"Shift your ass, Henry, and trim the boat." Topic

This is merry indeed, if perhaps a bit pedantic and a little condescending. But it does do a good job of untangling history and myth, to the extent we WANT them untangled.

link

It doesn't sound much like the George Washington I read about, and the situation they were in after the loss of New York was dire indeed.
However, it COULD be true, and it makes the great man seem more human, so why not accept it if you want to?

RR, surely. Sometimes the myth contains more truth than the history.

And right from the first, Herodotus and Thucydides made up conversations and speeches.

I have myself been quoted as using vulgarities when I did not. A lot of verbal quotes are paraphrases.

In this case, though, I'm going with John Ford. "When the legend becomes the fact…"

rp, yes indeed.

Good article. "Folklore is fun but history is our business and it is important to help the public understand the difference between the two and enjoy both."
A.J.P. Taylor

I believe the late Brigadier Peter Young, who taught military history at RMA Sandhurst after a distinguished military career, once opined 'Never let the facts get in the way of a good yarn.'