The Miracle of America
The Miracle Of America by B. Larimore columnist A few years ago I read the book, “The American Miracle” (the divine providence in the rise of the Republic) by Michael Medved. I was enlightened by what he wrote about the many events in early America’s history that could not be considered anything less than God’s hand in the building of America as we know it today.
Interesting fact: Even though there had been other colonies started previous to the British colonies, the British settlements became the most successful colonies anywhere on Earth.
The 102 Pilgrims on the Mayflower, seeking religious freedom, experienced a grueling 10 week trip with turbulent waters that slowed their progress. There was massive illness, 2 deaths, and the birth of one baby— all of that in extremely small living spaces.
The Pilgrims had received official permission to establish their new home in the remote northern portion of Virginia—specifically targeting the remote area known today as Manhattan. But sailing off course, the Mayflower landed on the sand dunes of Plymouth Bay on Dec. 16, 1620— missing their designation by 250 miles.
Our history might read quite differently if the Pilgrims had actually landed at their planned destination of Manhattan.
In March, 1775, the young Gen. Washington took command of a small group of men called the “Continental Army.” They were about to be attacked by the British fleet of ships with cannons aimed at their small army set up above the small town of Boston. They were greatly outnumbered, but were set to fight with all the power they had.
A massive wind and ice storm hit during the night. The wind was so fierce that it broke the British fleet’s formation, and was broken from their anchors. With the ice, it became unthinkable to send troops out to confront Washington’s troops up the solid field of ice. They raised a white flag and promised not to burn the town to the ground if they could depart without the colonials firing upon them in their departure.
Washington acknowledged that their victory was the intervening hand of God.
And then there was the Louisiana Purchase. France had conquered a territory four times larger than France itself. But on a spring morning in 1803, the young conqueror, Napoleon Bonaparte, had a sudden determination to present the United States with an incomparable gift the new nation neither demanded nor expected.
Napoleon’s reasoning was that France had already suffered a great loss in a battle in the Caribbean, and they would probably be facing a continuing battle for this territory either with Britain or America. He made the choice to gift it to America.
It was no wonder that the people of the United States saw this shocking stroke of fortune as one more sign of the Almighty’s continued favor to their young Republic. The new territory would later become 15 of the known midwestern states as we know them today.
Of course we all know the story of the battles at the Alamo and Goliad— Texas’ fight for independence from Mexico. We haven’t heard as much about San Jacinto and the final battle that finally gave Texas its independence from Mexico.
Sam Houston had a vision of winning Texas for the United States. It was the unsettled situation that welcomed Houston as he splashed across the muddy Red River as a lone horseman in Dec.1832. His words: “I hope a just and wise God, in whom I have always believed, will yet save Texas.”
The Battle of San Jacinto was the concluding event of the Texas Revolution. On April 21,1836, the Texans led by Sam Houston, were eager to attack. The purchase of 2 small cannons they named the “Twin Sisters” played a significant part in the outcome of the final battle. The Texans were outnumbered 2 to 1 by Santa Anna’s army, but they went into battle with the war cry, “Remember the Alamo!” and “Remember Goliad!”
Out of the 910 Texans there were only nine killed and 30 wounded. Texas won its freedom from Mexico that lead to the acquisition by the United States of the territory covering 10 of the western states as we know them today.
Finally, there is the unbelievable timing and miracle of California. It was on a crisp January morning in 1848 when a traveling carpenter working for John Sutter at Sutter’s mill spotted a few shiny pebbles in a drainage ditch. Four days later he rode 36 miles to show the glittering flecks to Sutter. They were determined to keep the news a secret, but got out within weeks—thus later came the gold rush of 1849.
At the same time not having heard of the discovery of gold, a rogue US bureaucrat by the name of Nicholas Trist was on the outskirts of Mexico City, more than nineteen hundred miles away. He acted entirely on his own authority and risked arrest and imprisonment by defying the president he had been assigned to serve. Final documents were signed that ended the Mexican War and awarded California to the United States of America—an American Miracle!
GOD BLESS AMERICA, THE LAND I LOVE!