Brutal
Reading about the Battle of Fort Necessity, Washington's first battle, and the only one in which he surrendered, in the Chernow biography.
Historians have rightly faulted him for advancing when he should have retreated; for fighting without awaiting sufficient reinforcements; for picking an indefensible spot; for the slapdash construction of the fort; for alienating his Indian allies; and for shocking hubris in thinking he could defeat an imposing French force...What. A. Clusterfuck.
On the other hand, he was 22, and probably got the job because no sane man would take it. No wonder he was so cautious later on in his career.
posted by The Other Front at 3:20 PM
4 Comments:
I read about this battle. I like the part about how he cut down all the trees around the fort but didn't cut them far enough back so that it was out of rifle range. The enemy just sat in the trees and shot the place to shit. Tee-hee. Youth is wasted on the young.
This comment has been removed by the author.
The thing I like about reading about Washington is that if accounts are half true, he was one dedicated, lucky bastard, and by association, so was America.
So much so, according to the book, that many people figured God had spared him because he had an important destiny to fulfill. In one battle in the French and Indian War he had four bullet holes in his jacket and one in his hat, but was untouched. He kept the hat.
Post a Comment
<< Home