Dog-gone
true story about George Washington
George Washington
was a dog lover. It is said that our country’s first president
owned close to fifty dogs during his lifetime. Truelove,
Sweetlips, Vulcan
and Mopsey
were some of the names which George gave to his dogs.When George went
off to fight in the Revolutionary War, he brought along one of his dogs,
Sweetlips.
Dogs often accompanied their masters into battle and served several
helpful purposes. A dog provided companionship, guarded their owner
against wild animals and helped in hunting.
After
the Battle of Germantown, Washington came across a little dog(breed
not known) wandering around the battlefield. The dog seemed very
friendly and George wondered to whom the little dog belonged. George
checked the pooch for a collar and tag and found that the dog
belonged to....the enemy, British General William Howe!
Being
a gentleman, George decided to return the dog to British General
William Howe. When the other soldiers learned they had Howe’s
dog, the men wanted to keep the dog, as a war prize! Washington
said he would not do this saying that Americans were people of
honor and that the little dog was not their enemy. George thought
about how he’d go about returning the dog to its owner and
decided to have his aide-de-camp,
Alexander Hamilton, write a note to General Howe. (You can see the
note below). The note was tucked into the dog's collar. A truce was then arranged where both sides flew white
flags announcing that fighting was to stop. It
is said that George also placed a personal note inside the collar as
well. With the two sides flying the white flags of a truce, the dog
was delivered to the side of the British.
The
British General Howe was very impressed with what he called an
“honorable act” by George Washington. Historians say
that from that day, Howe seemed to show more compassion toward the
colonists. And, when Howe was requested to fight harder against the
colonists, he resigned!
Could
a dog have played a role in helping the colonists during the American
Revolutionary War? What do you think?
"
General Washington's compliments to General Howe. He does himself the
pleasure to return him a dog, which accidentally fell into his hands,
and by the inscription on the Collar appears to belong to General
Howe." from:
Primary document-Letter
Note: Illustration from openclipart.org
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