Carrying the penchant for history I do, and relishing all opportunities availed me to learn more to what made this country I call home, home, it was natural to gravitate towards these daily readings of how everything came to be, these simple nuggets of wisdom and experience on how America became America.
A separate book, as I am certain there are many such books, dealing with the country's history in the devotional form, I also read prior to finishing this one from Dr. Bennett. While it was reading time well spent, teaching me pieces of America's story I had not heard, it lacked a strong love of country this almanac conveyed.
The 'American Patriot's' almanac. The lover of America. To understand what makes the country what it is, one must step beyond the tendency to merely recite its history. This almanac manages to do so, earning a treasured position upon every American's family shelf.
One such example of this comes in the form of a story told of General Robert E. Lee following the Civil War battle at Gettysburg Pennsylvania.
The day was July 3rd. The Confederate army found themselves in retreat. (Each entry in the almanac corresponds to the actual date the event took place.) An injured Union soldier, a bitterly anti-South man, eyes General Lee passing upon his horse. With every ounce of strength remaining within his beaten body, he cries out loudly for the Union, aiming his words directly at the general.
Here we encounter two Americans, locked in a violent struggle, both prepared to die for the cause they believe in. When the Union soldier eyes General Lee alight from his horse, he saw his fight as being done; he believed his brazen yell has delivered to him the end. Surely, the great Confederate Marse Robert would run him through with his sword.
Not so.
Instead, with a saddened gaze upon his countenance, the general grasped the injured soldier's hand and prayed for his well being.
The soldier, in deep anguish, cried himself to sleep on the battlefield that night.
After I read that tale, I knew I needed to read the book from whence that story came, "The Memoirs of Robert E. Lee"; and now, having read the book, I can testify to this tale carrying a decidedly American feel to it, relaying this episode of enemies who were no more actual 'enemies' than brothers in a fight.
Three hundred and sixty-five entries cover the days of the year with a myriad of different stories that will manage to stir the fires of patriotism within even the coldest hearts of a soul. All a reader need do is pick a date. Pick any date.
March 19, 1852: The book that helped speed the end of slavery in this country, "Uncle Tom's Cabin", as Abraham Lincoln declared it, the author, Harriet Beecher Stowe met with President Lincoln in 1862.
August 4, 1790: the day Congress established the Revenue Cutter Service, known today as the Coast Guard, with the intent to enforce tariff laws.
May 6, 1941: comedian Bob Hope broadcasts his popular radio program from an army base in California, leading to decades of USO tours, entertaining the troops on whatever battlefield they fought.
May 16, 1842: the first settlers embarked upon the Oregon Trail, one of the first wagon trains into the Northwest.
August
9, 1936: Jesse Owens blows away the competition, winning four gold
medals at Adolf Hitler's Berlin Olympics, ruining his showboating of the
"superiority" to Germany's Aryan youth.
June
17, 1775: the Battle of Bunker Hill matches American Patriots against
British regulars in the opening salvo to the American Revolution: "Don't
fire 'till you see the whites of their eyes!"
And the lists goes on and on... a rich history in 540 pages that only graces the surface to America's unique tapestry. Also included are the U.S. Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, a listing of all fifty states flags with the states' primary data (size, date entered the Union, state song, etc. etc.), the Gettysburg Address, the Emancipation Proclamation, as well as other varied piece of information on what makes this land America.
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