ROVIN’ AND RAVIN’ WITH MIKE

The Worthy General Worth

In Memory of Mrs. Ethel P. Strangward

This is an article that I have been planning to write for some time, an overview of the man whose name Worth County carries. When I recently heard the sad news of the death of the great Worth County teacher, Mrs. Ethel P. Strangward, I knew that I would want to commemorate her in some way in these columns of mine. Instead of writing an article about her and her influence on my life, I think I shall simply dedicate this article to her. As far as I can remember, we never discussed General Worth, but I think that Mrs. Strangward would approve of my choice of topic for a memorial to her. She was a conservative, in the best sense of the word, a conservator of the past, who nonetheless was open to the new. So, a search on the Internet for a historical figure seems to be a project that would have pleased her. I hope so.

How many times in the past week have you referred to Worth County? If you live in Worth County, Georgia, probably several times. And if you do not live in Worth County, well, let’s hope you aren’t too sad; at least you can always visit Worth County online here at Peanut.org.

But, when you refer to Worth County, do you ever stop to consider just why it is called Worth County, whose name you are speaking? General William Jenkins Worth (1794 - 1849) is, I’ve found out, well represented on the Internet. Here, for instance, is a portrait, and Worth has a biography online, associated with his birthplace, Columbia County, New York.

Our own Chamber of Commerce contributes a page that provides the link of General Worth to the county in Georgia that bears his name. Peanut.org has given General Worth a home already. Here is a page about him, where you can click on his name to go to an account of his involvement in the Indian War in Florida (which I’ll mention again below). Clicking on his name there will take you to another brief biography. You will find references in the biographies of General Worth to "brevet" ranks. These are honorary ranks bestowed, somewhat like honorary academic degrees, without appropriate raises in pay.

General Worth distinguished himself in the War of 1812 and in the Florida War against the Indians. at Fort Shannon in Florida, which was established under Worth’s command. But Worth is best known for his leadership in a very important war that is not well known today. In fact, there is no agreement even about its name, and that can make Internet searches for information about it very difficult. In the Encyclopedia Britannica, it is the "Mexican War also called Mexican-American War." To "Descendants of Mexican War Veterans," it is the "U.S.-Mexican War." This war, whatever you call it, was even in its own time very controversial, inspiring a protest song that can still be found in hymnals, "Once to Every Man and Nation." Historians continue to disagree about its causes, a disagreement which John Heyes, a high school student, summarizes in his article, "Enough Blame to Go Around: Causes of the Mexican-American War."

Armed conflict between Mexico and the United States began on April 25, 1846, when Mexican troops crossed the Rio Grande to attack General Zachary Taylor’s troops. Congress soon declared war, and Taylor invaded Mexico, winning victories over the forces of General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, whom you most likely know from the story of the Alamo, a story which took place a decade earlier. You can read of Worth’s achievements in this war in his biographies listed and linked to above. You can also read contemporary (1846) comments on the war that were printed in Scientific American—here and here.

The war ended on February 2, 1848, with the signing of a treaty at Guadalupe Hidalgo, a treaty which delivered to the United States most of Arizona, California, New Mexico, and Utah and established the Río Grande (still known to Mexicans as the Río Bravo) as the border between Mexico and Texas. Another lingering effect of this war is the ongoing suspicion and uncertainty, sometimes outright hostility, between the two neighboring countries. By the way, it was in September of 1847 that the United States Marines raised the American flag over the Halls of Montezuma, an accomplishment of which they still sing.

After the variously named war, General Worth commanded the Department of Texas until his death. Appropriately, both Fort Worth, Texas and Lake Worth, Florida (for his service in the Florida War) bear his name, as does the town of Worthville, Pennsylvania, which is, by the way, down the road from Punxsutawney, home of the groundhog Punxsutawney Phil and setting for the film Groundhog Day. (Notice the date of the signing of the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.)

Much to my surprise, as I roved around the Internet compiling links for this article, I discovered that General Worth is buried in New York City, at the intersection of Broadway and Fifth Avenue, between 24^th and 25^th Streets, four blocks from the office where I worked for two years. You can "visit" General Worth’s grave online (something I never did, never knew about, when I lived in the real New York). On a page from West Point, there is a quote from General Worth, although you'll have to scroll down a bit to find it in the column on the right.

Part of the quote, I like to think, might be the old soldier’s description of himself, "the inflexible soldier who does his duty faithfully, notwithstanding it occasionally wars with his private feelings." I’ve found so many intriguing links for General Worth, I decided simply to share them with you, and let you do your own roving rather than give you my own raving based on these links. I hope that you will visit some of these sites, and I also hope that as you rove and maybe even rave, you’ll keep your feet dry and your heart ennobled with worthy thoughts of such heroes, very different heroes, as General William Worth and Mrs. Ethel Strangward.

[2003 - I received an e-mail pointing out a mistake in this article as it originally appeared. As I began checking the article, I found that most of its links were no longer functional. I believe that Mrs. Strangward and General Worth deserve better, and so, I have had to revise the article considerably and search for new links. Much to my surprise, my e-correspondent turned out to be related to General Worth, and so, I am glad to refer you to his account of General Worth's last adventure.]

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