It has been a hot second since I have done a “Miracle In History” post here on the blog. No, I haven’t exhausted the incredible workings of The Timeless Anchor throughout history’s pages. So don’t go getting any crazy ideas. I’ll be fan-girling history’s greatest miracles for as long as I live. Which is why I knew I needed to do another one this week.

In the Bible, we see many instances where Heaven’s Hand was working on behalf of a people or nation. So often we read of how God intervened in powerful ways. But we also see what the human nature is prone to do—forget God’s mighty acts.

Throughout the Old Testament, Israel forgot time and time again that God had interceded on their behalf so many times. They forgot that He was the reason they were not destroyed from the face of the earth.

In Deuteronomy, Moses had to warn them not to forget the things they had seen God do.

“Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life:but teach them thy sons, and thy sons’ sons;”

Deuteronomy 4:9

America is like Israel in many ways. We have started to forget the working of God on our behalf. It’s no wonder we have a godless generation rising up and removing God from everything.

Are we so blind that we have forgotten what we once were? Have we forgotten what God has done for us?

I would argue that the answer is yes. Americans are turning their backs on the truth of history.

Today, I bring you one more example of how the God of Heaven protected us in our infancy and stayed the forces of evil.

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In the early days of 1781, the Patriot cause was in dire shape. Great Britain was only one good battle away from taking the American South. If we lost the southern colonies, it would only be a matter of time before New England also fell.

The patriot armies in the south had been fighting doggedly and taking a beating since 1778. We’d lost many of our men to disease and wounds. This left America standing on her last leg.

But in the face of daunting odds, there stood a group of guerrilla fighters. Men who could hit a seven inch target from 250 paces with their first shot. This was a feat that was almost unheard of with the weapons of the day.

Nevertheless, Daniel Morgan’s elite regiment of sharpshooters were skilled enough to do so. They were the Crown’s worst nightmare.

Trained to fight rather unconventionally, they thrived on the unpredictable, unlike their British opponents. This would be their saving grace.

I can’t help but think that at this time in our history—in the shadows of history—God’s people were praying for America’s cause. I believe that there must have been believers who fell to their knees in brokenness, pleading that God would grant us our liberty. Surely there were mighty prayers raised to Heaven’s Ear that we will never know about in this life, but that moved the heart of our Lord.

Why do I believe that? Because if you were to turn the very next page in the history book, you’d see a miracle that could only have come from Jehovah’s hand.

January 1781, Daniel Morgan knew that the stakes were rising and America needed a major victory in the south. The problem was that he was currently occupied trying to keep his men out of the grips of British Colonel Banastre Tarleton, who was actively hunting them down.

Tarleton was seeking to bring an end to the cunning guerrilla band who was disrupting the British cause every chance they got. Tarleton had earned a reputation among the Colonists of being ruthless and barbaric in his treatment of the enemy. Only a short time before, in May of 1780, he had massacred a group of American soldiers who had already surrendered.

In the history of civilized warfare, that was an act of abominable cruelty and was in no way considered honorable.

Having received the word that Tarleton was closing in on his flank, Morgan weighed his options. They could try to retreat, but that would force them to ford a river. If Tarleton caught them in the middle of crossing, they would be cut down instantly.

His best option was to fight.

In a move that has been considered one of the most clever tactics in military history, Morgan prepared to meet the enemy. The conflict became known as “The Battle of Cowpens”.

Morgan positioned his men in three different lines. The first line consisted of skirmishers, the second of militia men, and the last line was made up of his highest trained soldiers.

Scattered throughout the first two lines were a few select men with the direct orders to kill the British officers first. This would cause the Redcoats to be disorganized and confused when they reached the third line of Morgan’s men.

The plan worked. Only a few hours after the first shot was fired, Morgan and his men celebrated victory while Tarleton, and the men he had left, retreated to lick their wounds.

Tarleton lost 868 men, while Morgan only lost 149.

This would be the victory that was needed to spur the Patriots on to fight longer and harder.

One victory was a far cry from winning the war though. British General Cornwallis was quick to chase after Morgan’s army once he heard the news of Tarleton’s embarrassing defeat.

This caused Morgan to choose to take his men north, out of Cornwallis’ reach. Retreating north required him and his men to cross the Catawba River, which they did successfully.

Cornwallis’ troops arrived only hours after Morgan’s men, but a sudden rainstorm had risen up that flooded the river so badly it prevented them from crossing.

This happened two more times in Morgan’s escape to Virginia. Rivers unexpectedly rose in the nick of time to save Daniel Morgan and his riflemen, allowing them to live to fight another day.

You tell me God wasn’t fighting America’s battles for us, and I’ll call you a liar.

As I have said many times before, I don’t believe in coincidence. How is it that rivers unexpectedly rise in perfect timing with Morgan’s escape from the British? The timing, the method in which it happened…

It reminds me of when God parted the Red Sea for Israel’s escape from Egypt. No, He didn’t part the Catawba River for Morgan’s men, but He did cause it to flood and prevent their enemy from following. It is so clear that this was a powerful act of God on behalf of America.

We can’t forget these vital pieces of our history! If we do, we will be in dire shape.

This is my challenge to you today: Pass along the miracles of history that you learn about. It’s wonderful if you learn these things for yourself, but don’t stop there! Tell them to your friends and family. Share it around the dinner table. Post about it on your social media.

If we don’t propagate the truth of our history to those around us, we are as just as bad as the people who are rewriting the history books.

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What are your thoughts on this miracle? Let me know in the comments!

A. M. Watson

Hebrews 13:8