Battle Readiness Quotes
Scipio Africanus Major
The notion that all the Americans fought bravely in the American Revolution is a myth. George Washington and his other generals were constantly frustrated by some of the state militias which complained often, sometimes mutinied, and frequently ran from battles as in this example of the North Carolina Militia. The federal troops, trained by Washington and his officers, with longer enlistment periods than the militia fought much better and together with the French, won the war.
Centuries later leaders have studied this speech and the actions taken by Elizabeth as the epitome of model leadership and morale building at a time of crisis. What made the event more dramatic were two monarchial norms of the time understood by all the citizens. Monarchs did not open themselves to the risk of very close proximity to their armies with only a handful of retainers. A dissident military commander could kill or capture the monarch as most soldiers had little loyalty to anyone but the commander who paid them. Second, monarchs usually abandoned battlefields where the outcome was uncertain and if not present certainly stayed away. Elizabeth in breaking both these norms was taking obvious risks with her own life (as a women for whom it was even more unexpected) and welfare to share the immediate fate of her subjects. It explains why an absolute monarch was extremely popular with her subjects—great leadership.
Washington quickly changed his mind when he realized that there were many Negroes fighting for his army and acquitting themselves very well. The pressure for troops and the English invitation to Negroes to help them and get their freedom, caused Washington to flip-flop on this point to the distress of most of his fellow Southerners. See {614220}.
No enemy had ever gotten close to Sparta. . See {632265} for a related quotation.
