Joseph R. Miller, Ph.D. Student, University of Maine

On December 26, 1799 Colonel Richard “Harry” Henry Lee (father of Robert E. Lee) delivered a eulogy for George Washington to the U.S. Congress.

Chief Justice John Marshall wore this gold mourning badge at Washington’s funeral.

First in war—first in peace—and first in the hearts of his countrymen, he was second to none in the humble and enduring scenes of private life; pious, just, humane, temperate, and sincere; uniform, dignified, and commanding, his example was as edifying to all around him as were the effects of that example lasting. To his equals he was condescending, to his inferiors kind, and to the dear object of his affections exemplarily tender; correct throughout, vice shuddered in his presence, and virtue always felt his fostering hand; the purity of his private character gave effulgence to his public virtues. His last scene comported with the whole tenor of his life—although in extreme pain, not a sigh, not a groan escaped him; and with undisturbed serenity he closed his wellspent life. Such was the man America has lost—such was the man for whom our nation mourns.[1]

Ideas, naturally, have changed over time. Few in our present society recognize that the nation’s founding father was a powerful symbol of the transition from military to civilian life in his own time. The hero of the American Revolution was also an enduring symbol of Post-Traumatic Growth before psychology was a recognized intellectual endeavor.

Henry “Light Horse Harry” Lee III

It is also fitting to note that, though Washington was symbol of seamless transition from war to civil life, Henry Lee’s life was much more troubled. He was a successful and noteworthy figure immediately following the Revolution, but when he was injured in riot during the War of 1812, he was permanently disabled and for a time was forced to seek a better climate in the West Indies. His memoirs came from a debtors prison and only became popular when his more noteworthy son edited them.[2] Still his memoirs are an impressive account of the Revolution and can serve as example of someone channeling trauma’s affect into a lasting a valuable collective memory of his experiences.[3] Lee’s words, like Washington’s transition illustrate how Post-Traumatic Growth has been central to the American experience of war, and life in general. The collection of essays edited by this author in the recently published Blue Nostalgia: A Journal of Post-Traumatic Growth are the continuation of larger American story of difficulty of veterans lives following conflict and an illustration of an ahistorical representation of the human experience of violence.

The journal is available online here.

Joseph R. Miller, “’New Narratives in an American Story of War and Growth,” Khronikos: the University of Maine graduate history student blog (blog), January 15, 2014, http://khronikos.com/2014/01/15/new-narratives-in-an-american-story-of-war-and-growth/.