Early American Wars | 1 Nephi 13:16-19

Heavenly Father gathered good men and women out of the nations of the world to this land. He allowed conflict, strife, and war to happen which formed, shaped and prepared America for what it is today. I know God was involved in the creation of this new nation and protected many of the early colonist. My ancestor Captain David Perry, a soldier of the French and Indian War and the Revolutionary War, spoke of the grace of God in his life, about patriotism, and about how to retain freedom.

“It was the first engagement I had ever seen, and the whistling of balls, and roar of musketry terrified me not a little. It happened that I got behind a white-oak stump, which was so small that I had to lay on my side and stretch myself; the balls striking the ground within a hand's breadth of me every moment and I could hear the men screaming, and see them dying all around me, I lay there some time. A man could not stand erect, without being hit, any more than he could stand out in a shower, without having drops of rain fall upon him; for the balls come by hands full. It was a clear day, a little air stirring. Once in a while the enemy would cease firing a minute or two, to have the smoke clear away, so that they might take better aim. In one of these intervals I sprang from my perilous situation, and gained a stand which I thought would be more secure, behind a large pine log, where several of my comrades had already taken shelter, but the balls came here as thick as ever.”

Heavenly Father allows tragedy and afflictions to happen to help us become more humble and grow in strength and resolve. These early wars were awful because of death due to combat  and disease but it made America a strong nation that was prepared for the restoration of the gospel.

"While lying in camp, our water and provisions were very bad, the men grew sickly, and a great many died of the dysentery but the same Almighty Power that warded off the balls in the day of battle, preserved me from the desolating scourge of disease."

There is no question that this nation received its independence through the grace of God. It was a miracle. This nation was sorely under-trained and outnumbered but became victorious. It is the same with His saints—they may be under-trained, outnumbered, and overwhelmed but they will be victorious through the divine power and intervention of God.

"I think I have the greatest reason to bless and praise the name of the Lord, that he covered my head in the day of battle, and preserved my body from wasting sickness at noon-day."

These quotes were by Captain David Perry from his book Recollections of an Old Soldier. He also tells of a vision of the Revolutionary War that he had while on his sickbed upon a ship heading home after a campaign during the French and Indian War. I'm grateful for his inspiring example of faith and determination. As a nation we stand upon the shoulders of great people, some who died that we would live free.