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HISTORIC   AMERICANS 


THE   LIFE   OF 

George  Washington 

First  President  of  the  United  States  jy8g-iyQ7 

By 
EUGENR  PARSONS 

Lecturer  on  American   History 

With  Supplementary  Essay  by 

G.  MERCER  ADAM 

And  an  Article  by 

PROF.  HENRY  WADE  ROGERS,  LL.D. 

Of  Vale  University 

Together  with 

ANECDOTES,   CHARACTERISTICS  AND    CHRONOLOGY 


Copyright,  1898.  by  The  University  Association 

Copyrieht.  1903,  by  H.  G.  Campbell  Publishing  Co. 

Copyright,  1913,  by  Wm.  H.  Lee 


CHICAGO 
LAIRD    &    LEE,    PUBLISHERS 


TJ  " 


CI.A346655 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 

Biography    5 

Journal  of  His  Journey  Over  the  Mountains 15 

Sketch  by   G.   Mercer  Adam 91 

Sketch  by  Prof.  Henry  Wade  Eogers,  Ph.  D.,  of  Yale 

University     122 

Anecdotes,    Characteristics    and    Tributes 140 

The  Birthday  of  Washington — The  Value  of  Washing- 
ton   140 

His  Majestic  Eminence 142 

Byron 's   Tribute 144 

Opinions  of  Washington 14G 

Girl's     Account    of    Washington's     Escape    from    the 

Indians    148 

The   Story  of  George  Washington   for   School   or   Club 

Program    151 

Washington 's  Birthday   162 

Program  for  a  Washington  Afternoon 162 

Program  for  a  Washington  Evening 162 

Questions    for   Eeview 163 

Subjects  for  Special  Study 164 

Chronological  Events  in  the  Life  of  Washington 165 

Bibliography     166 

Extract  from  Inaugural  Address 167 

Extract  from  Farewell   Address 168 

Washington 's  Will    170 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


PAGE 

Portrait   and   Autograph Frontispiece 

Washington  as  a  Young  Man 7 

Tomb  of  Washington's  Mother,  Fredericksburg,  Va. ...  10 

Washington's  Interview  With  His  Mother 13 

Washington  on  His  Journej'^  to   Ohio 2^ 

Washington's  First  Interview  With  Mrs.  Custis 33 

Martha  Washington   35 

Home  of  Washington,  Mount  Vernon 38 

Alexander    Hamilton    .*  46 

General  Charles  Lee   -17 

General  Eichard  Alontgomery    48 

Washington's  Headquarters  at   Newburgh 53 

Washington  Crossing  the  Delaware 57 

Washington  at  the  Battle  of  Princeton 59 

General  John  Burgoyne  01 

Washington  and  Lafayette  at  Valley  Forge G5 

Washington  's  Headquarters  at  Valley  Forge G7 

Battle  of  Camden  and  Death  of  DeKalb 73 

General  Benedict   Arnold    74 

An  Incident  at  the  Battle  of  Cowpens 75 

Washington  Bidding  Farewell  to  His  Officers 79 

Washington  and  Family  at  Mount  Vernon SI 

Washington's  Eeception  at  Trenton  (bronze  panel)  ....  ^'4 

Washington's  First  Inauguration    (bronze  panel) 8G 

Washington 's  Tomb  at   i\Iount  Vernon,  Va 89 

Greenough's  Statue  of  Washington,  Washington,  D.  C. .  141 

Washington  Laying  Cornerstone  of  the  Capitol,  1793..  147 

Benjamin  Eush    148 

Statue   of   Washington,    Statuary   Hall,   Old   House   of 

Eepresentatives,  Washington,  D.  C 150 

Title  Page   of  Washington's  Journal 152 

Church  Where  Washington  was  ^larried 155 

Washington 's  Camp  Chest    15G 

Washington's  Eetreat  Through  New  Jersey 158 

Washington  's  Sword  and  Staff 159 

Washington  's   Book-Plate 161 


THE  name  and  fame  of  Washington  are  immortal. 
When  all  due  allowance  is  made  for  hero-worship, 
his  is  a  superlative  worth.  To  him  rightly  belongs  the 
place  of  pre-eminence  among  colonial  leaders. 

The  colonies  could,  indeed,  boast  of  many  men  of  con- 
spicuous ability  and  unswerving  patriotism,  men  of  af- 
fairs, men  of  genius  for  finance  and  government,  but  none 
of  them  fulfilled  the  requirements  of  a  popular  hero  as  did 
Washington.  His  is  an  all-round  greatness  that  none  of 
his  contemporaries  had. 

There  were  other  patriots  of  Washington's  time  who 
were  truly  great  and  noble,  whose  services  to  their  coun- 
try are  gratefully  remembered,  but  his  is  an  incompara- 
ble glory.  His  was  a  devotion  to  a  sacred  cause  that 
counted  not  the  cost,  and  his  was  an  enthusiasm  tem- 
pered by  judgment.  His  is  a  character  that  stands  the 
test  of  time.  His  was  a  moral  grandeur,  joined  with 
practical  wisdom,  never  surpassed  among  the  most  re- 
nowned figiires  in  the  world's  history. 

Washington  was  idolized  in  his  day,  and  his  memory 
has  been  cherished  as  a  priceless  possession  by  succeed- 


6  GEORGE  WASHINGTON. 

ing  generations.  And  the  good  of  other  lands,  lovers  of 
liberty  and  friends  of  justice  in  the  Old  World,  have  paid 
spontaneous  tribute  to  his  exalted  merit. 

By  common  consent,  Washington  is  regarded  as  the 
best  type  of  American  that  our  country  has  yet  produced. 
No  other,  unless  it  be  Lincoln,  is  deemed  worthy  of  a 
place  beside  him.  He  was  not  only  the  central  figure 
among  the  founders  of  the  American  republic — he  stands 
as  the  representative  of  western  ideas  as  opposed  to  mon- 
archical views  of  government.  Such  is  the  verdict  of 
the  eighteenth  and  nineteenth  centuries,  a  verdict  that 
the  centuries  to  come  will  not  reverse. 

It  is  not  every  man  that  has  in  him  the  making  of  a 
successful  farmer,  a  wise  legislator,  a  superb  general,  and 
an  admirable  president.  Washington  steadily  rose  in  the 
world,  higher  and  higher,  by  dint  of  his  superior  fitness. 
He  was  ambitious  to  rise  and  put  forth  strenuous,  well- 
directed  effort  to  better  his  condition.  Though  aided  by 
favoring  circumstances,  the  way  was  by  no  means  easy. 
Success  was  his,  because  he  won  it  and  deserved  it.  He 
was  prudent  and  energetic,  painstaking  and  conscientious. 

In  all  of  his  official  acts,  as  well  as  in  the  relations  of 
private  life,  he  was  characterized  by  fidelity  to  duty  and 
loyalty  to  principle.  His  were  the  qualities  that  com- 
mand respect  and  confidence,  that  lead  to  fortune  and  to 
positions  of  honor  and  responsibility.  It  was  by  no  ac- 
cident or  series  of  accidents  that  he  reached  the  highest 
place  in  the  nation. 

When  but  a  mere  stripling,  George  Washington  was 
known  far  and  wide  in  the  Old  Dominion,    as  Virginia 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON.  7 

was  then  called.  Here  was  a  youth  who  had  forged  to 
the  front  by  force  of  will  and  native  endowments.  At 
the  age  of  nineteen  he  was  a  person  of  prominence  and 
influence.  Thenceforth  he  was  a  public  character,  an 
actor  in  the  chief  events  that  make  up  the  history  of  our 


Washington  as  a  Young  Man. 

country  for  nearly  half  a  century.  To  write  the  story  of 
his  life  is  to  write  the  history  of  his  times.  It  is  a  thrill- 
ing and  inspiring  record,  of  which  his  countrymen  may 
well  feel  proud. 

The  Washingtons  of  Virginia  were  of  English  descent. 
Their  ancestors  were  formerly  of  the  yeomanry  of  York- 


8  GEORGE  WASHINGTON. 

shire,  England;  not  Saxons,  but  of  Danish  blood.  The 
founder  of  the  Washington  family  in  England,  who  lived 
in  the  eleventh  century,  is  said  to  have  been  a  descendant 
of  the  celebrated  Odin.  The  two  brothers,  Laurence 
and  John  Washington,  of  whom  not  much  is  known,  em- 
igrated to  Virginia  in  1659  and  settled  in  Westmoreland 
County,  near  Bridges  Creek,  between  the  Potomac  and 
Rappahannock  rivers.  Col.  John  Washington,  a  man 
evidently  of  some  means  and  enterprise,  was  the  great 
grandfather  of  George  Washington. 

Augustine  Washington  (born  in  1694)  was  married 
(1715)  to  Jane  Butler,  who  died  in  1728,  leaving  two  sons 
— lyaurence  (1728)  and  Augustine  (1720)— and  one 
daughter  (who  died  in  1735).  His  second  marriage  took 
place  March  6,  1731.  Being  a  man  of  more  than  aver- 
age attractions,  he  had  the  good  fortune  to  win  the  hand 
of  a  very  estimable  young  lady.  Miss  Mary  Ball. 
They  had  six  children:  George,  born  at  Wakefield  (as 
the  Washington  homestead  was  then  called),  Feb.  22, 
1732;  Betty  (1733-97),  Samuel  (1734-81);  John  (1736-87); 
Charles  (1738-99);  and  Mildred  (1739-40). 

The  house  where  George  was  born,  not  far  from  Pope's 
Creek,  burned  down  in  1735.  Of  Washington's  birth- 
place one  has  written: 

"This  house  commanded  a  beautiful  view  over  many 
miles  of  the  Potomac,  and  opposite  shore  of  Maryland;  it 
contained  four  rooms  on  the  ground  floor,  and  others  in 
the  attic.  Such  was  the  birthplace  of  our  great  and  loved 
Washington.  Not  a  vestige  more  remains  of  it;  only  a 
stone  placed  there  by  a  wife's  grandson,   George  Wash- 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON.  9 

ington  Parke  Custis,  marks  the  site  of  the  'old  low-pitched 
farm  house.'  " 

The  father  then  moved  his  family  to  his  plantation 
near  Fredericksburgh,  where  the  childhood  and  youth  of 
Washington  was  chiefly  spent. 

The  Father  of  his  Country  was  blessed  with  excellent 
parents.  His  father  was  no  ordinary  man;  his  mother 
was  no  ordinary  woman. 

Though  a  gentleman,  Augustine  Washington  led  the 
active  life  of  a  planter-frontierman.  It  was  an  indepen- 
dent, simple,  honest  sort  of  life,  by  no  means  easy  and 
luxurious.  There  was  not  much  leisure  for  books  or 
sports.  He  died  April  12,  1743.  Being  a  large  landed 
proprietor,  he  left  farms  to  each  of  his  children.  He  be- 
queathed the  estate  of  Mount  Vernon  to  his  eldest  son 
Laurence,  while  George  inherited  the  house  and  lands 
on  the  Rappahannock. 

The  elder  Washington  was  not  the  type  of  man  de- 
scribed in  Weems'  "Life  of  Washington."  The  hatchet 
story  told  in  this  remarkable  book  was  long  ago  discred- 
ited, with  some  other  "curious  anecdotes"  seriously  re- 
lated by  this  extravagant  but  not  over-trustworthy  biog- 
rapher. Doubtless,  the  importance  of  truthfulness  was 
emphasized  by  both  father  and  mother.  They  laid  the 
foundations  of  George  Washington's  reputation  for  verac- 
ity. The  father's  impress  on  his  son  was  enduring, 
though  he  died  when  George  was  only  eleven  years  old. 

The  name  of  Mary  Washington  is  universally  revered 
and  beloved.  Upon  her  devolved  the  task  of  looking  af- 
ter the  wants  of  a  large  household,  and  she  faithfully  per- 


lo  GEORGE  WASHINGTON. 

formed  the  arduous  duties  of  a  busy  house-wife  and  mat- 
ron. She  was  deeply  attached  to  her  children,  and  con- 
sulted their  welfare  with  earnest  solicitude.  She  exacted 
obedience  and  regard  from  them,  and  allowed  no  famil- 
iarity. Her  will  was  law,  and  servants  and  business 
agents  knew  it.     There  was  a  strain  of  Puritan  sternness 


Tomb  of  Washington's  Mother,  Fredericksburg,  Va. 


and  strictness  in  her  make-up,  that  showed  itself  in  the 
son.  "Honored  Madam,"  he  addressed  her  in  his  letters, 
even  when  a  man .  She  was  not,  however,  without  ten- 
derness. She  had  been  a  beautiful  girl,  and  as  years 
went  by,  developed  into  a  dignified  woman  of  striking 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON.  ii 

appearance,  grave  and  reserved  in  manner.  She  died 
August  25,  1789,  at  the  ripe  age  of  eighty-two.  George 
Washington  owed  a  great  debt  to  his  mother. 

During  his  school  days,  which  were  over  in  his  six- 
teenth year,  the  youthful  George  received  what  was  then 
considered  a  good  common-school  education.  Tradition 
has  it  that  he  soon  acquired  all  that  his  first  teacher 
knew,  which  was  no  more  than  the  merest  rudiments  of 
the  three  R's.     George  was  his  brightest  pupil. 

Later  he  went  to  an  academy  near  his  brother's  home 
at  Bridge's  Creek.  He  early  showed  an  aptitude  for  fig- 
ures and  made  marked  progress  in  mathematics.  It 
must  be  confessed  that  his  knowledge  of  spelling  and 
of  grammar  was  exceedingly  defective,  judged  by  the 
standards  of  the  present.  In  these  days  many  a  boy  of 
twelve  knows  more  of  books  and  the  world  than  Wash- 
ington did  at  sixteen.  His  reading  was  limited  in  boy- 
hood, as  in  later  life. 

But  the  country  lad  who  has  his  eyes  open,  learns  a 
vast  deal  not  written  in  books.  In  the  fields  and  woods 
George  had  been  observant  and  gained  a  fund  of  infor- 
mation that  was  afterward  of  incalculable  value  to  him 
as  a  farmer  and  soldier.  He  was  familiar  with  all  the 
routine  of  a  plantation  of  those  times.  He  knew  all 
about  taking  care  of  stock,  breaking  horses,  mending  fen- 
ces, etc.  He  was  a  good  shot  with  the  rifle,  and  was  fond 
of  hunting.  Large  and  powerful  for  his  age,  he  excelled 
in  swimming,  running,  wrestling,  and  other  manly  exer- 
cises, that  rounded  his  muscles  and  hardened  his  rugged 
frame.     He  tried  his  hand,  too,  at  playing  soldier,  drill- 


12  GEORGE  WASHINGTON. 

ing  a  company  of  youngsters.  He  insisted  on  being  cap. 
tain,  and  displayed  the  true  spirit  of  a  commander. 

The  growing  boy  was  an  expert  horseman,  and  had  a 
local  reputation  for  mastering  fractious  steeds.  The  story 
of  his  killing  Sorrel,  the  finest  colt  on  his  mother's  farm, 
though  told  with  dramatic  detail  by  Custis,  is  believed  to 
be  of  doubtful  authenticity.  There  are  other  suspicious 
narratives  of  his  wonderful  feats  of  strength  and  dexteri- 
ty in  early  manhood.  They  must  have  had  some  basis  of 
fact,  for  he  was  a  youth  of  mettle  and  daring,  sturdy  and 
agile. 

Occasionally  an  English  merchant-ship  sailed  up  the 
Potomac,  bringing  supplies  from  London  to  the  planters 
along  the  river,  and  bearing  away  the  crop  of  tobacco  to 
England.  Naturally  the  sight  of  a  trading  ship  or  a 
man-of-war  would  impress  a  healthy  boy  and  fill  his 
mind  with  longing  for  a  sea-life.  At  one  time,  it  is  re- 
lated, George  Washington  seriously  thought  of  becoming 
a  midshipman.  He  was  then  about  fifteen  and  eager  to 
enter  upon  the  career  of  a  seaman.  When  ready  to  leave 
home,  he  was  dissuaded  from  going  by  his  mother — a 
decision  that  entirely  changed  the  course,  it  may  be,  of 
his  after  life.  Her  opinion  was  strengthened  by  a  letter 
of  advice  from  her  brother  in  the  old  country,  who 
thought  his  nephew's  chances  of  rising  in  the  King's 
Navy  were  very  slight. 

After  the  death  of  his  father,  George  was  often  at  the 
home  of  his  half-brother  Laurence,  whose  influence  over 
him  was  marked  for  good.  The  wife  of  Laurence  Wash- 
ington was  Annie  Fairfax,   the  daughter  of  an  English 


14  GEORGE  WASHINGTON. 

gentleman  then  living  at  Belvoir,  not  far  away  from  the 
Washington  homestead.  Circumstances  had  brought 
hither  Lord  Fairfax,  who  owned  immense  estates  in  Vir- 
ginia. It  was  exceedingly  fortunate  for  the  youth  to  be- 
come acquainted  with  this  Englishman  of  talent  and  cul- 
ture, who  became  interested  in  his  education,  and  had 
much  to  do  with  launchiug  Washington  on  the  career 
of  a  surveyor. 

Having  given  up  the  idea  of  going  to  sea,  George 
turned  his  attention  to  land-surveying,  which  promised 
to  be  a  lucrative  calling,  one  for  which  he  was  except- 
ionally fitted  by  his  mental  and  physical  qualifications. 
Having  thoroughly  studied  the  elements  of  geometry  and 
trigonometry,  he  was  well  equipped  for  the  work  of  sur- 
veying the  lands  of  Lord  Fairfax  in  theValley  ofthe  Vir-. 
ginia.  In  company  with  George  Fairfax,  a  relative  of 
the  nobleman,  he  set  out  on  his  first  expedition  of  the 
kind,  in  March,  1748.  He  was  then  only  sixteen,  yet  he 
proved  to  be  a  capable  surveyor  and  performed  his  diffi- 
cult task  to  the  entire  satisfaction  of  his  employer. 

The  Journal  that  Washington  kept,  while  engaged  in 
surveying  the  Shenandoah  property  of  Lord  Fairfax, 
mentions  some  interesting  experiences  that  he  had  while 
roughing  it  in  the  wilderness,  as  much  of  the  country 
then  was.  The  document  is  also  valuable  as  an  index 
of  his  intellectual  advancement.  He  wrote  a  neat  hand 
and  expressed  himself  fluently  and  naturally.  A  few  ex- 
tracts from  this  diary  (the  earliest  of  his  literary  efforts) 
are  given,  copied  literally,  with  the  errors  of  spelling  and 
punctuation.     They  help  us  in  forming  a  picture  of  the 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON.  15 

real  George  Washington.  As  Dr.  Toner  has  said:  "The 
time  has  come  when  the  people  want  to  know  intimately 
and  without  glamour  or  false  coloring,  the  father  of  his 
country  as  he  actually  lived  and  labored,  and  to  possess 
his  writings,  just  as  he  left  them,  on  every  subject  which 
engaged  his  attention."  The  memorandum  of  his  surveys 
is  entitled: 

"journal  of  my  journey  over  the  mountains. 

While  surveying  for  Lord  Thomas  Fairfax,  Baron  of 
Cameron,  in  the  Northern  Neck  of  Virginia,  beyond  the 
Blue  Ridge,  in  1747-48. 

"Friday  March  nth  1747-8.  Began  my  Journey  in  Company 
with  George  Fairfax,  Esqr.;  we  travell'd  this  day  40  Miles  to  Mr. 
George  Neavels  in  Prince  William  County. 

"Tuesday  15th  We  set  out  out  early  with  Intent  to  Run  round 
ye  sd  Land  but  being  taken  in  a  Rain  &  it  Increasing  very  fast 
obliged  us  to  return,  it  clearing  about  one  o  Clock  &  our  time  being 
too  Precious  to  Loose  we  a  second  time  ventured  out  &  Worked 
hard  till  Night  &  then  return'd  to  Penningtons  we  got  our  Suppers 
&  was  Lighted  into  a  Room  &  I  not  being  so  good  a  Woodsman  as 
ye  rest  of  my  Company  striped  myself  very  orderly  &  went  in  to  ye 
Bed  as  they  called  it  when  to  my  Surprize  I  found  it  to  be  nothing 
but  a  Little  Straw — Matted  together  without  Sheets  or  anything  else 
but  only  one  thread  Bear  blanket  with  double  its  Weight  of  Vermin 
such  as  Lice  Fleas  &c  I  was  glad  to  get  up  (as  soon  as  y  Light  was 
carried  from  us)  I  put  on  my  Cloths  and  Lays  as  my  Companions. 
Had  we  not  have  been  very  tired  I  am  sure  we  should  not  have 
slep'd  much  that  night  I  made  a  Promise  not  to  Sleep  so  from  that 
time  forward  chusing  rather  to  sleep  in  y.  open  air  before  a  fire  as 
will  appear  hereafter. 

"Wednesday  23d  Rain'd  till  about  two  o  Clock  &  Clear'd  when 
we  were  agreeably  surpris'd  at  y.  sight  of  thirty  odd  Indians  coming 
from  War  with  only  one  Scalp.  We  had  some  Licjuor  with  us  of 
which  we  gave  them  Part  it  elevating  there  Spirits  put  them  in  y. 
Humour  of  Dauncing  of  whom  we  had  a  War  Daunce  there  manner 
of  Dauncing  is  as  follows  Viz  They  clear  a  Large  Circle  &  make  a 
Great  Fire  in  y.  middle  then  seats  themselves  around  it  y.  Speaker 
makes  a  grand  Speech  telling  them  in  what  Manner  they  are  to 
Daunce   after  he   has   finish'd   y.  best   Dauncer  Jumps   up  as  one 


i6  GEORGE  WASHINGTON. 

awaked  out  of  a  Sleep  &  Runs  &  Jumps  about  y-  Ring  in  a  most 
cornicle  Manner  he  is  followed  by  y.  Rest  then  begins  there  Musi- 
cians to  play  ye  Musick  is  a  Pot  half  of  Water  with  a  Deerskin 
streched  over  it  as  tight  as  it  can  &  a  goard  with  some  Shott  in  it  to 
Rattle  &  a  Piece  of  an  horses  Tail  tied  to  it  to  make  it  look  fine  y. 
one  keeps  Rattling  and  y.  other  Drumming  all  y.  while  y.  others  is 
Dauncing. 

"Saturday  26  Travelld  up  ye  Creek  to  Solomon  Hedges  Esqr 
one  of  his  Majestys  Justices  of  ye  Peace  for  ye  County  of  Frederick 
where  we  camped  when  we  came  to  Supper  there  was  neither  a  Cloth 
upon  ye  Table  nor  a  knife  to  eat  with  but  as  good  luck  would  have  it 
we  had  Knives  of  own. 

"Tuesday  29th  This  Morning  went  out  &  Survey'd  five  Hundred 
Acres  of  Land  &  went  down  to  one  Michael  Stumps  on  ye  So  Fork 
of  ye  Branch  on  our  way  Shot  two  Wild  Turkies. 

"Monday  4th  this  morning  Mr.  Fairfax  left  us  with  Intent  to  go 
down  to  ye  Mouth  of  ye  Branch  we  did  two  Lots  &  was  attended  by 
a  great  Company  of  People  Men  Women  &  Children  that  attended 
us  through  ye  Woods  as  we  went  showing  there  Antick  tricks  I  real- 
ly think  they  seem  to  be  as  Ignorant  a  Set  of  People  as  the  Indians 
they  would  never  speak  English  but  when  spoken  to  they  speak  all 
Dutch  this  day  our  Tent  was  blown  down  by  ye  Violentness  of  ye 
Wind. 

"Wednesday  ye  13th  of  April  1748  Mr.  Fairfax  got  safe  home 
and  I  myself  safe  to  my  Brothers  which  concludes  my  Journal" 

It  may  be  noted  in  passing,  that  Washington  followed 
the  practice  of  double  dating,  between  January  i,  and 
March  25,  as  was  the  custom  before  the  Gregorian  calen- 
dar was  adopted  in  England  in  1752.  By  some,  March 
25  was  considered  the  beginning  of  the  legal  or  civil 
year. 

This  expedition  of  Washington's,  in  the  employment 
of  Lord  Fairfax,  was  the  beginning  of  his  fortunes.  The 
work  was  done  so  well  that  his  services  as  a  surveyor 
were  wanted  by  others.  The  boy-surveyor  made  a  name 
for  himself,  being  unusually  careful  and  accurate,  as  later 
surveys  have  shown.  Thus  he  was  engaged  the  next 
two  and  a  half  years.     In  the  summer  of  1 749,  he  was 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON.  17 

appointed  county-surveyor  of  Culpeper  County,  Virginia. 
In  securing  this  position  he  was  aided  by  the  influence 
of  his  friend,  Lord  Fairfax,  but  his  experience  and  per- 
sonal fitness  were  his  best  recommendation. 

An  early  sketch  of  Washington  says  he  '  'first  set  out 
in  the  world  as  surveyor  of  Orange  Country,  an  appoint- 
ment of  about  half  the  value  of  a  Virginia  Rectory — i. 
e,  perhaps  100  1.  a  year." 

This  was  a  considerable  income  for  a  young  man  in 
those  days,  when  money  was  scarce  in  the  colonies. 
Washington  was  thrifty  and  prudent  in  his  expeditures, 
and  made  shrewd  investments  of  his  earnings  in  real  es- 
tate. Land  was  then  more  plentiful  than  money,  and 
was  frequently  offered  for  sale  at  a  low  price.  The  work 
of  surveying  gave  him  an  excellent  opportunity  to  see 
the  country,  and  he  purchased  several  choice  tracts  of 
land  for  himself  and  for  his  brother  Laurence. 

Thus  Washington  by  industry,  economy  and  foresight, 
laid  the  foundations  for  his  after  career  of  prosperity  as 
a  farmer  and  public  man.  But  strenuous  endeavor  and 
business  judgment  do  not  account  for  the  high  degree  of 
success  that  he  obtained.  He  had  given  attention  to 
character-building  as  something  important  as  well  as  get- 
ting on  in  the  world. 

When  a  boy  in  his  teens  he  copied  and  studied  with 
evident  care  a  list  of  more  than  a  hundred  rules  of  con- 
duct. It  is  said  that  he  found  them  in  a  book  that  fell 
into  his  hands,  Mather's  "Young  Man's  Companion."  It 
shows  how  much  thought  he  gave  to  the  matter  of  de- 
portment.    Here  are  a  few  of  the  precepts  in  his  "rules 


i8  GEORGE  WASHINGTON. 

of  civility  and  decent  behavior  in  company  and  conver- 
sation." They  may  well  be  pondered  and  followed  by 
young  people  to-day. 

1.  "Every  action  in  company  ought  to  be  with  some 
sign  of  respect  to  those  present. 

2.  "In  the  presence  of  others  sing  not  to  yourself  with 
a  humming  noise,  nor  drum  with  your  fingers  or  feet. 

3.  "Sleep  not  when  others  speak,  sit  not  when  others 
stand,  speak  not  when  you  should  hold  your  peace,  walk 
not  when  others  stop. 

4.  "Turn  not  your  back  to  others,  especially  in  speak- 
ing; jog  not  the  table  or  desk  on  which  another  reads 
or  writes;  lean  not  on  any  one. 

5.  "Be  no  flatterer;  neither  play  with  any  one  that  de- 
lights not  to  be  played  with. 

6.  "Read  no  letters,  books,  or  papers  in  company;  but 
when  there  is  a  necessity  for  doing  it,  you  must  ask  leave. 
Come  not  near  the  books  or  writings  of  any  one  so  as  to 
read  them,  imless  desired,  nor  give  your  opinion  of  them 
unasked;  also,  look  not  nigh  when  another  is  writing  a 
letter. 

7.  "Let  your  countenance  be  pleasant,  but  in  serious 
matters  somewhat  grave. 

8.  "Show  not  yourself  glad  at  the  misfortune  of  anoth- 
er, though  he  were  your  enemy. 

9.  "When  you  meet  with  one  of  greater  quality  than 
yourself,  stop  and  retire,  especially  if  it  be  at  a  door  or 
any  straight  place,  to  give  way  for  him  to  pass. 

10.  "They  that  are  in  dignity,  or  in  office,  have  in  all 
places  precedency;  but  whilst  they  are  young  they  ouglU 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON.  19 

to  respect  those  that  are  their  equals  in  birth,  or  other 
qualities,  though  they  have  no  public  charge." 

Says  Lodge:  "The  one  thought  that  runs  through  all 
the  sayings  is  to  practice  self-control,  and  no  man  ever 
displayed  that  most  difficult  of  virtues  to  such  a  degree 
as  George  Washington." 

