It is time for me to apologize. To tell my country and my internet that I am sorry for what I have done. To hold myself accountable. To humble myself. To admit wrongdoing.
I keep getting Myles Standish and Friedrich von Steuben confused.
Yes, I know this is a bit ridiculous of me. Standish was a military man hired by the Pilgrims to advise them on such matters, and his legacy is questionable, though from the standpoint of keeping the fledgling colony alive, he succeeded. He came over on the Mayflower. von Steuben was a Prussian officer who volunteered himself to the Continental Army in the 1770’s and proceeded to serve George Washington and company as an effective trainer, driller, and consultant, most notably at Valley Forge. He doesn’t get his due as a hero in the American Colonies’ war for independence. I shouldn’t get these guys confused.
Yet I do.
What I frequently do is think Standish was the guy at Valley Forge, paying no heed to my knowledge that the said man was German in some capacity and Myles Standish is not exactly a German name. I can place him with the Pilgrims, but I evidently like to place him elsewhere as well. As for von Steuben, I simply forget his name, having replaced it with that of his 17th century predecessor.
Anyway, I’m sorry. I will do my best to do better.
