Reviewed by Charles L. Glenn Independence won, George Washington
faced a near-mutiny of his officers, unwilling to return to
civilian life until their arrears of salary had been paid.
Washington appeared unexpectedly at a meeting of the officers
and gave an impassioned appeal to reason and moderation, to the
men's duty, their patriotism, and their honor. Sensing that the
officers' smoldering resentment was still unquenched, he
produced a reassuring letter from a congressman. He began to
read it, stumbled, paused, and pulled out a pair of spectacles.
"I have grown gray in the service of my country," he said, "and
now it seems I am going blind." His officers wept, and the
uprising crumbled. As Jefferson later observed, "The moderation
and virtue of a single character probably prevented this
Revolution from being closed, as most others have been, by a
subversion of the liberty it was intended to establish."This
incident was familiar to every schoolchild a century ago, but
few are told such stories today. Honor,