Just a GeeKY Thought…
On George Washington
Lately, I’ve been reading Washington: A Life, by Ron Chernow and thoroughly enjoying it. But, the other day, I came across this little account of how Washington dealt with a riot within the ranks of the Continental Army, during the early days of the Revolution.
a fierce struggle commenced with biting and gouging on the one part, and knockdown on the other part with as much apparent fury as the most deadly enemy could create. Reinforced by their friends, in less than five minutes, more than a thousand combatants were on the field, struggling for the mastery. At this juncture General Washington made his appearance, whether by accident or design I never knew. I only saw him and his colored servant [Billy Lee], both mounted. With the spring of a deer, he leaped from his saddle, threw the reins of his bridle ino the hands of his severant, rushed into the thickest of the melee, and with an iron grip seized two tall, brawny, athletic, savage-looking riflemen by the throat, keeping them at arm’s length, alternately shaking and talking to them. In this postion the eye of the belligerents caught sight of the general. Its effect on them was instantaneous flight at the top of their speed in all directions from the scene of the conflict. Less that fifteen minutes time had elapsed from the commencement of the row before the general and his two criminals were the only occupants of the field of action. Here, bloodshed, imprisonment, trials by court-martial were happily prevented and hostile feelings between the different corps of the army extinguished by the physical and mental energies timely exerted by one individual.
-Israel Trask,
Washington: A Life, by Ron Chernow, p. 198
So, long story short, when the occassion would call for it, George Washington, the First President of the United States of America and Father of His Country would choke a bitch.
