The First Star of the Republic ⭐️
Surrender of Lord Cornwallis by John Trumbull (1820)
Scott L. woke at 5:30 in the morning to crisp, cool autumn air.
He went out to the backyard to check on things and make sure everything was okay while his coffee brewed. In and out of sleep, trying to fully wake, he thought of Professor Williams. This is not the real Professor Williams from Shakespeare 101 back in the day, but a pseudonym used here.
Professor Williams is a certified surveyor, a leader of steady discipline and careful judgment. Scott L. recognized in him the same tactical precision and attention to terrain that George Washington showed in the field. The knowledge of the land, the timing, the way a leader reads weather and channel and cover — those qualities linked Williams and Washington in Scott’s mind.
The Continental Army prepared to cross the Delaware River. Boats were loaded. Soldiers braced against the cold. Oars sliced through chunks of river ice as the men fought the current and the storm-driven spray. They were raw, exhausted, but determined.
The enemy — the British and the Hessians — had grown complacent. On Christmas Eve they drank and celebrated, tossing caution to the wind. Lying on their cots, they slept, unaware of the thunderstrike forming and advancing against them.
A bold thunderblast at Trenton would turn the tide.
Washington knew the river’s channels, every bank and backwater, and he moved with deliberate precision. The boats struck the far shore. At last, the men stepped onto the opposite bank.
“Shoot! Shoot! Send them packing!” was the battle cry.
From the frozen banks of the Delaware to skies patrolled by unseen wings, the same discipline, cunning, and resolve flows through time — linking the men who stood firm on sacred ground then to the guardians of the Republic now.
Never, ever tread on the USA. We will strike back tenfold — and you will not see us coming while you hide in holes or lie flat on your cots, about to get entombed in your own graves or blown to smithereens.
Above, the analogy becomes modern: stealth bombers slide in undetected; satellite eyes fix and feed coordinates; guided missiles and smart bombs reduce hardened targets to smoke.
Whole mountains shatter to stones, like burning brimstone. The enemy, hiding in holes and thinking themselves safe, finds their head crushed. Here, the enemy is taken out. Gone.
From Scott’s quiet backyard morning to the violent crossing of ice-choked water, the same thread runs through both scenes: knowledge of the land, care for the people who follow you, and the courage to strike when the moment is right.
Professor Williams’ steady vigilance; Washington’s planning and care for his men — firm, fair, and respected — both embody that truth.
And that is the American way — our trust in God and peace.
But tread on us, and you will never see the next light of day.
⚡️Thunderstrike. ⚡️
Emanuel Leutze, “Washington Crossing the Delaware” (1851)
George Washington (1732–1799), a native Virginian, was born and raised on his family’s plantation in Westmoreland County. Deeply tied to Virginia’s land and culture, he grew into a leader whose knowledge of terrain, strategy, and the stars shaped his military genius and the course of the American Revolution.
