Thoughts About 1776

I finished reading 1776 last night -- and we won. I wasn't so sure, as I read the book: the soldiers were ragtag; the planning was indecisive, and the opponent was well trained.

My biggest surprise was meeting the real George Washington: a man whose noble carriage would have soldiers follow him to the gates of Hades with the Virginian who thought New Englanders were white trash.

The big turning point was the crossing of the Delaware, and that was a "Hail Mary" as much as anything. Reading about this year also reminded me of the Iraqi insurgents. Up against a much-better trained U.S. Army, they have the same ragtag quality as our forefathers ...