An  important  factor  in  the  training  of  George  Wash- 
ington was  the  influence  of  his  oldest  brother  Laurence 
(sometimes  spelled  Lawrence),  who  had  been  educated  in 
England  and  seen  much  of  the  world.  He  held  the  rank 
of  captain  in  an  expedition  to  the  West  Indies,  1740-2, 
and  was  a  member  of  the  House  of  Burgesses  of  Virginia 
in  1748.  His  excellent  character  and  his  business  abili- 
ties made  him  a  popular  and  influential  legislator.  For 
centuries  the  Washingtons  had  been  addicted  to  military 
affairs,  and  a  liking  for  war  ran  in  the  blood.  The  ex- 
perience of  Laurence  as  officer,  and  his  leading  position 
in  the  county,  led  to  his  appointment  as  one  of  the  four 
Adjutant-Generals  of  Virginia,  with  the  rank  of  major. 
Through  his  influence  George  was  appointed  Adjutant- 
General,  with  the  rank  of  major,  in  1751.  His  duties  were 
"to  inspect  and  exercise  the  militia,"  in  preparation  for 
an  expected  campaign  against  the  French  on  the  Ohio 
River.  The  salary  was  $750  a  year.  George  at  once 
set  about  to  learn  the  art  of  war,  and  received  instruction 
in  tactics  and  fencing  from  two  old  soldiers.  The  work 
of  surveying  had  come  to  an  end,  and  he  began  his  ca- 
reer as  a  commander. 

On  account  of  failing  health,  Laurence  Washington 
was  advised  to  try  the  climate  of  the  West  Indies.     As 


20  GEORGE  WASHINGTON. 

it  was  not  thought  prudent  for  him  to  take  the  trip  alone, 
George  accompanied  him  on  the  voyage  to  Barbadoes 
in  the  autumn  of  1751.  They  remained  on  this  island 
several  months;  and,  being  members  of  an  old  aristocrat- 
ic family,  they  were  overwhelmed  with  attentions  and 
courtesies  shown  by  hospitable  gentlemen  of  Barbadoes. 
George  had  the  misfortune  to  be  sick  with  the  smallpox, 
and  returned  to  Virginia  in  March,  1752.  A  little  later 
Laurence  came  back  to  die  at  Mount  Vernon,  having 
found  no  relief  in  the  West  Indies. 

Washington's  visit  to  Barbadoes  forms  an  interesting 
chapter  in  his  history,  because  of  the  journal  that  he 
kept.  Though  only  nineteen,  he  ajipeared  to  have 
reached  the  maturity  of  a  man,  and  was  perfectly  at 
home  in  the  company  of  those  older  and  more  experi- 
enced. 

Says  Dr.  Toner  in  his  introduction  to  Washington's 
'  'Barbadoes  Journal :' ' 

"Although  he  made  no  pretensions  to  having  a  fin- 
ished education,  or  to  being  an  extensive  reader  of  books, 
yet  he  was  well  informed  in  all  the  affairs  of  life,  and  his 
manners  and  address  proclaimed  him  a  gentleman,  and 
clearly  indicated  that  his  associations  were  with  men  of 
character  and  culture.  If  we  had  no  other  means  of 
knowing  the  fact,  this  Journal  of  itself,  would  show  that 
Washington  possessed  strong  and  acute  natural  powers 
of  observation,  and  that  his  mind  was,  for  his  years, 
unusually  matured  and  well  stored  with  practical  knowl- 
edge and  historical  facts." 

Like  Shakespeare,  Washington  had  frequently  come 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON.  21 

into  contact  with  men  of  fine  education,  and  he  had 
picked  up  a  considerable  store  of  general  information  in 
conversation.  He  had  profited  by  his  intercourse  with 
refined  people,  and  was  familiar  with  the  usages  of  good 
society,  although  he  had  been  living  in  the  backwoods 
among  hunters  and  farmers. 

This  diary  of  the  young  Virginian  shows  marked  im- 
provement over  his  earlier  Journal,  already  referred  to. 
In  fact,  it  is  a  unique  production.  In  its  pages  he  "re- 
corded a  wonderful  amount  of  information  about  the 
island,  its  climate,  the  character  of  its  soil,  its  product- 
ions, population,  commerce,  resources,  government,  de- 
fences, etc." 

Washington's  family  connections  contributed  much  to 
his  rapid  rise  in  the  Old  Dominion.  Acting  the  part  of 
a  wise  counselor  and  fatherly  friend,  Laurence  Wash- 
ington had  brought  his  talented  younger  brother  not  on- 
ly to  the  notice  of  Lord  Fairfax,  but  to  the  Governor  of 
Virginia,  who  recognized  the  young  man's  abilities  as 
useful  to  the  colony,  and  chose  him  for  a  post  of  honor 
but  of  extreme  difficulty. 

In  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century,  the  French 
and  the  English  were  both  claimants  of  the  country  be- 
tween the  Ohio  and  the  Mississippi  Rivers.  The  French 
claimed  it  on  the  strength  of  the  discoveries  of  La  Salle 
in  the  seventeenth  century,  Laurence  Washington  had 
been  one  of  the  originators  of  the  Ohio  Company,  orga^ 
nized  about  1747,  "to  secure  a  share  in  the  lucrative  In- 
dian trade,  and  with  the  prospect  of  opening  to  settle- 
ment the  lands  on  the  upper  waters  of  the  Ohio." 


22  GEORGE  WASHINGTON. 

Says  the  historian  Shea,  who  edited  Washington's 
"Journal  of  a  tour  to  the  Ohio,  in  1753:" 

"Affairs  had  reached  a  crisis.  France  had  colonized 
Canada,  Illinois,  and  Louisiana,  and  connected  them  by 
detached  posts,  but  the  possession  of  the  Ohio,  so  neces- 
sary to  the  safety  of  her  wide  provincial  power,  was  soon 
to  fall  into  the  hands  of  her  rival  by  the  rapid  progress 
of  English  colonization.  To  set  a  barrier  to  its  westward 
progress,  France  determined  to  run  a  line  of  forts  from 
Niagara  to  the  forks  of  the  Ohio,  and  down  that  river. 
The  Indians  first  took  the  alarm  when  the  tidings  reached 
the  Ohio  that  a  French  force  was  on  its  way  to  erect  this 
line  of  forts,  and  a  council  of  the  wandering  tribes,  Min- 
goes,  Shawnees,  and  Delawares,  meet  at  Logstown,  and  in 
April,  1753,  dispatched  an  envoy  to  Niagara  to  protest 
against  the  action  of  the  French.  The  protest  was  un- 
heeded." 

At  this  time  Major  Washington  was  a  "person  of  dis- 
tinction," having  charge  of  the  militia  in  the  northern 
district  of  Virginia.  His  frontier  experience  and  ac- 
quaintance with  the  Indians,  as  well  as  his  rare  tact  and 
physical  endurance,  fitted  him  for  the  public  mission 
that  he  was  called  upon  to  undertake. 

In  October,  1753,  he  was  entrusted  with  a  letter  from 
Governor  Dinwiddle  to  the  French  Commander,  demand- 
ing the  withdrawl  of  the  French  from  the  Ohio.  He  was 
instructed  to  note  carefully  the  movements  of  the  French, 
and  to  report. 

Washington  set  out  on  his  journey  the  same  day  that 
he  received  his  commission,  Oct.  30.    He  engaged  Jacob 


Washington  on  his  Journey  to  Ohio. 
From  Lhe  Painting  by  A.  Chappell. 


24  GEORGE  WASHINGTON. 

Van  Braam,  his  old  Dutch  fencing- master,  as  a  French 
interpreter,  and  Christopher  Gist,  a  noted  frontiersman? 
as  a  guide.  Four  others,  Indian  traders  and  servants, 
completed  the  company.  The  enterprise  was  attended 
by  many  dangers  and  hardships. 

Arriving  at  the  junction  of  the  Ohio  River  and  the 
Monongahela,  Washington  was  at  once  struck  with  the 
idea  that  "the  land  in  the  fork"  was  "extremely  well  sit- 
uated for  a  fort."  It  was  a  much  better  site  than  that 
selected  by  the  Ohio  Company  for  its  settlement  at 
McKee's  Rocks,  "a  few  miles  below  Pittsburgh." 

In  the  latter  part  of  November,  he  met  some  French 
deserters  who  had  been  sent  from  New  Orleans,  and  he 
inquired  about  the  French  forts  on  the  Mississippi  be- 
tween Illinois  and  New  Orleans. 

Later,  Washington  interviewed  the  Seneca  chief  Half- 
King.  He  found  the  Indians  exceedingly  hard  to  man- 
age. They  were  suspicious  of  the  English  as  well  as  of 
French.  They  looked  on  both  as  intruders,  but  were  in- 
clined to  cast  their  lot  with  the  English  as  needed  al- 
lies against  the  French. 

The  French  officers  received  Washington  politely,  and, 
when  warmed  with  wine,  explained  freely  the  purpose  of 
the  French  to  take  possession  of  the  Ohio.  A  few  days 
afterward,  the  commander  told  him  that  the  country  be- 
longed to  the  French;  "that  no  Englishman  had  a  right 
to  trade  upon  those  waters;  and  that  he  had  orders  to 
make  every  person  prisoner  who  attempted  it  on  the 
Ohio,  or  the  waters  of  it." 

An  extraordinary  importance  attaches  to  Washington's 


GLORGE  WASHINGTON.  25 

diary  that  lie  kept  while  on  this  expedition.  This  is  the 
entry  for  Dec.  16-22: 

"The  French  were  not  slack  in  their  inventions  to 
keep  the  Indians  this  day  also:  but  as  they  were  obli- 
gated, according  to  promise,  to  give  the  present,  they 
then  endeavored  to  try  the  power  of  liquor,  which  I  doubt 
not  would  have  prevailed  at  any  other  time  than  this; 
but  I  urged  and  insisted  with  the  king  so  closely  upon 
his  word,  that  he  refrained,  and  set  off  with  us  as  he  had 
engaged. 

"We  had  a  tedious  and  very  fatiguing  passage  down  the 
creek.  Several  times  we  had  liked  to  have  been  staved 
against  rocks;  and  many  times  we  obliged  all  hands  to 
get  out  and  remain  in  the  water  half  an  hour  or  more 
getting  over  the  shoals.  At  one  place  the  ice  had  lodged 
and  made  it  impossible  by  water;  therefore  we  were 
obliged  to  carry  our  canoe  across  a  neck  of  land,  a  quar- 
ter of  a  mile  over.  We  did  not  reach  Venango,  till  the 
2  2d,  where  we  met  with  our  horses.     *     *     * 

"The  horses  were  now  so  weak  and  feeble,  and  the 
baggage  so  heavy  (as  we  were  obliged  to  provide  all  the 
necessaries  which  the  journey  w^ould  require)  that  we 
doubted  much  their  performing  it;  therefore  myself  and 
others  (except  the  drivers,  who  were  obliged  to  ride)  gave 
up  our  horses  for  packs,  to  assist  along  with  the  baggage. 
I  put  myself  in  an  Indian  walking  dress,  and  continued 
with  them  three  days,  till  I  found  there  was  no  probabil- 
ity of  their  getting  home  in  any  reasonable  time.  The 
horses  grew  less  able  to  travel  every  day;  the  cold  in- 
creased very  fast;  and  the  roads  were  becoming  much 


26  GEORGE  WASHINGTON. 

worse  by  a  deep  snow,  continually  freezing:  Therefore  as 
I  was  uneasy  to  get  back  to  make  a  report  of  my  pro- 
ceedings to  his  honour,  the  governor,  I  determined  to 
prosecute  my  journey  the  nearest  way  through  the 
woods  on  foot.      *      *     *     * 

"The  day  following,  [Dec.  27]  just  after  we  passed  a 
place  called  the  murdering  town  (where  we  intended  .o 
quit  the  path  and  steer  across  the  country  for  Shanna- 
pins  Town)  we  fell  in  with  a  party  of  French  Indians, 
who  had  lain  in  wait  for  us.  One  of  them  fired  at  Mr. 
Gist  or  me,  not  fifteen  steps  off,  but  fortunately  missed. 
We  took  this  fellow  in  custody,  and  kept  him  till  about 
9  o'clock  at  night,  then  let  him  go,  and  walked  all  the 
remainder  part  of  the  night  without  making  any  stop, 
that  we  might  get  the  start  so  far,  as  to  be  out  of  the 
reach  of  their  pursuit  the  next  day,  since  we  were  well 
assured  they  would  follow  our  track  as  soon  as  it  was 
light.  The  next  day  we  continued  travelling  till  quite 
dark,  and  got  to  the  river,  about  two  miles  above  Shan- 
napins.  We  expected  to  have  found  the  river  frozen, 
but  it  was  not,  only  about  fifty  yards  from  each  shore. 
The  ice,  I  suppose,  had  broken  up  above,  for  it  was  driv- 
ing in  vast  quantities. 

"There  was  no  way  for  getting  over  but  on  a  raft, 
which  we  set  about  with  but  one  poor  hatchet,  and  fin- 
ished just  after  sunsetting.  This  was  a  whole  day's  work. 
Then  set  off;  but  before  we  were  half  way  over,  we  were 
jammed  in  the  ice  in  such  a  manner,  that  we  expected 
every  moment  our  raft  to  sink,  and  ourselves  to  perish. 
I  put  out  my  setting  pole  to  try  to  stop  the  raft,  that  the 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON.  27 

ice  might  pass  by:  when  the  rapidity  of  the  stream  threw 
it  with  so  much  violence  against  the  pole,  that  it  jerked 
me  out  into  ten  feet  water;  but  I  fortunately  saved  myself 
by  catching  hold  of  one  of  the  raft  logs.  Notwithstand- 
ing all  our  efforts,  we  could  not  get  the  raft  to  either 
shore;  but  were  obliged,  as  we  were  near  an  island,  to 
quit  our  raft  and  make  to  it. 

"The  cold  was  so  extremely  severe,  that  Mr.  Gist  had 
all  his  fingers,  and  some  of  his  toes  frozen;  but  the  water 
was  shut  up  so  hard,  that  we  found  no  difficulty  in  get- 
ting off  the  island  on  the  ice,  in  the  morning.    *     * 

"On  the  nth  of  Jan.  1754,  I  got  to  Belvoir,  where  I 
stopped  one  day  to  take  necessary  rest;  and  then  set  out, 
and  arrived  in  Williamsburgh  the  i6th,  when  I  waited 
upon  his  honour,  the  Governor,  with  the  letter  I  had 
brought  from  the  French  Commandant,  and  to  give  an 
account  of  the  success  of  my  proceedings." 

Washington's  Journal  was  published  immediately  after 
his  return.  It  was  read  widely  in  the  colonies,  and  made 
his  name  known  and  respected  in  England.  It  is  a  terse, 
simple  narrative,  without  rhetorical  flourishes.  He  was 
modest  in  referring  to  his  own  deeds  and  adventures. 
He  accomplished  the  purpose  for  which  he  had  been 
sent;  his  success  as  a  diplomat  and  his  prowess  as  a 
woodsman  called  forth  general  admiration  and  praise. 

The  designs  of  the  French  were  now  known  to  all, 
and  the  leading  men  of  the  colonies  realized  that  armed 
resistance  was  necessary  to  repel  them.  The  common 
people,  however,  were  not  stirred  with  martial  enthusi- 
asm at  the   prospect   of   war   over   the   French-English 


28  GEORGE  WASHINGTON. 

claims  to  the  lands  of  the  Ohio.  The  Virginians  were 
most  interested,  yet  they  were  reluctant  to  take  the  field. 
To  stimulate  enlistments,  Governor  Dinwiddie,  promised 
as  a  bounty  to  the  officers  and  soldiers  of  the  expedition, 
200,000  acres  of  what  is  now  called  West  Virginia.  Two 
companies  of  one  hundred  men  each  were  raised  at  once, 
and  one  hundred  and  fifty  men  later.  A  company  of 
frontiersmen,  under  Captain  Trent, were  to  finish  the  fort 
(partly  built  by  the  Ohio  Company)"  on  the  site  that 
Washington  had  selected  for  its  strategical  value,  at  the 
junction  of  the  two  rivers. 

Washington,  in  command  of  another  company,  was 
instructed  to  act  on  the  defensive,  and  to  prevent  French 
encroachments  by  force,  if  necessary.  War  was  not  yet 
declared,  yet  this  was  really  the  beginning  of  a  long  ser- 
ies of  conflicts  between  France  and  England. 

The  campaign  to  the  Ohio  in  the  spring  of  1754,  end- 
ed in  inevitable  failure,  but  not  through  the  fault  of 
Washington,  whose  management  of  the  expedition  was 
in  the  main  admirable.  There  was  not  much  fighting. 
In  a  skirmish  near  Great  Meadows  (May  28),  Washing- 
ton surprised  and  attacked  a  detachment  of  the  French, 
taking  twenty-one  prisoners.  The  killing  of  the  French 
leader,  Jumonville,  and  ten  of  his  men,  was  an  act  not 
altogether  justifiable.  The  French  called  it  assassination, 
a  term  that  Americans  resent. 

Washington  retired  before  a  superior  force  of  French 
and  Indians,  probably  a  thousand  or  more.  The  coloni- 
al troops  numbered  less  than  four  hundred,  including  a 
company  of  Carolinians  under  Captain  MacKaye.    Their 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON.  29 

supplies  and  ammunition  were  nearly  gone,  a  heavy  rain 
wet  their  powder,  and  matters  reached  a  desperate  pass 
at  Fort  Necessity.  They  surrendered  (July  3)  with  hon- 
ors of  war,  being  allowed  to  march  back  with  their  arms. 

This  was  the  best  that  Washington  could  do  in  the 
face  of  adverse  circumstances.  He  returned  home  as 
Col.  Washington,  and  received  the  thanks  of  the  Virgin- 
ia Legislature  for  his  heroic  efforts  to  save  Fort  Necessi- 
ty. He  had  learned  some  valuable  lessons,  concerning 
border  warfare,  and  his  conduct  was  such  as  to  deserve 
high  praise.  He  was  courageous,  even  to  rashness,  and 
declared  that  he  loved  to  hear  the  whistling  of  the  bul- 
lets. 

Meanwhile,  the  French  built  Fort  Duquesne,  and  con- 
tinued their  depredations.  The  spot  that  they  chose  for 
a  stronghold  was  the  very  place  which  the  English  had 
been  forced  to  abandon.  The  city  of  Pittsburgh  now 
stands  on  this  historic  site. 

At  last  the  English  Government  was  roused  to  action, 
and  sent  two  regiments  of  regulars  to  America.  The  de- 
tails of  Braddock's  expedition,  and  defeat  in  1755,  are 
familiar  to  every  school  boy  who  has  dipped  into  history. 
There  is  no  need  to  repeat  them  here.  The  French  and 
Indians,  under  cover  of  trees,  made  a  sudden  attack  on 
the  English  forces  in  a  narrow  way.  A  terrible  slaughter 
followed,  the  regulars  not  being  used  to  such  fighting. 

Washington,  who  was  one  of  Braddock's  aids,  greatly 
distinguished  himself  on  that  fatal  field.  With  coolness 
and  entire  self-command,  he  fearlessly  rode  here  and  there 
trying  in  vain  to  rally  his  fleeing  troops.     Braddock  and 


30  GEORGE  WASHINGTON. 

most  of  his  officers  were  killed,  but  Washington  bore  a 
charmed  life.  Writing  of  the  rout  and  his  extreme  per- 
il to  his  brother,  he  says: 

"By  the  all  powerful  dispensation  of  providence,  I 
have  been  protected  beyond  all  human  probability  or  ex- 
pectation; for  I  had  four  bullets  through  my  coat,  and 
two  horses  shot  under  me,  yet  escaped  unhurt,  though 
death  was  levelling  my  companions  on  every  side  of  me. 
We  have  been  most  scandalously  beaten  by  a  trifling 
body  of  men.  A  feeble  state  of  health  obliges  me  to 
halt  here  for  two  or  three  days  to  recover  a  little  strength 
that  I  may  thereby  be  enabled  to  proceed  homeward  with 
more  ease." 

There  may  be  some  truth  in  the  story  that  Custis  tells 
of  the  effect  of  Washington's  reckless  daring  on  the  Ifi- 
dians  who  fought  on  the  side  of  the  French  in  that  bloody 
battle.  It  is  in  the  chapter  of  "Recollections  of  Wash- 
ington" on  "The  Indian  Prophecy."  When  Col.  Wash- 
ington and  some  woodsmen  were  locating  the  lands  of 
Kanawha  in  1770,  they  were  visited  by  a  party  of  Indi- 
ans. One  of  them  was  a  grand  sachem,  who  had  been 
present  in  the  battle  of  Monongahela.  He  remembered 
Washington  well,  and  thus  addressed  him: 

"I  am  a  chief,  and  the  ruler  over  many  tribes.  My 
influence  extends  to  the  waters  of  the  great  lakes,  and  to 
the  far  blue  mountains.  I  have  travelled  a  long  and 
weary  path,  that  I  might  see  the  young  warrior  of  the 
great  battle.  It  was  on  the  day,  when  the  white  man's 
blood  mixed  with  the  streams  of  our  forest,  that  I  first 
beheld  this  chief:  I  called  to  my  young  men  and  said, 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON.  31 

mark  yon  tall  and  daring  warrior?  He  is  not  of  the  red- 
coat tribe — he  hath  an  Indian's  wisdom,  and  his  warri- 
ors fight  as  we  do — himself  is  alone  exposed.  Quick, 
let  your  aim  be  certain,  and  he  dies.  Our  rifles  were 
levelled,  rifles  which,  but  for  him,  knew  not  how  to  miss 
— 'twas  all  in  vain,  a  power  mightier  far  than  we,  shield- 
ed him  from  harm.  He  cannot  die  in  battle.  I  am  old, 
and  soon  shall  be  gathered  to  the  great  council-fire  of  my 
fathers,  in  the  land  of  shades,  but  ere  I  go,  there  is  a 
something  bids  me  speak  in  the  voice  of  prophecy.  List- 
en !  The  great  spirit  protects  that  man,  and  guides  his 
destinies — he  will  become  the  chief  of  nations,  and  a  peo- 
ple yet  unborn  will  hail  him  as  the  founder  of  a  mighty 
empire.'" 

In  his  report  of  the  battle  to  the  Governor,  Washing- 
ton wrote: 

"We  continued  our  march  from  Fort  Cumberland  to 
Frazer's  (which  is  within  seven  miles  from  Duquesne) 
without  meeting  any  extraordinary  event,  having  only  a 
straggler  or  two  picked  up  by  the  French  Indians. 
When  we  came  to  this  place  we  were  attacked  (very  un- 
expectedly) by  about  three  hundred  French  and  Indians. 
Our  numbers  consisted  of  about  thirteen  hundred  well- 
armed  men,  chiefly  regulars,  who  were  immediately  struck 
with  such  an  inconceivable  panic  that  nothing  but  con- 
fusion and  disobedience  of  orders  prevailed  among  them. 
The  officers  in  general  behaved  with  incomparable  brav- 
ery, for  which  they  greatly  suffered,  there  being  nearly 
sixty  killed  and  wounded,  a  large  proportiou  of  the  num- 
ber we  had. 


32  GEORGE  WASHINGTON. 

"The  Virginia  Companies  behaved  like  men,  and  died 
like  soldiers;  for,  I  believe,  out  of  three  Companies  that 
were  on  the  ground  that  day,  scarce  thirty  were  left 
alive." 

Washington  returned  to  Mount  Vernon  disheartened, 
and  suffering  from  broken  health.  He  had  served  his 
country  at  a  considerable  personal  sacrifice,  and  he  was 
averse  to  accept  this  proffered  command  of  the  Virginia 
Regiment  raised  soon  afterward.  But  he  practically  had 
no  choice  in  the  matter;  the  people  looked  to  him  as  a 
leader  and  would  have  no  other.  Besides  he  had  the 
soldier  spirit  in  him,  and  the  attractions  of  a  military  ca- 
reer were  too  great  to  resist.  "My  inclinations  are  strong- 
ly bent  to  arms,"  he  wrote  in  a  letter  (Nov.  15,  1754.) 

He  felt  it  his  duty,  too,  to  form  plans  to  protect  the 
frontier  settlements  from  the  robberies  and  attacks  of  the 
French  and  Indians.  So  three  years  passed  in  active 
military  service. 

In  1758,  Washington,  as  commander-in-chief  of  the 
Virginia  Volunteers,  took  part  in  an  expedition  against 
Fort  Duquesne,  led  by  General  Forbes.  The  fort  was 
abandoned  and  burned  (Nov.  24),  before  the  English 
reached  the  Ohio.  On  its  site  they  built  Fort  Pitt,  named 
in  honor  of  the  great  Prime  Minister. 

War,  however,  did  not  occupy  all  of  Washington's 
time  and  thoughts.  He  was  a  cavalier  and  lover,  as  well 
as  a  soldier.  From  drafts  of  letters  still  extant,  written 
in  his  seventeenth  year,  it  appears  that  the  young  sur- 
veyor was  a  susceptible  youth.  His  passion  sometimes 
found  expression  in  rather  poor  verse.     It  is  said  that  he 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON. 


33 


was  once  attached  to  Sally  Gary,  who  became  the  wife 
of  his  friend,  George  William  Fairfax  (brother  of  Mrs. 
Laurence  Washington).  Later,  when  commander  of  the 
Virginia  forces,  he  was  favored  with  the  acquaintance  of 
many  charming  women,  and  he  was  involved    in  more 


Washington's  First  Interview  with  Mrs.  Custis. 
From  Schroeder's  "Life  of  Washington." 

than  one  affair  of  the  heart.  There  is  a  story  to  the  ef- 
fect that  he  greatly  admired  Miss  Mary  Philipse  of  New 
York,  but  the  wooing  of  this  lady  was  interrupted;  his 
duty  as  an  officer  called  him  to  the  front,  and  another 
won  her. 

In  May,  1758,  Washington  was  called  to  Williams- 
burgh  to  confer  with  the  Governor  in  regard  to  the  con- 
dition of  the  Virginia  troops.     While  riding  thither  on 


34  GEORGE  WASHINGTON. 

horseback  with  his  servant,  he  stopped  for  dinner  one 
day  at  the  mansion  of  a  hospitable  planter.  Here  he 
was  introduced  to  a  lovely  young  widow,  whose  manners 
and  conversation  were  so  pleasing  that  he  stayed  all  the 
afternoon.  The  next  day  he  rode  away,  a  captive  to  the 
fascinations  of  Mrs.  Martha  Custis,  whom  he  courted  and 
married  (Jan.  6,  1759).  She  was  the  widow  of  Col.  Dan- 
iel Parke  Custis,  a  wealthy  gentleman  who  left  forty-five 
thousand  pounds  sterling  in  money  and  large  estates; 
she  had  two  small  children,  Martha  and  John.  "The 
marriage  was  celebrated  in  the  good  old  hospitable  Vir- 
ginia style,  amid  a  joyous  assemblage  of  relatives  and 
friends. " 

The  union  proved  to  be  a  very  happy  one.  Washing- 
ton was  fondly  attached  to  his  wife,  and  through  life 
wore  on  his  bosom  a  miniature  portrait  of  her.  Martha 
Washington  was  tenderly  devoted  to  her  husband,  for 
whom  she  felt  the  highest  admiration.  She  adorned  his 
household  at  Mount  Vernon,  accompanied  him  on  some 
of  his  campaigns  in  the  Revolution,  and  presided  with 
grace  and  dignity  over  his  home  at  the  Capital  as  the 
first  lady  of  the  land.  She  died  May  22,  1802,  aged  sev- 
enty. No  children  were  born  to  them,  but  Washington 
exercised  the  closest  care  over  the  Custis  children,  and 
adopted  Mrs.  Washington's  grandchildren — Eleanor 
Parke  Custis  and  George  Washington  Parke  Custis. 

After  his  marriage,  George  Washington  was  the  wealth- 
iest man  in  the  Old  Dominion,  if  not  in  the  colonies. 
In  those  days  there  were  no  millionaires  in  America.  It 
is  hard  to  say  what  was  the  value  of  his  possessions  be- 


II 


Martha  Washington. 

<From  the  Painting  by  John  Woolaston.    Courtesy  of  D.  Appleion  &  Co.) 


