Think of the things we don’t know. Just yesterday, on this blue ball, there were 7.8 billion people, all leading their individual lives, some of them intertwining — but for the most part, singular and known only to that person. Times 7.8 billion.
The things we don’t know. This happened yesterday too. And the day before that. And every day for the past 200,000 years. Times billions, or millions, depending on the point in history.
Yes. That’s a lot we don’t know.
I’m sure that’s what I like about history, hearing the stories, imagining the circumstances, wondering about the details that aren’t quite filled in.
A good example is an account that happened on this date, back in 1776, involving General Charles Lee. He was a commander in the Continental Army, hailing from England at his start. Lee took a commission in the British army when he finished military school at age 12. He spent several years fighting for Britain, even in North America, Ireland, Scotland, and on.
After years of military service abroad, Lee returned to England again. For whatever reason, he decided he was sympathetic to the American colonists in their quarrel with Britain. As such, in 1773, he decided to move to the colonies. In 1775, Lee purchased a large estate in Berkeley County, which is now part of West Virginia.
I suppose he wanted to get to know some folks. He spent ten months traveling through the colonies and “acquainting” himself with many patriots. And when it came time for the Revolutionary War, Lee was generally acknowledged by the Second Continental Congress to be the most capable candidate for the command of the Continental Army. But Congress gave the role to George Washington. And that ticked him off. It even created a bit of a power struggle between the two men from time to time.
Because of that, perhaps, is where the trouble came, on this date, December 13, 1776. General George Washington had repeatedly urged General Lee to get his butt moving across New Jersey in order to reinforce Washington’s position on the Delaware River. Well, he didn’t move too quickly.
A few things about General Charles Lee, here: he had a big reputation for his temper, not to mention his intemperance. The Native Mohawk people had nicknamed Lee “Boiling Water.” You see, General Lee was an adopted tribesman. Lee had married a Mohawk woman (I can’t find her name), but his marriage must not have been enough to subdue his sexual urges, as he had an incredibly robust interest in prostitutes.
So it was on the night of the 13th that Lee left his troops and rode to “Widow White’s Tavern” to seek such company. He went, pretty much, on his own in the dark of night. And that is when a group within the British Army — the 16th Queen’s Light Dragoons led by Banastre Tarleton — captured him at the brothel on the morning of December 15.
His old British war buddies were now his captors. Back when Charles Lee turned his back on England and moved to the colonies, Tarleton had sworn in a London club that he would “hunt down the traitor to the crown and relieve him of his head.” Yet, once he found General Lee, Tarleton didn’t keep his promise to cut off his head. Instead, though, he made him walk, in his nightdress, all the way from Widow White’s Tavern to New York City in a state of humiliation.
Of course, the British celebrated the capture of the Patriots’ best-trained commander. This left General George Washington trying to negotiate for his release. Here is the part I don’t get. The British treated Lee like royalty. He had plush accommodations and a personal servant who maintained his three-room suite. He was served his food and wine in luxury.
In return, Lee drafted a battle plan for his captors, but the British did not act upon his plan. Then five months later, Lee was released. He reported to Valley Forge in May 1778.
Washington wasn’t so happy with the guy. Eventually, Lee was suspended from the army in December 1778 and dismissed in 1780. Throughout all of this, General Charles Lee loved dogs. He always had a pack of them around his feet, where ever he went.
And that is one of the billions of stories I didn’t know. It seems they happen all the time.
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“It is the story that matters not just the ending.”
― Paul Lockhart
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“There’s always a story. It’s all stories, really. The sun coming up every day is a story. Everything’s got a story in it. Change the story, change the world.”
― Terry Pratchett, A Hat Full of Sky
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“We’re all stories, in the end.”
― Steven Moffat
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Generally. Or. General Lee. Either way. A story.
