In 1776 Thomas Paine's words were on the lips of every patriot: "These are the times that try men's souls...the summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands it now deserves the love and thanks of man and woman."

Washington was outmanned, outgunned, and outflanked numerous times during the war. He lost battle after battle at first; withdrawing and regrouping often. His men lacked uniforms, winter clothing, food, and basic supplies most of the time. The Revolutionary soldier endured hardships we can only imagine today.

So remember, while you sit in your warm house with your fridge full of food, just how extraordinary those men were that fought, and suffered, and died in White Plains, in Lexington and Concord, in Saratoga, Valley Forge or any of a dozen places; and of how fortunate we are that their perseverance and resolve in the face of such hardships was passed down to us, their descendants.