36  GEORGE  WASHINGTON. 

fore  the  War  for  Independence.  The  estate  of  Mount 
Vernon  (consisting  of  2500  acres)  became  his  property  in 
1753  by  the  will  of  Laurence  Washington,  who  be- 
queathed it  to  "his  beloved  brother  George" — after  his 
daughter  Sarah,  who  died  whdn  an  infant.  Besides  oth- 
er estates  in  Virginia,  he  owned  extensive  tracts  of  land 
(more  than  30,000  acres)  in  Maryland,  Pennsylvania,  and 
on  the  Ohio.  At  the  time  of  his  death,  his  lands,  slaves, 
stock,  etc.  were  worth  more  than  half  a  million  dollars. 

Washington  at  thirty  and  later  was  a  man  of  imposing 
appearance.  Perhaps  the  earliest  portraiture  of  the  man 
is  that  by  Captain  George  Mercer  of  Virginia,  one  who 
knew  him  intimately: 

"He  may  be  described  as  being  as  straight  as  any  In- 
dian, measuring  six  feet  two  inches  in  his  stockings,  and 
weighing  175  pounds  when  he  took  his  seat  in  the  House 
of  Burgesses  in  1759.  His  frame  is  padded  with  well- 
developed  muscles,  indicating  great  strength.  His  bones 
and  joints  are  large,  as  are  his  feet  and  hands.  He  is 
wide  shouldered,  but  has  not  a  deep  or  round  chest;  is 
neat  wristed,  but  is  broad  across  the  hips,  and  has  rather 
long  legs  and  arms.  His  head  is  well  shaped  though 
not  large,  but  is  gracefully  poised  on  a  superb  neck.  A 
large  and  straight  rather  than  a  prominent  nose;  blue- 
gray  penetrating  eyes,  which  are  widely  separated  and 
overhung  by  a  heavy  brow.  His  face  is  long  rather  than 
broad,  with  high  round  cheek  bones,  and  terminates  in  a 
good  firm  chin.  He  has  a  clear  though  rather  a  color- 
less skin,  which  burns  with  the  sun.  A  pleasing,  be- 
nevolent,    though    a   commanding    countenance,    dark 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON.  37 

brown  hair,  which  he  wears  in  a  cue.  His  mouth  is 
large  and  generally  firmly  closed,  but  which  from  time 
to  time  discloses  some  defective  teeth.  His  features  are 
regular  and  placid,  with  all  the  muscles  of  his  face  un- 
der perfect  control,  though  flexible  and  expressive  of  deep 
feeling  when  moved  by  emotions.  In  conversation  he 
looks  you  full  in  the  face,  is  deliberate,  deferential  and 
engaging.  His  voice  is  agreeable  rather  than  strong. 
His  demeanor  at  all  times  is  composed  and  dignified. 
His  movements  and  gestures  are  graceful,  his  walk  ma- 
jestic, and  he  is  a  splendid  horseman." 

After  the  capture  of  Quebec  by  Wolfe,  in  1759,  French 
domination  was  at  an  end  in  the  disputed  territory  of  the 
Ohio,  and  the  land  was  at  peace.  Washington  was  pre- 
eminently a  man  of  peace,  and  was  glad  to  return  to  pri- 
vate life  and  took  his  bride  to  Mount  Vernon,  a  home 
that  he  loved.  He  thus  describes  it  in  a  letter  written 
about  this  time: 

"No  estate  in  United  America  is  more  pleasantly  situ- 
ated. In  a  high  and  healthy  country;  in  a  latitude  be- 
tween the  extremes  of  heat  and  cold;  on  one  of  the  finest 
rivers  in  the  world — a  river  well  stocked  with  various 
kinds  offish  at  all  seasons  of  the  year,  and  in  the  spring 
with  shad,  herring,  bass,  carp,  sturgeon,  &c. ,  in  great 
abundance.  The  borders  of  the  estate  are  washed  by 
more  than  ten  miles  tide-water;  several  valuable  fisheries 
appertain  to  it;  the  whole  shore,  in  fact,  is  one  fishery." 

Washington  was  always  a  hard  worker.  He  rose  ear- 
ly and  got  through  an  amazing  amount  of  business  dur- 
ing the  day.     He  was  in  his  saddle  much  of  the  time. 


38 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON. 


riding  about  his  farms  and  directing  affairs  personally. 
He  was  a  flourishing  farmer.  He  took  a  special  pride  in 
having  everything  on  his  farms  first-class.  He  did  much 
to  improve  the  somewhat  rude  and  primitive  methods  of 
agriculture  of  his  day.     He  was  fond  of  the  chase,   and 


Home  of  Washington.  Mt.  Vernon. 


delighted  in  riding  after  hounds  with  a  party  of  friends. 
For  more  than  fifteen  years  (1759-75),  Washington 
was  a  member  of  the  House  of  Burgesses  of  Virginia. 
He  was  a  model  legislator,  concerned  for  the  public  wel- 
fare. He  was  not  a  man  of  many  words,  but  he  was  al- 
ways heard  with  respect,  and  the  opinions  of  no  other 
man  in  the  assembly  had  more  weight.      He  was  con- 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON.  39 

stantly  serving  on  committees,  in  which  his  sound  sense 
and  wide  knowledge  of  affairs  were  utilized  in  shaping 
the  important  measures  of  the  colony. 

In  the  first  Continental  Congress  (1774),  to  which  he 
was  a  delegate,  he  gained  a  reputation  for  practical  wis- 
dom, not  surpassed  by  any  other  man  in  that  illustrious 
body. 

American  history  cannot  be  intelligently  read  without 
constant  reference  to  English  history.  The  colonists 
came  honestly  by  their  love  of  freedom.  They  had  in- 
herited from  their  Saxon  ancestors  the  disposition  to  re- 
volt against  unjust  and  oppressive  authority.  The  strug- 
gle for  constitutional  liberty  in  England  in  the  seven- 
teenth century  had  its  bearing  on  the  struggle  for  inde- 
pendence in  America  in  the  eighteenth  century.  George 
the  Third's  governmental  policy  or  theory  of  monarchy 
was  substantially  that  of  Charles  I.  The  principles  of 
Magna  Charta  were  violated  by  the  Stamp  Act  and  the 
Tea  Tax.  Injustice  was  done  the  colonists  by  the  Nav- 
igation Laws,  and  other  measures  were  passed  by  Parlia- 
ment that  were  calculated  to  irritate  and  lead  to  conflict. 
The  stupidity  and  obstinacy  of  George  III  made  concili- 
ation- out  of  the  question. 

Washington's  attitude  toward  the  mother  country  was 
one  of  affectionate  regard.  He  shrank  from  the  thought 
of  separation  from  England.  The  ties  that  bound  the 
colonies  to  the  Old  World  were  not  to  be  lightly  broken. 
He  appreciated  the  service  that  the  British  Government 
had  rendered  the  provincials  in  the  French  and  Indian 
Wars.      He  advised  patience,  until  patience  ceased  to  be 


40  GEORGE  WASHINGTON. 

a  virtue.  There  was  a  limit  to  forbearance,  and  he 
thought  it  was  reached  in  1774.  Further  submission 
seemed  like  folly.  The  colonists  had  to  fight  for  their 
rights,  or  basely  yield  and  lose  their  self-respect.  The 
final  plunge  was  taken  and  a  new  nation  was  born,  a  na- 
tion founded  on  the  idea  of  democratic  equality. 

In  the  exciting  events  leading  up  to  the  Revolution, 
Washington  took  no  insignificant  part.  It  was  not  so 
much  the  part  of  the  orator  as  of  a  counselor.  He  was 
no  noisy  agitator  or  impractical  dreamer.  He  made  few 
speeches  in  the  Virginia  Assembly,  and  in  the  Continen- 
tal Congress,  but  what  he  said  was  to  the  point  and  care- 
fully weighed.  He  was  slow  to  make  up  his  mind;  he 
long  hoped  for  peaceful  adjustment  of  this  quarrel  be- 
tween America  and  Britain.  Once  having  determined 
on  the  right  course  to  take,  he  never  thought  of  giving 
up. 

The  years  1775-80,  were  years  of  testing,  and  some  of 
the  revolutionists  were  tried  and  found  wanting.  Wash- 
ington was  made  of  different  stuff.  He  had  the  qualities 
of  a  great  leader,  but  his  inspiring  example,  as  well  as 
his  leadership,  carried  the  day.  There  were  moments  of 
fearful  anxiety,  and  dark  hours  when  failure  stared  them 
in  the  face.  Though  many  despaired,  Washington  nev- 
er lost  courage.  He  never  wavered  in  his  confidence  of 
the  ultimate  success  of  the  colonists'  cause.  If  the  worst 
came  and  they  should  be  driven  from  their  homes  on  the 
sea-coast,  he  knew  that  they  could  retire  to  the  interior 
of  the  continent  and  found  an  empire  in  the  west,  where 
they  would  be  safe  from  British  interference. 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON.  41 

July  4,  1776,  must  always  be  regarded  as  one  of  the 
principal  dates  in  the  world's  history.  It  was  the  begin- 
ning of  a  new  era  in  the  annals  of  mankind.  Americans 
do  well  to  celebrate  the  day  when  the  Declaration  of  In- 
dependence was  signed. 

National  independence  was  not  won  in  a  single  day, 
nor  was  it  the  work  of  one  man.  The  country  then  stood 
in  need  of  all  its  patriots,  heroes,  and  sages.  The  con- 
summation of  their  hopes  required  the  talents  and  exer- 
tions of  an  untold  number:  Franklin's  shrewdness, 
Henry's  eloquence,  Jefferson's  learning,  and  the  impas- 
sioned logic  of  Samuel  Adams  were  needed,  as  well  as 
the  sagacity  and  generalship  of  Washington. 

The  gifts  of  all  were  needed  and  utilized.  To  extol 
the  part  of  Washington  in  the  long  and  hard-fought 
struggle  for  independence  is  not  to  depreciate  the  share 
of  the  other  colonial  generals  and  statesmen.  Nor  should 
the  deeds  of  valor  and  the  patient  sacrifices  of  the  rank 
and  file  be  forgotten;  and  praise  is  due  to  the  loyal  work- 
ers at  home,  who  supplied  the  sinews  of  war,  and  helped 
achieve  the  victories  of  the  armies  in  the  field.  The  co- 
operation of  foreign  nations,  too,  must  be  remembered, 
for  they  contributed  much  to  the  success  of  American 
arms.  Yet,  when  all  this  is  borne  in  mind,  it  is  not  too 
much  to  say  that  Washington  was  the  presiding  spirit 
without  whom  all  might  have  failed. 

In  May,  1775,  the  second  Continental  Congress  met 
at  Philadelphia.  The  time  for  petitions  had  passed. 
Preparations  for  war  were  to  be  made,  for  blood  had  al- 
ready been  shed  at  Lexington,  where  the  New  England 


42  GEORGE  WASHINGTON. 

militia  met  the  fire  of  British  Regulars.  On  June  15, 
Col.  George  Washington,  one  of  the  delegates  from  Vir- 
ginia, was  unanimously  elected  commander  of  the  colon- 
ial army.  This  was  Washington's  reply  to  the  President 
of  Congress,  who  announced  his  appointment  as  "Gener- 
al in  chief  of  all  the  American  forces:' ' 

"Though  I  am  truly  sensible  of  the  high  honor  done  me  in  this  ap- 
pointment, yet,  I  feel  great  disfress  from  a  consciousness,  that  my 
abilities  and  military  experience  may  not  be  equal  to  the  extensive 
and  important  trust.  However,  as  the  congress  desire  it,  I  will  enter 
upon  the  momentous  duty,  and  exert  every  power  I  possess  in  their 
service  and  for  support  of  the  glorious  cause.  I  beg  they  will  accept 
my  most  cordial  thanks  for  this  distinguished  testimony  of  their  ap- 
probation. 

"Bat,  lest  some  unlucky  event  should  happen  unfavorable  to  my 
reputation,  1  beg  it  may  be  remembered  by  every  gentleman  in  the 
room,  that  I  this  day  declare  with  the  utmost  sincerity,  I  do  not  think 
myself  equal  to  the  command  I  am  honored  with. 

"As  to  pay,  sir,  I  beg  leave  to  assure  the  congress,  that  as  no  pe- 
cuniary consideration  could  have  tempted  me  to  accept  this  arduous 
employment,  at  the  expense  of  my  domestic  ease  and  happiness,  I  do 
not  wish  to  make  any  profit  from  it.  I  will  keep  an  exact  account  of 
my  expenses.  Those  I  doubt  not  they  will  discharge,  and  that  is  all 
I  desire." 

In  keeping  with  this  modest  and  characteristic  state- 
ment of  a  truly  disinterested  man  is  the  earnest  remark 
in  a  letter  to  his  wife,  written  about  this  time:  "As  it 
has  been  a  kind  of  destiny  that  has  thrown  me  upon  this 
service,  I  shall  hope  that  my  undertaking  of  it  is  designed 
to  answer  some  good  purpose." 

It  may  be  well  to  quote  here  the  testimony  of  one  of 
Washington's  contemporaries,  John  Bell,  of  Maryland, 
writing  in  1779: 

"With  one  common  voice  he  was  called  forth  to  the 
defense  of  his  country;  and  it  is,  perhaps,  his  peculiar 
glory,  that  there  was  not  a  single  inhabitant   of   these 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON.  43 

itates,  except  himself,  who  did  not  approve  the  choice 
and  place  the  firmest  confidence  in  his  integrity  and 
ability." 

There  were  not  many  battles  fought  in  the  American 
Revolution.  The  opportunity  in  war  does  not  often 
come  for  a  "decisive  stroke."  Perhaps  there  were  only 
three  important  engagements — at  Brooklyn,  Saratoga, 
and  Yorktown.  Washington  failed  in  military  opera- 
tions around  New  York  in  the  summer  of  1776;  the  de- 
feat of  the  Anglo-German  army  at  Saratoga  in  1777  was 
the  result  of  his  planning,  though  he  was  not  present; 
with  the  help  of  the  French  army  and  fleet,  he  caused 
the  surrender  of  Cornwallis  at  Yorktown  in  1781. 

Washington's  successes  may  be  quickly  enumerated — 
at  Boston  (March  17,1776),  Trenton  (December  26, 1776), 
Princeton  (January  3,  1777),  and  Yorktown  (October  19, 
1 781).  The  indecisive  engagement  at  Monmouth  (June 
28,  1778)  might  also  be  included.  The  battles  that 
Washington  lost  were  fought  at  Brooklyn  (August  27, 
1776),  White  Plains  (October  28,  1776),  Brandywine 
(September  II,  1777),   and  Germantown  (Oct.  4,  1777). 

This  seems  at  first  sight  a  rather  poor  showing.  But, 
when  the  circumstances  are  taken  into  account,  the  won- 
der is  that  Washington  accomplished  so  much  with  the 
means  at  his  disposal.  With  so  many  emergencies  to 
meet,  it  was  a  herculean  undertaking  to  keep  things  mov- 
ing. There  were  other  obstacles  to  overcome  besides 
hostile  armies. 

He  had  few  men,  and  they  were  poorly  fed  and  clothed. 
The  colonial  troops  were  undisciplined,  and  the  task  of 


44  GEORGE  WASHINGTON. 

drilling  and  organizing  them  into  an  effective  array  was 
no  light  one.  The  colonies  lacked  the  money  requisite 
to  hire  and  keep  a  standing  army.  The  terms  of  enlist- 
ment were  short,  and  after  a  campaign  or  two  they  re- 
turned home  to  the  plow  and  the  anvil.  Then  a  fresh 
lot  of  raw  recruits  had  to  be  drilled  and  transformed  into 
seasoned  warriors.  Writing  to  his  brother  (February  24, 
1777),  Washington  refers  in  his  characteristic  manner  to 
the  militia,  "whose  ways,  like  the  ways  of  Providence, 
are  almost  inscrutable,  who  are  here  to-day  and  gone  to- 
morrow." 

A  depreciated  currency  was  partly  responsible  for  this 
deplorable  state  of  affairs.  At  the  beginning  of  the  strug- 
gle, coin  was  scarce — besides  four  or  five  million  dollars 
in  specie  in  the  treasury,  there  was  perhaps  fifteen  mill- 
ion in  specie  in  circulation  (less  than  $5  per  capita).  As 
the  volume  of  paper  money  increased,  its  value  declined. 
In  September,  1778,  $1  in  specie  would  exchange  for  $4 
in  continental  currency;  in  September,  1779,  for  $18;  in 
March,  1780,  for  $40,  and  later  for  hundreds. 

Again,  the  equipment  of  the  colonial  army  was  pain- 
fully inadequate.  There  was  little  powder  in  the  coun- 
try, and  a  scarcity  of  guns  and  artillery.  Supplies  were 
slow  in  coming.  In  a  word,  the  colonies  were  not  ready 
for  war  on  a  large  scale.  Without  the  moral  support 
and  financial  assistance  of  the  Dutch  (who  loaned  the 
new  nation  four  million  dollars)  and  the  help  of 
France  and  Spain,  they  would  have  been  reduced  to  a 
desperate  extremity,  and  the  outcome  might  have  been 
different. 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON.  45 

The  people  too,  were  not  a  unit  on  tlie  subject  of  re- 
sistance. There  were  many  Royalist  Americans — Tories 
they  were  called — who  sympathized  with  the  English 
and  aided  them  in  a  thousand  ways.  Some  of  them  were 
high  officials  and  persons  of  wealth.  This  crippled  the 
fighting  resources  of  the  country. 

In  the  army  itself  there  was  too  often  friction  and  lack 
of  harmony,  instead  of  the  sinking  of  personal  prefer- 
ences for  the  common  good.  There  were  rivalries  and 
dissensions  among  the  officers — to  say  nothing  about 
treason — which  greatly  annoyed  and  embarrassed  the 
chief.  Sectional  quarrels  and  disturbances  were  frequent 
in  the  ranks. 

During  the  first  three  or  four  years  of  the  war,  Wash- 
ington had  a  world  of  trouble  with  congress;  he  was 
hampered  in  carrying  out  his  plans  by  meddlesome  pol- 
iticians. Finally  congress  gained  enough  confidence  in 
the  head  of  the  army  to  let  him  use  his  own  judgment. 

Place-hunters  were  then  as  importunate  as  now.  The 
commander  was  beset  by  a  horde  of  "hungry  adventur- 
ers" from  Europe,  eager  for  commissions  in  the  colonial 
army.  These  could  not  be  accommodated  when  there 
was  better  fighting  material  among  the  Provincials. 
While  it  is  true  that  Lafayette,  Steuben,  Pulaski,  Kosci- 
usko, and  other  foreigners  rendered  valuable  service  in 
the  Revolution,  they  were  the  exception.  Most  of  the 
would-be  officers  from  abroad  were  of  no  account  as  sol- 
diers. 

In  no  one  thing  was  Washington's  judgment  more 
manifest  than  in  the  selection  of  his  assistants,  who  were 


46 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON. 


in  the  main  faithful  and  efficient  public  servants.  Among 
the  scores  of  Major-Generals  and  Brigadiers  who  served 
under  him  were  several  able  commanders — Greene,  Ward, 
Schuyler,  Arnold,  Knox,  Marion,  Hamilton,  and  others. 
Of  these,  perhaps  Greene  made  the  best  military  record. 
The  intrigues  of  the  Conway  cabal  form  the  details  of 

a  disgraceful  chapter 
of  Revolutionary  his- 
tory. General  Wash- 
ington, however,  was 
too  firmly  entrenched 
in  the  affections  and 
the  regard  of  the  peo- 
ple to  be  thrown  aside 
for  one  less  worthy. 
He  was  easily  first, 
and  there  was  no  sec- 
ond. Faction  spent 
itself  in  vain,  trying 
to  deprive  him  of  his  rightful  supremacy.  The  tribute  of 
Lodge  is  not  exaggerated:  "The  soldiers  and  the  people, 
high  and  low,  rich  and  poor,  gave  him  an  unstinted 
loyalty." 

The  army  of  which  General  Washington  assumed  com- 
mand at  Cambridge,  Mass.  (July  3,  1775),  consisted  of 
about  14,500  troops  from  New  England.  These  were 
stationed  to  good  advantage  about  Boston — Major-Gen- 
eral  Artemas  Ward,  commanding  the  right  wing  on  the 
heights  of  Roxbury,  Major-General  Charles  Lee,  the  left 
wing  on  Winter  and  Prospect  Hills,   and  Major-General 


Alexander  Hamilton,  Washington's  Secretary 
during  the  early  period  of  the  Revolution. 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON.  47 

Israel  Putnam,  the  center  at  Cambridge.  During  the 
summer,  several  companies  of  riflemen  were  raised  in 
Pennsylvania,  Maryland  and  Virginia,  and  marched  to 
Cambridge.  At  first  "confusion  and  discord  reigned,"  to 
use  Washington's  own  words,  but  gradually  he  brought 
order  out  of  chaos. 

Early  in  August  the 
alarming  discovery  was 
made  that  there  was  less 
than  ten  thousand  pounds 
of  powder  in  camp,  Wash- 
ington was  thunderstruck 
with  astonishment.  Had 
Gage,  the  British  General 
in  command  at  Boston, 
attacked  them  then,  he 
could  have  inflicted  ter- 
rible punishment.  The 
danger  was  concealed,  and  disaster  averted  by  piling  up 
barrels  of  sand  labelled  powder.  After  innumerable  de- 
lays, supplies  of  ammunition  and  ordnance  were  ob- 
t-^ined. 

In  September  an  expedition  was  got  ready  to  march 
through  Maine  into  Canada,  and  thence  to  Quebec  and 
Montreal.  One  detachment  of  eleven  hundred  men  was 
led  by  Col.  Benedict  Arnold;  the  other  by  General  Rich- 
ard Montgomery.  The  campaign  was  well  planned  and 
almost  succeeded.  The  soldiers  suffered  intensely  from 
cold  and  hunger.  Montreal  was  taken,  but  the  assault 
on  Quebec  (Dec.  31)  failed. 


^. ,,_.  if  >.^ 

Gen.  Charles  Lee. 
Bom  1731.    Died  1782. 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON. 


In  the  autumn  several  cruisers  were  fitted  out  to  prey 
on  British  commerce,  and  to  intercept  supplies  on  the 
way  for  the  British  army  at  Boston.  They  succeeded  in 
doing  considerable  damage  to  English  shipping  and  cap- 
tured some  valuable  store-ships. 

In  the  winter  the  American  troops  were  actively  en- 
gaged on  the  fortifications  near 
Boston,  and  preparations  were 
begun  for  the  defense  of  Rhode 
Island,  New  York,  and  other 
exposed  points. 

In  December  Mrs.  Washing- 
ton arrived  at  Cambridge  and 
her  presence  brightened  camp- 
life  for  the  General.  The  so- 
ber New  Englanders  being  im- 
used  to  showy  equipages,  her 
coming  in  the  family  coach 
drawn  by  four  horses,  attended  by  colored  servants  in 
livery,  made  a  sensation  in  the  sleepy  town. 

Meanwhile  a  new  army  was  raised,  the  first  Continen- 
tal army  enlisted  for  1776.  On  January  i,  "the  Union 
Flag,  composed  of  thirteen  alternate  red  and  white 
stripes,"  was  first  displayed. 

A  few  weeks  later  Col.  Henry  Knox  reached  the  camp 
with  a  train  of  artillery,  cannons  and  mortars,  captured 
from  the  enemy  at  Ticonderoga.  The  new  soldiers  were 
ill-supplied  with  arms.  "There  are  near  2000  men  now 
in  camp  without  firelocks, "  writes  Washington  (Febru- 
ary 9).     Unprepared  as  they  were,  he  was  in  favor  of  an 


Gen.  Richard  Montgomery. 
Born  1736.    Died  1775. 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON.  49 

attack  on  the  British  lines  in  Boston,  but  was  overruled 
by  a  council  of  war. 

At  last,  supplied  with  powder  and  cannon,  Washing- 
ton improved  the  long-looked-for  opportunity  to  strike. 
During  the  night  of  March  4,  a  furious  cannonade  was 
kept  up.  Under  cover  of  darkness  the  American  troops 
seized  Dorchester  Heights,  which  commanded  the  city, 
and  threw  up  entrenchments.  The  men  worked  with  a 
will  and  planted  cannon  the  next  day,  while  the  Eng- 
lish waited.  The  indolent  Howe,  who  had  succeeded 
Gage,  was  disposed  to  take  things  easy.  Finding  his 
position  in  Boston  untenable  without  a  conflict,  he  speed- 
ily departed  (March  1 7),  embarking  all  of  his  forces  and 
leaving  behind  a  large  quantity  of  arms  and  baggage. 

This  success  of  Washington's  was  an  occasion  of  much 
rejoicing  to  the  Bostonians  and  greatly  encouraged  the 
whole  country.  As  Howe  had  a  well-equipped  army  of 
experienced  soldiers  and  a  strong  fleet,  he  might  have 
made  an  effective  resistance.  His  inefficiency  called 
forth  the  sarcastic  remark,  that  "any  other  General  in 
the  world  would  have  beaten  General  Washington;  and 
any  other  General  in  the  world  than  General  Washing- 
ton would  have  beaten  General  Howe." 

This  rather  grudging  praise  does  not  give  Washing- 
ton his  full  share  of  credit.  The  victory  was  the  result 
of  wise  foresight  and  careful  planning,  of  persistent  and 
untiring  effort  during  the  months  of  the  preceding 
autumn  and  winter.  Washington  had  now  a  good  army, 
fairly  well  equipped.  "Method  and  exactness  are  the 
fort  of  his  character,"  writes  one  of  his  contemporaries. 


50  GEORGE  WASHINGTON. 

and  he  carried  these  qualities  into  the  conduct  of  the 
war.  The  difficulties  that  he  had  to  contend  against 
were  enormous,  and  he  set  about  industriously  to  over- 
come them  with  business-like  sagacity. 

Washington  was  a  strict  disciplinarian,  yet  he  had  the 
power  of  attaching  soldiers  to  him  and  of  securing  their 
hearty  co-operation.  Says  an  Ar^erican  gentleman  liv- 
ing in  London  (i'779)* 

"He  punishes  neglect  of  duty  with  great  severity,  but 
is  ver}'  tender  and  indulgent  to  recruits  until  they  learn 

the  articles  of  war  and  their  exercise  perfectly He 

has  made  the  art  of  war  his  particular  study;  his  plans 
are  in  general  good  and  well  digested;  he  is  particularly 
careful  of  securing  a  retreat,  but  his  chief  qualifications 
are  steadiness,  perseverance  and  secrecy;  any  act  of 
bravery  he  is  sure  to  reward,  and  make  a  short  eulogium 
on  the  occasion  to  the  person  and  his  fellow  soldiers  (if 
it  be  a  soldier  in  the  ranks)." 

One  secret  of  Washington's  success  as  a  commander 
was  the  force  of  his  personality,  which  impressed  officers 
and  men  alike.  It  was  not  only  his  soldierly  bearing 
and  his  stately  figure,  his  strong  will  and  passionate  na- 
ture made  him  respected  as  a  leader.  Underneath  a 
placid  exterior  was  a  fiery  temper,  usually  well  con- 
trolled, whose  occasional  outbursts  of  anger  they  dread- 
ed. Here  was  a  man  not  to  be  trifled  with,  one  who 
insisted  on  obedience  to  orders.  Soldiering  under  Wash- 
ington was  not  play. 

As  it  was  expected  that  New  York  would  be  the  next 
objective  point  of  attack  by  the  English  army  and  fleet, 


GEORGE  WASHINGTOx\.  51 

the  work  of  preparing  defenses  went  on  expeditiously, 
and  early  in  April  the  colonial  army  marched  thither. 
There  was  a  delay  on  the  part  of  General  Howe,  whose 
fleet  remained  at  Halifax  a  few  months  to  await  re- 
enforcements  from  England. 

The  movement  against  New  York  was  made  in  the 
summer,  and  British  troops  landed  on  Staten  Island 
(July  3).  Later  they  were  re-enforced  by  others.  Wash- 
ington writes  (July  22)  that  "the  enemy's  numbers  will 
amount  at  least  to  twenty-five  thousand  men  ;  ours  to 
about  fifteen  thousand."  He  underestimated  the  strength 
of  the  British,  whose  combined  forces  were  31,625  (Au- 
gust i),  while  less  than  11,000  of  his  own  men  were  on 
duty. 

