Henry V was the King of England who fought the French on St. Crispin’s Day of 1415, the Battle of Agincourt. Down five to one, heads low, Henry brought his fighters back to life. In a speech memorialized by Shakespeare, he made clear that victory is about what is in your heart and mind.
The speech is epic, worth listening to again, if you can spare five. Why? It speaks to us over the centuries, about how we win on a battlefield, in politics, in life.
The world will weary you, wants you to give up your beliefs and fight, trade struggle for leisure, work for blame, mercy, and forgiveness, resolve for sloth, bitterness, and evil. Do not do it.
That is Henry’s message. He says stay resolved because we are all honored, blessed, to be able to fight for the right, odds notwithstanding. “The fewer the men, the greater share of honor. God’s will? I pray thee, wish not one more man.”
He says, going into battle, on the field of battle – but it applies to politics and life too, have faith that you are not alone, that this day was intended, and you are in it. “If we are marked to die, we are now to do our country loss, and if to live, the fewer men, the greater share the honor.”
He reminds them of St. Crispen’s Day, making Christian martyrdom of two brothers for their faith in 286 AD, then looks ahead, not back. “This day is called the feast of Crispian. And rouse him at the name of Crispian…Then shall our names be on their flowing cups freshly remembered, that fought with us upon St. Crispin’s day.” The cause, mission, fight, if right, is everything, and worth it all.
What else does he say? “All things be ready, if our minds be so” if they are “in the trim.” He talks of how people remember those who fight for good, with courage.
“This story shall the good man teach his son, and Crispin Crispian shall ne’er go by, from this day to the ending of the world, but we in it shall be remembered; We few, we happy few, we band of brothers. For he to-day that sheds his blood with me shall be my brother.”
He closes saying those not privileged to fight with us, who miss this chance to stand and be counted, to step up and show conviction, will wish they had the chance. They shall “think themselves accursed they were not here, And hold their manhoods cheap, whiles any speaks that fought with us upon Saint Crispin’s day.”
The message is simple, rings true still today – it should animate us all to speak truth, fight for truth with words and inner strength in “the public square,” school board meetings, moments of darkness when we feel outnumbered, or like it might be best not to speak, when the outcome is yet uncertain, even if the truth is clear.
Recently, I rewatched – as I do every year – “The Band of Brothers” series, recounting the ordeal of Easy Company, the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, in WWII.
Richard Winters – who won the Distinguished Service Cross (DSC) – quotes Shakespeare and gives thanks for serving in a “band of brothers.” Says Winters, now older: “I cherish the memory of a question my grandson asked me the other day, when he said ‘Grandpa, were you a hero in the war?’ Grandpa said, “No. But I served in a company of heroes.”
Today, in the context of the political, ideological, spiritual, and testing battle for our freedoms again in our public square, perhaps we can draw inspiration from Henry V and Richard Winters, as we fight to preserve the freedom others nobly gave us.
Robert Charles is a former Assistant Secretary of State under Colin Powell, former Reagan and Bush 41 White House staffer, Maine attorney, ten-year naval intelligence officer (USNR), and 25-year businessman. He wrote “Narcotics and Terrorism” (2003), “Eagles and Evergreens” (North Country Press, 2018), and “Cherish America: Stories of Courage, Character, and Kindness” (Tower Publishing, 2024). He is the National Spokesman for AMAC. Today, he is running to be Maine’s next Governor (please visit BobbyforMaine.com to learn more)!
