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From the Gazeebo...  

Teaching the old to the young

Several years ago I sat with my young son at the top of our back yard late on a warm summer evening. We had a small fire going in the fireplace and hot dogs sizzling over the flames. We were poking at the coals and talking about the brooding woods around us, here at the top of this dark hill.

Our house sits on the side of Edge Hill in Glenside, a steep, wooded ridge running Northeast to Southwest, a few miles north of Philadelphia. There was a palpable sense of history infusing the woods that night up on that hill, a feeling that filtered down through the shadowy branches of the trees, mixing with the starlight.

We were enjoying our cookout on hallowed ground, my son and I. The steep backyard where we live our comfortable suburban lives had been consecrated by the blood of patriots, and it was important to me that my boy understand the reverence that I felt.

There was another teenaged boy, I told him, who sat on this same hill among the trees. The boy's name was Joe. Joseph Plum Martin, in fact, and he sat on our hill two hundred and thirty years ago.

It wasn't a warm summer night when that boy was here, though. It was the first week in December, 1777, and while winter hadn't officially begun, it was already brutally cold. And Joe, even though he was only 16, was already a seasoned veteran of war.

Joe was cold that night, and he was hungry, and he was very, very tired. He hadn't been paid since summer. He and the other young men serving under General George Washington had suffered two major defeats in battle. Philadelphia had fallen to the British. Washington's spies had determined that the British, commanded by Sir William Howe, were well entrenched in Philadelphia and were far too strong to attack.

But Joe was itching for a fight, so he hoped that Howe would come to them. They were dug in up here on this fortified hill, after all, and felt confident of that position. Besides, they wanted to take out their frustration on some redcoats.

Years later Joe wrote down some of his memories of that night on this hill:

"We had a commanding position and were very sensible of it. We were kept constantly on the alert, and wished nothing more than to have them engage us, being in excellent fighting trim, as we were starved and as cross and ill-natured as curs. While we lay there, there happened very remarkable northern lights. At one time the whole visible heavens appeared, for some time, as if covered with crimson velvet. Some of the soldiers prognosticated a bloody battle about to be fought, but time, which always speaks the truth, showed them to be false prophets."

A 1777 German ink illustration of Edge Hill from the British positions at Philadelphia. Chestnut Hill is in the lower left of the image, Sandy Run in the upper left, and Edge Hill in the upper right.

A bloody battle was just what Howe wanted, too. He wanted to destroy Washington's army before winter set in. Howe marched 12,000 British and German troops - nearly his whole army - out of Philadelphia to finish Washington off.

But try as they might, the British couldn't find a break in Washington's lines. They moved back and forth, about a mile away, and Washington's troops shadowed them. They tried to outflank the line on the left, right here on Edge Hill, on the bitterly cold night of December 7th, 1777, in a series of fire fights that became known as the "Battle of Edge Hill" or sometimes "The Battle of Whitemarsh."

Finally Howe gave up, much to the disappointment of General Washington and Joe, and retreated to Philadelphia to settle down for the winter. They were too strong to be attacked, so Washington took his army away too, leaving behind the blood of 90 dead and wounded to seep into and to sanctify the ground that you and I are sitting on now.

Joe marched away with the Continental Army to their winter quarters and settled down for what was to become one of the cruelest winters that any man has ever endured, the winter of his greatest test and trial, in Valley Forge.

Teach the Young

The primary mission of the WWR is to welcome home our nation's troops, to show them that we the people understand and appreciate their sacrifices. But education is also one of our goals. We want not only to educate the public as to the importance of what we do, but to educate the young, to make sure they understand their own history, and understand it the way it was, not the way some would have it re-written. If the young learn how dear and costly freedom is, as from stories like the one above, then they will appreciate thier own freedom more and understand the vital importance of the roll of those who safeguard that freedom - our American warriors - and why those warriors deserve their thanks and attention.

So I have resolved in 2010 to be more dilligent in educating the young by our actions, and by spreading the message of what it costs for a free nation to maintain that freedom. It's a lesson that a boy named Joseph Plumb Martin not only learned but lived. The least we can do is to see that his lessons are passed on to subsequent generations.

SEE YOU NEXT YEAR!

- Wayne Lutz

The missions that our WWRiders have been riding have not abated just because the weather turned cold. Across the country we are seeing some of the worst winter weather that we've seen in many years, and winter only just started a few days ago. (So much for Global Warming. And here I was, so hopeful...)

Please support your chapter in carrying out these missions. In many cases young warriors are coming home for the holidays, but in all cases the homecomings are welcomed and meaningful. How proud a Blue Star Mom is when she sees her "baby" being given the royal treatment!

If you have a mission and consitions are too dangerous for a bike, there is no shame in taking your car. It is your presence and your dedication that matters, not your means of transport.

Click here for the direct link to the Confirmed Missions and see what is happening in your area that you might be able to support.

A NEW WWR PARTNER!

We have a new partner listed on our web forums and website. That partner is "Fast Lane Biker Magazine." FLB is a biker magazine, one that you will find and can pick up for free in most places that cater to the biking community. Fast Land Biker has been following our work and wants to help. They are inspired by the troop support work that the Warriors' Watch Riders do.

Now, in 2010, I will begin writing a monthly column for Fast Lane Biker Magazine. This column will focus on the way in which the Warriors' Watch Riders and our partners support our troops. My first column will appear in the February issue of FLB Mag. The monthly column will focus on upcoming missions and tell the stories of past missions, with our troops taking front and center attention.

If you have stories (preferably with photos) of Welcome Home (and other) Warriors' Watch missions that were "special" in some way (I know, they're all special to us), then by all means tell me about it and I'll see about working it into a column.

Until next time: MAY GOD CONTINUE TO BLESS THIS, STILL THE GREATEST NATION ON EARTH, AND ALL OF THOSE WHO DO, HAVE, OR WILL DEFEND HER, AT HOME AND ABROAD.

- Wayne Lutz

*This newsletter is named "The Weekly Ride" or "The Ride", for short, in memory of and to honor Sgt. Jennifer Hartman, U.S. Army. Sgt. Hartman was killed in Iraq by America's enemies. She died in defense of our freedom at the age of 20. This quote from Jennifer was read at her graveside:

"It's not about what happened in the past. It's not about what might happen in the future. It's about the ride, for Christ's sake."

Click here for a Tribute to Sgt. Jennifer Hartman: "The Ride"