Remembrance: The father of our country

In most of the surveys of today's public opinion as to who was the greatest of all our presidents, Abraham Lincoln usually leads – with George Washington near the top – but an also-ran.

Part of the reason for this is Washington owned slaves – like Thomas Jefferson, author of the Declaration of Independence. Some of Washington's slaves were inherited; others came with his marriage to Martha; none were ill-treated and all were freed in his will.

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And this was known to the Great Emancipator who, fully understood the circumstances of an earlier age in 1842, when Lincoln wrote the following:

The name of George Washington is the mightiest name on earth; long since mightiest in the course of civil liberty; still mightiest in moral reformation.

Without the army leadership of General Washington, there would be no United States. Without his presiding over the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, the "free sovereign and independent states" – as the Treaty of Paris and the Declaration of Independence recognized them – might well have Balkanized.

On Christmas Day of 1776, at the First Battle of Trenton, after Gen. Washington had led his often-defeated army across the Delaware, they defeated 1,500 Hessian troops.

There had to be a night march through a heavy rain with howling wind, sleet and snow. Most of the two-hour battle with these German regulars (who were not drunk), had to be done with musket butts and bayonets.

There were six more brutal years before Lord Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown. But here, in two battles at Trenton, and one in Princeton, this ill-equipped and raggedly-clothed army saved the life of our country and its independence.

But the following statement was made by James Rees, executive director of Mount Vernon:

The evidence is overwhelming that George Washington is rapidly being short-tripped in classrooms across the country. For instance, my 4th-grade textbook in Richmond had 10 times more coverage of George Washington than the textbook used in that same school in 1982. Imagine what it must be now.

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"In 1933" reported the Washington Times, "Congress passed legislation mandating that Washington's portrait be placed in every public-school classroom in the country. But those pictures since have deteriorated and been removed."

Joseph Ellis, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of "His Excellency: George Washington," noted:

An academic movement to focus on the achievements of society or historical trends, rather than the acts of great men, has resulted in the roles of Washington and other Founding Fathers being downplayed.

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But George Washington was surely the greatest American who ever lived.

Without his astounding courage, endurance and leadership, the term "United States" would have become one of ridicule, applied to rebels who were crushed – with him hanged.

He is the only president in American history who was twice elected – with all the electoral votes.

Our nation's capital is named in his honor, as was the only one of our 50 states, which is named for an American human being.

Western Maryland's Republican Congressman Roscoe Bartlett has introduced legislation that would restore the Washington's Birthday holiday – which Congress failed to pass.

"The big lie of President's Day stems from the 1968 law which shifted the observance of most federal holidays to Mondays," said Bartlett. "The George Washington's birthday was one of the original federal holidays, but is no longer observed on his actual birthday. February also marks the birthday of Abraham Lincoln, another of our greatest presidents. Without this bill, there will be no commemoration of Abraham Lincoln's or his accomplishments in preserving the Union and issuing the Emancipation Proclamation."

Congressman Bartlett noted, "There would be no United States, no presidency at all, without George Washington."

During the Battle of Princeton, Washington left his command post to rally his troops – which he did by riding directly into a hail of bullets.

He did so again at the Battle of Monmouth, which left an indelible impression on one of the most beloved of all those who came from Europe to help our infant nation: the Marquis de Lafayette. Gen. Lafayette recalled:

"His presence stopped the retreat. His calm courage gave him an air best calculated to excite enthusiasm. All along the lines, amid the shouts of the soldiers, cheering them by his voice, and restoring to our standard the fortunes of the fight.

"I thought then, as now, that never had I beheld so superb a man!"