A  battle  was  expected,  and  Washington  essayed  to 
nerve  his  troops  with  resolution  and  hope.  These  man- 
ly words  appear  in  the  Orderly  Book  for  August  23  : 

"The  Enemy  have  now  landed  on  Long  Island, and  the 
hour  is  fast  approaching,  on  which  the  Honor  and  Suc- 
cess of  this  Army  and  the  Safety  of  our  Bleeding  Coun- 
try will  depend.  Remember,  officers  and  soldiers,  that 
you  are  freemen,  fighting  for  the  blessings  of  Liberty, 
that  Slavery  will  be  your  portion,  and  that  of  your  pos- 
terity, if  you  do  not  acquit  yourselves  like  men." 

General  Howe  debarked  15,000  troops  on  Long  Island 
(August  22),  and  another  division  was  landed  (August 
25).  In  the  battle  of  Long  Island  (August  27),  the 
Americans  (four  or  five  thousand)  were  commanded  by 
General  John  Sullivan,  owing  to  the  illness  of  General 
Nathaniel  Greene,  who  had  prepared  the  lines  of  de- 


52  GEORGE  WASHINGTON. 

fense.  Not  knowing  the  ground  well,  he  was  taken  by 
surprise  and  his  division  hemmed  in  by  a  superior  force 
(eight  or  nine  thousand),  under  Sir  Henry  Clinton. 
They  suffered  a  heavy  loss  of  men  killed  and  captured. 
With  a  long  line  of  posts  to  guard,  Washington  was 
powerless  to  aid  them  ;  from  a  hill  in  Brooklyn  he 
watched  the  battle  and  saw  with  anguish  the  rout  and 
surrender  of  Lord  Stirling's  division  of  Maryland  bat- 
talions. 

The  next  day  in  a  council  of  war  it  was  determined 
"to  give  up  Long  Island,  and  not,  by  dividing  the  force, 
be  unable  to  resist  the  enemy  in  any  one  point  of  at- 
tack." The  victor,  feeling  sure  of  his  prey,  failed  to 
follow  up  his  advantage  at  once,  as  a  great  general  would 
have  done.  A  little  skirmishing  took  place  on  August 
28,  but  the  assault  on  the  works  was  postponed.  The 
dilatory  tactics  of  Howe  enabled  Washington  to  slip  out 
of  his  grasp. 

Boats  were  obtained,  and  on  the  following  night  the 
American  forces  (nine  thousand)  embarked  and  escaped, 
unobserved  by  the  British,  in  the  rain  and  mist.  Refer- 
ring to  their  passage  across  East  River,  Washington 
wrote:  "For  forty-eight  hours  preceding  that,  I  had  hard- 
ly been  off  my  horse,  and  never  closed  my  eyes."  This 
retreat,  as  Lodge  truly  observes,  "was  a  feat  of  arms  as 
great  as  most  victories." 

There  being  no  prospect  of  holding  New  York,  Wash- 
ington marched  northward  (September  13),  leaving  the 
city  in  possession  of  the  enemy.  There  were  occasional 
skirmishes,  the  most  notable  at  Harlem,   but  not  much 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON. 


53 


fighting  before  the  battle  near  White  Plains  (about 
twenty-six  miles  northeast  of  New  York).  On  October 
28  a  detachment  of  fifteen  or  sixteen  hundred  troops,  un- 
der General  Alexander  McDougall,  was  defeated  on  Chat- 
terton  Hill  by  five  thousand  of  the  British.  Howe  was 
deterred  from  attacking  the  main  body  of  Washington's 


Washington's  Headquarters  at  Newburgh. 

army,  two  miles  away,  by  a  very  formidable-looking, 
but  rather  unsubstantial,  embankment  of  corn-stalks 
with  the  roots  turned  outward.  Not  availing  themselves 
of  the  slight  advantage  gained,  the  English  broke  up 
camp  and  withdrew  southward. 

Washington  followed  with  his  army  and  arrived  at 


54  GEORGE  WASHINGTON. 

Fort  Lee  (November  13).  On  November  16,  the  English 
took  by  storm  Fort  Washington  on  Manhattan  Island, 
not  far  from  Fort  Lee.  It  was  bravely  defended  by  a 
garrison  of  nearly  three  thousand  men  under  Col.  Magaw, 
who  was  forced  to  surrender.  The  place  had  been  held 
against  Washington's  advice,  and  he  felt  the  loss  most 
keenly,  because  unnecessary.  "This,"  he  wrote  (Nov. 
19),  "is  a  most  unfortunate  affair,  and  has  given  me  great: 
mortification;  as  we  have  lost  not  only  two  thousand  men 
that  were  there,  but  a  good  deal  of  artillery,  and  some  of 
the  best  arms  we  had.  And  what  adds  to  my  mortifica- 
tion is,  that  this  post,  after  the  last  ships  went  past  it, 
was  held  contrary  to  my  wishes  and  opinion,  as  I  con- 
ceived it  to  be  a  hazardous  one." 

Thus  ended  for  a  while  "the  struggle  for  the  Hudson." 
An  Anglo-Hessian  army  of  6,000  approached  Fort  Lee 
(November  20),  and  the  stronghold  was  abandoned  in  a 
hurry.  The  Continental  army  of  a  few  thousand  retreat- 
ed to  Newark,  New  Jersey;  the  enemy  following  close, 
"often  the  music  of  the  pursued  and  the  pursuers  would 
be  heard  by  each  other,  yet  no  action  occurred."  Wash- 
ington obstructed  the  advance  of  the  enemy  as  much  as 
possible  by  destroying  bridges  and  provisions  on  the 
way.  At  Newark  he  made  a  short  stand,  but  avoided 
fighting,  as  his  army  was  dwindling  away. 

From  Newark  he  retreated  to  Brunswick  (November 
26).  Here  two  brigades  quit  the  army,  their  terms  of 
service  having  expired.  "The  loss  of  these  troops," 
writes  General  Greene,  "at  this  critical  time  reduced  his 
Excellency  to   the   necessity   to   order   a   retreat  again. 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON.  55 

When  we  left  Brunswick,  we  had  not  3,000  men."  Un- 
der discouraging  circumstances  they  pressed  on  to  Prince- 
ton (December  2),  and  then  to  Trenton. 

"These  are  the  times  that  try  men's  souls,"  wrote 
Thomas  Paine  in  the  American  Crisis  (December,  1776). 
Beneath  his  heavy  load  of  cares  and  burdens, Washington 
bore  up  with  wonderful  fortitude.  His  resources  were 
not  yet  exhausted.  Again  it  was  necessary  to  give  way 
before  the  advancing  enemy,  and  the  little  army  crossed 
the  Delaware  on  the  morning  of  December  8,  A  few 
hours  later  "the  British  came  marching  down  to  the  riv- 
er, expecting  to  cross,  but  no  boats  were  within  reach, 
all  having  been  collected  and  secured  on  the  west  bank." 
Once  more  the  American  leader  had  eluded  an  over- 
whelming force. 

As  the  enemy  were  moving  in  the  direction  of  Phila- 
delphia, steps  were  now  taken  to  fortify  the  city.  F'rom 
his  headquarters  at  the  Keith  farm-house,  Washington 
wrote  to  his  brother  John  Augustine  (December  18): 

"Since  I  came  on  this  side,  I  have  been  joined  by 
about  two  thousand  of  the  city  militia,  and  I  understood 
that  some  of  the  country  militia  (from  the  back  coun- 
ties) are  on  the  way.  But  we  are  in  a  very  disaffected 
part  of  the  Province;  and,  between  you  and  me,  I  think 
our  affairs  are  in  a  very  bad  situation 

"You  can  form  no  idea  of  the  perplexity  of  my  situa- 
tion. No  man,  I  believe,  ever  had  a  greater  choice  of 
difhculties,  and  less  means  to  extricate  himself  from 
them.  However,  under  a  full  persuasion  of  the  justice 
of  our  cause,  I  cannot  entertain   an   idea,    that   it   will 


56  GEOKGE  WASHINGTON. 

finally  sink,  tliough  it  may  remain  for  some  time  under 
a  cloud." 

Two  days  later  his  heart  was  cheered  by  the  arrival  at 
his  camp  above  Trenton  Falls  of  General  Gates,  Sulli- 
van, and  Cadwalader,  with  several  regiments  of  regulars 
and  militiamen.  These  additions  increased  his  fighting 
force  to  nearly  eleven  thousand. 

Now  the  time  had  come  to  act  on  the  aggressive,  while 
the  British  army' was  scattered.  Howe  having  retired  to 
New  York,  thinking  there  would  be  no  further  hostilities 
during  the  winter,  Washington  planned  a  bold  attack  on 
Christmas  night,  an  hour  before  dawn.  The  enterprise 
succeeded.  It  was  a  cold  stormy  night  and  the  river 
full  of  ice,  yet  he  crossed  the  Delaware  with  his  own  di- 
vision of  2,400  men  and  marched  nine  miles  to  Trenton. 
Here  he  surprised  the  Hessians  at  daybreak  and  defeat- 
ed them,  taking  nearly  a  thousand  prisoners  with  their 
arms  and  cannon.  The  engagement  lasted  less  than  an 
hour.  This  brilliant  victory  revived  the  drooping  cour- 
age of  the  army  and  alarmed  the  enemy. 

When  the  news  reached  New  York,  Cornwallis  hast- 
ened forth  with  8,000  men  to  punish  him.  Meanwhile 
Washington  was  not  idle.  He  again  crossed  the  Dela- 
ware (December  30);  the  passage  was  exceedingly  diffi- 
cult and  perilous  on  account  of  the  floating  ice.  At 
Trenton  he  was  joined  by  the  divisions  under  Generals 
Mifflin  and  Cadwalader,  some  3,800  men.  He  was  not 
strong  enough,  however,  for  a  pitched  battle  with  the  en- 
tire Anglo-Hessian  army.  By  good  fortune  and  strategy 
he  saved  himself  from  disaster  and  dealt  the  enemy  anoth- 


58  GEORGE  WASHINGTON. 

er  stunning  blow.  With  the  main  body  of  his  army, 
Lord  Cornwallis  marched  from  Princeton,  (January 
2,  1777),  leaving  three  regiments  under  Col.  Maw- 
hood.  He  reached  the  neighborhood  of  Trenton  late 
in  the  afternoon  and  had  the  best  of  the  Americans 
in  the  skirmishing  that  ensued.  Here  he  rested  from 
combat  at  nightfall.  Washington  was  at  his  mercy, 
if  he  had  pressed  his  advantage  at  dark.  He  halted 
near  Washington's  camp,  and  in  the  morning  the 
Americans  were  gone.  Leaving  their  fires  burning 
brightly  to  deceive  the  enemy,  they  stole  silently  away 
at  midnight,  and  by  a  round-about  march  arrived  at 
Princeton  about  sunrise.  Here  Washington  won  a  com- 
plete victory  and  gained  possession  of  the  town  with 
small  loss.  One  hundred  of  the  enemy  were  killed,  be- 
sides four  hundred  prisoners  and  wounded.  It  is  hardly 
too  much  to  say  that  these  two  unlooked-for  successes 
"saved  the  Revolution."  They  were  a  revelation  of 
Washington's  military  ability.  They  not  only  exhila- 
rated the  spirits  of  the  colonists,  but  extorted  praise  and 
admiration  from  the  foe.  *'His  march  through  our  lines 
is  allowed  to  have  been  a  prodigy  of  generalship,"  wrote 
Horace  Walpole.  Washington  was  now  accorded  a  place 
among  the  greatest  captains  of  the  time. 

During  the  winter  months  of  1777  there  was  a  cessa- 
tion of  hostilities.  Washington's  feelings  of  elation  over 
British  reverses  were  mingled  with  disappointment  and 
alarm  as  he  saw  his  army  suddenly  melt  away.  He 
wrote  to  the  governors  of  the  New  England  States  and 
to  the  members  of  Congress,  dwelling  on  the  imperative 


Washington  at  the  Battle  of  Princeton. 


6o  GEORGE  WASHINGTON. 

necessity  of  establishing  a  permanent  army  upon  which 
he  could  depend  at  all  times. 

He  would  have  been  almost  helpless,  if  the  enemy  had 
attacked  him  at  this  time.  In  the  circular-letter  to  the 
Governors,  Washington  wrote  (January  24): 

"Nothing  but  their  ignorance  of  our  numbers  protects 
us  at  this  very  time,  when,  on  the  contrary,  had  we  six 
or  eight  thousand  regular  troops,  or  could  the  militia, 
who  were  with  me  a  few  days  ago,  have  been  prevailed 
upon  to  stay,  we  could  have  struck  such  a  stroke,  as 
would  have  inevitably  ruined  the  army  of  the  enemy,  in 
their  divided  state." 

The  winter  wore  gloomily  away.  Fortunately  Gener- 
al Howe  remained  inactive.  Washington  had  only  four 
thousand  men,  and  many  of  these  were  sick  and  starv- 
ing. The  commander  put  forth  renewed  efforts  to  im- 
prove the  character  of  the  soldiers  by  prohibiting  gam- 
ing, swearing,  and  other  vices.  Mindful  of  the  value  of 
religion  as  a  moral  force,  he  arranged  later  for  the  chap- 
lains to  hold  services  on  Sunday,  wherever  practicable, 
and  enjoined  attendance  on  the  part  of  the  men. 

In  May,  Washington  fixed  his  headquarters  at  Middle- 
brook,  New  Jersey,  having  under  his  immediate  com- 
mand seven  thousand  men.  Howe  had  ten  thousand  or 
more  with  him.  Each  commander  was  carefully  noting 
the  movements  of  the  other,  and  neither  was  desirous  of 
bringing  on  a  drawn  battle.  After  some  skirmishing, 
Howe  withdrew  to  Staten  Island  with  his  entire  army 
(June  30). 

Anticipating  that  Howe  would  proceed  into  Central 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON. 


6i 


New  York  to  co-operate  with  Burgoyne,  Washington 
marched  northward.  He  was  much  chagrined  by  the  in- 
telligence of  the  evacuation  of  Ticonderoga  (July  6). 
An  intercepted  letter  from  Howe  to  Burgoyne  fell  into 
his  hands,  and  it  convinced 
him  that  Philadelphia  was 
Howe's  real  destination. 

Washington  then  directed 
the  march  of  the  army  to- 
ward Philadelphia  and  ar- 
rived at  this  city  himself  in 
advance  of  the  troops  (August 
2).  Here  he  first  met  Lafay- 
ette, who  had  just  been  com- 
missioned a  Major  -  General, 
having  volunteered  his  ser- 
vices   without    pay.      It   was 

the  beginning  of  a  lifelong  friendship  between  the  two 
men.  A  few  days  afterward  the  Marquis  witnessed  a  re- 
view of  the  army,  "about  eleven  thousand  men,  ill-armed, 
and  still  worse  clothed."  The  gifted  young  Frenchman 
was  favorably  impressed  with  the  troops,  notwithstand- 
ing their  motley  attire  and  indifferent  tactics.  "In  spite 
of  these  disadvantages, "  he  says  in  his  Memoirs,  'the 
soldiers  were  fine,  and  the  officers  zealous;  virtue  stood 
in  place  of  science,  and  each  day  added  both  to  experi- 
ence and  discipline." 

Later,  Washington  was  gratified  to  hear  of  victories  in 
the  North,  at  Oriskany  and  Bennington.  He  was  still  in 
the  dark  as  to  Howe's  movements,   but  supposed  that 


Gen.  John  Burgoyne. 
Born  1722.    Died  1792. 


62  GEORGE  WASHINGTON. 

Charleston  was  the  point  where  the  British  fleet  would 
strike.  News  came  at  length  that  it  was  in  Chesapeake 
Bay.  The  Continental  army  at  once  marched  southward 
through  Philadelphia  (August  24),  to  a  point  near  Wil- 
mington. 

The  next  day  the  English  army  of  18,000  men  landed 
at  the  head  of  the  Bay  and  proceeded  northward.  On 
August  27,  Howe  issued  another  "Declaration,"  promis- 
ing security  to  peaceful  citizens  and  pardon  to  rebels  who 
would  surrender  and  renew  allegiance  to  the  king. 
There  was  no  stampede  of  colonists  flocking  to  his  stand- 
ard. 

On  the  morning  of  September  3,  the  British  troops 
won  in  a  smart  skirmish  not  far  from  the  village  of  New- 
port, Delaware.  Leaving  Newport  (September  9),  the 
Americans  crossed  Brandywine  Creek  at  Chad's  Ford, 
and  not  far  away  the  battle  of  Brandywine  was  fought 
(September  11).  Cornwallis,  an  able  general,  led  7,000 
British  troops,  aided  by  General  Knyphausen  with  7,000 
mercenaries.  The  main  body  of  Washington's  army 
was  stationed  at  Chad's  Ford  to  guard  the  passage.  On 
the  opposite  bank  the  Hessian  Commander  made  a  feint 
of  attempting  to  cross,  while  Cornwallis  moved  north- 
ward and  crossed  at  the  upper  fords,  three  miles  distant. 
Washington,  misled  by  false  reports  concerning  the  en- 
emy's movements,  was  outgeneraled  and  dislodged  from 
his  position.  He  had  fewer  men  (11,000),  yet  he  had  the 
advantage  over  Cornwallis,  who  won  a  decisive  victory. 
Through  an  oversight  Sullivan  had  not  guarded  the  fords 
where  the  British  had  crossed.     It  was  a  fatal  blunder. 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON.  63 

riie  American  loss  was  1,000  killed,  wounded,  and  cap- 
tured, that  of  the  British  nearly  600.  Cornwallis  did 
not  pursue. 

By  rapid  and  fatiguing  marches  the  Continental  army 
moved  northward,  hindered  by  bad  weather,  sometimes 
wading  through  streams  waist  deep.  They  arrived  at 
Pottsgrove  (September  22),  in  a  pitiable  plight.  "At 
least  one  thousand  men  are  bare-footed,  and  have  per- 
formed the  marches  in  that  condition,"  wrote  Washing- 
ton to  the  President  of  Congress. 

After  a  short  rest  he  moved  his  forces  toward  Phila- 
delphia (September  26),  and  the  same  day  Cornwallis 
with  his  battalions  entered  the  city  unopposed. 

An  effort  was  made  to  supply  the  needs  of  the  suffer- 
ing men.  At  this  time  they  were  cheered  by  the  report 
of  a  successful  engagement  at  Stillwater,  New  York,  be- 
tween the  armies  of  Gates  and  Burgoyne  (September  19). 

Washington's  army  now  consisted  of  about  8,000  Con- 
tinentals and  3,000  militiamen.  With  this  force  he 
marched  against  the  enemy  at  Germantown,  October  4, 
where  success  in  the  morning  was  turned  later  in  the  day 
into  defeat,  through  a  series  of  deplorable  mistakes  and 
unfortunate  circumstances.  The  fog  and  smoke  caused 
confusion  and  panic.  The  Americans,  not  downcast  over 
the  result,  were  eager  for  another  action.  Re-enforce- 
ments came  from  Virginia,  and  not  long  afterward  en- 
couraging messages  of  the  second  victory  of  Gates  over 
Burgoyne  (October  7). 

Then  the  desponding  hearts  of  all  were  gladdened  by 
a  dispatch  conveying  the  welcome  information  of  the  sur- 


64  GEORGE  WASHINGTON. 

render  of  BVirgoyne  and  his  entire  army  (6,000)  at  Sara 
toga  (October  14.)  The  significance  of  this  event  can 
scarcely  be  over-estimated.  Lodge  sums  up  the  situation 
tersely  and  justly:  "The  Revolution  had  been  saved  at 
Trenton ;  it  was  established  at  Saratoga.  In  the  one  case 
it  was  the  direct,  in  the  other  the  indirect  work  of  Wash- 
ington." 

Another  cause  of  congratulation  was  the  repulse  of  the 
Hessians  at  Fort  Mercer  (October  22).  The  next  day 
there  was  a  spirited  naval  encounter  on  the  Delaware, 
near  Fort  IVIiffiin,  which  resulted  in  the  loss  of  two  Brit- 
ish gun-boats.  In  the  meantime  Howe  had  evacuated 
Germantown  and  retired  to  Philadelphia  with  an  army 
reduced  to  ten  thousand,  while  Washington  had  a  body 
of  men  estimated  at  more  than  eleven  thousand.  The 
Americans  were  now  on  such  a  good  war  footing  that  an 
attack  on  the  enemy's  camp  at  Philadelphia  w^as  consid- 
ered (November  24),  but  not  undertaken  on  account  of 
the  strong  fortifications. 

The  season  for  military  operations  having  closed,  the 
army  went  into  winter  quarters  at  Valley  Forge  on  the 
west  bank  of  the  Schuylkill  River.  Here  Washington 
was  in  a  favorable  position  to  defend  himself  and  to  ob- 
serve the  actions  of  the  British  army. 

The  surrounding  country  had  been  pretty  thoroughly 
foraged  by  the  enemy,  and  at  times  the  American  sol- 
diers w^ere  entirely  destitute  of  bread  and  meat.  There 
was  lack  of  other  necessaries,  such  as  clothes  and  blank- 
ets. Log-huts  were  built  for  the  men,  who  were  many 
of  them  ill  and  half  naked.      The  haidships  and  priva- 


66  GEORGE  WASHINGTON. 

tions  of  this  severe  winter  were  long  remembered  by  the 
patriotic  troops  and  their  loyal  commander,  who  did  all 
in  his  power  to  make  them  comfortable.  There  is  a  pa- 
thetic description  in  Lafayette's  Memoirs  of  their  terrible 
distress  and  their  heroic  endurance.  Baron  Steuben,  a 
Prussian  officer,  visited  the  camp  (February  23,  1778) 
with  his  secretary,  who  thus  stated  his  impression  of 
the  Commander-in-chief: 

"I  could  not  keep  my  eyes  from  that  imposing  coun- 
tenance— ^grave,  yet  not  severe;  affable,  without  familit 
arity.  Its  predominant  expression  was  calm  dignity, 
through  which  you  could  trace  the  strong  feelings  of  the 
patriot,  and  discern  the  father  as  well  as  the  commander 
of  his  soldiers." 

The  winter  of  1778  was  one  that  Washington  had  oc- 
casion to  remember  for  another  reason.  It  was  then 
that  a  base  plot  was  laid  to  displace  him  and  make  Gen- 
eral Gates  commander.  The  conspiracy  was  headed  by 
General  Conway,  whose  name  is  handed  down  in  history 
as  the  chief  ringleader  of  the  "Conway  Cabal."  Other 
officers  were  implicated  in  the  affair.  Never  did  Wash- 
ington's character  appear  to  better  advantage  than  when 
he  was  passing  through  this,  the  severest  ordeal  of  his 
life.  With  dignity  and  self-restraint  he  bore  up  under 
this  grievous  trial,  although  sorely  disturbed  by  the  com- 
plaints and  criticisms  of  his  opponents.  In  addition  to 
his  other  burdens,  he  found  it  a  heavy  load  to  carry. 
The  scheme  failed  and  reacted  upon  its  authors,  while 
Washington  found  himself  growing  in  public  esteem  and 
confidence. 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON. 


67 


When  the  spring  finally  came,  death  and  desertion  had 
thinned  the  ranks  of  the  Continentals  at  Valley  Forge. 
It  seemed  the  part  of  wisdom  to  strengthen  and  disci- 
pline the  army,  and  be  ready  to  strike  the  enemy  as  op- 
portunity might  occur. 

In  April  copies  of  Lord  North's   "Conciliatory   Bills" 


Washington's  Headquarters  at  Valley  Forge. 

reached  headquarters,  and  soon  afterward  peace  commis- 
sioners from  England  arrived  at  Philadelphia.  "Noth- 
ing short  of  independence,"  wrote  Washington  at  this 
time.  "A  peace  on  other  terms  would,  if  I  may  be  al- 
lowed the  expression,  be  a  peace  of  war."  His  views 
were  echoed  and  applauded  by  patriots  throughout  the 
colonies,  and  the  commissioners  returned  home,  their 
mission  a  failure.  Their  promises  were  distrusted  and 
their  bribes  spurned.  Rejecting  their  tempting  offers, 
Joseph  Reed  said:  ''I  am  not  worth  purchasing,  but,  such 


68  GEORGE  WASHINGTON. 

as  I  am,  the  King  of  Great  Britain  is  not  rich  enough  to 
do  it." 

Henceforth  every  officer  in  the  American  army  was  re- 
quired to  take  the  oath  affirming  "the  United  States  of 
America  to  be  free,  independent  and  sovereign  states," 
and  renouncing  allegiance  to  the  King  of  Great  Britain. 

Meanwhile  treaties  of  commerce  and  alliance  with 
France  had  been  negotiated  and  signed.  By  foreign  na- 
tions the  American  Government  was  looked  upon  as  per- 
manently established.  In  this  view  George  III  did  not 
concur,  and  the  thought  of  the  separation  of  the  colonies 
from  the  old  country  was  still  opposed  by  the  English 
people.  So  the  war  went  on.  Says  an  English  his- 
torian: 

"The  honor  of  England  seemed  at  stake;  even  those 
who  had  been  against  the  war  before,  now  thought  that 
it  must  be  carried  on  boldly.  Thus  Chatham,  in  the 
House  of  Lords,  declared  he  would  never  consent  to  'an 
ignominious  surrender  of  the  rights  of  the  Empire.' 
'Shall  we  now,'  he  said,  'fall  prostrate  before  the  House 
of  Bourbon?'  And  his  death  in  May,  1778,  put  an  end 
to  the  last  hope  of  reconciliation  with  America." 

In  June  General  Clinton's  army  of  12,000  evacuated 
Philadelphia  and  marched  toward  Trenton,  Washington, 
hearing  of  it,  moved  his  army  to  the  Delaware  and  crossed 
into  New  Jersey  (June  22).  He  determined  to  attack  at 
once,  his  force  being  then  slightly  superior  to  Clinton's. 
Lee,  the  senior  Major-General  had  command  of  the  ad- 
vanced divisions  in  the  battle  of  Monmouth  (June  28); 
he  had  opposed  the  attack  (being  secretly  attached  to  the 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON.  6g 

English  cause),  and  ordered  a  retreat  at  the  beginning  of 
the  engagement.  Washington,  hurrying  to  the  spot,  in- 
stantly stopped  the  retreating  column  and  furiously  de- 
nounced Lee  for  his  unsoldierly  conduct.  Having  ral- 
lied the  demoralized  troops,  by  a  gallant  and  determined 
charge  he  forced  the  English  army  from  the  field.  In 
the  night  they  hastily  departed.  Washington  with  his 
ragged  Continentals  had  saved  the  day,  though  with  the 
loss  of  more  than  two  hundred  men  killed  and  wounded. 
The  British  loss  was  over  four  hundred,  besides  numer- 
ous deserters  on  the  retreat. 

The  coming  of  Count  d'Estaing  with  the  French  fleet 
in  July  meant  a  strong  addition  to  the  American  side, 
whose  navy  was  weak.  One  result  of  his  co-operation 
was  the  destruction  of  six  British  frigates  and  other  ves- 
sels off  Newport,  R.  I.,  in  August, 

The  enemy  was  now  obliged  to  act  on  the  defensive. 
"With  an  army  so  much  diminished  at  New  York,  noth- 
ing important  can  be  done,"  wrote  Sir  Henry  Clinton  in 
October.  The  autumn  passed,  and  Washington  went  in- 
to winter  quarters  at  Middlebrook,  New  Jersey.  No  fur- 
ther military  operations  were  undertaken,  except  to  re- 
pel the  ravages  of  bands  of  Indians  and  Tories  on  the 
frontier.  Winter  campaigning  in  the  North  being  out  of 
the  question,  the  British  invaded  Georgia  and  seized  Sa- 
vannah. 

Although  the  army  was  in  much  better  condition  than 
in  the  previous  winter,  colonial  affairs  were  anything  but 
flourishing.  There  were  party  dissensions  and  personal 
quarrels  that  vexed  the  soul  of  the   commander,    who 


70  GEORGE  WASHINGTON. 

viewed  with  dismay  the  absence  of  spirit  and  the  want 
of  united  effort.  Habits  of  extravagance  prevailed  among 
the  more  opulent  classes,  and  speculation  was  rife.  These 
causes  together  with  the  interruption  of  many  lines  of 
business  left  the  country's  finances  in  bad  shape.  Pub- 
lic credit  was  impaired,  and  a  depreciated  currency  was 
the  result. 

