For Emily

This blog entry is for Emily, who said it had been a long time since I blogged. True. Partly it was because I wasn't sure anyone was reading or commenting, so thanks Emily for your comment!
I recently finished reading John Adams, a fabulous book that I highly recommend. After reading that book, I decided to read another by the same author. This one was entitled 1776. Another great book I highly recommend reading! In this book, it mentioned several weather conditions which miraculously aided the colonists in their battle. I cite an example:
There was a place called Dorchester Heights which had a particularly good strategic position which no one had assumed. Washington decided to occupy it secretly in one night. "As critical and dangerous as any part of the operation, would be the crossing of the low-lying causeway of the Dorchester peninsula, which stood in plain view of the British lines at the Boston Neck, less than a mile away. To conceal all movement over the causeway, an extended barrier of hay bales was to be thrown up....Monday, March4, ...General Thomas and 2,000 men started across the Dorchester cuaseway, moving rapidly and silently, shielded from view by the long barrier of hay bales...while the continued roar of cannon served to engage the attention and divert the enemy...Progress up the steep, smooth slopes was extremely difficult, yet numbers of ox teams and wagons made three and four trips. The night was unseasonably mild- indeed, perfectly beautiful with a full moon - ideal conditions for the work, as if the hand of the Almighty were directing things, which the Reverand William Gordon, like many others, felt certain it was. 'A finer night for working could not have been taken out of the whole 365', he wrote. 'It was hazy below the Heights so that our people could not be seen, though it was a bright moonlight night above on the hills.' ... At daybreak, the British commanders looking up at the Heights could scarcely believe their eyes. The hoped-for, all-important surprise was total."
When the British found themselves in this position, they decided to attack by taking their ships over to Castle Island. "It was about noon when the first of the British troop transports pushed off for Castle Island [March 5] and proceeded down the harbor with increasing difficulty against strong headwinds. For by early afternoon, what had been an abnormally warm, pleasant day had changed dramatically. The wind had turned southeasterly, blowing 'pretty fresh'. Then, as foreseen in no one's calculations, the elements took over. By nightfall, a storm raged, with hail mixed with snow and sleet. By midnight, 'the wind blew almost a hurricane.' ...The American lieutenant Isaac Bangs, who was among those freezing at their posts on the high ground of Dorchester, called it the worst storm 'that ever I was exposed to.' Clearly there would be no British assault that night. The morning after, the winds continued to blow with a fury. The snow and sleet had changed to driving rain. General Heath concluded that 'kind heaven' had stepped in to intervene. As so it seemed to many on both sides, when, that morning, Howe called off the attack and gave orders to evacuate Boston."
What is amazing to me in reading these books is, not only how the weather seemed to play a part, but also how incredible the stories are of the men who took part in these events. I believe that God called men of great capacity to aid in bringing about the formation of this great nation, including some that we don't usually think about such as Knox, who retrieved the guns from Fort Ticonderoga, which is nothing short of a miracle...but that is a story for another day.