During the American Revolution, it was fairly common for American soldiers to enlist for short periods and then go home.
Some signed on to be “summer soldiers” who went back to their farms in the fall to harvest crops and escape the uncomfortable winter conditions in camp.
Many others simply deserted.
Retaining soldiers was constant problem for General George Washington and other American officers, who were trying to win a war against the better organized, better trained and better supplied British army and the Hessian mercenary troops who fought with them.
In 1776, American sympathizer Thomas Paine — who had emigrated from England to join in the rebellion — became aide-de-camp to the American General Nathanael Greene.
That winter, Paine decided to write something to try to boost morale and discourage American soldiers from deserting or going home when their enlistment period was up.
It became the first in his series of “American Crisis” pamphlets. And, it begins with words that are still frequently quoted and paraphrased today:
“These are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman.”
This rousing patriotic document was first published in the Pennsylvania Journal on December 19, 1776, then issued as a pamphlet on December 23rd.
A few days later, on the eve of the Battle of Trenton, New Jersey, George Washington had Paine’s initial “American Crisis” pamphlet read aloud to his troops.
They certainly needed some morale boosting. In the previous months, the British army had regularly beaten the Americans and forced the Continental Army to retreat from New York into New Jersey.
Death and desertion had dramatically reduced the American forces and Washington himself said in a letter to a cousin in Virginia: “I think the game is pretty near up.”
But on December 26, 1776, with some timely inspiration from Paine’s pamphlet, Washington rallied himself and his troops.
They made the legendary crossing of the Delaware and soundly defeated Britain’s Hessian mercenaries in the Battle of Trenton.
That victory played a key role in renewing the spirits of George Washington, his men and the Continental Congress.
And, Thomas Paine’s “American Crisis” pamphlets
