“The hour is fast approaching on which the honour and success of this army, and the safety of our bleeding country depend. Remember, officers and soldiers, that you are free men, fighting for the blessings of liberty… that slavery will be your portion… if you do not acquit yourselves like men.”
George Washington, 1776
"To be prepared for war is one of the most effectual means of preserving peace."
"Give up money, give up fame, give up science, give the earth itself and all it contains rather than do an immoral act. And never suppose that in any possible situation, or under any circumstances, it is best for you to do a dishonorable thing, however slightly so it may appear to you… From the practice of the purest virtue, you may be assured you will derive the most sublime comforts in every moment of life, and in the moment of death."
"Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom, must, like men, undergo the fatigues of supporting it."
"It is the madness of folly, to expect mercy from those who have refused to do justice; and even mercy, where conquest is the object, is only a trick of war; the cunning of the fox is as murderous as the violence of the wolf."
The American Crisis, No. 1, December 23, 1776