General Washington’s first order to the Continental Army

251 years ago today, on July 4, 1775, General George Washington issued his very first official orders to the Continental Army. In it, he explicitly ordered the troops to attend church.

Throughout his career as Commander in Chief and President, Washington maintained that being a Christian was more important than being a patriot. In fact, his writings indicate that Christianity is necessary for one to be an American patriot.

Here at Liberty Counsel, we wholeheartedly agree. And that is why we fight in courtrooms across our nation to defend life, religious liberty and the natural family.

On this 250th Anniversary of our nation’s founding, please make a generous gift to help us keep defending liberty!

George Washington was a lifelong member and regular attendee of the Anglican Church (which later became the Episcopal Church after the Colonies split from England). And he deeply believed that only divine providence and a Christian people could build these colonies into a free nation.

In his very first orders to the Continental Army on July 4, 1775, Washington wrote that as General, he: 

requires and expects of all Officers and Soldiers, not engaged on actual duty, a punctual attendance on divine Service to implore the blessings of heaven upon the means used for our safety and defense.

A few months later, in a letter to Benedict Arnold, dated September 14, 1755, Washington ordered Arnold to “avoid all Disrespect to or Contempt of the Religion”, and instead follow “a true Christian spirit”.

In his General Orders issued May 2, 1776, Washington again ordered troops and officers to worship, noting:

While we are zealously performing the duties of good Citizens and soldiers we certainly ought not to be inattentive to the higher duties of Religion. To the distinguished Character of Patriot, it should be our highest Glory to add the more distinguished Character of Christian. 

On July 9, 1776, upon the announcement of the Declaration of Independence, Washington wrote:

The blessing and protection of Heaven are at all times necessary but especially so in times of public distress and danger ~ The General hopes and trusts, that every officer and man, will endeavor so to live, and act, as becomes a Christian Soldier defending the dearest Rights and Liberties of his country.

Here at Liberty Counsel, we have endeavored for 37 years to be good Christian soldiers, fighting not with guns and swords, but with the Bible and the Constitution, in order to protect those dearest “rights and liberties” of our nation.

We’ve now won 42 cases we have argued or briefed before the US Supreme Court, and thousands more in the lower courts. All of our cases have been focused on the right to life, religious freedom, and the natural family.

But we have much more work to do, especially in an age where local, state and even federal government officers and agencies deliberately seek to demolish those three principles. Below are just a handful of our current cases 

• We are defending a mother against an atheist judge who wrote a court order banning the woman from taking her own child to church. Bickford v. Bradeen. 

• We are defending parents against the Santa Fe Public School System which demanded a 6-year-old girl take mandatory counseling to “overcome her Christian beliefs” about homosexuality. 

• We are defending a Los Angeles County employee ordered to undergo “mental health counseling” to overcome his Christian beliefs, which prevent him from participating in mandatory LGBTQ “Pride” celebrations. Batman v. Los Angeles.

• We are defending families at the US Supreme Court against state agencies’ attempts to medically kidnap children in order to “transition” those children into gender bending medical experiments against the parents’ will. International Partners for Ethical Care v. Ferguson. 

• We are defending Pastors fired from secular jobs because they preach the Word of God on weekends. Multiple cases.

• We are defending street preachers arrested and fined for using their First Amendment rights to bring the Good News of Christ to the streets. Multiple cases.

• We are defending Good News Bible clubs against multiple public-school systems which ban after school Bible clubs while actively pushing children into “Pride” clubs and the LGBTQ lifestyle. Multiple Cases.

General Washington’s nephew wrote that he would often find his uncle on his knees, head bowed over the Bible, reading and praying over the difficult decisions before him as he led our republic. 

I’ve spent many days doing just the same thing in my own prayer room. And our staff not only meets every morning for ministry-wide prayer, but we also pray for God’s wisdom, discernment and guidance before every meeting, and every legal argument. 

Here at Liberty Counsel, we are not merely attorneys defending the Constitution. We are Christian soldiers fighting for the soul of our republic, and I am so thankful that you are an active supporter of our ministry.

Please help us continue to defend the Gospel by supporting our work today, and a special challenge grant will double your impact.

Please join me in praying for our country today and everyday. 

God bless you, and God bless America. May the Christian nation founded 250 years ago today, survive and thrive another 250 years! 

Mat Staver
Founder and Chairman
Liberty Counsel