A  gentleman  who  saw  General  Washington  at  his 
headquarters  at  Middlebrook  in  February,  1779,  thus  de- 
scribes his  personal  appearance: 

"It  is  natural  to  view  with  keen  attention  the  counte- 
nance of  an  illustrious  man,  with  a  secret  hope  of  dis- 
covering in  his  features  some  peculiar  traces  of  excel- 
lence, which  distinguish  him  above  his  fellow  mortals. 
These  expectations  are  realized  in  a  peculiar  manner,  in 
viewing  the  person  of  General  Washington.  His  tall 
and  noble  stature  and  just  proportions,  his  fine,  cheerful, 
open  countenance,  simple  and  modest  deportment,  are 
all  calculated  to  interest  every  beholder  in  his  favor,  and 
to  command  veneration  and  respect.  He  is  feared  even 
when  silent,  and  beloved  even  while  we  are  unconscious 

of  the  motive In  conversation,  his  Excellency's 

expressive  countenance  is  peculiarly  interesting  and 
pleasing." 

For  the  most  part,  only  a  defensive  kind  of  warfare 
could  be  waged  against  the  enemy  in  the  spring  and  sum- 
mer of  1779.  There  were  two  successful  expeditions 
against  the  hostile  savages  of  Pennsylvania  and  Western 
New  York,  The  British  raided  some  New  England 
towns,  burning  houses   and   destroying  other  property. 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON.  71 

The  port  of  Stony  Point  was  taken  by  General  Wayne 
(July  16),  and  abandoned  two  days  later.  There  were 
other  small  successes.  For  several  months  (July-Novem- 
ber) Washington's  headquarters  were  at  West  Point, 
where  he  was  compelled  to  remain  in  comparative  inac- 
tivity, owing  to  a  lack  of  funds  necessary  for  a  vigorous 
prosecution  of  the  war.  Meanwhile  the  place  was  strong- 
ly fortified. 

The  army  wintered  at  INIorristown,  New  Jersey,  and 
nearly  perished  from  cold  and  hunger — there  being  a  fre- 
quent dearth  of  provisions.  An  attempt  was  planned  in 
midwinter  to  surprise  and  attack  the  enemy's  post  on 
Staten  Island.  The  British  learned  of  the  expedition  in 
time  and  saved  themselves.  A  quantity  of  stores  and  a 
few  prisoners  were  secured. 

In  this  dreary  winter  of  1779-80,  when  the  fortunes  of 
the  colonies  seemed  to  be  at  the  lowest  ebb,  their  cause 
was  pleaded  effectually  at  the  French  court  by  Lafayette 
and  succor  was  obtained.  Already  Spain  had  formed  an 
alliance  with  France  to  fight  England  and  advanced 
$2,000,000  to  the  Americans;  the  close  of  1780  found 
Holland  in  arms  against  Britain. 

In  the  spring  a  fleet  with  six  thousand  men  under 
Count  de  Rochambeau  set  sail  from  France  and  arrived 
at  Newport  (July  10).  Never  was  help  more  timely,  and 
the  United  States  honors  the  name  of  the  gifted  and  gen- 
erous young  Frenchman  who  befriended  the  nation  in 
its  extremity — Marquis  de  Lafayette. 

The  only  sensible  course  open  to  Washington  this 
summer  was  to  harass  the  enemy  and  thwart  intended 


72  GEORGE  WASHINGTON. 

attacks.  To  be  slow  and  sure  and  watchful  for  oppor- 
tunities to  strike — this  seems  to  have  been  the  Fabian 
policy  that  he  had  adopted.  His  maneuvers  had  the 
desired  result.  Not  much  was  accomplished  by  the  Brit- 
ish after  the  capture  of  Charleston  (May  24)  until  the  dis- 
astrous defeat  of  General  Gates  by  Lord  Cornwallis  at 
Camden,  S.  C.  (August  16),  which  ended  that  General's 
military  career  in  disgrace. 

"We  are  now  drawing  an  inactive  campaign  to  a  close," 
wrote  Washington  (October  5),  disappointed  at  the  little 
progress  that  they  had  made.  The  war  had  been  pro- 
longed beyond  his  expectations,  and  yet  the  end  seemed 
far  oif.  He  had  hoped  much  from  the  co-operation  of 
their  French  allies,  but  the  second  fleet  was  blocked  up 
in  Brest  by  English  ships.  In  the  meantime  he  stood 
in  great  need  of  the  powder  and  arms  expected  from 
France.  Thus  his  plans  for  the  campaign  had  to  be 
changed.  '  'A  foreign  loan  is  indispensably  necessary  to 
the  continuance  of  the  war,"  he  wrote  to  General  Sulli- 
van (November  20). 

Washington's  "Fabian  policy,"  though  necessary,  was 
unpopular  with  many,  who  wished  to  annihilate  the  en- 
emy in  short  order.  Given  the  requisite  munitions  of 
war,  and  his  course  would  have  been  different.  Without 
these,  the  record  of  splendid  achievements  could  not  be 
written. 

A  dramatic  episode  of  the  war  this  year  was  the  at- 
tempted betrayal  of  the  fortress  of  West  Point  to  the 
British  by  the  traitor,  Benedict  Arnold.  By  the  taking 
of  Major  Andre,  the  spy,  with  Arnold's  letter  in  his  pos- 


^XS^;:^ 


n 


a 


H 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON. 


session,  the  plan  was  frustrated.  Arnold  fled  in  time  to 
save  his  life  (September  25),  and  as  an  officer  in  the  Brit- 
ish army,  he  engaged  in  a  sort  of  predatory  warfare  in 
Virginia  and  Connecticut  (1780-81).  He  received  a  large 
reward  (about  ;!^6,30o)  for  his  treachery,  but  was  univer- 
sally detested  thereafter.  Andre, 
the  British  officer  who  arranged 
the  affair  with  Arnold,  was  hanged 
as  a  spy. 

Washington's  winter  quarters 
were  at  New  Windsor,  New  York; 
part  of  the  army  were  stationed 
at  West  Point,  and  one  brigade 
near  Albany.  So  distressing  was 
the  condition  of  Pennsylvania 
troops  at  ]\Iorristown,  New  Jersey, 
that  they  mutinied  early  in  Janu- 
ary, 1781.  Some  of  the  New  Jersey  troops  also  revolted. 
A  crisis  was  narrowly  averted.  Extraordinary  <!xertions 
had  to  be  made  to  provide  for  them.  The  ladies  of 
Philadelphia  collected  a  considerable  fund  (more  than 
three  hundred  thousand  dollars),  for  the  relief  of  the  sol- 
diers. The  noble  Lafayette  contributed  one  hundred 
guineas. 

Meanwhile,  the  war  in  the  South  was  progressing  sat- 
isfactorily under  the  command  of  General  Greene,  who 
succeeded  Gates.  The  encouraging  report  came  of  Gen- 
eral Daniel  Morgan's  victory  at  Cowpens,  S.  C.  (Jan.  17). 
For  the  first  time  Washington's  birthday  was  publicly 
celebrated  in  February,    1781,    the  French   officers  and 


Gen.  Benedict  Arnold. 
Born  1741.      Died  1801. 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON. 


75 


troops  at  Newport  beginning  the  custom  of  observing  it 
as  a  holiday.  Already  the  epithet  had  been  applied  to 
him  of  "Father  of  the  Country."  From  this  time  to  his 
death  he  was  the  recipient  of  many  flattering  attentions 
and  highly  prized  honors.      Notwithstanding  his  some- 


An  Incident  at  the  Battle  of  Cowpens. 

what  cold,  imperious  manner,  he  was  the  most  popular 
man  in  the  country. 

In  March,  1781,  Maryland  ratified  the  "Articles  of  Con- 
federation," adopted  by  Congress,  November  15,  1777,  all 
the  other  States  having  previously  done  so.  A  better  or- 
ganization of  the  government  was  now  possible.  To  fa- 
cilitate the  transaction  of  public  business,  different  de- 
partments were  established.     There  being  no  executive, 


>  GEORGE  WASHINGTON. 

the  duties  of  administration  fell  largely  on  these  officials: 
Robert  Morris,  Superintendent  of  Finance;  General  Alf 
exander  Mc  Dougall,  Secretary  of  Marine;  Robert  R. 
Livingston,  Secretary  of  Foreign  Affairs;  and  General 
Benjamin  Lincoln,  Secretary  of  War.  This  was  the  be- 
ginning of  the  Cabinet  of  later  times. 

In  the  spring  news  came  of  the  battle  of  Guilford 
Court-House,  N.  C.  (March  15).  It  was  a  defeat  for  the 
Americans  under  Greene,  but  not  without  disadvantages 
to  the  winning  side.  Boasting  of  his  victory,  Cornwallis 
prepared  for  his  fatal  march  into  Virginia. 

Washington  was  depressed,  though  not  discouraged  at 
the  prospect  of  an  indefinite  duration  of  the  war,  because 
of  the  lack  of  funds  to  equip  and  maintain  a  first-class 
army.  The  people  were  poverty  stricken  and  slow 
to  respond  to  his  appeals. 

In  May  he  heard  that  Count  de  Grasse  was  on  the  way 
with  a  squadron  and  supplies.  Prospects  brightened. 
The  commander  set  out  for  Weathersfield,  Conn. ,  for  a 
conference  with  Count  de  Rochambeau  "to  settle  a  defi- 
nitive plan  of  the  campaign."  A  few  days  later  he  re- 
ceived a  letter  from  the  U.  S.  Minister  at  the  Court  of 
Versailles,  informing  him  of  the  donation  of  $1,200,000 
from  France  to  this  country,to  buy  arms,  clothes,  etc.,  for 
the  American  army.  The  beginning  of  the  end  was  al- 
most in  sight. 

By  the  junction  of  the  French  and  American  troops  in 
New  York  (July,  1781),  it  became  necessary  for  the  ene- 
my to  strengthen  their  lines  in  the  North,  and  to  recall 
the  army  from  the  South.     Washington's  purpose  having 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON.  -j-j 

been  accomplislied,  the  proposed  attack  on  New  York 
was  abandoned.  Late  in  August,  with  high  hopes,  he 
set  out  on  the  expedition  against  Lord  Cornwallis,  then 
in  Virginia. 

Early  in  September,  Washington  writes:  "Received 
the  agreeable  news  of  the  safe  arrival  of  the  Count  de 
Grasse  in  the  Bay  of  Chesapeake  with  28  sail  of  the  line 
and  four  frigates,  with  3000  land  troops  which  were  to 
be  immediately  debarked  at  Jamestown  and  form  a  junct- 
ion with  the  American  army  under  the  command  of  the 
Marquis  de  la  Fayette." 

Once  more  Washington  was  in  his  native  State,  and 
able  to  spend  a  few  days  at  Mount  Vernon,  the  first  visit 
in  six  years.  Soon  he  was  with  the  army  on  the  mem- 
orable march  to  Yorktown,  which  was  invested  on  all 
sides  by  the  allied  forces,  numbering  some  sixteen  thous- 
and (September  30). 

Here  took  place  the  culminating  event  of  six  years  of 
fighting — the  surrender  of  the  British  army  under  Corn- 
wallis (October  19).  The  number  of  prisoners  was  7, 247. 
This  telling  blow  was  the  result  of  clever  planning,  and 
the  skillful  combination  of  both  land  and  naval  forces. 
To  overcome  the  difficulties  in  the  way,  and  achieve  a 
masterly  triumph  was  the  work  of  a  great  general. 

Although  the  conflict  seemed  to  be  terminated  by  this 
crushing  defeat,  the  war  was  not  ended  for  two  years 
more.  British  armies  in  the  North  and  the  South  did 
little  more  than  act  on  the  defensive.  But  so  long  as  they 
remained  in  the  country  and  occupied  some  of  the  chief 
cities,    there   was  need   for  sleepless  vigilance  and  for 


78  GEORGE  WASHINGTON. 

instant  readiness  to  fight.  The  Revohitionists  now  felt 
the  temptation  to  relax  their  efforts,  success  being  assured. 
Washington  saw  danger  in  such  a  course  and  sought  to 
impress  on  the  tired  colonists  the  urgency  of  further  pre- 
parations to  repel  the  enemy.  It  was  hard  for  them  to 
realize  the  peril  of  inaction. 

At  last  the  British  king  saw  the  folly  of  continuing 
the  struggle,  and  with  reluctance  permitted  negotiations 
looking  toward  peace,  granting  the  colonies  complete  in- 
dependence. The  menacing  attitude  of  European  na- 
tions influenced  him  to  take  this  step.  The  war  had  al- 
ready cost  the  British  Government  ^100,000,000,  and  it 
seemed  like  a  foolish  waste  of  treasure  to  go  on.  The 
final  treaty  of  peace  was  signed  (September  3,  1783)  and 
the  troops  were  recalled  home;  New  York  was  evacuated 
in  November. 

Washington  had  entered  the  conflict  with  the  deter- 
mination to  fight  it  out  to  a  successful  conclusion.  In- 
dependence having  been  won,  he  was  ready  to  lay  aside 
the  sword,  and  become  a  man  of  peace.  Meeting  the  offi- 
cers of  the  Continental  army, for  the  last  time  in  Fraunce's 
tavern.  New  York,  he  took  a  final  and  affectionate  leave 
of  his  comrades  (December  4).  He  resigned  his  com- 
mission at  Annapolis  (December  23),  having  seen  eight 
and  a  half  years  of  service  as  commander-in-chief. 

When  Washington  retired  to  private  life,  passed  fifty, 
his  boyish  dream  had  come  true  — he  had  "achieved  the 
reputation  of  the  first  soldier  of  his  time."  The  best  judg- 
es in  Europe  admitted  this.  Even  England  recognized 
his  superiority  to  her  own  generals.     Greene's  noble  tri- 


8o  GEORGE  WASHINGTON. 

bute  to  tlie  greatness  of  Washington's  character,  and  his 
military  genius  is  well  known,  and  need  not  be  repeated 
here.  The  estimate  of  another  English  historian  may  be 
quoted: 

"Washington  had  commanded  the  Virginia  militia 
with  great  success  in  the  wars  against  the  French,  and 
had  attained  to  the  rank  of  Colonel.  The  success  of  the 
American  Revolution  was  mainly  due  to  his  appoint- 
ment to  the  chief  command.  Only  a  man  of  his  skill, 
firmness,  patience  and  judgment,  could  overcome  the 
jealousies  of  the  various  States,  the  want  of  discipline  of 
the  soldiers,  the  lack  of  money  and  stores,  all  of  which, 
on  several  occasions,  threatened  the  collapse  of  the  revolt. 
He  was  always  hopeful  in  the  greatest  difficulties,  and 
cautious  in  every  undertaking.  He  was  known,  besides, 
as  a  man  of  the  highest  integrity,  whose  truth  and  honor 
were  never  called  in  question." 

There  is  no  need  to  dwell  on  the  details  of  Washing- 
ton's life  during  the  years  of  retirement  after  the  Revo- 
lution. It  was  the  life  of  a  country  gentleman.  Being 
a  man  of  large  business  interests,  he  was  fully  occupied 
with  the  care  of  his  property.  On  horseback,  he  made 
the  rounds  of  his  plantations,  superintending  the  work  of 
tree-planting,  gardening,  harvesting,  and  other  employ- 
ments connected  with  crops.  He  embarked  in  enter- 
prises for  the  public  good,  such  as  the  improvement  of 
navigation  in  the  James  and  Potomac  rivers.  Occasion- 
ally he  rode  with  hounds,   fox-hunting. 

There  was  a  constant  stream  of  visitors  to  Mount  Ver- 
non, and  he  was  solicitous  for  their  comfort  and  happi- 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON.  8i 

ness.  It  was  rare  for  him  to  dine  alone  with  Mrs. Wash- 
ington. Dinner  was  never  kept  more  than  five  minutes 
for  expected  guests;  that  delay  he  allowed  because  of 
difference  in  timepieces.  He  was  plain  and  abstemi- 
ous in  his  habits  of  eating,  and  drinking.    Though  usu- 


WuBliingtoh  aiid  Family  at  Mt.  Vernon. 


ally  grave  in  the  presence  of  strangers,  he  could  unbend, 
and  be  genial  in  the  company  of  intimate  friends. 

Those  who  met  him  in  these  years  say  he  was  more 
cheerful  than  he  was  during  the  war.  Washington  was 
easy,  affable,  and  dignified  in  conversation.  He  w^as  a 
busy  man  when  at  home,  having  a  voluminous  correspon- 
dence, yet  he  was  indulgent  in  granting  sittings  to  por- 
trait-painters, and  sculptors. 


82  GEORGE  WASHINGTON. 

As  was  the  custom  in  those  times  on  the  plantations 
of  Virginia,  George  Washington  kept  slaves.  There 
were  two  or  three  hundred  negroes  living  on  his  various 
estates,  and  he  looked  carefully  after  their  wants  and 
health.  He  was  not  indifferent  to  their  condition,  being 
an  tmusally  kind  master.  As  years  went  by  he  became 
more  and  more  convinced  of  the  wrong  of  slavery,  and 
resolved  never  to  obtain  another  bondsman  by  purchase- 
"it  being  among  my  first  wishes,"  he  wrote  in  1786,  "to 
see  some  plan  adopted,  by  which  slavery  in  this  country 
may  be  abolished  by  law."  In  his  will  he  provided  for 
the  release  of  all  his  slaves. 

Washington,  it  may  be  said,  w^as  a  genuinely  religious 
man  during  all  his  public  life.  He  regularly  obserx'ed 
Lord's  Day  by  attendance  on  divine  services  at  Pohick 
Church,  of  which  he  was  a  vestryman  for  a  number  of 
years.  He  was  a  valued  member  of  this  church,  which 
was  situated  five  miles  from  Mount  Vernon;  his  pew  is 
still  pointed  out  to  sight-seers. 

Washington  was  a  friend,  too,  of  education,  and  left  a 
bequest  for  the  founding  of  a  National  University  in  th-e 
District  of  Columbia.  His  wish  was  never  carried  out 
according  to  the  terms  of  his  will.  One  of  the  weighti- 
est utterances  of  his  Farewell  Address  lays  stress  on  the 
value  of  "institutions  for  the  general  diffusion  of  knowl- 
edge." 

The  years  following  the  Revolution  to  the  establish- 
ment of  the  Union  in  1789  have  been  called  "the  critical 
period  of  American  history,"  because  there  was  then  no 
general  government  with  sovereign  powers  in  this  coun- 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON.  83 

try,  but  a  confederacy  of  thirteen  republics.  Some  sort 
of  working  system  of  government  was  provided  for  by 
the  Articles  of  Confederation,  but  it  proved  to  be  defect- 
ive and  unsatisfactory.  Meanwhile,  plans  for  a  national 
constitution  were  discussed,  and  a  convention  of  dele- 
gates from  the  different  States  met  in  Philadelphia  to 
frame  one. 

Washington,  as  one  of  the  delegates  from  Virginia, 
attended  the  first  meeting  of  the  Federal  Convention 
in  May,  1787;  and  the  first  act  of  this  assembly  of 
fifty-five  men,  the  ablest  and  foremost  citizens  of  the 
land,  was  to  choose  him  as  President  of  the  Convention. 
Their  deliberations  were  secret  and  lasted  several  months. 
The  instrument  that  they  produced,  while  not  perfect, 
was  a  masterpiece  of  statesmanship.  It  was  at  once  sub- 
mitted to  Congress,  which  referred  it  to  the  State  Legis- 
latures to  be  ratified  or  rejected.  Nearly  a  year  passed 
before  its  acceptance  by  a  majority  of  the  States. 

After  much  opposition  the  new  National  Constitution 
went  into  effect  as  the  basis  of  our  Government.  The 
authors  of  the  "Federalist,"  Madison,  Hamilton,  and  Jay, 
did  much  to  make  the  contents  of  the  Constitution 
known  and  acceptable  to  the  people.  Washington,  with 
his  pen  and  voice,  urged  its  adoption,  for  he  saw  in  it  a 
remedy  for  the  ills  from  which  the  colonies  suffered  dur- 
ing the  Revolution.  He  had  learned  from  experience 
the  weakness  of  the  Continental  Congress,  which  could 
only  advise.  He  appreciated,  as  few  others  did  then, 
the  advantage  of  having  a  strong  central  government. 
He  held  that  '  'an  indissoluble  union  of  all  the  States  un- 


84 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON. 


der  one  federal  head' '  was  essential  for  their  stability  and 
well-being.     His  influence  was  far-reaching  and  decisive. 

He  spoke  little,    but 

f  *  *j  .  .-   .  r  *.    •:!  '      u\Jl^l^S«     ^y^(^  ^j^g  effect  of  his 

letters  on  public  opin- 
ion can  scarcely  be 
over-estimated.  Oth- 
er prominent  men  of 
the  States  held  the 
same  views  and  con- 
tributed to  the  re- 
sult. 

At  the  first  Presi- 
dential Election  (Jan- 
uary 7,  1789),  George 
Wa shington  was 
unanimously  elected 
President  of  theUnit- 
ed  States.  Years  be- 
fore he  had  indig- 
nantly rejected  the 
idea  of  being  King 
of  the  western  mon- 
archy,  suggested    to 

Washington's  Reception  at  Trenton  when  on  the      ^^    ^^    ^7°^,   DUt  Ue 
way  to  his  Inauguration  as  First  President,  1789.    '^n(=^^r\f^r\    fr>    f1ip>  mani 
One  of  the  Panels  of  the  Bronze  Door  of  the        yiciucu    LU    lijc  iiidiii- 
Senate,  Capitol.  Washington.  f^^^  ^.|i  ^f  ^j^^  ^^^^^^ 

to  become  the  chief  executive  of  a  republic.     His  jour- 
ney to  New   York  in   April  was  a  triumphal  progress. 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON.  85 

Here  the  ceremonies  of  the  first  inauguration  took  place 
(April  30);  John  Adams,  the  second  choice  of  the  Elec- 
toral College  for  president,  became  vice-president. 

In  a  sense  it  may  be  said  that  Washington's  first  Ad- 
ministration marks  a  turning  point  of  our  political  his- 
tory, the  beginning  of  our  national  life.  First  the  colon- 
ies had  become  states;  then  the  states  became  parts  of  a 
confederacy;  now  they  were  welded  together  in  one  unit- 
ed whole.  The  new  government  was  to  be  administered 
according  to  the  provisions  laid  down  in  the  constitution 
recently  framed  and  adopted.  It  was  an  experiment,  and 
many  were  in  doubt  as  to  its  chances  of  success.  Time  has 
demonstrated  the  wisdom  of  the  founders  of  our  nation. 
The  citizen  of  to-day  owes  a  debt  of  gratitude  not  only 
to  the  patriots  who  won  independence,  but  to  the  states- 
men who  elaborated  a  successful  working  plan  for  the 
operations  of  the  new  republican  government. 

Washington  entered  upon  the  duties  of  his  high  office 
with  diffidence,  but  with  the  determination  faithfully  to 
meet  the  obligations  resting  upon  him.  To  one  of  his 
friends  he  wrote:  "A  combination  of  circumstances  and 
events  seems  to  have  rendered  my  embarking  again  on 
the  ocean  of  public  affairs  inevitable.  How  opposite  this 
is  to  my  own  desires  and  inclinations,  I  need  not  say." 

In  his  Inaugural  Address  he  disclaimed  having  any  de- 
sire for  pecuniary  emoluments,  and  asked  that  he  should 
receive  no  compensation  beyond  "actual  expenditures  as 
the  public  good  may  be  thought  to  require."  Four  years 
later  congress  fixed  the  payment  of  twenty-five  thousand 
dollars  per  annum  as  the  salary  of  the  president  for  his 


86 


GEORGE   WASHINGTON. 


second  term  of  office.  Mo  change  was  made  in  the 
running  of  the  executive  departments  of  the  govern- 
ment until  Sep- 
tember, 1789. 
Then  Thomas 
Jefferson  was 
appointed  Sec- 
retary of  State. 
General  Henry 
Knox  contin- 
ued to  act  as 
Secretaryof 
War.  Alexan- 
der Hamilton 
became  Secreta- 
ry of  the  Treas- 
ury. Edmund 
Randolph  was 
appointed  At- 
torney-General; 
and  Samuel  Os- 
good, Postmas- 
ter-General. 

At  this  time 
there  was  only 
one    political 
party    in     the 
United  States,  the  Federalist  party.      There  were,   how- 
ever, two  rival  political  camps.     One  set  of  theorists  stood 
for  a  strong  centralized  government,  and  the  other  for 


First  Inauguration  of  Washington,  1789. 
One  of  the  Panels  of  the  Bronze  Door  to  the  Senate 
Capitol,  Washington,  D.  C.  ' 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON.  87 

individual  and  State  rights.  In  the  Federalist  party  the 
dominant  idea  was  that  the  Nation  is  paramount,  the 
State  subordinate.  The  logical  outcome  of  Federalist 
doctrine  is  a  paternal  government.  It  means  a  larger 
measure  of  power  in  the  hands  of  the  executive,  exercised 
for  the  common  good,  and  at  times  the  sacrifice  of  indi- 
vidual and  local  interests  for  the  sake  of  society  and  the 
maintenance  of  the  body  politic.  The  leaders  of  the  Fed- 
eralist party  were  Washington  and  Hamilton. 

As  years  went  by  the  old  Republican  party  came  into 
being.  It  represented  the  opposite  position  or  tendency: 
the  liberty  and  importance  of  the  individual  and  the  sov- 
ereign rights  of  the  States;  the  province  of  the  general 
government  is  to  carry  out  the  people's  will.  Its  position 
was  substantially  that  of  the  Democratic  party  of  later 
times  and  its  leaders  were  Jefferson,  Madison,  and  Monroe. 

Alexander  Hamilton  was  the  one  great  statesman  of 
this  period,  and  had  more  to  do  than  any  other  man  in 
organizing  the  new  government.  He  tried  to  obviate  the 
evils  resulting  from  the  lack  of  federal  authority  and  ad- 
vocated a  strong  national  government.  As  the  first  Sec- 
retary of  the  Treasury  he  put  the  finances  of  the  country 
on  a  sound  footing,  restoring  confidence  at  home  and 
abroad.  He  has  been  justly  called  "the  founder  of  the 
U.  S.  Bank  and  restorer  of  public  credit."  He  so  adjusted 
the  scale  of  duties  on  imported  articles  that  a  sufficient 
revenue  was  secured  for  the  expenses  of  the  government. 
He  found  the  condition  of  the  United  States  truly  deplor- 
able— chaos,  internal  strife,  business  prostration,  and  pov- 
erty on  every  hand.     He  recommended  a  protective  tar- 


88  GEORGE  WASHINGTON. 

iff  that  relieved  financial  distress,  stimulated  industry, and 
promoted  prosperity.  He  believed  in  fostering  home 
manufactures.  Withal  he  was  eminently  practical.  It 
is,  perhaps,  not  too  much  to  say  that  no  other  statesman, 
not  even  Clay  or  Webster,  ever  did  so  much  for  our  coun- 

try. 

In  striking  contrast  with  the  views  of  Hamilton  was 
the  political  policy  of  Jefferson,  who  favored  popular  sov- 
ereignty, universal  suffrage,  democratic  simplicity,  and 
the  education  of  the  common  people.  While  he  was  a 
member  of  Washington's  Cabinet,  he  was  constantly  pit- 
ted against  Hamilton.  The  two  men  could  not  agree, 
and  the  president  had  a  hard  time  of  it  to  keep  the  peace 
between  them.  As  their  ideas  could  not  be  harmonized, 
Jefferson  finally  resigned  the  position  of  Secretary  of 
State  (December  31,  1793). 

During  these  years  two  more  States  were  admitted  in- 
to the  Union — Vermont  and  Kentucky.  The  second 
Presidential  Election  resulted  in  the  unanimous  choice 
of  Washington  for  President.  There  was  no  other  Amer- 
ican who  stood  so  high  in  popular  estimation.  Under 
his  administration  our  country  had  grown  in  wealth  and 
in  the  esteem  of  foreign  powers.  He  had  met  the  re- 
quirements of  his  exalted  station  with  unfailing  good 
sense  and  with  dignity.  He  had  shown  profound  judg- 
ment in  avoiding  entanglements  with  the  affairs  of  Euro- 
pean nations.  It  seemed  to  him  the  part  of  wisdom  to 
hold  aloof  and  not  intermeddle  during  the  French  Revo- 
lution. This  neutral  course  he  maintained  in  his  second 
term  of  office,  and  in  his  Farewell  Address  (September, 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON. 


89 


T796),  he  re-stated  his  policy  of  non-interference,  an  in- 
vakiable  legacy  of  advice  that  Americans  may  yet  pon- 
der well  and  safely  follow.  Washington's  non-imperial- 
istic ideas  have  not  become  antiquated.  His  observa- 
tions on  our  foreign  relations  have  more  than  a  tempor- 
ary application. 

