Good Morning & God Bless To Every One !
Today is February 23, the 54th day of 2014 and there are 311 days left this year where it is another Blessed Day in the pleasure of our service for our Lord here at:
For God’s Glory Alone Ministries !!!
A great debate, (with myself), this morning over which story to cover for the feature item. Choice was Friedrich von Steuben & Valley Forge, OR, the flag raising at Iwo-Jima. While most are aware, at least somewhat, of the history of Iwo Jima, it is also now a story confused on exactly when and how the flag was raised and when the photo was taken which to me is a pointless argument in the first place. While it is a historic and important picture, our honor should be on the hero’s who fought, not on when a picture was taken. Whereas, the story of Friedrich von Steuben is far less known, and to me, as important than Iwo Jima. Had we not won the American Revolution there would not have been an Iwo Jima battle. The outcome of the revolution may or may not have ended differently, but von Steuben’s contribution to the training of Washington’s courageous troops and his participation in the war was a most significant factor in the winning of the war. So that won!
So, What Happened Today In 1778 ?
Friedrich von Steuben arrives at Valley Forge
In the American Revolutionary War, Friedrich Wilhelm Rudolf Gerhard August, Freiherr von Steuben, a Prussian military officer, arrives at General George Washington’s encampment at Valley Forge on this day in 1778 and commences training soldiers in close-order drill, instilling new confidence and discipline in the demoralized Continental Army.
Baron von Steuben, as he is better known, was the son of a military engineer and became a Prussian officer himself at the age of 17. He served with distinction and was quickly promoted from infantry to Frederick the Great’s General Staff. In 1763, at age 33 and with the rank of captain, he was discharged for unknown reasons. His title of freiherr, or baron, came with his subsequent post as chamberlain (or palace manager) to the petty court of Hohenzollern-Hechingen in Swabia, or the southwestern Holy Roman Empire, in what is now Baden-Wuerrtemberg. Employed by an indebted prince, von Steuben searched for more lucrative employment in foreign armies. The French minister of war recommended von Steuben to Benjamin Franklin as a resource to the Continental Army in 1777. Franklin in turn passed on word of Steuben’s availability to George Washington, and by February 23, 1778, he was among the desperate Continentals camped at Valley Forge.
Von Steuben, who did not speak English, drafted a drill manual in French, which Alexander Hamilton and Nathanael Greene then translated into English. The Prussian drill techniques he shared were far more advanced than those of other European armies, let alone those of the ragtag Patriots. The ego-crushing methods of modern boot camp were practiced among the shoeless soldiers of Valley Forge with remarkable efficacy. Most important for 18th-century battle was an efficient method of firing and reloading weapons, which von Steuben forced the Patriots to practice until it became second nature.
Before von Steuben’s arrival, colonial American soldiers were notorious for their slovenly camp conditions. Von Steuben insisted on reorganization to establish basic hygiene. He demanded that kitchens and latrines be put on opposite sides of the camp, with latrines facing a downhill slope. (Just having latrines was novelty to the Continental troops who were accustomed to living among their own filth.)
On the merit of his efforts at Valley Forge, Washington recommended that von Steuben be named inspector general of the Continental Army; Congress complied. In this capacity, von Steuben propagated his methods throughout the Patriot forces by circulating his Blue Book, entitled Regulations for the Order and Discipline of the Troops of the United States.
