George Washington had a deep-set sense of right and wrong, and sometimes his sense of Army decorum could get in his way. Our July 14 episode demonstrated that to a certain extent.

Other times it demonstrate the high expectations he placed on himself and others. He wanted his officers to be behavior models, especially because so many of the troops were so undisciplined. This only worked to a certain extent; it took the influence of some outside officers for the lessons to really sink in, but we won’t get to talk about that for some time.

It’s also important to note, as I think today’s episode demonstrates, that Washington did care about the well-being of his men. Not just their physical comforts (he was always trying to get blankets, better food and such for them), but their mental and spiritual comfort as well. It wasn’t all army decorum. So he made allowances for the men to take a day to worship if they so desired, and to be exempt from fatigue duty on Sundays, “until further orders.”

“Further orders” turned out to be until August 25, when the order was rescinded, but the fact that the order was given in the first place goes a long way.

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