Refusing  a  third  election,  Washington  relinquished 


Tomb  of  Washington  at  Mt.  Vcriion,  Va. 


his  position  as  the  Executive  of  the  Republic,  and  re- 
turned to  Mount  Vernon  to  spend  his  remaining  days  in 
peace  and  retirement,  amid  the  plaudits  and  affectionate 
demonstrations  of  an  admiring  people.  Again  he  dis- 
pensed liberal  hospitality  at  his  home  and  occupied  him- 


90  GEORGE  WASHINGTON. 

self  with  rural  pursuits,  not  neglecting  matters  of  public 
welfare. 

He  was  once  more  called  upon  to  accept  office.  When 
our  nation  bristled  up  with  martial  spirit  at  the  insult  to 
our  honor  from  France,  he  was  again  appointed  Com- 
mander of  the  armies  to  defend  the  United  States.  The 
war-cloud  happily  blew  over,  and  his  short  term  of  mili- 
tary service  ended.  His  was  the  type  of  Americanism 
that  he  was  ready  to  defend  with  the  sword. 

Again  Washington  w^as  free  to  devote  himself  to  the 
management  of  his  farms,  and  lived  the  active,  out-of- 
door  life  of  a  farmer  to  the  last.  On  December  12, 
1799,  he  was  in  his  saddle  and  made  his  accustomed 
rounds  in  falling  snow,  hail  and  rain.  A  severe  cold 
resulted  from  this  exposure.  He  neglected  to  apply  rem- 
edies at  first,  saying  it  could  go  as  it  came.  Later  it  de- 
veloped into  an  attack  of  quinsy,  from  which  he  died  in 
the  evening  of  December  14.  He  passed  away  in  peace, 
at  the  age  of  sixty  seven,  leaving  to  his  countrymen  the 
precious  memory  of  his  deeds  and  words — an  indestruct- 
ible heritage.^  He  was  biiried  at  Mount  Vernon,  to  "the 
mourning  of  a  mighty  nation."  "His  tomb  is  the  Mecca 
of  America." 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON. 

By  G.  Merceh  Adam.* 


IN  the  closing  year  but  one  of  the  eighteenth  century  there 
passed  to  his  reward  in  the  other  world  the  hero  com- 
mander-in-chief of  the  armies  of  the  Revolution  and  the 
illustrious  Founder  of  his  Country.  In  the  march  of  events 
on  this  continent,  thronged  with  many  memories,  it  is  grati- 
fying to  note  that  the  Republic  which  Washington  did  so 
much  enduringly  to  found,  turns  every  now  and  then,  with 
the  fervor  of  gratitude  and  patriotism,  to  the  nation's  first 
great  ideal,  with  the  view  of  paying  further  and  higher 
honor  to  an  immortal  memory.  Despite  contemporary  ob- 
loquy in  some  rancorous  quarters,  and  occasional  efforts 
at  detraction  in  the  years  since  his  era,  Washington  con- 
tinues deservedly  to  fill  the  illustrious  niche  in  the  temple 
of  Fame  which  his  admiring  countrymen  have  erected  in 
his  own  and  the  young  nation's  honor.  Since  his  day,  it  is 
true,  we  have  added  largely  to  the  national  pantheon  of  men 
of  high  name  whom  we  do  well  to  preserve  record  of  for 
the  country's  emulation  and  as  a  reminder  of  their  noble, 
patriotic  services.  But  though  this  is  the  case,  we  have  not 
suffered  ourselves  to  forget,  or  in  aught  to  diminish  the 
importance  of  the  national  indebtedness  to  the  early  fathers 


•Historian,  Biographer,  and  EsBaylet,  Author  of  a  "Precis  of  English  His- 
tory," a  "Continuation  of  Grecian  History,"  etc.,  and  for  many  years  Editor 
of  Self-Culture  Magazine. — The  Publishers. 


92  GEORGE  WASHINGTON. 

of  the  Republic  for  all  they  toiled  for  and  achieved,  amid 
so  many  hardships  and  tribulations,  or  the  reverence  that 
is  due  them  for  their  staunch  devotion  to  duty  and  their 
loyalty  to  and  faith  in  the  high  cause  of  Liberty  and  Free- 
dom. Not,  certainly,  in  Washington's  case,  have  we  for- 
gotten that  debt  and  obligation  which  his  revered  name 
recalls,  more  especially  since  public  veneration  of  his  mem- 
ory and  vivid  remembrance  of  him  who  was  at  once  the  soul 
and  stay  of  one  of  the  most  notable  revolutions  in  history, 
are,  as  it  has  been  said,  "the  precious  fruit  of  the  most  se- 
vere examination  of  his  conduct."  Distinguished  alike  for 
lofty  patriotism,  for  high  courage  on  the  battlefield,  for 
unfaltering  fidelity  to  duty,  as  well  as  for  firmness  and  for- 
titude in  trial,  and  for  humble  dependence  on  Divine  wisdom 
and  guidance,  Washington  appeals  to  all  as  a  providential 
man  raised  up  for  his  era,  equal  to  its  great  emergency,  and 
highly  furnished  with  those  qualities  and  characterictics 
which  admirably  fitted  him  for  his  eminent  duties.  He, 
moreover,  was  richly  endowed  with  those  moral  qualities 
which  justify  implicit  confidence,  coupled  with  integrity, 
and  a  single  and  fixed  purpose  to  adhere  to  the  true  and  the 
right ;  while  possessed  of  a  character  singularly  pure  and  ele- 
vated, disinterested  and  patriotic,  and  personally  noted  for 
his  commanding  dignity  and  genuine  unafifected  simplicity. 
Gifted  with  a  majestic,  inspiring  presence,  of  imposing 
stature,  and  with  phenomenal  powers  of  physical  endurance, 
Washington  had  also  the  invaluable  characteristics  of  a 
great  commander — resource  in  planning  and  directing  the 
tactics  of  the  battlefield,  courage  as  well  as  placidity  in  the 
hour  of  danger,  and  the  ability  to  bear  reverses  with  equa- 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON.  93 

nimity  when  overpowered  by  superior  forces  arrayed  against 
him,  or  when  the  weakness  and  occasional  pusillanimity  of 
his  own  troops  brought  discomfiture  and  failure.  Though 
grave  in  manner,  and  strict  in  the  exaction  of  duty  in  those 
— officers  as  well  as  men — under  him,  and  with  a  habitual 
reserve,  at  times  mistaken  for  coldness  and  inappreciation, 
he  was,  however,  ever  urbane  and  even  engaging  in  personal 
intercourse,  though  never  relaxing  to  the  point  of  familiarity 
or  permitting  that  freedom  of  approach  towards  him  of 
excessive  good-fellowship  which  might  compromise  his  own 
native  dignity.  His  countenance  always  bore  the  trace  of 
thoughtfulness,  manifestly  induced  by  reflection  on  the  grave 
aspects  and  occasional  untoward  events  of  his  time,  as  well 
as,  later  in  life,  by  the  cares  and  responsibilities  of  high 
office,  and  by  the  distractions  of  the  country  ere  it  settled 
down  to  some  measure  of  peace  and  unity,  with  the  be- 
ginnings of  progressive  national  development.  This  is  the 
type  of  man  who  became  the  nation's  first  chief  magistrate, 
and  who,  despite  occasional  manifestations  of  temper,  due 
to  his  extreme  sensibility  and  earnestness  shown  both  as 
soldier  and  president,  was  the  while  a  man  of  exemplary 
and  exalted  character — free  at  once  from  the  vices  and 
frivolities  of  his  age — and  possessed  of  the  rare  gift  of 
uniting  in  himself  the  superior  talents  called  for  in  the 
founder  of  a  new-born  and  prospectively  mighty  State.  His 
also  was  a  lofty,  ideal  of  patriotism,  while  he  had  the  per- 
sonal refinements  of  a  man  of  high  station,  was  imbued,  in 
a  remarkable  degree,  with  the  spirit  of  justice,  possessed  a 
fine  sense  of  honor  and  had  a  genial  habit  of  kindness 
toward  and  consideration   for  the  people.     As  a  contem- 


94  GEORGE    WASHINGTON. 

porary  (John  Bell,  of  Maryland)  has  set  down,  Washington 
was,  moreover,  "an  afifectionate  husband,  a  faithful  friend, 
a  father  to  the  deserving  soldier;  gentle  in  his  manners, 
in  temper  rather  reserved ;  a  total  stranger  to  religious  pre- 
judices; in  his  morals  irreproachable;  and  he  was  never 
known  to  exceed  the  bounds  of  the  most  rigid  temperance." 
In  a  word,  his  friends  and  acquaintances  universally  allow 
that  rarely  has  a  man  united  in  his  own  person  a  more 
perfect  alliance  of  the  virtues  of  a  philosopher  with  the 
talents  of  a  general  and  the  sagacity  of  a  statesman. 
\  "Candor,  sincerity,  affability  and  simplicity  seemed  to  be  the 
striking  features  of  his  character,  till  an  occasion  offers  of 
displaying  the  most  determined  bravery  and  independence 
of  spirit." 

W  Another  and  pleasing  testimony  to  the  fine  social  quali- 
ties of  the  first  President  is  that  furnished  by  Elkanah 
Watson,  after  a  visit  to  Mr.  Washington  in  the  historic 
home  at  Mount  Vernon  in  the  year  1785.  In  that  gentleman's 
"Memoirs,"  published  not  until  1856,  the  visitor  observes 
that  he  found  the  President  at  table  with  Mrs.  Washington 
and  his  private  family,  "and  was  received  in  the  native  dig- 
nity and  with  that  urbanity  so  peculiarly  combined  in  the 
character  of  a  soldier  and  eminent  private  gentleman.  He 
(Mr.  Washington)  soon  put  me  at  ease  by  unbending  in  a 
free  and  afifable  conversation, 

"The  cautious  reserve  which,  wisdom  and  policy  dictated, 
whilst  engaged  in  rearing  the  glorious  fabric  of  our  inde- 
pendence, was  evidently  the  result  of  consummate  prudence, 
and  not  characteristic  of  his  nature.  I  observed  a  peculiarity 
in  his  smile  which  seemed  to  illuminate  his  eye;  his  whole 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON.  95 

countenance  beamed  with  intelligence,  while  it  commanded 
confidence  and  respect. 

''I  remained  alone  in  the  society  of  Washington  for  two 
of  the  richest  days  in  my  life.  To  have  communed  with 
such  a  man  in  the  bosom  of  his  family,  I  shall  always  regard 
as  one  of  the  highest  privileges  and  most  cherished  inci- 
dents of  my  life.  I  found  him  kind  and  benignant  in  the 
domestic  circle,  revered  and  beloved  by  all  around  him ; 
agreeably  social,  without  ostentation ;  delighting  in  anecdote 
and  adventures,  without  assumption.  His  domestic  arrange- 
ments were  at  once  harmonious  and  systematic ;  while  smil- 
ing content  animated  and  beamed  on  every  countenance  in 
his  presence." 

But  it  is  time  to  see  the  great  man  as  events  in  the  outer 
world  made  him,  and  to  note,  in  brief,  the  chief  circumstan- 
ces that  brought  him  into  prominence  at  an  early  and  criti- 
cal stage  in  the  national  annals.  The  notable  facts  in  his 
personal  history  have  already  and  clearly  been  dealt  with 
by  Mr.  Eugene  Parsons,  in  the  earlier  pages  of  the  present 
volume,  and  need  not  therefore  be  further  dwelt  upon.  It 
may  be  well  here,  however,  to  epitomize  the  leading  facts 
in  Washington's  life  in  early  manhood  as  far  as  the  era 
of  the  Revolution,  when  he  comes  actively  and  prominently 
on  the  scene  in  connection  with  the  events  that  resulted  in 
the  severance  of  British  connection  and  the  formation  of 
the  American  Union.  With  the  successive  facts  freshly  be- 
fore us  in  his  career  up  to  the  age  of  forty-two,  when  he  had 
become  a  member  of  the  Continental  Congress  and  was  ap- 
pointed commander-in-chief  of  its  forces,  we  shall  be  better 
able  to  follow  the  incidents  in  his  after-life  history  and  trace 


96  GEORGE  WASHINGTON. 

in  it  the  gifts  and  qualities  that  distinguished  him  in  the 
years  of  earlier  labor  and  toil  and  disclose  in  the  man  the 
robust  vigor  and  steel-like  fibre  of  his  character. 

The  father  of  the  future  president  having  died  when  his 
subsequently  famed  son  was  but  twelve  years  of  age,  the 
latter  had  a  scant,  unambitious  education,  though  physically 
he  trained  himself  in  the  healthful,  invigorating  sports  of  the 
era.  When  he  had  reached  his  fifteenth  year  a  commission 
was  offered  him  as  a  midshipman  in  the  Royal  navy,  through 
the  instrumentality  of  Admiral  \"ernon,  of  Porto  Bello  fame ; 
but  his  acceptance  of  this  was  opposed  by  the  lad's  mother, 
and  he  turned  to  surveying  as  a  profession,  in  which  he  spent 
three  years  of  arduous  toil  in  active  field-work.  While 
yet  a  youth,  though  one  of  resource,  combined  with  con- 
siderable experience  as  a  woodsman  and  a  leader  of  men, 
he  was  given  the  post  of  adjutant-general,  with  the  rank  of 
major,  in  a  body  of  Virginia  troops ;  and  in  1753,  though 
he  had  barely  attained  his  majority,  he  was  appointed  by 
Lt. -Governor  Dinwiddle  commander  of  the  northern  mili- 
tary district  of  his  own  colony.  Before  this  he  had  made 
a  voyage  to  Barbadoes  with  his  invalid  brother,  Lawrence, 
who  had  been  ordered  to  proceed  to  a  v/arm  climate  in  the 
hope  of  invigorating  his  weak  constitution.  This  hope,  how- 
ever, proved  delusive,  for  Lawrence  ere  long  returned  to 
Virginia  and  died,  leaving  to  his  favorite  brother  George 
the  care  of  his  extensive  estates,  with  the  reversion  of  the 
family  home  of  Mount  Vernon  on  the  death  of  Lawrence's 
young  daughter,  which  presently  came  about. 

The  winter  months  of  1753-4  Washington  spent  in  the 
Ohio  wilderness  country,   whither  he  had  been  sent  on  a 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON.  97 

commission  by  the  English  colonial  authorities  of  Virginia 
politely  to  warn  the  French  to  take  themselves  out  of  the 
Ohio  valley,  of  which  they  had  aggressively  taken  possession, 
and,  enlisting  the  Indians  of  the  region,  had  been  commit- 
ting sundry  depredations.  The  region  had  begun  to  be 
settled  by  the  Ohio  Company  under  grant  from  \'irginia, 
in  which  Lawrence  Washington  had  been  largely  interested, 
and  the  commission  to  his  brother  George  had  a  delicate 
task  to  perform  in  remonstrating  with  the  French  authori- 
ties in  Ohio  against  their  intrusion  and  incidentally  seeking 
to  know  their  designs  in  relation  to  the  future  of  the  terri- 
tory. The  tact  displayed  by  the  young  commander  and 
the  report  made  on  his  return  to  Governor  Dinwiddle, 
brought  young  Washington  into  notice,  and,  with  his  later 
management  of  a  hostile  military  expedition  into  the  same 
region,  laid  the  foundation  of  his  subsequent  fame.  The 
military  expedition,  it  is  true,  was  not  altogether  a  success, 
in  spite  of  the  affair  at  the  Great  Meadows,  clouded  by  the 
after-discomfiture  and  surrender  at  Fort  Necessity,  on  the 
same  site.  Washington,  now  a  colonel,  received,  however, 
for  his  services  in  Ohio  the  thanks  of  the  Virginia  House 
of  Burgesses ;  and  presently  we  find  him  taking  part  as  aide- 
de-camp  to  General  Braddock  in  operations  in  the  West, 
and  sharing  with  that  unfortunate  British  ofl^icer  defeat  at 
the  battle  (July  9,  1755)  near  Pittsburg,  on  the  banks  of 
the  Monongahela.  Despite  the  death  of  Braddock  and  other 
loss  of  life  in  this  engagement  with  the  French  and  Indians, 
Washington,  nevertheless,  succeeding  in  bearing  off  to  their 
homes  the  remainder  of  the  Virginia  contingent. 

In  these  varied  expeditions,  and  in  that  of  1758,  in  v/hich 


9°  GEORGE   WASHINGTON. 

Fort  Duquesne  was  captured  and  rechristened  by  Washing- 
ton Fort  Pitt,  the  future  general  gained  not  a  Httle  experi- 
ence, not  only  of  actual  fighting,  but  of  the  character  and 
needs  of  the  Colonial  troops  whom  he  led  and  shared  vicis- 
situdes with,  as  well  as  of  the  hampering  conditions  of  wood- 
land and  Indian  warfare.  He  had  also  some  experience 
of  the  fighting  qualities  of  English  troops,  against  which 
he  was  later  on  to  be  pitted  in  the  deadly,  eventful  struggle, 
now  not  far  distant,  with  the  Mother  Country.  He  saw  also 
something  of  the  racial  and  international  complications  be- 
tween the  French  and  the  English,  in  the  struggle  then 
going  on  to  decide  the  question  which  race  should  be  su- 
preme on  the  American  continent.  Interest  was  given  to  the 
conflict  by  affairs  then  transpiring  in  Europe,  where  the 
motherland  had  drifted  into  the  Seven  Years'  War,  and  by 
the  issues  now  soon  to  be  decided  on  this  continent  between 
France  and  England  by  the  conquest  of  Quebec,  and  in  the 
supplanting  throughout  Canada  and  the  New  World  of  the 
emblem  of  France  by  the  red-cross  banner  of  Britain. 

In  the  development  of  Washington's  great  career,  we  now 
come  to  the  era  of  Revolution,  in  which  he  took  so  prominent 
and  heroic  a  part,  and  to  its  momentous  consequences  to 
the  New  World  as  well  as  to  the  motherland.  To  a  writer 
who  looks  dispassionately  upon  that  era,  of  transcendent  in- 
terest to  the  people  of  the  United  States,  especially  to-day 
when  the  two  kindred  nations,  in  their  now  friendly  and 
most  cordial  relations,  have  forgotten  the  bitterness  of  early 
coercion  and  separation  which  long  rankled  in  the  breasts  of 
both  mother  and  child,  a  brief  review  of  the  events  of  the 
time  in  connection  with  Washington's  imperishable  services 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON.  99 

must  be  of  the  highest  interest  and  importance ;  while,  famil- 
iar though  it  is,  it  must  also  be  so  to  the  unprejudiced  Am- 
erican reader.  To  deal  with  the  period  fairly,  one,  of 
course,  should  see  facts  in  their  true  light,  and  not  fail,  es- 
pecially, to  do  justice  to  those  great  Englishmen  of  the  time 
who  not  only  had  a  genuine  sympathy  for  the  revolution- 
ary side,  but  held  and  fearlessly  expressed  an  honest  con- 
viction that  George  III  and  his  truculent  Tory  ministers 
were  wrong  in  their  attitude  toward  and  particularly  harsh 
in  their  treatment  of  the  Colonies.  In  looking  thus  fairly 
and  dispassionately  upon  the  crisis  of  the  time,  there  is,  of 
course,  no  call  to  glorify  unduly  rebellion  per  se,  or  to  make 
the  mistake  of  deeming  all  the  virtues  on  the  side  of  our 
own  actors  in  the  drama  of  the  Revolution  that  brought 
about  the  great  schism  of  the  race.  There  are  to-day  few, 
even  of  English  writers,  who  reject  the  idea  that  separation 
in  the  colonial  days  was  sure  to  come,  though  such  doubt- 
less regret,  as  we  do,  that  it  came  about  as  it  did.  Time, 
we  know,  brought  a  change  of  view  to  not  a  few  British 
politicians  before  the  arbitrament  of  arms  was  resorted  to  on 
this  side.  Concession,  indeed,  had  already  been  wrung 
from  the  king  and  the  ministers,  and  there  is  little  reason 
to  doubt  that  after  a  while  there  would  have  been  many 
modifications  of  the  imposts  against  which  the  Colonies 
protested  and  a  cancelling  of  the  more  serious  grievances. 
But  precipitation  on  this  side  meantime  did  its  work,  and 
while  minds  were  inflamed  by  angry  appeals  to  prejudice; 
while  the  attitude  of  many  royalists  in  the  Colonies  were 
often  so  overbearing  that   independence  and  the  spirit  of 


lOO  GEORGE  WASHINGTON. 

liberty  which  the  New  World  fostered  took  increasing  ex- 
ception to  the  continued  sovereignty  of  the  motherland. 

How  determinedly  Fox  and  other  liberty-lovers  in  Eng- 
land opposed  the  King  and  "the  King's  friends"  in  their 
oppression  of  the  North  American  colonies  the  political 
history  of  the  time  has  of  course  long  since  told  us.  But 
we  need  a  special  insight  into  Fox's  career,  and  a  clear  un- 
derstanding of  his  attitude  and  that  of  liberal  statesmen 
of  his  day,  to  enable  us  to  realize  how  vigorous  and  per- 
sistent were  his  and  their  resistance  to  the  policy  of  the 
King  and  his  government,  and  to  note  with  what  trench- 
ant force  he  and  his  colleagues  denounced  the  irritating 
schemes  of  colonial  taxation.  Like  Chatham,  Fox  was  a 
staunch  supporter  of  the  Colonial  cause  and  a  vehement 
opponent  of  Lord  North's  government,  whose  arbitrary 
measures  he  eloquently  denounced  in  Parliament.  But  such 
was  the  obstinacy  of  the  King  that  Fox's  scathing  denuncia- 
tions only  made  him  more  bitter  and  provoked  the  stubborn- 
ness that  led  finally  and  inevitably  to  estrangement.  Nor 
under  George  the  Third's  system  of  personal  government 
could  any  ameliorating  influence  be  looked  for  from  his 
ministers.  By  the  more  independent  of  them,  so  long  as 
they  were  suffered  to  hold  place,  the  King  was  repeatedly 
warned  that  a  coercive  policy  toward  the  Colonies  would 
end  disastrously.  Where  conciliation  had  been  attempted, 
the  King  intrigued  to  defeat  it,  and,  as  historians  relate, 
shamefully  thwarted  every  effort  to  placate  the  Colonies, 
and  treated  such  attempts  on  the  part  of  his  ministers  as 
"inexpiable  disloyalty  to  the  Crown."  Pacification  was  thus 
out  of  the  question,   and   England's  administration  of  the 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON.  lOI 

Colonies,  in  consequence,  fell  to  the  nadir  of  tyranny,  of  im- 
policy, and,  so  far  as  the  government  rather  than  the  English 
people  were  concerned,  of  dishonor. 

On  the  other  hand,  despite  what  was  averred  in  the  Col- 
onies, that  up  to  the  year  1774  there  was  no  thought  of  in- 
dependence, the  blame  of  the  rupture  does  not  lie  wholly 
on  the  English  side.  There  were  agitators  in  New  Eng- 
land and  the  Virginias  who  fomented  the  quarrel,  and  trad- 
ers whose  selfishness  saw  personal  advantage  in  separation. 
Nor  has  our  American  oratory  nothing  to  charge  itself  with 
in  widening  the  breach,  as  we  see  in  the  extravagant  speeches 
of  leaders  like  Samuel  Adams  and  Patrick  Henry.  Hard 
as  some  modern  English  historians  are  on  the  obdurate 
King,  and  on  English  statesmen  such  as  Lord  North,  Gren- 
ville,  and  Townshend,  one  of  them  (Sir  George  O.  Treve- 
lyan)  has  little  else  than  smooth  words  for  the  influential 
men  in  the  Colonies,  who,  instead  of  instilling  resentment, 
might,  by  urging  patience  and  reasonable  submission,  have 
averted  the  rupture  by  violence.  When  Trevelyan  indulges 
in  censure  of  the  Colonists,  it  is  of  a  mild  type,  in  sharp  con- 
trast to  the  severe  strictures  he  passes  on  the  corrupt  Eng- 
lish ministers  and  the  venal  parliamentary  majority  which 
harassed  and  distressed  the  Colonies.  This  is  what  he  has 
to  say  of  the  m.oral  effect  of  the  Revolution  upon  America : 

"The  Revolutionary  War,  like  all  civil  wars,  changed  many  things, 
and  troubled  many  waters.  It  must  be  accounted  a  misfortune 
.that  American  society  and  the  American  character  were  not  allowed 
to  develop  themselves  in  a  natural  and  unbroken  growth  from  the 
point  which  they  had  reached  at  the  close  of  the  first  century  and  a 
half  of  their  history," 


I02  GEORGE  WASHINGTON. 

And  again,  looking  to  the  effect  of  the  same  disturbing 
influence  on  the  South,  the  author  observes : 

"The  mutual  hatred  felt  and  the  barbarities  inflicted  and  suf- 
fered by  partisans  of  either  side  in  Georgia  and  the  Carolinas  be- 
twen  1776  and  1782  left  behind  them  in  those  regions  habits  of 
violence  and  lawlessness,  evil  traces  of  which  lasted  into  our  life- 
time. As  for  the  Northern  States,  it  was  a  pity  that  the  wholesome 
and  happy  conditions  of  existence  prevailing  there  before  the  strug- 
gle for  independence  were  ever  disturbed,  for  no  change  was  likely 
to  improve  them." 

The  passages  recall  similar  indications  of  evil  consequen- 
ces flowing  from  revolution  and  dismemberment  which  Prof. 
Goldwin  Smith  thoughtfully  traces  in  his  "Political  History 
of  the  United  States,"  in  dealing  with  the  era  of  Independ- 
ence.    Says  the  distinguished  Professor: 

"The  Colonists  by  their  emancipation  won  commercial  as  well 
as  fiscal  freedom,  and  the  still  more  precious  freedom  of  develop- 
ment, political,  social,  and  spiritual.  They  were  fairly  launched  on 
the  course  of  their  own  destiny,  which  diverged  widely  from  that  of 
a  monarchical  and  aristocratic  realm  of  the  Old  World.  But  their 
liberty  was  baptized  in  civil  blood,  it  was  cradled  in  confiscation  and 
massacre,  its  natal  hour  was  the  hour  of  exile  for  thousands  of 
worthy  citizens  whose  conservatism,  though  its  ascendency  was  not 
desirable,  might,  as  all  true  liberals  will  allow,  have  usefully  leav- 
ened the  republican  mass.  A  fallacious  ideal  of  political  character 
was  set  up.  Patriotism  was  identified  with  rebellion,  and  the  young 
republic  received  a  revolutionary  bias,  of  the  opposite  of  which  it 
stood  in  need.  The  sequel  of  the  Boston  Tea  Party  was  the  firing 
on  Fort  Sumter." 

Sir  George  Trevelyan's  work,  it  may  be  added  for  those 
readers  likely  to  be  interested  in  his  instructive  and  enter- 
taining history,  chronicles  the  appointment  of  Washington 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON.  I03 

to  the  chief  command  of  the  Colonial  levies,  and  gives,  in 
an  earlier  chapter,  an  admirable  pen-picture  of  the  com- 
mander-in-chief.* 

The  latter  in  1759  had  happily  married  Martha,  the  rich 
widow  of  Daniel  Parke  Custis,  a  lady  of  estimable  charac- 
ter, and  with  her  he  settled  at  Mount  Vernon,  the  property 
he  had  inherited  after  the  death  of  his  half-brother,  Law- 
rence, and  the  latter's  daughter,  also  now  deceased.  Here 
for  a  number  of  years,  Washington  lived  the  life  of  a  hard- 
working Virginia  planter,  usefully  employed  in  the  oversight 
of  his  own  large  estates,  draining  lands  and  laying  out  roads, 
and  taking  the  while  a  lively  interest  in  the  troubled  rela- 
tions of  the  Colonies  with  the  Mother  Country.  Like  others 
of  the  dominant  caste  in  Virginia,  he  was  meanwhile  repeat- 
edly elected  to  the  State  Legislature,  but  he  is  not  known 
to  have  made  any  set  speeches  in  that  body.  He  took,  how- 
ever, a  leading,  if  a  silent,  part  in  the  contentions  of  the 
House  of  Burgesses  with  Lord  Dunmore,  the  last  royal  gov- 
ernor of  Virginia,  whose  royalist  proclivities  had  led  him 
into  some  ruthless  partisan  proceedings. 