Other Memorable Or Interesting Events Occurring On February 23 In History:
303 – Emperor Diocletian orders the General Persecution of Christians in Rome;
1540 – Spanish explorer Francisco Vasquez de Coronado begins his unsuccessful search for the fabled Seven Cities of Gold in the American Southwest;
1836 – The siege of the Alamo begins in San Antonio, Texas;
1846 – The Liberty Bell tolls for the last time, to mark George Washington’s birthday;
1848 – John Quincy Adams, the sixth president of the United States, dies in Washington, D.C., at age 80;
1861 – President-elect Abraham Lincoln arrives in Washington, D.C., amid secrecy and tight security. With seven states having already seceded from the Union since Lincoln’s election, the threat of civil war hung in the air. Allen Pinkerton, head of a private detective agency, had uncovered a plot to assassinate Lincoln when he passed through Baltimore on his way to the capital. Some, including Pinkerton, wanted Lincoln to slip secretly into Washington. Lincoln did not want to appear cowardly, but felt the threats were serious. Lincoln agreed to the covert arrival;
1861 – Texas becomes the 7th state to secede from the Union;
1863 – British explorers John H. Speke and James A. Grant announced they had found the source of the Nile River to be Lake Victoria;
1870 – The state of Mississippi is re-admitted to the Union;
1885 – A 19-year-old man named John Lee is sent to the gallows in Exeter, England. After the noose was put around his neck and the lever that would release the floor beneath his feet was pulled, something malfunctioned and Lee was not dropped. The hanging was attempted two more times, but when Lee stood on the trap door, and the lever was pulled, nothing happened. The authorities, mystified at the gallows’ inexplicable malfunction, decided to ascribe it to an act of God. Lee was removed from death row, his sentence commuted, and he spent the next 22 years in prison;
1896 – The ‘Tootsie Roll’ is introduced by Leo Hirshfield;
1903 – President Theodore Roosevelt signed an agreement with Cuba to lease the area around Guantanamo Bay to the United States;
1917 – In World War I, German troops begin a well-planned withdrawal, ordered several weeks previously by Kaiser Wilhelm, to strong positions on the Hindenburg Line, solidifying their defense and digging in for a continued struggle on the Western Front. After the withdrawal, which was completed May 5, 1917, the Hindenburg Line, considered impregnable by many on both sides of the conflict, became the German army’s stronghold. Allied armies did not break it until October 1918, one month before the armistice;
1926 – President Calvin Coolidge opposes a large air force, believing it would be a menace to world peace;
1940 – Folk singer Woody Guthrie writes one of his best-known songs, “This Land is Your Land.” Born in Okemah, Oklahoma in 1912, Guthrie lived and wrote of the real West, a place of hard-working people and harsh environments rather than romantic cowboys and explorers; (listen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=XaI5IRuS2aE);
1942 – A Japanese submarine shells the Ellwood oil refinery near Santa Barbara, California, the first Axis bombs to hit American soil and the first attack from an enemy on the U.S. mainland since the War of 1812;
1945 – In World War II, during the battle for Iwo Jima, U.S. Marines raise the American flag atop Mt. Suribachi, the highest point on the island of Iwo Jima and a key strategic point. Later, Marine commanders decide to raise a second, larger flag, an event which an Associated Press photographer captured on film. The resulting photograph became a defining image of the war. Although the famous photograph has long led people to believe that the flag-raising was a turning point in the fight for Iwo Jima, vicious fighting to control the island actually continued for 31 more days;
1954 – A group of children from Arsenal Elementary School in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, receive the first injections of the new polio vaccine developed by Dr. Jonas Salk. Though not as devastating as the plague or influenza, poliomyelitis was a highly contagious disease that emerged in terrifying outbreaks and seemed impossible to stop. After mass inoculations began in 1954, everyone marveled at the high success rate–some 60-70 percent. Cases of polio in the U.S. dropped from 14,647 in 1955 to 5,894 in 1956. There is still no cure for polio once it has been contracted, but the use of vaccines has virtually eliminated polio in the United States;
1955 – During the Cold War, in the first council meeting of the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization, Secretary of State John Foster Dulles declares the United States is committed to defending the region from communist aggression. This set the stage for the U.S. to take a more active role in Vietnam. SEATO became more important to the United States as the situation in Vietnam eventually resulted in the commitment of U.S. combat troops to South Vietnam in 1965. Unfortunately for U.S. officials, only a few of the SEATO member countries actively supported the U.S. action. Australia, New Zealand, Thailand, and the Philippines sent troops or other assistance, but Great Britain, France, and Pakistan refused to become involved. Eventually, France, Pakistan, and Australia withdrew from the organization. SEATO faded away as a component of U.S. policy in Asia during the 1970s It formally ceased operations in 1976;
