Real history is a fragile thing. When the US Army took control of Arlington Estate in 1861, a slave named Selina Gray saved many of George Washington’s personal effects that had been entrusted to her by her owner Mrs Robert E Lee, Martha Washington’s great granddaughter. When the Ford Mansion (above) in Morristown—where George Washington lived with his family and staff from 1779-1780—was put up for auction in 1873, a group of locals pooled their funds, bought it, saved more of Washington’s personal effects, and later donated the mansion and collection to the US. Today, the National Park Service preserves and protects 138 historic places, plus many more monuments, memorials, parks, trails, etc.
So, it just pissed me off when some yahoos approached the Park Ranger at Morristown after our tour and insisted she pose with them for a picture, along with the flag they brought, the ‘Appeal to Heaven’ pine tree flag. They prefaced their request by explaining how Washington had designed the pine tree flag to symbolize his Christian faith and how he had sailed with his fleet into battle confident that God would protect him and his righteous cause to build a Christian nation. Plus some other fanciful nonsense.
The ranger, who helped research the museum exhibits, stood her ground and politely refused to be photographed with the flag in front of the mansion. She explained that Washington did not create that nor any other religious flag, nor did he sail on any ship flying that flag. She also quickly dismissed a half dozen of their other conspiracy theories. Later, she told me that this sort of thing happens frequently, but that it’s important to tell our actual history.
Other rangers have told me about how they used to have a display at Vicksburg about how the Civil War was fought over slavery, but that they had to take it down due to the constant stream of visitors coming to the desk to argue against that massively obvious historic fact. One ranger was afraid to share his well-researched and sensible views with me until he was assured that nobody else could hear, out of fear of causing any offense. Another ranger, hearing me complain about the racist Johnson site, asked me if I worked for the Park Service, since apparently my view is common among employees.
Before embarking on my quest to visit all the national park units by electric vehicle, I did not fully appreciate how our nation’s history is under daily attack by ‘culture warriors’ everywhere. The state of Alabama is neglecting to tell the story of the Battle of Mobile Bay, leading many students astray. General Grant was subjected to decades of maligning by ‘lost cause’ supporters. Labor history is under-recognized. Black history is under-funded. Women’s history is under-appreciated. Many rangers are frequently subjected to historically inaccurate rants by complete loons.
Our political opponents and their followers are actively trying to replace history with fantasy. This is not just simple ignorance; it is part of an organized campaign to supplant reality with their dishonest political narrative. Those yahoos at Morristown were trying to get a US government employee at a George Washington historic site to endorse their false view that their Christian nationalist flag was designed by Washington. Their stunt was planned, prepared and rehearsed, despite all their views being untrue.
If you care about preserving our real history, then first, please help elect Joe and Kamala. Then, see if there are any local historic preservation efforts you can support. Again and again in my travels, I have heard how small groups of local people were the ones who saved our history from being lost. High schoolers saved Amache before Joe Biden protected it. And one reason we know that George Washington actively opposed religious bigotry and intolerance completely is because the Hebrew Congregation of Touro Synagogue in Rhode Island saved his hand written letters, thanking them for hosting his visits. An important part of saving our democracy from those who would end it is saving our history from the same folks who would rewrite it with lies.
