WTH, General Cornwallis?

Today is of course the day when patriotic Americans celebrate the birth of our country in 1776. July 4th is the day when the Continental Congress ordered that the Declaration of Independence be authenticated and printed. Things were rocky for those early patriots. There was by no means unanimity about what they were doing, and in fact, the Revolutionary War had started the year before and wasn't going all that well in 1776.

It continued to not go that well for five more years, which brings me to wondering what the heck the British General Charles Cornwallis was thinking that January day in 1781 when he found himself in North Carolina building a bonfire and burning all his stuff, including personal baggage, tents, books, silverware, and ordering his men to do the same. One can only guess how they felt about throwing casks of rum into the flames. Historians say that Cornwallis was trying to create a lighter, more nimble fighting force so as to pursue the half of the American army that was led by General Nathanael Green. Some also say that the bonfire was somehow symbolic of Cornwallis' determination to defeat the Americans whatever it took. So the plan was to live off the land in the North Carolina mountains in late Winter? Hmmmm. Well, I don't know much about military strategy and the symbolism is a little much for me too, but I DO know about "stuff."

As a bit of a pack rat myself, I can imagine accumulating a lot of stuff in one's travels. I usually do, and it's mostly printed stuff. But the gatherer in me would have a very difficult time setting it all on fire, especially if I didn't know what to expect from the coming days. I mean what if between skirmishes I felt like reading a complimentary copy of USA Today? And then there are the free supplies that I pick up at hotels, like pads and pencils and shampoo and tea bags and apples and bananas. There is, after all, no guarantee that the next hotel will have that stuff. Now if it were near the end of a trip, I might jettison some clothing that wasn't working for me and that someone else could use. But throwing useful stuff into a fire? Not an option. Could be that's why I'm not a General.

Fortunately for us Americans, and not so fortunately for the Crown and the Loyalists, the minor bonfire event became part of a chain of more significant events that culminated in surrender at Yorktown to General George Washington within the year. May God continue to bless America as we continue our improbable history.