1966 – During the Vietnam War, according to the U.S. military headquarters in Saigon, 90,000 South Vietnamese deserted in 1965. This number was almost 14 percent of total South Vietnamese army strength and was twice the number of those that deserted in 1964. By contrast, the best estimates showed that fewer than 20,000 Viet Cong defected during the previous year;
1971 – In the Vietnam War, during operation Lam Son 719, the South Vietnamese advance into Laos grinds to a halt. The operation began on February 8. It included a limited incursion by South Vietnamese forces into Laos to disrupt the communist supply and infiltration network in Laos along Route 9 adjacent to the two northern provinces of South Vietnam. The operation was supported by U.S. airpower (aviation and airlift) and artillery (firing across the border from firebases inside South Vietnam). Observers described the drive on Hanoi’s supply routes and depots as some of the “bloodiest fighting” of the war. The operations big push bogged down around 16 miles from the border, after bloody fighting in which the communist troops overran two South Vietnamese battalions;
1981 – In Spain, Lieutenant Colonel Antonio Tejero and 200 members of the civil guard burst into the Cortes, Spain’s legislature building, in Madrid, firing shots into the air as they take the democratic government of Spain hostage. The coup was only foiled when King Juan Carlos successfully appealed to the Spanish military to remain loyal to the constitution and join him in condemnation of the rebels. At noon on February 24, the coup was called off after 18 hours, and Spain’s fragile new democracy was preserved;
1998 – The United States Supreme Court upholds ‘Megan’s Law’;
1998 – Osama bin Laden publishes a fatwa declaring jihad against all Jews and Crusaders;
2004 – Education Secretary Rod Paige likened the National Education Association, the nation’s largest teachers union, to a “terrorist organization” during a private White House meeting with governors. Paige later called it a poor choice of words, but stood by his claim the NEA was using “obstructionist scare tactics”;
2008 – A B-2 Spirit of the USAF bomber crashes at Guam. The crew survived but the aircraft was written off, making it the most expensive air crash in human history (the aircraft alone cost $1.2Bn). The B-2 had a perfect safety record before the crash; not one B-2 ever crashed;
2009 – President Barack Obama pledged to dramatically slash the skyrocketing annual budget deficit as he started to dole out the record $787 billion economic stimulus package he’d signed the previous week;
2013 – During the season opening Daytona 500, NASCAR’s ‘SuperBowl’, some 30 fans were injured when rookie Kyle Larson’s car was propelled by a crash into the fence at Daytona International Speedway, and large chunks of debris, including a tire, flew into the grandstands;
2013 – It was one year ago TODAY !
Now, Off To The Fun Stuff !
Today’s Thought For The Day:
“The passion for setting people right is in itself an afflictive disease.”
– Marianne Moore, American poet (1887-1972)
Today’s Patriotic Quote:
“America is much more than a geographical fact. It is a political and moral fact – the first community in which men set out in principle to institutionalize freedom, responsible government, and human equality.”
– Adlai E. Stevenson
Today’s ‘Try Not To Smile’ Picture:
Today’s ‘It’s Just An Observation’:
Should we not place policy before politics and educate the voting populace instead of voting by popularity and dollars?
Today’s Fact Of The Day:
The first feature film created solely with Computer Generated Imagery (CGI) was Toy Story (1995). Over 800,000 hours of mathematical equations went into the film, which works out to more than a week of computer time for every second on the screen.
Today’s ‘I Fixed It For You Honey’ Picture:
Today’s Word Of The Day:
Misogynous; Misogyny; Misogynistic adj. Of or characterized by a hatred of women. “Police believe it was a misogynous assault.”
Today’s Quote For The Day:
Change your thoughts and you change your world.
– Norman Vincent Peale
Today’s ‘Love Is’ Picture:
Today’s Funny Animals Video:
Babies & Dogs – https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=mcRDWKuCQ_M
Today’s Trivia:
The symbol on the pound key “#” is called an octothorpe.
Today’s Parent & Child Lookalike Contest:
Today’s ‘Just Incase You Forgot’:
Today’s Funny Thought For The Day:
Living on Earth is expensive; but it does provide a FREE trip around the sun every year!
Today’s ‘It’s A Dog’s Life’:
Today’s ‘A Word From Phyllis’:
Cleaning your house while your kids are still growing up is like shoveling the walk before it stops snowing.
– Phyllis Diller
Today’s ‘Clever Words For Clever People’:
PARASITES: What you see from the top of the Eiffel Tower!
Today’s Picture Taken With Impeccable Timing:
Today’s Inspirational Quote:
There is not one blade of grass, there is no color in this world that is not intended to make us rejoice.
– John Calvin
Today’s Inspirational Music Video:
Through My Father’s Eyes – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ldiEOAtlTKU
Today’s AWE of GOD:
Today’s Verse & Prayer:
But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!)
– Ephesians 2:4-5
Father of all grace and mercy, thank you. Thank you for being my God. Thank you for extending grace when I have not deserved it. Thank you for giving mercy when I most needed it. Thank you for giving life when I thought my life was doomed and hopeless. May my wealth be in mercy and grace much more than money and gold. Help me be more like you. In the name of Jesus I pray. Amen
Today’s Funny Church Sign:
Until Tomorrow – America, Bless God !!!
