More than 220 years after he helped us win the Revolutionary War, the U.S. Congress has decided to make the Marquis de Lafayette an honorary citizen. He becomes the sixth person to achieve this distinction. The others are Winston Churchill, Mother Teresa, Raoul Wallenberg, William Penn and Penn's wife, Hannah. Senator John Warner, who proposed Lafayette, claimed Congress should do so to right a wrong. When the Marquis became a fugitive from the French reign of terror in 1794, he was imprisoned by the Austrians. The U.S. supposedly failed to acknowledge Lafayette's ``cries for help'' by making him a citizen. The Senator has got the history wrong -- the U.S. did what it could to help Lafayette. But it had no influence whatsoever with the Austrians or the French. The American ambassador to Paris, Gouverneur Morris, rescued Lafayette's wife and children from starvation by supporting them out of his own pocket. Making the Marquis a citizen would have been a meaningless gesture. Still, it's nice to have him on the rolls.
Speaking of neglecting Revolutionary heroes, an egregious example is the way the state of New Jersey is dealing with Washington's headquarters in New Jersey, Rockingham. Like some beached and decaying whale, the 288 year old mansion sits beside the main road near Kingston. Washington lived in it for 3 months in 1783 during which he wrote his farewell address to the army. After promising to fund a $3 million restoration, which included a 2.2 mile move to a new site, the state of New Jersey abruptly cancelled the second half of the grant. Water is collecting in the basement, carpenter bees are boring into the green siding and splotches of mildew are spreading through the plaster and oak ballroom where Martha Washington entertained James Madison, Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton and other members of the Continental Congress. ``This is akin to a doctor prepping a patient for surgery and then walking away,'' said the president of the Rockingham Association. ``The procedure will prove fatal to the patient.'' Shame on you, New Jersey!
When we retailed this story to Tom Fleming, he rushed to inform us that his native state is by not entirely delinquent on the historical restoration front. For more than two decades, the 18th Century Van Horne house sat empty and forlorn on its hilltop perch overlooking East Main Street in Bridgewater, N.J. Now, after a $500,000 restoration, it was opened to the public in time to help celebrate the 225th anniversary of the battle of Bound Brook. The house was known as Convivial Hall, because its owner, Philip Van Horne, entertained patriots and loyalists in its 14 rooms. ``The house is really a survivor,'' says Michael Calafati of Historic Building Architects of Trenton, which worked on the renovation. The current owner is the nonprofit Heritage Trails Association, which will use the house for its headquarters.
A recent article in the Pacific edition of the Stars and Stripes reports the U.S. Navy has ordered all the ships at sea to fly the supposed ``first Navy Jack'' -- a rattlesnake moving across a field of 13 red stripes above the warning: ``Don't Tread On Me.'' Traditionally, the right to fly this flag was limited to the oldest actively commissioned ship -- currently the USS Kitty Hawk. But Navy secretary Gordon England has revised this tradition and ordered all the ships at sea to fly the rattlesnake to show the Navy's solidarity in the war against terrorism. According to the Navy, the phrase, ``Don't Tread On Me'' was created by a band of newly enlisted Marines. (Anyone with a mind to challenge this assertion can fire away at our upcoming dinner. It sounds a little too neat. Weren't there a few footsoldiers in the embryo US Army who also carried this flag?) Meanwhile, ships from around the world are begging Kitty Hawk to give them spare rattlesnake flags. Kitty's cool response: here's where you can buy them. But we've got to admit ``Don't Tread On Me'' is not a bad slogan to broadcast to Al Qaeda.
Not so many years ago, my high school history teacher was asked if we had to footnote such statements as ``George Washington was the first president.'' He replied: ``Of course not, that's common knowledge.
The good ladies of the Mount Vernon Association have recently concluded that common knowledge isn't what it used to be. From questions asked their guides, it has dawned on them that their hero is in danger of vanishing in an abyss of ignorance, thanks to the egregious way history is taught in today's schools.
The ladies are also trying to alter the prevailing perception of George as a boring old guy on the dollar bill. He is to become an action hero, swashbuckling through swamps and forests in his youth, ducking swarms of Indian bullets beside General Braddock, passionately in love with his best friend's wife. In the Revolution, we will hear more about his derring do as a master of espionage. They have commissioned Steven Spielberg's production company to create a live action film showing Washington's warrior side.
A New York Times reporter who questioned visitors to Mount Vernon came away convinced that this reinvention of Washington was badly needed. The only thing one 18 year old from Texas knew about GW was: ``He did something about an apple true.'' A recent study revealed that only 42 percent of the students in 55 top universities could name Washington as the man who was called: ``First in war, first in peace, first in the hearts of his countrymen.'' Another poll asked seniors from elite schools such as Harvard and Dartmouth who was the leader of the American forces at Yorktown. Only 36% chose Washington, even though the other three choices were Grant, Sherman and MacArthur!
Last October, I reported on the wonderful trip by HistoryAmerica led by Ed Bearss, to the revolutionary battlefields of Georgia and the Carolinas. In August 2003 Ed will lead a ``Benedict Arnold'' tour including the battles of Quebec, Valcour Island and Saratoga, and of course, West Point. For the first three days, he will trace Arnold's trek through Maine during the December 1775 invasion of Canada I'm booked! Info: 1-800-628-8542.
Cathy Corley correctly answered the French and Indian War quiz in spite of errors by your overscheduled quiz master. 1. ``Last of the Mohicans'': Russell Means (not Graham Greene) starred with Daniel Day Lewis. 2. Spencer Tracy led Rogers Rangers in ``Northwest Passage.'' 3. Randolph Scott starred in an earlier version of ``Last of the Mohicans.'' 4 The Gary Cooper-Paulette Goddard movie is ``The Unconquered.'' Some named another of their movies, ``Northwest Mounted Police.'' This wasn't about the French and Indian War. 5. The Indian chief in ``The Unconquered'' was played by Boris Karloff. Some named Lon Chaney Jr. He had the title role in ``Pontiac.''
In New York state, Benedict Arnold is honored, absent his name or image, on three memorials. Where are they, and describe them. A free drink to the first three winners!