Join the Schiller Institute NYC Chorus in a year-end celebration, with an evening of Handel, Bach, Spirituals, and of course, Christmas carols. Concert will be both in-person and live-streamed.
Tickets available at Eventbrite.com!
St. Augustine stated in his book, The City of God, that “the real evils in war are love of violence, revengeful cruelty, fierce and implacable enmity, wild resistance, the lust of power, and such like.” He believed that the only just reason to go to war was the desire for peace. “Be peaceful, therefore, in warring, so that you may vanquish those whom you war against, and bring them to the prosperity of peace.”
During the American Revolution, many thousands of captive American soldiers as well as civilians were mercilessly slaughtered, abused and starved at the hands of the British forces. Indeed, more civilian and captive Americans died at the hands of the British during the war than all American soldiers who died on the battlefield.
When Washington turned the tide of the war on Christmas Day, 1776, capturing more than 900 Hessians soldiers at the battle of Trenton, Washington ordered that they not be harmed or even plundered by his troops. Washington arranged that they work for wages for local farmers in Pennsylvania while in captivity. Most chose to stay in America at the end of the war rather than return to Germany.
A large portion of the Continental Congress, as well as the general population which had suffered all manners of abuse by the Imperial Army, vehemently opposed Washington’s magnanimity. Washington, who served at the pleasure of the Congress, would continue to resist the desire for revenge by his countrymen throughout the war.
On the 224th anniversary of Washington's death on December 14th, 1799, may the memory and lesson of Washington's spirit of benevolence help to bring the warring parties in today's world to the prosperity of peace, and help our own nation to recover its goodness.
Please consider a tax-deductible donation to our award winning but needy chorus.
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John Scialdone published this page in Events 2023-10-30 06:57:17 -0400