John Jay's Christmas Address 1776

Today marks the 238th anniversary of John Jay's Christmas 1776 Address. In desperate times for the people of New York, New Jersey and the whole effort of the War for Independence, Jay animated the people by this address. It was translated into German by the Continental Congress. Maryland Gazette published it in 1777 in two different editions. You can see the video I made by going to December 17, 2012 and you can see video of Washington's Crossing on the September 2014 entry. What impressed me this past summer when I visited the area was the march to Trenton in such cold weather. Colonel Haslet from Delaware fell in the icy waters, (Dec. 25, 2013 entry) fought at Trenton and Princeton and died in the battle at Princeton. It is my goal that by the time my life ends, this nation will regard John Jay's writings and work more than those of Thomas Paine. This address by Jay goes a long way to start the task.

The address can be found on June 27, 2009

Recommendations for "Can a Chief Justice Love God?: The Life of John Jay" by Phil Webster (2002 Author House)

In light of current debates on the issue of "separation of church and state," has anyone bothered to check where the first Supreme Court Chief Justice would have stood?...

Recommendations

"I must congratulate you on both the motivation which inspired you to undertake the writing of these two important works, and for the yeoman-like performance of research into the history of the life and times of John Jay. Your book is a most revealing and rewarding study of a career which, as you say, has been swept under the rug. "You make a significant contribution to a much-needed understanding on the part of the American public of the Christian worldview which was so characteristic of the signers of our Declaration. With all of the disgraceful attempts being made currently to 'revise' early American history, I find your work refreshing and an encouragement to know of such effort and scholarship as yours being applied to set the record straight. "Thank you for sharing these works with me. I would like to see the actual stage performance of 'Declaration of Reliance Upon God' at some future date. "Thank you again for your thoughtfulness in getting the book and the play to me, and best wishes for their presentation to the wide audiences they deserve."

Sincerely in Christ: Dr. D. James Kennedy March 5, 2003

"Phil Webster gives us a good look at John Jay, the man of God. The reader gains insight into the depth of John Jay's character, as shaped by his Christian faith. In this day where the character of our nation's leadership seems a matter of diminishing consequence, Mr. Webster reminds us how important Christian character was in the shaping of our nation. "It is refreshing to see through John Jay's life that men and women of strong Christian character can serve their country with honor and distinction. John Jay's life of service, as highlighted in Phil Webster's book, should challenge us all."

Frank Gomez, American Bible Society

"Phil Webster's book on the life of John Jay provides a significant and welcome contribution to the noble cause of re-claiming the true Christian legacy of yet another founding father. Readers will be challenged to discover the true greatness of the first Chief Justice of the United States and to understand why it is impossible to separate a person's religious/moral belief from his public life. It is my prayer that the message contained in this book will receive a wide and receptive audience."

Mike Mc Hugh, Christian Liberty Press

"Phil Webster does a wonderful job of highlighting the life of one of the great Founding Fathers. Chief Justice John Jay was a man of character, principle and religious conviction. With the trend in America to forget our history, this book is a refreshing reminder of our great heritage and Christian foundations."

Mat Staver, Liberty Counsel

Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, Peer Review and the Founding Fathers of the United States

     Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn and the Founding Fathers

      What does Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn of Russia have to do with the Founding Fathers?  There are those in academia of the United States and Europe who will not look at the evidence of the Christian worldview of the Founding Fathers.  They will simply give the regurgitated phrases thinking that we are birds that like that kind of nourishment.  The mother bird brings back the food she has already eaten and gives it back to her young.  If you want to move on from  the rehashed food of the experts, read the Founding Fathers for yourself.  When someone tries to show the Christian worldview, the people with academic clout do not appreciate such "nonsense."

     In the current academic climate, there is no room for discussion of the Founding Fathers.  How many universities offer classes on the principles of the Founding Fathers?  Scarce few offer classes and when they do it usually comes with venom disparaging the Founders as white slave holders, bourgeois, women haters, etc.  When the term "peer review" comes out, that is supposed to keep the discussion controlled only by people who have earned degrees in institutions that are normally against the Christian worldview of the Founders.

     In the days of the Soviet Union, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn wrote many books describing the history of gulag prison camps.  Did he receive any government grants to carry out his research?  Did the universities in the Soviet Union allow him to teach such classes?  What would peer review be like for Mr. Solzhenitsyn? Would he have been interviewed on the evening news and allowed to express his opinion? Imagine the press going after him and the authors of those hate filled letters attacking him would have been appreciated by the Communist party members.  They would get more party favors by attacking him.

     In a country that was powered by the Protestants/Whigs there are zero evangelical Protestants on the Supreme Court. I praise God for the conservative Catholics that are standing for truth in the Supreme Court but evangelical Protestants cannot even get one out of nine slots?  Of the first 150 universities in our nation, 149 were started by Christians.  What do we have now?  In a nation that had non-sectarian prayer and Bible reading to start the day, we have thrown God out of the public schools for over 50 years.  Do not pity God!  He is in control.  Pity us for what we are bringing on ourselves and our children.  We have not been perfect, neither were the people of the Bible. All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23).  We sinners in this country had the best of the imperfect governments but we have thrown aside our dependence on God.

