To the Editor:

James Bonner returned home and in 1776 renamed the Forks of the Tar as Washington. He did so in a tribute to his commanding general, George Washington. It was a dangerous proposition given the Revolutionary War would drag on for years to come.

It would be one of many tributes to General Washington and his impact upon our fledgling nation. Daniel Webster wrote that “America has furnished the world the character of Washington, and if our American institutions had done nothing else, that alone would have entitled them to the respect of the mankind.”

At Valley Forge, his men cold and hungry, Washington implored Congress to send him food. Congress, short of funds, advised him to steal food from local farmers. Instead, believing that America could not endure if it could not earn the respect of its own citizens, he threatened soldiers caught stealing from farmers with hanging.

It is perhaps past time for Washington erect a statue to honor the founding father just as James Bonner had done in 1776.

 

Joe Phipps

Washington