He was already toeing that line with Charlemagne (who, sure, was enormously significant in his time ... but also perpetrated his share of atrocities).
Is it confirmed that Charlemagne had a Sword? In the books, Molly just says that they're
descended from him, not that he used to be a Knight of the Cross, unless I missed something.
I won't say much about George Washington's less savory qualities except to point out that applying 21st century values and science to 18th century people is an exercise in futility. DISCLAIMER:
I do not want to start an argument about this. I understand the immorality of slavery and racism. I'm merely pointing out the values dissonance people often overlook when looking at historical figures.On the flip side: there are countless stories about George Washington that defy logic, to the point that he was basically a folk hero. Riding up and down in front of his lines at the Battle of Princeton when he was 30 yards away from the enemy, then ordering a volley; a Native American Chief, years after the Seven Years War, tracked down Washington to pay his respects to the man "who could never die in battle," (during one battle in the French and Indian War, Washington, as an Aide, basically started giving orders himself, riding back and forth between officers; during that battle, his horse was shot out from under him twice, but he was untouched); the Ticonderoga raid, where a river that should have been frozen was miraculously unfrozen despite the cold, which let him execute an insane plan to float countless cannon and gunpowder down the river (it should be noted that the river
needed to be unfrozen for the plan to work at all, and it was frozen at the time he authorized the raid); there are multiple times when weather conditions seemed to just
happen precisely when he needed them (the escape from Manhattan Harbor, for instance, was only possible because of a sudden batch of fog)... the list goes on.
Basically what I'm saying is that being a Knight of the Cross neatly explains the feeling of Divine Providence that let him survive, let alone win the American Revolution. I don't know how long he had Esperacchius; it may be that he was a Knight of the Cross for the duration of the Revolution, or from Valley Forge through Yorktown, or that he picked it up during the French and Indian War/Seven Years War/Great War for Empire (it was actually nine years, and the F&I War was just the Western theater of the GWfE). The point is that his position as a Knight of the Cross may have been temporary, for a specific purpose (such as winning the Revolution). TWG probably had plans that required an independent USA.