Providential Weather at Battle of Brooklyn 1776

After the Declaration of Independence had been signed, the British sent their reply at the Battle of Brooklyn.  It could have been the end of the struggle for independence.  The battle held huge consequences.  The weather cooperated to make it huge theater (or theatre if you are British).  I highly recommend Chapter Five "Field of Battle" from David McCullough's 1776:The Illustrated Edition.  It really shows the intensity of the storms of the fortnight between August 21 and 30.

Wed. Aug. 21		Thunder was not in successive peals but in one continuous
		crash.  The crash was louder than 1,000 cannon.
		The cloud stayed still.  From 7 PM to 10 PM it
		was a terrifying thunderstorm/ storm like a hurricane
		A night so violent , it seemed filled with portent
Thurs.Aug. 22		Clear weather   5,000 landed (from HMS Phoenix and Rose)
		no opposition
		by noon 15,000 had landed
Fri.  Aug. 23
Sat.  Aug. 24		Putnam put iin place over Sullivan;
		5,000 Hessians crossed to Brooklyn
Sun.  Sug. 25		Putnam and 6 battalions crossed to Brooklyn
Mon. Aug. 26		Washington at Brooklyn; nighttime British movements
Tues.  Aug. 27		British attack
Wed. Aug. 28		Northeaster started
Thurs.Aug. 29		Storm continued; storm stopped around midnight
Fri. Aug. 30		Evacuation started after midnight, John Glover's Marbleheaders take at least
		20 trips from Brooklyn to Manhattan with silent and strong strokes.
		Fog comes up miraculously at dawn and protects the remaining third of the
		army.  Fog lifts when Washington leaves with last boat.

Washington Crossing

Washington Crossing

            If you are ever in the northern Philadelphia area please take the time to check out Washington Crossing.  General Washington took a heavy risk by marching in bad snow weather and attacking Hessian positions at Trenton, New Jersey.  After defeats in Brooklyn, Kip’s Bay, Harlem, Fort Lee and Fort Washington and then retreating to New Jersey, things looked desperate for the Continental Army.  Washington’s message to himself proclaimed: “Victory or death!” 

            Some writers have said that there were no deaths in the crossing but evidence seems to contradict those statements.  The fact that there is a cemetery with 23 Patriots buried (22 unidentified and one James Moore) speaks to the fact that people died at least in the encampment. 

           

 

Rev. John Rosburgh FIrst Chaplain Killed in the American Revolution

Rev. John Rosburgh

Trenton, New Jersey

First Chaplain Killed in American Revolution

            For several years a quotation from John Witherspoon has interested me.  On February 2, 1777, Witherspoon wrote to his son David about a Rev. Roxburgh.  My interest comes from a local Revolutionary War hero in the Salisbury, Maryland area named Alexander Roxburgh.  The Scottish pronunciation would be like Roxboro (like Edinburgh is pronounced Edinboro).  I finally came across an article on Rev. John Rosburgh.  Witherspoon spelled it Roxburgh and the current spelling is Rosburgh. 

 “I have been making inquiry into the conduct of the enemy, which has been dreadful.  At Trenton they killed Mr. Roxburgh, Presbyterian minister at the Forks of Delaware.  Though he fell down on his knees and begged his life, yet they pierced him in a shocking manner.  Some of the people at Princeton say thought they were killing me, and boasted that they had done it when they came back.  But this is certain- the fact of his death and the manner of it is beyond all doubt.” (Phil Webster, 1776 Faith, p. 79)

While minister of Allen Township, the congregation asked Rev. Roxburgh to be the leader of their militia unit.  It was later determined that Capt. John Hays be the military leader of the group and Roxburgh was to be the chaplain.  During Washington’s Crossing of the Delaware, the Third Northampton County, Pennsylvania militia was unable to make the crossing.  This unit was under the direction of General Israel Putnam.  At the second battle of Trenton (or Battle of the Assunpink Creek), Rev. Roxburgh was dining at a public house when a warning was fired as a warning of the coming of the Hessians.  When he went outside, he noticed that his horse was gone and that a group of Hessians were coming towards him. The Hessians recognized him as a Presbyterian minister.  As Witherspoon indicated, Rosburgh fell to his knees and pleaded for his life but the Hessians repeatedly thrust their bayonets into him.  The Hessians took his watch, his money and left his naked body in the snow.  Another Presbyterian minister in the area, Rev. George Duffield, came the next day and buried Rosburgh. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Rosbrugh

Rockawalkin Presbyterian Church on Nanticoke Road Salisbury Maryland

Rockawalkin Presbyterian Church on Nanticoke Road Salisbury, Maryland

This church no longer exists but a picture from a book entitled Maryland’s Colonial Eastern Shore: Historical Sketches of Counties and of Some Notable Structures by Swepson Earle and Percy G. Skirven shows what it once looked like.  Today there is a brick memorial to remember the church.  Major Alexander Roxburgh (Scottish background) was a member of this church.  He fought in the battle of Brooklyn in August 1776 and also served in the Southern Campaign.

Major Roxburgh eloped with the granddaughter of Levin Handy (Pemberton Hall). One could easily walk between the church (on the left hand side of Nanticoke Road going from Salisbury to Nanticoke, on the west side of Riawalkin Pond).  The next time you pass Riawalkin Creek give a thanks to God and to people like Major Roxburgh who stood for freedom at great cost.

Rockawalkin Presbyterian Church organized by Francis Mackemie in 1683 and a church built in 1767.