By  this  time  American  resistance  to  'taxation  without 
representation,'  manifested  in  opposition  to  the  Stamp 
Act  (1765),  had  taken  place,  and,  though  the  meas- 
ure was  repealed,  its  levy  had  led  Pitt,  in  the  English  Parlia- 
ment, to  question  the  Mother  Country's  right  to  lay  direct 
internal  taxes  on  the  Colonies,  and  to  rejoice  that  America 
had  resisted  their  enforcement.     At  this  period,  Franklin, 


*  "The  American  Revolution."  Part  I.  1766-1776.  By  the  Right 
Hon.  Sir  George  Otto  Trevelyan,  Baronet.  London  and  New 
York:     Longmans,  Green  &  Go.,  1899. 


I04  GEORGE  WASHINGTON. 

the  London  agent  for  some  of  the  Colonies,  by  answering 
the  summons  of  ParHament  to  be  interrogated  as  to  the  Am- 
erican crisis,  had  been  instrumental  in  influencing  English 
Parliamentary  and  official  opinion,  which  led  to  the  repeal 
of  the  obnoxious  Stamp  Act  and  the  partial  repeal  of  the 
Townshcnd  duties.  Though  this  relief  had  been  gained, 
the  situation  on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic  had  become  graver, 
partly  in  consequence  of  the  Boston  massacre  (1770)  and 
the  attitude  of  the  people  of  the  New  England  capital  in 
seeking  the  removal  of  the  English  soldiery,  and  especially 
in  the  throwing  overboard  of  a  cargo  of  tea,  which  was  sub- 
ject to  the  Townshend  Colonial  duty,  from  a  ship  in  the  har- 
bor. Shortly  after  this,  in  1774,  the  first  Continental  Con- 
gress met  at  Philadelphia  and  adopted  the  famous  Declara- 
tion of  Rights.  To  this  body  Washington  had  been  ap- 
pointed a  delegate  by  the  Virginia  convention,  and  its  chief 
concern  was  naturally  to  care  for  the  menaced  liberties  of 
the  country  and  the  founding  of  an  association,  the  object  of 
which  was  to  further  the  policy  of  non-importation  and 
non-consumption  of  English  taxed  articles  until  the  griev- 
ances of  the  Colonies  should  be  redressed. 

Meanwhile,  Massachusetts  had  drifted  into  a  critical,  per- 
turbed state,  provoked  by  the  British  General  Gage,  and  by 
the  defensive  attitude  of  a  local  Committee  of  Safety,  which 
was  forced  by  the  officious  acts  of  the  English  commander- 
in-chief  to  assume  administrative  functions  and  prepare  for 
the  coming  strife.  At  Lexington  and  Concord  armed  bodies 
of  Colonial  militia  came  into  collision  with  Gage's  troops 
sent  to  sci^e  concealed  arms  and  stores  at  Concord  and  drove 
the  liliiKlish  Iroops  back  to  Charlestown,  to  the  protection 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON.  I05 

ihere  afforded  them  by  the  English  men-of-war  in  the  har- 
bor. Soon  after  this  occurred  the  scigc  or  hemming-in  of 
the  Enghsh  army  at  Boston  and  the  action  at  Bunker  Hill, 
with  its  disastrous  loss  of  life  on  both  sides — in  numbers 
close,  it  is  said,  to  2,000  men.  The  battle,  though  it  went 
against  the  American  army,  roused  the  entire  country  against 
England,  led  to  the  replacing  of  Gage  by  General  Howe 
in  the  supreme  command  of  the  English  troops,  and  to  the 
appointment  by  the  Second  Continental  Congress  of  Colonel 
George  Washington,  of  Virginia,  to  the  chief  command  of 
the  American  forces  in  the  war  now  actively  begun. 

Though  deprecating  the  resort  to  arms  and  seeking,  if 
possible,  reconciliation  with  England,  Washington,  at  the 
call  of  his  country,  nevertheless  rallied  to  the  defense  of  the 
young  nation's  liberties  in  jeopardy.  With  becoming  mod- 
esty, the  commander-in-chief  owned  to  a  doubt  in  his  own 
mind  as  to  his  ability  and  experience  in  taking  upon  himself 
the  duties  of  his  great  trust,  but  pledged  such  capacity  and 
intelligence  as  he  possessed,  under  Providence,  to  do  effect- 
ively what  was  required  of  him,  while  patriotically  declining 
all  pay  for  his  services. 

At  the  age  of  forty-three  Washington  began  his  career 
as  general  of  the  American  forces  in  the  war  of  the  Revo- 
lution, arriving  at  Cambridge,  Mass.,  on  the  2d  of  July, 
1775,  about  a  fortnight  after  the  affair  at  Bunker  Hill.  So 
far,  the  opening  of  the  drama  had  not  been  propitious  to 
American  arms;  while  the  task  before  Washington  was  no 
light  one,  apart  from  the  discouragment  of  the  recent  de- 
feat of  the  untried  and  undisciplined  militia  under  Prescott, 
Putnam,  and  Stark.     He,  however,  vigorously  set  himself 


Io6  GEORGE  WASHINGTON. 

the  task  of  bringing  order  out  of  confusion,  and  saw  to 
the  supply  of  arms,  uniforms,  and  other  necessaries  for  the 
troops  under  him,  besides  arranging  for  a  permanent  com- 
misary  department.  The  lack  of  ammunition  was  at  this 
juncture  a  perplexing  one;  while  the  brief  terms  of  enlist- 
ment of  the  men,  their  want  of  confidence  in  themselves  and 
their  cause,  their  lack  of  discipline,  as  well  as  of  food  and 
clothing,  the  insubordination  of  the  rank  and  file  to  their 
officers,  and  dissensions  among  the  latter,  were  among  the 
other  important  matters  claiming  instant  attention.  Luck- 
ily, the  resort  to  privateers  at  sea  secured  the  much-needed 
supplies ;  while  Knox,  as  colonel  of  artillery,  had  been  able 
to  bring  to  the  slender  force  the  invaluable  aid  of  some 
heavy  cannon,  together  with  ammunition. 

Washington's  headquarters  were  at  Cambridge,  with  the' 
troops  of  the  centre  under  Putnam  and  Heath ;  stationed  on 
the  right,  at  Roxbury,  were  the  men  under  General  Artemas 
Ward ;  while  those  on  the  left  were  under  Brigadier-General 
Charles  Lee,  who  afterwards  came  near  wrecking  the  Ameri- 
can cause,  and  the  men  under  Brigadiers  Sullivan  and 
Greene.  Opposed  to  Washington's  combined  force  were  the 
British  troops,  some  15,000  strong,  under  Sir  William 
Howe,  whose  situation  at  Boston  was  becoming  embarrass- 
ing, in  consequence  of  the  investment  on  the  land  side  by 
Washington,  while  the  coming  of  his  supply  ships  was  un- 
certain, with  American  privateers  prowling  in  the  vicinity 
at  sea.  At  length,  after  some  eight  months'  preparation, 
Washington  felt  strong  enough  to  attack  Howe  and  he 
seized  the  heights  at  Boston  commanding  the  British  posi- 
tion ;  but  the  latter  divining  the  movement  put  in  execu- 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON.  I07 

tion  the  project  he  had  for  some  time  entertained — of  evacu- 
ating Boston — which  he  did  March  17,  1776,  taking  to  his 
ships  with  the  whole  British  force,  with  the  design  of  reach- 
ing Halifax,  there  to  meet  his  brother.  Admiral  Howe,  with 
reinforcements  for  New  York. 

With  New  England  now  and  finally  freed  from  English 
troops,  Washington  received  the  thanks  of  Congress,  and 
turned  with  his  command  toward  New  York  for  its  protec- 
tion, only,  however,  to  find  there  additional  discouragements 
— in  the  confusion  that  reigned  there,  with  raw,  undisciplin- 
ed troops,  a  population,  partly  Tory,  riven  by  racial  and  sec- 
tional jealousies,  and  even  conspiring  to  capture  him  or 
shorten  his  life.  Despite  these  adverse  circumstances,  Wash- 
ington entrenched  his  troops  on  Manhattan  Island,  and  took 
up  and  fortified  a  position  on  Long  Island ;  for  by  this  time 
(June,  1776)  Sir  William  Howe  had  arrived  in  New  York 
harbor  and  landed  a  large  force  on  Staten  Island ;  while  his 
brother  the  Admiral  soon  followed  with  the  British  fleet 
and  took  possession  of  the  Lower  Bay.  With  the  two 
Howes  had  come  a  total,  approximately,  of  35,000  veteran 
English  troops,  including  about  half  that  number  of  Hes- 
sian and  other  German  mercenaries,  which  England  had 
hired  to  aid  her  in  the  struggle.  Washington,  on  the  other 
hand,  had  all  told  only  a  little  over  half  the  English  and 
foreign  strength  in  the  way  of  serviceable  American  troops, 
rcekoning  among  them  about  5,000  raw  militia. 

This  then  was  the  position  of  affairs,  in  the  month  of  July, 
1776,  which  confronted  Washington  at  the  era  of  the  im- 
mortal Declaration  of  American  Independence,  the  adoption 
and  passage  of  which,  by  the  Continental  Congress  at  Phil- 


lo8  GEORGE  WASHINGTON. 

adelphia,  was  eagerly  proclaimed  by  him  to  his  troops,  amid 
the  plaudits  and  rejoicings  of  the  men  and  the  now  free  na- 
tion. MeanwhilCj  however,  clouds  began  to  lower  over 
Washington,  for  the  British  general.  Sir  Henry  Clinton, 
who  had  taken  part  in  the  affair  of  Bunker  Hill,  and  had 
just  been  driven  from  Fort  Moultrie,  in  Charleston  harbor, 
had  now  arrived  and  joined  Howe  in  the  neighborhood, 
while  Washington's  force  on  the  western  extremity  of 
Long  Island,  under  Sullivan,  Stirling,  and  Putnam,  had  been 
overpowered  by  Howe  in  a  battle,  fought  August  27,  and 
the  continued  occupation  of  New  York  was  thereby  deemed 
so  untenable  as  to  compel  the  American  withdrawal  from 
it.  When  the  latter  was  seen  clearly,  especially  after  Howe 
had  sent  some  English  ships,  passed  the  batteries  of  New 
York  up  the  Hudson,  with  adroit  rapidity  Washington,  who 
had  withdrawn  his  force  from  Long  Island,  seized  the  op- 
portunity of  escape  from  New  York  and  made  his  way 
up  to  Harlem  Heights,  where  he  temporarily  entrenched 
himself  at  King's  Bridge. 

The  English  were  now  in  possession  of  New  York,  and 
Fort  Washington  having  fallen  to  them,  Fort  Lee  on  the 
New  Jersey  side  had  to  be  evacuated,  while  the  affair  at 
White  Plains,  N.  Y.,  was  adverse.  Washington,  now  hard 
pressed  by  Howe,  made  a  masterly  retreat  into  New  Jersey, 
and  there  began  the  winter  campaign  in  that  region.  Gen- 
eral Charles  Lee,  meanwhile  acting  contrary  to  Washing- 
ton's instructions  as  to  the  disposition  of  the  force  under 
him,  had  been  captured  by  the  enemy,  the  situation  thus  grew 
grave  for  the  cause  of  Liberty  and  the  young  nation,  particu- 
larly as  the  American  forces  in  the  field  were  now  reduced 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON.  I09 

to  about  6,000  men.  With  much  pluck  and  his  accustomed 
energy,  the  American  commander-in-chief  nevertheless  de- 
termined still  to  assume  the  offensive,  and,  crossing  the 
frozen  Delaware,  sought  to  strike  a  blow  at  Trenton.  The 
result  of  this  movement,  which  was  successful,  revived  the 
heart  of  the  hero,  and  Washington  recrossed  the  river  with 
about  a  thousand  prisoners.  By  way  of  retaliation,  General 
Cornwallis  was  sent  from  New  York  to  Princeton,  where 
Washington,  by  an  early  morning  attack,  led  in  person,  won 
a  substantial  victory,  inflicting  a  loss  on  the  English  of 
over  500  men  in  killed,  wounded,  and  taken  prisoners.  The 
English  thereafter  withdrew  to  New  York,  and  Washing- 
ton's winter  operations  did  much  to  revive  and  incite  to  new 
successes  in  the  approaching  spring  of  1777. 

Washington,  by  this  time  entrenched  at  Morristown,  N.  J., 
and  keeping  his  eye  on  the  entire  field  of  that  province, 
scanned  the  future,  seeking  light  on  the  situation  of  affairs, 
and  wondering  what  would  come  in  the  way  of  success  in  the 
new  campaign  now  about  to  open.  The  English  King  and 
government,  with  characteristic  obduracy,  persisted  in  con- 
tinuing the  war;  and  with  that  design  ordered  General 
Burgoyne  to  invade  New  York  province  by  way  of  Canada 
and  Lake  Champlain,  and,  descending  the  Hudson,  to  join 
forces  with  Howe  in  New  York  City,  and  thus  cut  off  New 
England  from  the  remainder  of  the  country.  To  checkmate 
this,  Congress  sought  to  increase  the  army  and  give  to 
Washington  its  full  control  and  direction.  The  first  move- 
ment was  to  dispatch  Benedict  Arnold,  aided  by  Generals 
Schuyler  and  Gates,  to  the  region,  with  the  further  design 
of   protecting   West   Point,   in   jeopardy   on   the   Hudson. 


no  GEORGE  WASHINGTON. 

Washington  himself,  meantime,  hastened  to  the  protection 
of  Philadelphia  and  the  seat  of  Congress,  now  threatened 
by  Howe — a  diversion  and  ruse  on  the  part  of  that  general 
for  a  while  embarrassing  to  Washington,  and  subsequently 
fatal  to  the  success  of  Burgoyne's  project  in  the  North. 

At  this  period,  Washington  and  the  young  Republic, 
though  still  anxious  about  the  ultimate  issues  of  the  war, 
were  nevertheless  encouraged  by  many  favorable  circum- 
stances. The  assertion  by  the  Nation  of  Independence  had 
had  its  effect  in  Europe,  particularly  after  the  visit  of  Lafay- 
ette, which  took  place  about  this  time,  as  it  induced  France 
to  come  to  the  aid  of  America ;  while  the  mistake  made  by 
Howe,  in  his  diversion  in  the  neighborhood  of  Philadelphia, 
proved  fatally  adverse  to  Burgoyne's  operations  in  the  North, 
following  his  success  in  taking  Ticonderoga,  on  Lake  Cham- 
plain,  and  his  later  defeat  at  Stillwater.  On  the  other  hand, 
Howe,  after  landing  his  forces  below  Philadelphia,  brought 
on  the  battles  near  the  Brandywinc  and  at  Germantown, 
both  of  which  he  won  (Sept.  and  Oct.,  1777)  and  then  oc- 
cupied Philadelphia.  These  English  successes  were,  how- 
ever, more  than  compensated  by  the  operations  in  the  North, 
where  Burgoyne,  harassed  by  the  Vermont  and  New  Hamp- 
shire militia  and  by  Morgan  and  his  Virginia  riflemen  sent 
forward  by  Washington,  as  well  as  by  the  forces  under 
General  Gates,  was  surrounded  and  compelled  to  surrender 
with  his  army  of  nearly  six  thousand  men,  October  17,  1777. 
The  moral  effect  of  this  English  surrender  was  to  the  Ameri- 
can cause  no  less  important  than  its  military  success :  it 
brought,  as  we  know,  French  intervention,  and  made  it  pos- 
sible for  Congress  to  raise  money,  which  at  this  juncture  was 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON.  I  I  I 

pressingly  needed  for  clothing,  as  well  as  food  and  other 
necessaries,  for  the  troops. 

To  Washington,  especially,  the  discomfiture  of  Bur- 
goyne  and  his  surrender  with  his  army  at  Saratoga  were 
naturally  most  cheering,  for  besides  his  own  defeat  at  the 
hand  of  Howe,  and  the  sufferings  of  the  force  under  him, 
now  in  dire  straits  in  their  winter  quarters  at  Valley  Forge, 
he  had  to  endure  the  jealousy  and  despicable  intrigues  of 
General  Gates,  who  sought  to  supplant  him  as  commander- 
in-Chief.  Even  this  was  brightened,  however,  by  his  own 
hopefulness  of  ultimate  success  for  his  loved  country  and  its 
acknowledged  independence  by  the  world ;  while  the  visits  of 
the  chivalrous  Lafayette  and  the  Prussian  officer.  Baron 
Steuben,  who  afterwards  became  inspector-general  of  the 
American  army,  relieved  the  stress  of  the  situation  at  this, 
perhaps  the  most  trying,  period  of  his  career  as  patriot  and 
general. 

At  the  opening  of  the  year  1778,  France  intervened  prac- 
tically in  the  affairs  of  America  and  made  treaties  of  alli- 
ance and  commerce  with  her,  besides  tacitly  acknowledging 
her  independence.  Even  England  made  concilatory  over- 
tures and  sent  a  commission  to  offer  them  to  the  Continen- 
tal Congress ;  but  the  day  for  halfway  measures  was  past 
and  nothing  came  of  the  proposals.  French  aid,  for  the 
present,  came  in  the  way  of  a  squadron,  sent  out  under  the 
Count  d'  Estaing,  though  beyond  exciting  British  apprehen- 
sion for  the  safety  of  the  English  fleet  in  American  waters 
and  a  diversion  at  Newport,  which  led  to  the  withdrawal  of 
the  English  troops  from  Rhode  Island  to  New  York,  no 
practical  assistance  was  given,  while  its  presence  doubtless 


112  GEORGE  WASHINGTON. 

influenced  Howe's,  or  rather  his  successor  Sir  Henry  CHn- 
ton's  evacuation  of  the  Quaker  City,  in  June,  1778,  and  the 
withdrawal  of  the  Enghsh  to  New  York.  On  the  march 
thither,  CHnton  was  pursued  by  Washington,  his  advance 
force  being  under  General  Charles  Lee,  who  overtook  the 
English  at  Monmouth,  N.  J.  (June  28),  and  gave  battle  to 
them.  In  the  engagement,  this  officer  (Lee),  suspected  of 
treachery  to  the  Colonial  cause  he  had  embraced,  affected  to 
lose  control  of  his  men  and  caused  a  retreat  to  be  sounded. 
Washington,  coming  up  at  this  juncture,  rallied  the  retreat- 
ing men  and  saved  the  day,  Clinton  meanwhile  hurrying 
from  the  field  on  his  march  New  Yorkwards.  Lee  was 
hotly  denounced  by  Washington  for  his  conduct,  and  after- 
wards was  tried  by  court-martial  for  his  treachery  and  dis- 
missed from  the  army.  The  only  other  incidents  of  note 
during  the  year  1778  were  the  resumption  of  the  sessions 
of  Congress  at  Philadelphia,  the  repression  of  Indian  dis- 
affection and  Tory  instigations  to  tribal  marauding,  and, 
late  in  the  year,  the  English  intrusion  into  Georgia  and  cap- 
ture of  Savannah.  Meanwhile,  Washington  wintered  m 
camp  at  Middlebrook,  N.  J. 

After  the  battle  of  Monmouth,  little  of  active  fightir^g 
occurred  during  the  next  two  years  that  connects  itself 
either  with  the  career  of  Washington  or  with  the  war- 
history  of  the  period.  Beyond  predatory  raids  and  some 
miscellaneous  skirmishing,  virtual  inaction  on  both  sides 
was  the  rule,  if  we  except  the  English  movements  in  Georgia 
and  the  Carolinas,  and  the  spiritecl  re-capture  (July  16, 
1779)  of  Stony  Point,  on  the  west  bank  of  the  Hudson,  by 
an  American  force  under  General  Anthony  Wayne.     At  sea, 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON.  I  I  3 

occurred  also  the  surrender  in  the  North  Sea  (Sept.  2^)  of 
the  English  warship  Serapis  to  the  naval  adventurer,  John 
Paul  Jones,  in  command  of  the  Bonhomme  Richard,  and  the 
subsequent  sinking  of  the  latter  ship.  The  latter  was  one  of 
a  small  fleet  which  the  French  Government  had  fitted  out, 
on  Franklin's  advice,  to  prey  on  British  commerce,  and  Paul 
Jones  had  been  put  in  command.  The  year  1780  was  mark- 
ed by  the  notable  defection  of  an  able  and  distinguished 
American  general,  Benedict  ArnOild,  of  later  unsavory  mem- 
ory, in  seeking  by  secret  correspondence  with  the  English 
general,  Clinton,  at  New  York,  to  dehver  the  American 
stronghold  of  West  Point  on  the  Hudson  into  the  enemy's 
hands.  The  story,  so  well-known,  need  not  detain  us  fur- 
ther than  to  record  the  failure  of  the  dastardly  project, 
through  the  capture  of  the  English  officer.  Major  Andre, 
with  implicating  correspondence  on  his  person,  which  led 
to  the  exposure  of  Arnold's  treachery  and  the  saving  of  the 
stronghold,  though,  unfortunately,  at  the  cost  of  Andre's 
life,  who  was  speedily  tried  by  court-martial  and  hanged  as 
a  spy.  Arnold  escaped  punishment  by  taking  to  flight,  and 
afterwards  bemeaned  himself  by  accepting  from  the  Eng- 
lish the  reward  of  his  baseness,  and  actually  turned  traitor 
enough  to  fight  against  his  country.  The  compassion  of 
England  for  the  unfortunate  Andre,  on  the  other  hand,  sub- 
sequently led  to  the  erection,  in  the  famed  Westminster 
Abbey,  of  a  monument  to  his  memory. 

With  the  lassitude  and  inactivity  which  now  marked  the 
conduct  of  the  war  by  the  mother  country,  England  should 
at  this  juncture  have  ended  the  strife,  and,  extending  to 
America  the  olive  branch  of  peace,  ought  to  have  recognized 


114  GEORGE  WASHINGTON. 

the  well-earned  independence  of  the  country.  But  such, 
unhappily,  was  not  the  case — due  to  the  continued  infatua- 
tion and  obstinacy  of  the  English  king  and  his  ministers. 
For  another  year  the  conflict  went  on,  during  which  a  French 
army  under  Rochambeau  came  to  American  aid^  together 
with  a  French  fleet  from  the  West  Indies  under  De  Grasse. 
With  the  help  of  both,  Washington  longed  and  hoped  for  an 
attack  on  New  York  and  the  wresting  of  that  important 
point  from  the  enemy.  But  in  this  he  was  disappointed,  in 
consequence  of  the  French  fleet  fearing  to  cross  the  bar  in 
New  York  harbor.  Instead,  it  reached  the  Chesapeake, 
where  it  came  into  collision  with  the  English  fleet  and  com- 
pelled it  to  return  to  New  York.  In  the  summer  of  1780, 
Charleston,  S.  C,  was  withdrawn  from,  and  Gates  met  de- 
feat at  Camden,  through  incompetence,  and  was  relieved, 
his  command  falling  to  Nathanael  Greene,  who  superseded 
him.  In  January,  1781,  a  happy  victory  by  Morgan  fell  to 
American  prowess  at  Cowpens,  S.  C,  to  the  grave  em- 
barrassment of  Cornwallis,  and  forced  him  and  his  army 
northward  into  Virginia,  where  the  Continental  troops  un- 
der the  noble  Lafayette  did  good  service  and  enabled  Gen- 
eral Greene,  despite  the  latter's  defeat  at  Guilford  Court 
House,  N.  C,  in  March,  and  at  Eutaw  Springs,  S.  C,  in 
September,  1781,  to  expel  the  enemy  from  the  South. 

But  the  English  did  not  escape  misfortune,  even  in  the 
South,  for  their  commander  failing  to  receive  hoped-for  re- 
inforcements from  Clinton  at  New  York,  and  the  American 
troops  being  now  aided  by  the  personal  presence  and  co- 
operation of  Washington,  with  his  Northern  command 
brought  down  the  Chesapeake  in  transports,  Cornwallis  was 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON.  II5 

forced  to  tarry  in  \'irginia,  and  was  there  hemmed  in  the 
Yorktown  peninsula  by  the  combined  French  and  Ameri- 
can armies.  Soon  now  came  the  final  and  supreme  strug- 
gle, which  virtually  was  to  bring  the  Revolutionary  War  to 
a  close.  By  the  end  of  September  (1781),  Yorktown  was 
invested,  and  though,  on  October  16,  Comwallis  attempted 
a  sortie,  it  was  unsuccessful,  and  two  days  later  the  hope- 
lessness of  his  situation  became  manifest,  and  he  surren- 
dered (Oct.  19)  with  his  entire  army,  in  numbers  close  upon 
8,000  men !  The  capitulation  and  surrender  of  this  large 
English  force  was  a  crowning  disaster,  for  in  two  years  it 
brought  final  peace,  by  the  treaty  of  Versailles  (Sept.  3, 
1783),  and  the  recognition  by  Britain  of  the  Independence  of 
the  United  States  of  America. 

The  surrender  at  Yorktown.  like  that  four  years  earlier 
at  Saratoga,  was  a  crowning  disaster  to  the  English,  though 
there  was  this  difference  between  them,  that  Cornwallis's 
capitulation  practically  ended  the  war,  of  which  the  English 
people,  though  not  the  Crown,  had  now  grown  utterly  weary. 
In  England,  moreover,  it  brought  about  the  fall  of  Lord 
North's  ministry  and  put  a  check  upon  the  autocratic  per- 
sonal rule  of  George  III.  On  this  side,  though  peace  did 
not  officially  come  for  two  years  yet,  until  the  definitive 
treaty  with  the  motherland  was  signed,  Sept.  3,  1783,  the  ces- 
sation of  strife  was  hailed  with  an  immense  rehef.  Peace 
found  the  country  not  so  prostrate  or  desolated  as  might 
have  been  expected,  though  at  first  there  was  no  little  con- 
fusion and  a  noisy  but  natural  grumbling  among  the  troops 
at  the  neglect  or  rather  the  inability  of  Congress  to  grant 
them  their   arrears  of  pay.     This   was   a  mortification   to 


Il6  GEORGE  WASHINGTON. 

Washington,  considering  his  interest  and  affection  for  the 
men  of  his  various  commands,  as  well  as  his  anxious  con- 
cern for  the  welfare  and  good  name  of  the  nation.  Succes- 
ful,  finally,  in  getting  justice  done  to  the  army  in  this  re- 
spect, now  disbanding  after  the  preliminary  Peace  Treaty, 
he  bade  farewell  (Dec.  '83)  to  his  assembled  officers,  and, 
resigning  his  commission  to  Congress,  returned  to  domes- 
tic life  and  its  placidities  at  Mount  Vernon. 

Just  before  this,  the  English  evacuated  New  York,  and 
the  American  authorities  took  possession,  while  the  red- 
coats afterwards  retired  from  the  occupation  of  Long  Is- 
land. The  United  States,  at  the  same  time,  assumed  entire 
jurisdiction  over  the  national  domain,  now  extended  by  the 
cession  to  the  young  nation  of  the  territory  between  the 
Alleghanies  and  the  Mississippi..  At  the  outset,  there  was 
much  dispute  and  difficulty  in  adjusting  the  territorial  claims 
of  the  several  old  colonies,  arising  from  the  independent 
government,  with  unsettled  areas,  of  each  before  the  Revo- 
lution, and  only  partially  settled  by  the  Ordinance  of  1787, 
as  well  as  by  the  provisional  character  of  the  Articles  of  Con- 
federation, up  to  the  era  when  inter-state  conflicts  were 
practically  adjusted  under  the  Constitution.  In  these  varied 
matters,  Washington  took  a  lively  interest,  and  in  a  letter 
addressed  by  him,  in  June,  1783,  to  the  governors  of  the 
several  States,  he  showed  the  extent  and  depth  of  that  inter ^ 
est  and  his  concern  for  the  essential,  collective  well-being 
of  all,  by  urging  the  creation  of  "an  indivisible  union  of  the 
States  under  one  Federal  head.''  The  importance  of  this 
wise  counsel  was  presently  seen,  in  the  critical  period  fol- 
lowing the  war  and  the  settling  of  the  country  into  a  nation 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON.  II7 

when  the  old  confederation,  on  its  existing  basis,  was  found 
impossible  of  maintenance,  unless  otherwise  altered  and 
broadened,  and  likely  to  provoke  civil  strife.  Fortunately, 
what  was  wanted  to  give  solidity,  union,  and  permanence 
to  the  nation,  it  soon  now  obtained,  in  a  National  Consti- 
tution and  an  executive  Federal  head.  When  the  Federal 
Convention  met  at  Philadelphia  in  1787  to  frame  the  Con- 
stitution, Washington  was  present  as  a  delegate  from  Vir- 
ginia, and  an  unanimous  vote  made  him  its  presiding  officer. 
Beyond  a  few  suggestive  hints,  he  took,  it  appears,  little 
part  in  the  debates,  but  he  approved  the  Constitution  which 
was  ultimately  devised,  believing  it,  as  he  said,  to  be  the  best 
obtainable  at  the  period.  All  his  influence  was  exerted  to 
secure  its  ratification,  and  it  obviously  proved  decisive. 
When  the  scheme  of  government  provided  by  the  Constitu- 
tion went  into  operation,  he  was  unanimously  chosen,  as 
all  know,  first  United  States  President — an  honor  conferred 
alike  upon  the  country  and  upon  its  revered  and  worthy 
head. 

