A Private Looks at Washington's Birthday

[Jubilo]

Dear Fellers,
Today is February 22nd. It is a day every soldier blue and gray would have celebrated . Many write about it their letters and journals . Other than religious holidays I believe it is the only commemorative day both sides shared.
all for the old flag,
David Corbett

[Darby8th]

Here's a neat tidbit regarding Washington's birthday. In 1732, the date was February 11. The shift from the Julian to the Gregorian calender during the 1750s moved the date to Feb. 22.

I can recommend the book that this came from for those interested in the preservation and interpretation of historic sites.

Seth Bruggeman, Here, George Washington Was Born: Memory, Material Culture, and Public History of the National Monument University of Georgia Press, 2008

Considering the ongoing debates within the Civil War community regarding the alterations to the Gettysburg battlefield and the interpretations offered by the new visitor center, this is an interesting, relevant work on the topic of landscape and memory.

[Jubilo]

Dear Sir,
Thank you for this information! It's interesting to think that the calendar was changed but life was a tad more unsophisticated in those times. Washington is commendable not only for what he accomplished but for his forebearance . He did not become the king of America.
all for the old flag,
David Corbett

[tompritchett]

Washington is commendable not only for what he accomplished but for his forebearance . He did not become the king of America.
all for the old flag,

I would agree fully. It is his willingness to place limits on his authority as the future President of United States and to deliberately squelch a proposed military overthrown of the original civilian government that IMHO makes him truly our greatest President. To this day, his stance that actively servicing officers in the military should be apolitical and answer to whoever is in office has for the most part has served this country well throughout its history and still permeates throughout the senior officer corps of all the armed services even today.