George Washington always believed in people and causes larger than himself. References to God’s providential oversight of the army and of his own life and work appear constantly in his writings. His trust in the rightness of the cause of liberty, firm from the beginning, was his vital center in the darkest times of the war. He grew confident in his Continental soldiers (militias, not so much, till later in the war) when they had to face the British Regulars and the German mercenaries in battle. Washington did not distrust himself or denigrate his own abilities, he just bounded them by his belief in the “substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1, KJV)
The debate over the religious faith of the Founding Fathers continues to rage between those who want to declare the leaders of independence primarily the intellectual products of the “Enlightenment” and deistic religion, and those who support the historic and traditional view that the Founders were either Christian or highly influenced by Protestant Christian-oriented society and worldview. George Washington is at the center of the controversy since he often spoke of divine Providence, the importance of religion, morality, and virtue and sought to live a morally excellent life. As a vestryman at the church where he was a member in Alexandria, Virginia, he would have subscribed to The Thirty-Nine Articles of the Church of England, a Reformed Protestant Confession. As Dr. Peter Lillback has pointed out, “he used the words ‘ardent,’ ‘fervent,’ ‘pious’, and ‘devout’” to describe himself. There are over one hundred prayers composed and written in his own hand. He created the military chaplaincy of the United States Army, a service carried on today. If anyone had faith in God in the era of independence, it was George Washington.
His faith in the cause of liberty, and by that he meant freedom from British tyranny over ancient constitutional rights and chartered self-government, motivated Washington in his earliest days of service to the Congress. He considered that Mount Vernon could be lost along with his fortune, and there was nothing more dear to him than his land and its produce, save liberty. Washington knew too, that such faith in liberty carried a hard price for its realization and maintenance, and, as usual, gave others the credit for the achievement:
The value of liberty was enhanced in or estimation, by the difficulty of its attainment, and the worth of character appreciated by the trial of adversity. The tempest of war having at length been succeeded by the sunshine of peace, our citizen-soldiers impressed a useful lesson of patriotism on mankind, by nobly returning with impaired constitutions and unsatisfied claims, after such long sufferings and severe disappointments, to their former occupations. Posterity, as well as the present age, will doubtless regard, with admiration and gratitude, the patience, perseverance and valor, which achieved our Revolution. They will cherish the remembrance of virtues which had but few parallels in former times, and which will add new lustre to the most splendid page of history.
What his faith apprehended, his sword, perseverance, and a dedicated force of patriots secured, by the Grace of God.
That army, so haphazardly assembled in its original form, overcame great adversity and in time coalesced into a powerful and reliable veteran force which, in combination with the French allies, stood toe to toe with Europe’s most fearsome and successful professional fighting forces. Washington’s trust in his soldiers’ abilities to learn and their dedication to fight for liberty combined in just the ways that led to success. Enough officers and men, despite defections and desertions, learned to obey, maneuver, and fight, putting substance to the faith their General placed in them.
Independence, liberty, a new nation were the fruits of George Washington’s faith.
