the course of the American Revolution.

Following the disastrous American defeats at Charleston and Camden, S.C., in 1780, the Revolution tilted in favor of the Crown. The British Southern strategy appeared unstoppable, and even America’s French allies considered pulling the plug. To stem the British tide, Washington sent Greene, his most able general, to rehabilitate the army and save the South. Boldly, Greene divided his army. One wing, the Flying Army, commanded by the legendary Daniel Morgan, won a crushing victory at Cowpens, capturing hundreds of British prisoners. Cornwallis was bent on avenging his losses and, if possible, liberating his imprisoned men. One British officer summed up Cornwallis’s quest to annihilate his foe: “With zeal and with bayonets only it was resolved to follow Greene’s Army to the end of the world.”

After the American victory at Cowpens, they were at even greater danger from the British, now hell-bent on destroying the American Army.

But, Washington had a secret weapon embedded within the American Army.

"A core group of seasoned Continental soldiers, “Washington’s Immortals,” held Greene’s army together. These were the Delaware and Maryland Regiments, which formed one of the first elite units in the American army, shock troops that would often turn the tide of battle.

In the weeks leading up to Valentine’s Day 235 years ago, Washington’s Immortals would once again play a pivotal role in enabling the young American army to evade its veteran enemy and live to fight another day.

The events leading up to the St. Valentine’s Day miracle were pretty amazing as well.

"Cornwallis gave chase, even abandoning his slow supply wagons along the way.

General Daniel Morgan hastily retreated north, meeting up with American General Nathaniel Greene, and they raced to get out of South Carolina, across North Carolina and into Virginia.

Cornwallis regrouped and chased the Americans as fast as he could, discarding slow supply wagons and heavy equipment along the way.

Cornwallis arrived at the Catawba River just two hours after the Americans had crossed, but a sudden storm made the river impassable, delaying the British pursuit.

The British nearly overtook the Americans at the Yadkin River, but again rains flooded the river slowing the British.

Now it was a frantic race to the Dan River.

Would the Americans receive a 3rd miracle at the Dan, or would Cornwallis finally catch up to and annihilate the Colonial Army?

"The Immortals endured unimaginable hardships during the Race to the Dan. They faced one of the most formidable and adaptable armies in the world, which was determined to exterminate them. The Immortals also weathered incessant frigid rain and snow that t***sformed roads into a quagmire of muck and filth; as one soldier described it, “Every step being up to our Knees in Mud . . . raining on us all the way.” The barefoot men were soaked to the bone, and some left a trail of bloody footprints. Greene himself noted, “One half of our number are naked.”

Despite the extreme deprivation, the Americans, often starving, marched up to 18 hours a day, skirmishing at places like Cowan’s Ford, N.C. Ultimately, many of these men traversed and battled a mind-boggling 4,000 miles over a two-year period, according to the meticulous daily journal kept by Captain Robert Kirkwood of Delaware.

Greene and the Immortals were always just a whisker ahead of Cornwallis, who was doggedly pursuing the American army. Their flight was part of Greene’s larger strategy of wearing down his opponent through all the marching and skirmishing as they pushed north toward Virginia. Greene did not have enough men for a stand-up fight, but was hoping to receive additional reinforcements after crossing the Dan River. He dispatched his quartermaster general, Lieutenant Colonel Edward Carrington, to collect all available boats on the Dan. The small craft would ferry the Americans across, and without any additional boats at their disposal, the British would be stranded in North Carolina, on the far side of the river.

To distract Cornwallis, Greene divided his army, and a screening force under the command of Marylander Otho Holland Williams, combined with Light Horse Harry Lee’s cavalry, lured Cornwallis away from the point where the rest of the American army planned to cross the Dan.

The distraction worked. At 2:00 p.m. on February 14, 1781, Williams received a dispatch from Greene that the bulk of the Americans had made it safely across the Dan. Hearing the news, the Immortals let out a cheer and “the whole corps became renovated in strength and agility; so powerful is the influence of the mind over the body.” His exhausted men covered a staggering 40 miles in 20 hours to reach the Dan, beating the pursuing British by mere hours.

Even here, Divine intervention played a part in saving the Americans...

"General Nathaniel Greene quickly got the Americans across before another flash flood blocked the British.

British Commander Henry Clinton wrote:

“Here the royal army was again stopped by a sudden rise of the waters, which had only just fallen (almost miraculously) to let the enemy over, who could not else have eluded Lord Cornwallis’ grasp, so close was he upon their rear.”

This St. Valentine’s Day miracle not only saved the American Army to live to fight another day, it also set the stage for the next series of battles.

"Having discarded his supplies in the chase, Cornwallis was at a disadvantage.

General Nathaniel Greene recrossed and fought against Cornwallis again at the Battle of Guilford Court House, March 15, 1781.

Though the British were considered to have won the battle, their heavy losses of over 500 k**led or wounded contributed to their later defeat.

Badly needed supplies, Cornwallis was ordered by British General Henry Clinton to move his 8,000 troops to a defensive position where the York River entered Chesapeake Bay, and wait for British ships.

And, most of us know what happened at Yorktown – American liberty was won!

So, St. Valentine’s Day is special in American history. If the Americans would have been hemmed in by the Dan River on that day back in 1781, there would be no America today.

http://www.thefederalistpapers.org/us/america-was-saved-on-st-valentines-day

oldroy Loc: Western Kansas (No longer in hiding)

I guess the left leaners have all gone to bed by now so maybe one of them will see this thread tomorrow. I remember most of these engagements from having studied the Revolution so much and teaching it to my students for several years. I agree with you that most people here don't know much about this part of the Revolution. Too many of them know only what left leaning teachers wanted them to know.

Worried for our children Loc: Massachusetts

You were one of the few that I suspected would be familiar with this, given your background. As a former educator you must be pretty disgusted with what our youth comes out of school not knowing....

RETW Loc: Washington

Thank you for that. It brings back good memories of my history classes so long ago. I personally found history class very interesting. Having lived through the back end of the great depression, history always seemed relevant to me.

And as the years went by, I found it to be very true. We must know and learn about the past, for it teaches us, so much about the future.

Thanks again

RETW

8-) 8-) 8-) 8-) 8-) 8-) 8-) 8-) 8-) 8-)

Hemiman Loc: Communist California

American History is full of such incredible people and their amazing stories it's really too bad kids today don't have access to them anymore. 🇺🇸 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸 God bless America.

oldroy Loc: Western Kansas (No longer in hiding)

I always tried to teach kids some things that were not always popular from both sides of everything. I took the unpopular side often but always managed to get back to what I thought was true.

Some years ago I ran across a study that showed just how poor a job colleges are doing in government and history teaching. I have looked and looked for that one but just can't find it. An example of what was in it was that the students with the least knowledge about government and American History were from the schools like UC Berkley and others of the California system and generally speaking, the Ivy League Schools.

Maybe the most maddening thing about that survey was that in those schools students knew so much less about those important topics as college seniors than they did coming out of high school. Of course, universities get to pick their instructors from groups they approve of and high schools have a much larger pool to draw from but don't get a chance to be so selective in that area of learning.

An example of what I am saying is that I was selected to replace a coach who was in a classroom, also. In other words I have to say that it wasn't an ideal method of se******n. Nobody ever asked me about the subjects and the way I felt about them. After I was hired in one school the principal voiced his dislike of the way I taught government because he thought only conservative ideas should be taught instead of giving the kids a chance to know the other side.

I wish I was in school right now so I could discuss the death of Antonin Scalia from both sides of the politics of his replacement.