George Washington’s Prayer in Valley Forge – as
related by his adopted son, George Washington
Parke Custis.
“…Mr. Potts, the Quaker, relates that one day when the Americans were encamped at Valley Forge, he strolled up the creek, and when not far from his dam, heard a solemn voice. He walked quietly in the direction of it, and saw Washington’s horse tied to a sapling. In the thicket nearby was the beloved chief upon his knees in prayer, his cheeks suffused with tears. Like Moses at the bush, Isaac felt that he was upon sacred ground, and withdrew unobserved. He was much agitated, and, on entering the room where his wife was, he burst into tears. On her inquiring the cause, he informed her of what he had seen, and added, “If there is any one on this earth whom the Lord will listen to, it is George Washington; and I feel a presentiment that under such a commander there can be no doubt of our eventually establishing our independence, and that God in his Providence hath willed it so…”1
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Bibliography:
1
Recollections and Private Memoirs of Washington, by his adopted son, George Washington Parke Custis, with a Memoir of the Author by his daughter, and Illustrative and Explanatory Notes, by Benson J. Lossing. “First in War, First in Peace, and First in the Hearts of his Countrymen.” Gen. Henry Lee’s Oration. New York: Derby and Jackson, 1860, p. 275. Library of Congress, Rare Book Collection.