The year is 1415 and young King Henry V has landed a well-equipped English army in
Normandy. On their march inland they encounter stiff opposition as they lay siege to the
strategic city of Harfleur. However, their greatest enemy is dysentery which kills or
incapacitates about one third of the army or 3000 men. After Harfleur surrenders, Henry marches
on covering 200 miles in just 16 days. The English army now exhausted, filthy, and starving
reaches Agincourt only to find themselves facing a much larger French army, outnumbered at
least four to one. Not only were they the visiting team but the home team had much more than
home field advantage.
Dr. William Bennet in his wonderful classic, The Book of Virtues, says this of the speech Henry
gives to his men just before the Battle of Agincourt: “I believe, from my experience, that this
speech is the model for all half-time talks given by all football coaches every Fall in America.”
Here are a few excerpts of Henry’s speech from Shakespeare’s King Henry the Fifth:
That he which hath no stomach for this fight, Let him depart; his passport shall be made…
We would not die in that man’s company, That fears his fellowship to die with us.
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers
For he today that sheds his blood with me, Shall be my brother, be he ne’er so vile,
This day shall gentle his condition; And gentlemen in England now a-bed
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 day of the Battle of Agincourt, October 25, was also the English holiday, St. Crispen’s Day.
This fact made the resounding victory even more endearing. The French army suffered an
estimated 8000 killed in action while the English only had about 600 killed in action. During the
darkest days of World War 2, Sir Winston Churchill employed some of Shakespeare’s imagery
from the very well-known victory at Agincourt to inspire the British to “to band together”.
As men in The Lord’s Army in 2017, we often appear to be greatly outnumbered, in our quest to
redeem and re-take the culture surrounding us. The “weakened “English army rallied to the call
of their king, we few, we happy few, we band of brothers. We too must rally to the call of Our
King. We must ask the Holy Spirit to help us filter out all the cultural noise so we can hear what
Our King is saying. We must enjoin ourselves individually to Bands of Brothers for we know
that it pleases The Father that we dwell together in unity. Therein is our strength as we march
forth…we few, we happy few, we band of brothers. Let us not squander the many emerging
opportunities that lie before us!
Barney Barnes, 10-25-17, Promise Keepers National Ambassador for the Military and Prisons