tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28102666.post4697961246037162997..comments2024-03-28T04:26:30.557-05:00Comments on Boston 1775: The Little Lady Who Started the Anecdote?Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28102666.post-53369430458607459952007-10-24T21:58:00.000-05:002007-10-24T21:58:00.000-05:00That may indeed have been the case. One of the app...That may indeed have been the case. One of the approaches I've been taking to Revolutionary legends is to think of how they might have gotten into the history books without anyone knowingly trying to deceive the nation, without anyone being deluded about what they've experienced.<BR/><BR/>For instance, a grandma tells a story to her grandkids to entertain or inspire them, saying it's about an ancestor. The grandma never thinks that adults will believe this tale, or that it will go out of the family. The grandkids grow up believing that story to be true. Long after the grandma's gone, they take it to their local historians.<BR/><BR/>That's a possible scenario for the legends of Betsy Ross, Sybil Ludington, John Honyman, John Pedrick, and many other examples.<BR/><BR/>Another possible avenue involves churches and synagogues. A minister or rabbi builds a sermon around a parable of the Revolution. Some congregants believe it not just to contain a moral truth but to be historically true.<BR/><BR/>The tale of "Hannukah at Valley Forge" that I traced earlier this year seems to fit that model, and this tale of General Washington's psalm might also.J. L. Bellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15405157000473731801noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28102666.post-57933961297644734352007-10-24T15:46:00.000-05:002007-10-24T15:46:00.000-05:00I've been following your story about Washington an...I've been following your story about Washington and the Psalm and find it fascinating. My impression is that when Andrew was giving his account of Washington he had thought about that day so much that he actually believe Washington did read the Psalm. Given that he was a very religious man, maybe Andrew wanted to believe Washington did read the Psalm and over time and old age he couldn't distinguished what was true and what he made up. Great stuff, looking forward to your next posting on the matter.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com