When was the last time you set foot into the American Adventure? And not just to watch the Voices of Liberty, but to see the performance of The American Adventure show itself?
This is the scene depicting the harsh winter of 1777-1778 at Valley Forge, a pivotal moment in the Revolutionary War. Washington is on horseback, cloaked against the cold, overlooking the camp where the Continental Army was suffering the most extreme sort of hardship in their long, hard battle. It was perseverance in the face of impossible odds.
Washington, the real man, is as extraordinary as Washington the myth. Imperfect but reserved, measured in his words, and focused on honor and reputation perhaps above all else. What made him stand out, at the time and in history, was less about winning every battle and more about keeping the Continental Army together under impossible conditions. This time at Valley Forge was a prime example. His men were starving, sick, and literally freezing, but his presence kept them from falling apart.
Washington never sought out positions of power. At the peak of his popularity after the war, many wanted to crown him king—but he refused it outright and stunned the world by returning to private life. George III called him “the greatest man in the world” for it.
He reluctantly returned as the unanimous choice for our first President in 1789 but served only two terms before voluntarily stepping down, an act that was unheard of in that era. (You might be singing Hamilton lyrics right now, "I wasn't aware that was something a person could do..." 🎶) By declining a third term, he set the precedent for the peaceful transfer of power that became one of America’s most important democratic traditions. Not enshrined into law until the 22nd Amendment in 1951, after FDR led us through WWII, Washington's choice alone set an example for the peaceful transfer of limited power that lasted 150+ years.
His refusal of absolute power and his insistence on limits shaped the presidency into what it became — not a monarchy, but an office accountable to the people.
Anyway, I digress. I didn't mean for this to turn into a history lesson...but sometimes I think that remembering our past is a really wonderful way to get through the present.
I took this picture in the absolute dark at a distance. Shot with my 100-400mm at around 200mm, 1/50 second, f/6.3, and an eye-watering ISO 25,600, the resulting raw image was all but a silhouette. I coaxed the details out in edits and then, rather than fight the noise, etc., turned the whole thing into an oil painting. I quite love the result. And it gave me an excuse to spend my morning talking to you about American history, which is one of my favorite subjects.