In  assuming,  at  the  bidding  of  his  country,  the  duties  of 
his  eminent  and  responsible  post,  Washington  brought  to  the 
young  nation  those  qualities  which  further  commended 
and  endeared  him  to  the  people,  and  enabled  him,  with  high 
credit  to  himself,  to  steer  wisely  the  new  ship  of  State.  In 
this  task,  he  was  assisted  by  some  of  the  foremost  men  of 
the  time,  viz.,  by  Thomas  Jefiferson,  late  minister  to  France, 
who  was  given  the  Secretaryship  of  State ;  by  Alexander 
Hamilton,  once  the  commander-in-chief's  aide-de-camp,  now 
made  Secretary  of  the  Treasury ;  by  Henry  Knox,  late  artil- 
lery-general in  the  war,  now  appointed  Secretary  of  War; 


Il8  GEORGE  WASHINGTON. 

and  by  Edmund  Randolph,  late  governor  of  Virginia,  now 
installed  as  Attorney-General.  The  orator-defender  of  na- 
tional rights,  the  eloquent  John  Adams,  filled  the  office  of 
Vice-President ;  the  chief-justiceship  fell  to  John  Jay ;  while 
James  Madison  became  administration  leader  in  the  House 
of  Representatives.  By  this  time,  the  first  inauguration 
had  taken  place,  a  simple  but  impressive  ceremony,  made 
notable  by  the  delivery  at  New  York  (April  30,  1789)  of 
the  President's  first  Inaugural,  an  address  characteristically 
thoughtful  and  eminently  appropriate  to  the  occasion.  In 
this  respect,  it  finds  worthy  place  in  the  national  literature 
alongside  the  second  Inaugural,  delivered  four  years  later 
on  the  occasion  of  Washington's  re-election  to  the  presi- 
dency, and  alongside  his  'amed  'Farewell  Address,"  issued 
Sept.  19,  1796,  on  his  wi^h-iawal  from  the  Nation's  cares 
and  duties,  and  in  which  "the  idol  of  the  people'^  exhorts 
them  to  continued  union  and  harmony.  This  latter  docu- 
ment, it  has  been  well  said,  "is  filled  with  noble  sentiments 
for  the  meditation  of  all  future  generations." 

In  bringing  our  narrative  to  a  close,  we  may  add  that 
Washington  continued  patriotically  to  the  last  to  take  in- 
telligent, yet  conservative,  interest  in  the  affairs  of  the 
new  Nation ;  and  at  this  era  both  he  and  his  administration 
had  much  to  engross  their  minds,  and  not  a  little  also  to 
contend  with,  in  settling  or  giving  peaceful  form  and  direc- 
tion to  the  perplexities  of  the  time.  Of  these,  shortly  after 
Peace  came  to  the  country,  there  was  the  problem,  already 
hinted  at,  of  the  quiet  disbanding  of  the  discontented  army, 
and  what  to  do  for  the  Loyalists  or  partisans  of  the  British 
cause  during  the  Revolution ;  then   came  the  organization 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON.  I  I9 

of  parties,  the  early  anti-slavery  agitation,  the  Indian 
troubles  in  the  West,  the  vast  and  irksome  matter  of  the 
State  debts  and  the  condition  of  the  national  finances,  with 
the  founding  of  the  United  States  Bank  and  the  selection  of 
the  capital-seat  of  the  Republic.  Outside  of  the  country, 
there  were  also  perplexities  to  be  faced  later  on  in  the  loom- 
ing up  of  trouble  with  France,  especially  in  maintaining 
neutrality,  when  that  nation  had  become  involved  in  war 
with  England  and  her  Continental  allies.  To  the  consider- 
ation of  these  and  other  questions  of  the  hour,  it  need  hardly 
be  added  that  Washington  brought  the  lucidity  of  a  calm, 
clear  mind,  the  sanity  of  a  prudent  course  and  an  unbiassed 
judgment — in  short,  all  the  qualities  that  throughout  a  long 
and  faithful  career  eminently  distinguished  him,  and  that 
gave  him  undying  place  in  the  affectionate  remembrance 
and  veneration  of  his  country.  Retiring  from  the  Presi- 
dency in  1797,  he  resumed  the  planter's  life  he  loved, 
though  in  the  following  year  he  was  appointed  commander- 
in-chief  of  the  provisional  army  raised  in  anticipation  of  a 
war  with  France.  In  the  midst  of  military  preparations, 
Washington  was  calamitously  seized  with  a  sudden  and 
fatal  illness,  and,  on  Dec.  14,  1799,  he  died  on  his  estate 
at  Mount  Vernon.  Two  days  later,  amid  the  mourning 
of  the  nation,  he  was  quietly  and  unostentatiously  buried  u 
the  family  vault  at  his  loved  home. 

Of  this  noble  and  patriotic  man,  whom  the  nation  still 
reveres,  Lord  Brougham,  the  English  lord-chancellor, 
wrote  a  fitting  and  admiring  eulogy.  As  it  is  cornparatively 
little  known,  we  venture  with  it  to  close  our  own  modest 
narrative  and  appraisement  of  Washington's  character  and 


I20  GEORGE  WASHINGTON. 

career.  "If  profound  sagacity" — says  Brougham — "steadi- 
ness of  purpose,  the  entire  subjugation  of  all  the  passions 
which  carry  havoc  through  ordinary  minds,  and  oftentimes 
lay  waste  the  fairest  prospect  of  greatness — nay,  the  disci- 
pline of  those  feelings  which  are  wont  to  lull  or  seduce 
genius,  and  to  mar  and  cloud  over  the  aspect  of  virtue  it- 
self— joined  with,  or  rather  leading  to,  the  most  absolute 
self-denial ;  the  most  habitual  and  exclusive  devotion  to 
principle — if  these  things  can  constitute  a  great  character, 
without  either  quickness  of  apprehension,  or  resources  of 
information,  or  inventive  power,  or  any  brilliant  quali.^y 
that  might  dazzle  the  vulgar — then  surely  Washington  was 
the  greatest  man  that  ever  lived  in  the  world,  uninspired 
by  Divine  wisdom,  and  unsustained  by  supernatural  virtue. 
"His  courage,  whether  in  battle  or  in  council,  was  as 
perfect  as  might  be  expected  from  his  pure  and  steady  tem- 
per of  soul.  A  perfectly  just  man,  with  a  thoroughly  firm 
resolution  never  to  be  misled  by  others  any  more  than  to 
be  by  others  overawed ;  never  to  be  seduced  or  betrayed, 
or  hurried  away  by  his  own  weakness  or  self-delusion  any 
more  than  by  other  men's  arts ;  nor  ever  to  be  disheartened 
by  the  most  complicated  difificulties  any  more  than  to  be 
spoilt  in  the  giddy  heights  of  fortune — such  was  this  great 
man,  great,  pre-eminently  great,  whether  we  regard  him  as 
sustaining  alone  the  whole  weight  of  campaigns,  all  but  des- 
perate, or  gloriously  terminating  a  just  warfare  by  his 
resources  and  his  courage — presiding  over  the  jarring  ele- 
ments of  his  political  council,  alike  deaf  to  the  storm  of  all 
extremes,  or  directing  the  formation  of  a  new  government 
for  a  great  people,  the  first  time  that  so  vast  an  experiment 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON,  121 

had  ever  been  tried  by  man — or  finally  retiring  from  the  su- 
preme power  to  which  his  virtues  had  raised  him  over  the 
nation  he  had  created,  and  whose  destinies  he  had  guided 
as  long  as  his  aid  was  required — retiring  with  the  venera- 
tion of  all  parties,  of  all  nations,  of  all  mankind,  in  order 
that  the  rights  of  men  might  be  conserved,  and  that  his  ex- 
ample might  never  be  appealed  to  by  vulgar  tyrants.  This 
is  the  consummate  glory  of  Washington — a  triumphant  war- 
rior where  the  most  sanguine  had  a  right  to  despair ;  a  suc- 
cessful ruler  in  all  the  difficulties  of  a  course  wholly  un- 
tried, but  a  warrior  whose  sword  only  left  its  sheath  when 
the  first  law  of  our  nature  commanded  it  to  be  drawn,  and 
a  ruler,  who,  having  tasted  of  supreme  power,  quietly  and 
unostentatiously  desired  that  the  cup  might  pass  from  him, 
nor  would  suffer  more  to  wet  his  lips  than  the  most  solemn 
and  most  sacred  duty  to  his  country  and  his  God  required.'' 


GEORGE    WASHINGTON.* 

By  Prof.  Hbnry  Wade  Rogers,  Ph.  D. 
Yale  University. 

On  the  twenty-second  day  of  February,  in  the  year  1732, 
George  Washington  was  born.  One  hundred  years  ago, 
in  December,  the  fourteenth  day,  he  died,  declaring  "I  die 
hard,  but  I  am  not  afraid  to  go."  At  Mount  Vernon  in 
December  of  this  year,t  the  centenary  of  his  death  is  to  be 
observed,  historical  addresses  are  to  be  delivered,  and  it  is 
proposed  that  a  naval  vessel  stationed  in  the  Potomac  shall 
fire  salutes,  as  on  the  day  of  his  funeral  minute-guns  were 
fired  from  a  vessel  in  the  river.  Never  in  our  history  have 
we  celebrated  the  centenary  of  an  American's  death.  Of  all 
our  great  men,  this  man's  name  is  venerated  as  that  of  the 
most  illustrious.  He  served  his  country  long  and  well; 
led  the  colonists  to  victory  in  the  War  for  Independence ; 
helped  to  frame  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  and 
to  secure  its  adoption  by  the  people ;  and  then,  as  the  first 
President,  set  the  machinery  of  the  new  government  in  mo- 
tion, and  so  directed  its  operations  as  to  insure  the  safety  of 
the  infant  nation.  Then,  when  he  died,  the  good  mourned 
because  a  great  man,  one  of  the  greatest  of  men,  was  gone. 
In  England  great  honor  was  paid  to  his  memory,  for,  when 
the  news  came  that  he  was  dead,  the  ships  of  the  British 
fleet  lowered  the  flags  half-mast ;  and  in  France,  Bonaparte 
directed  black  crape  to  be  suspended  from  all  the  standards 


•By  ParmisBion,  from  "Self  Culture  Magazine"  lor  February,  1899. 
tWritten  in  Jannary ,  1899. 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON.  I  23 

throughout  the  army  and  from  the  flags  throughout  the  ser- 
vice. From  the  day  of  his  death,  and  before,  this  man  has 
been,  in  the  pubHc  estimation,  "first  in  war,  first  in  peace, 
and  first  in  the  hearts  of  his  countrymen."  His  place  in 
history  is  unique.  Talleyrand,  in  his  official  report  as  Min- 
ister of  Foreign  Afl:airs  for  France,  alluding  to  his  death, 
declared  it  "an  event  which  deprives  the  world  of  one  of  its 
brightest  ornaments,  and  removes  to  the  realm  of  history 
one  of  the  noblest  lives  that  ever  honored  the  human  race." 
He  goes  on  to  say,  that  France  should  depart  from  estab- 
lished usages  and  do  honor  to  one  "whose  fame  is  beyond 
comparison  with  that  of  others."  Even  China  has  asked : 
"Can  any  man  of  ancient  or  modern  times  fail  to  pronounce 
Washington  peerless  ?" 

For  a  long  time  the  popular  conception  of  the  man  was 
based  upon  the  story  of  his  life  as  portrayed  by  Weems, 
whose  book  passed  through  some  fifty  editions.  To  that 
writer  we  owe  the  myth  about  the  cherry  tree,  and  numer- 
ous others,  equally  without  foundation.  Weems  claimed 
to  have  been  the  rector  of  Mount  Vernon  parish,  and  to 
have  lived  on  terms  of  intimacy  with  Washington.  But 
his  pretentions  were  wholly  void  of  truth.  Lodge  describes 
him  as  "a  preacher  by  profession  and  an  adventurer  by 
nature,"  and  he  adds  that  he  wrote  "popular"  books,  ped- 
dling them  himself  as  he  travelled  about  the  country.  His 
mendacity  is  now  quite  well  understood,  and  the  unrelia- 
bility of  his  book  is  thoroughly  recognized.  One  writer 
remarks  that  "possibly  Washington  could  not  tell  a  lie,  but 
Weems  was  not  thus  handicapped."  A  wrong  impression 
was   also  created   by  Jared   Sparks,   who,   in    1825,   began 


124  GEORGE  WASHINGTON. 

the  work  of  collecting  and  editing  the  writings  of  Washing- 
ton. The  first  volume  appeared  in  1837,  and  contained  the 
"Life."  That  Sparks  was  a  hero-worshipper,  and  gave  a 
"distorted"  idea  of  the  man  whose  life  he  was  depicting, 
is  now  quite  generally  known.  Mr.  Ford,  the  editor  of  the 
Putnam  edition  of  the  "Writings  of  Washington,"  which  ap- 
peared in  1889,  states  that  Mr.  Sparks  not  only  omitted 
"sentences,  words,  proper  names,  and  even  paragraphs, 
without  notice  to  the  reader,  but  he  materially  altered  the 
sense  and  application  of  important  portions  of  the  letters." 
It  was  certainly  a  mistaken  judgment  that  led  Sparks  to 
adopt  the  policy  he  pursued.  The  later  publication,  which 
omitted  nothing  from  the  record,  has  not  detracted  from 
the  greatness  of  W^ashington,  and  has  enabled  us  the  better 
to  understand  what  manner  oi  man  he  really  was.  Since 
the  publication  of  Mr.  Ford's  work,  there  appeared,  in  1896, 
a  "Life  of  Washington"  by  Henry  Cabot  Lodge,  in  two 
volumes,  and  in  the  same  year  "The  True  George  Washing- 
ton," by  Paul  Leicester  Ford,  a  brother  of  the  editor  of  the 
"Writings";  and,  in  1897,  another  "Life"  by  Woodrow  Wil- 
son. These  books  have  very  much  enlarged  our  knowledge 
of  the  man,  and  served  to  bring  us  into  closer  touch  with 
him.  A  few  years  ago.  Prof.  McMaster,  the  writer  of  a 
"History  of  the  United  States,"  said:  "General  Washing- 
ton is  known  to  us,  and  President  Washington,  but  George 
Washington  is  an  unknown  man."  That  this  was  largely 
the  case  at  the  time  it  was  written  is  quite  true.  It  is  true 
no  longer,  and,  as  a  recent  writer  remarks,  "we  know 
W^ashington  as  well  as  it  is  possible  to  know  any  man."  He 
stands  revealed  to  us  as  he  really  was.     In  the  glare  of  all 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON.  I  25 

the  light  that  has  been  flashed  upon  him,  he  appears  to  have 
been  human,  like  other  men,  but  the  greatness  of  the  man 
stands  forth  as  conspicuous  as  before. 

Washington  was  certainly  intended  for  great  things. 
Nature  began  by  giving  him,  as  he  declared,  "one  of  the 
best  of  constitutions."  He  was  a  man  of  fine  figure,  stood 
six  feet  and  three  inches  tall,  weighed  two  hundred  and  ten 
pounds,  and  is  described  as  having  about  him  "a,  remark- 
able air  of  dignity."  We  are  told  that  his  eyes  were  blue, 
his  hair  brown,  and  his  face  bore  some  of  the  marks  of  the 
smallpox  with  which  he  had  been  stricken  in  the  Bahamas, 
whither  he  went  in  175 1,  to  look  after  his  brother  Lawrence, 
who  had  gone  there  in  the  vain  hope  that  in  a  milder  cli- 
mate he  might  escape  dying  from  consumption.  It  seems 
to  be  agreed  that  Washington  was  a  man  of  high  temper, 
which  he  usually  was  able  to  keep  under  good  control.  John 
Marshall  tells  us  that  "there  was  a  quickness  in  his  sensi- 
bility to  anything  apparently  offensive,  which  experience 
had  taught  him  to  watch  and  to  correct."  There  was  a  cer- 
tain reserve  about  him  that  made  familiarity  with  him  im- 
possible, even  on  the  part  of  those  who  were  on  terms  of 
intimacy  with  him.  He  had  remarkable  personal  courage, 
and,  in  the  opinion  of  Jefferson,  was  a  man  incapable  of 
fear.  The  men  who  foug'ht  under  him  in  battle  complained 
because  his  fearlessness  of  danger  led  him  to  take  little  care 
of  himself  in  action.  He  was  distinguished  more  for  the 
solidity  of  his  judgment  and  his  practical  good  sense  than 
for  the  brilliancy  of  his  genius.  It  is  generally  agreed  that 
Washington's  strong  traits  of  character  were  derived  from 
his  mother,  who  is  nevertheless  described  to  us  as  one  who 


126  GEORGE  WASHINGTON. 

scolded  and  grumbled  to  the  day  of  her  death,  and  who 
sought  solace  by  smoking  a  pipe. 

Mr.  Weems  informs  us  that  the  last  teacher  Washington 
studied  under  was  famous  "at  reading,  spelling,  English 
grammar,  arithmetic,  surveying,  bookkeeping,  and  geogra- 
phy." Then  he  adds :  ''And  in  these  useful  arts,  'tis  said 
he  often  boasted  that  he  had  made  George  Washington  as 
great  a  scholar  as  himself."  Poor  Weems!  No  one  who 
knows  anything  about  the  matter,  except  the  mendacious 
Weems,  has  ever  pretended  that  Washington  was  a  scholar. 
His  school-days  ended  when  he  was  fourteen.  To  the  last 
he  was  an  atrocious  speller  and  a  worse  grammarian.  The 
following  examples  of  his  spelling  must  suffice :  "immag- 
ine."  "glew,"  "oppertunity,"  "extravagence,"  and  '"winder." 
He  greatly  lamented  his  deficiencies  in  this -respect,  and  al- 
lusions to  the  subject  are  found  in  his  letters.  We  are  in- 
formed that  he  regarded  education  with  "an  almost  pathetic 
reverence;"  and  that  when,  late  in  life,  he  was  made  Chan- 
cellor of  the  College  of  William  and  Mary,  he  was  more 
deeply  pleased  than  by  any  other  honor  ever  conferred  upon 
him. 

Washington  never  had  the  benefit  of  Carlyle's  disquisi- 
tion on  the  Philosophy  of  Clothes,  yet  it  is  quite  evident  that 
if  he  had  read  Professor  Teufelsdrockh's  assertion  that  "So- 
ciety is  founded  upon  Cloth."  there  was  a  time  when  he 
would  not  seriously  have  called  it  in  question.  He  was  always 
particular  about  his  dress,  and  in  his  earlier  years  was  re- 
garded as  considerable  of  a  dandy.  The  following  descrip- 
tion is  given  of  his  dress  at  his  public  receptions  while  he 
was  President :  he  was  "clad  in  black  velvet ;  his  hair  in  ful' 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON.  I  27 

dress,  powdered  and  gathered  behind  in  a  large  silk  bag; 
yellow  gloves  on  his  hands;  holding  a  cocked  hat  with  a 
cockade  in  it,  and  the  edges  adorned  with  a  black  feather 
about  an  inch  deep.  He  wore  knee  and  shoe  buckles,  and 
a  long  sword,  with  a  finely  wrought  and  polished  steel  hilt, 
which  appeared  at  the  left  hip,  the  coat  worn  over  the  sword, 
so  that  the  hilt,  and  the  part  below  the  coat  behind,  were  in 
view.     The  scabbard  was  white  polished  leather." 

In  1783,  however,  we  find  him  writing  to  his  favorite 
nephew,  Bushrod  Washington,  afterwards  an  associate  jus- 
tice of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States,  and  saying: 
"Do  not  conceive  that  fine  clothes  make  fine  men  any  more 
than  fine  feathers  make  fine  birds.  A  plain  genteel  dress 
is  more  admired,  and  obtains  more  credit  than  lace  and  em- 
broidery, in  the  eyes  of  the  judicious  and  sensible."  He 
advises  him  to  be  very  choice  in  his  companions,  telling 
him  that  it  is  easy  to  make  acquaintances,  but  very  difficult 
to  shake  them  off,  however  irksome  and  unprofitable  they 
are  found.  "The  last  thing  which  I  shall  mention,"  he  adds, 
"is  first  in  importance,  and  that  is,  to  avoid  gaming.  This 
is  a  vice  which  is  productive  of  every  possible  evil ;  equally 
injurious  to  the  morals  and  health  of  its  votaries."  On  his 
social  side,  Washington  was  very  like  the  men  of  his  day 
and  generation.  He  was  fond  of  cards,  and,  notwithstand- 
ing the  excellent  advice  contained  in  the  letter  referred  to, 
seems  to  have  played  for  stakes,  though  not  for  large  ones. 
He  appears  also  to  have  had  a  fondness  for  billiards,  as  well 
as  for  theatres,  and  even  attended  cockfights  and  the  circus. 
Outdoor  sports  strongly  attracted  him.  His  fondness  for 
horsemanship   amounted   to   a   passion,   and   Jefferson   de- 


128  GEORGE  WASHINGTON. 

clared  him  to  be  the  best  horseman  of  his  age,  and  the  most 
graceful  figure  that  could  be  seen  on  horseback.  He  was 
a  bold  horseman,  rode  to  the  hounds,  leaping  the  highest 
fences  with  great  dexterity.  He  regarded  dancing  as  an 
agreeable  and  innocent  amusement,  and  frequently  indulged 
in  it.  Social  life  had  very  strong  attractions  for  him,  and 
he  always  dispensed  a  lavish  hospitality.  In  the  presence  of 
strangers,  he  was  very  reserved,  and  was  inclined  to  be  taci- 
turn in  general  society.  According  to  Madison  he  was  not 
fluent  or  ready  in  conversation.  But  Jefferson  states  that 
among  his  friends  he  took  "a  free  share  in  conversation." 
Indeed,  one  who  had  the  opportunity  of  knowing  said  that 
among  his  intimate  friends  he  laughed  and  talked  a  good 
deal.  In  this  respect  there  was  a  strong  resemblance  be- 
tween Washington  and  Grant.  He  had  no  patience  with 
the  duel,  and  although  the  men  of  his  time  felt  bound  to 
satisfy  their  '"honor"  in  that  way,  it  was  well  understood 
^hat  he  would  neither  send  nor  accept  a  challenge.  "From 
his  earliest  manhood,"  so  wrote  one  of  his  friends,  "I  have 
heard  him  express  his  contempt  of  the  man  who  sends  and 
the  man  who  accepts  a  challenge,  for  he  regards  such  acts 
as  no  proof  of  moral  courage;  and  the  practice  he  abhors 
as  the  relic  of  old  barbarisms,  repugnant  alike  to  sound 
morality  and  Christian  enlightenment." 

Chief-Justice  Marshall  opens  his  "Life  of  Washington" 
with  the  statement  that,  as  "his  patrimonial  estate  was  by 
no  means  considerable,  his  youth  was  employed  in  useful 
industry."  Washington's  father  was  a  man  of  large  posses- 
sions, and  when  he  died,  in  1743,  left  his  children  well  pro- 
vided for.     But  they  were  rich  in  land.     They  had  littu 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON.  I  29 

ready  income,  and  were  .obliged,  therefore,  to  cultivate  the 
virtues  of  industry  and  frugality.  In  the  end,  George  Wash- 
ington became  a  rich  man,  the  property  he  received  from  his 
father  having  been  much  augmented  by  what  he  received  on 
the  death  of  his  brother  Lawrence,  which  occurred  in  1752. 
Washington's  marriage  with  Mrs.  Custis  was  also  of  ma- 
terial benefit  to  him,  Mr.  Custis  having  left  an  estate  of 
more  than  one  hundred  thousand  dollars.  Washington 
became  one  of  the  richest  men  in  Virginia,  and  therefore  one 
of  the  wealthiest  men  in  America.  If  some  Li  Hung  Chang 
had  propounded  the  inquiry,  "How  much  are  you  worth?" 
the  question  need  not  have  occasioned  the  slightest  em.- 
barrassment.  That  Washington  was  a  very  sagacious  man 
of  business,  giving  attention  to  every  detail  and  exceedingly 
shrewd  at  a  bargain,  is  well  known.  He  was  a  close 
student  of  agriculture,  and  ever  ready  to  take  advantage  of 
improvements  in  farming  implements  and  the  manner  of 
working  his  land.  He  wished  to  be  thought  the  first  farmer 
in  America. 

At  the  time  of  his  death  he  was  supposed  to  be  the  largest 
landholder  in  the  country,  being  possessed  of  fifty-one  thou- 
sand three  hundred  and  ninety-five  acres,  exclusive  of  the 
Mount  Vernon  estate,  his  town  properties,  and  the  real  estate 
of  his  wife.  The  value  of  his  property  at  his  death,  again 
excluding  the  Mount  Vernon  estate  and  the  property  of  his 
wife,  was  estimated  at  five  hundred  and  thirty  thousand 
dollars.  The  estate  at  Mount  Vernon  included  eight  thou- 
sand acres.  In  Ford's  "Washington"  an  account  is  given  of 
the  stock  on  the  Mount  Vernon  property.  It  appears  that 
in  1793  Washington  had  fifty-four  draught  horses  on  the 


i^O  GEORGE  WASHINGTON. 

estate,  three  hundred  and  seventeen  head  of  cattle,  six  hun- 
dred and  thirty-four  sheep,  and  "many''  hogs.  The  Hve 
stock  was  vahied  at  his  death  at  thirty-five  thousand  dollars. 
In  addition  to  the  draught  horses  already  mentioned,  he 
had  in  1799  "'two  covering  jacks  and  three  young  ones,  ten 
she  asses,  forty-two  working  mules,  and  fifteen  younger 
ones."  Mount  Vernon  was  a  community  in  itself,  including 
some  three  hundred  persons.  Washington  had  his  own 
blacksmith  shop,  his  own  brickmaker  and  masons,  his  car- 
penters, shoemaker,  and  weavers.  We  can  readily  under- 
stand how  it  was  that  while  he  was  President  he  was  con- 
tinually thinking  of  Mount  Vernon. 

The  manner  in  which  farming  was  carried  on  in  Vir- 
ginia was  very  unsatisfactory  to  Washington,  and  he  did 
what  he  could  to  improve  it.  In  one  of  his  letters,  written 
in  1787,  he  says:  "I  must  observe  that  there  is,  perhaps, 
scarcely  any  part  of  America  where  farming  has  been  less 
attended  to  than  in  this  State  (Virginia).  The  cultivation  of 
tobacco  has  been  almost  the  sole  object  with  men  of  landed 
property,  and  consequently  a  regular  course  of  crops  have 
never  been  in  view."  He  goes  on  to  say  that  there  are  sev- 
eral farmers,  himself  among  the  number,  who  are  adopting 
the  English  system  of  rotation  of  crops.  In  1785,  he  was 
writing  Lord  Fairfax  to  make  inquiry  in  England  "whether 
a  thorough-bred,  practical  English  farmer,  from  a  part  of 
England  where  husbandry  seems  to  be  best  understood, 
and  is  most  advantageously  practiced,  could  not  be  obtained, 
and  upon  what  terms  ?"  He  adds  that  he  has  no  doubt  that 
such  a  man  might  be  had  for  very  Iiigh  wages,  "as  money 
we  know  will  fetch  anything  and  command  the  service  of 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON.  I3I 

any  man,"  and  he  is  very  careful  to  say  "but  with  the  former 
I  do  not  abound."  Tliat  was  a  time  when  he  was  feeling 
land  poor,  as  he  did  not  infrequently,  being  sometimes 
compelled  to  borrow,  and  at  others  to  sell,  some  of  his  land- 
holdings.  He  also  appears  to  have  experienced  difificulty 
at  times  in  getting  proper  returns,  and  many  a  farmer  to- 
day will  sympathize  with  Washington  when  he  wrote  to  one 
of  his  farm  managers,  in  1799,  as  follows :  "It  is  hoped  and 
will  be  expected  that  more  effectual  measures  will  be  pur- 
sued to  make  butter  another  year ;  for  it  is  almost  beyond 
belief  that,  from  one  hundred  and  one  cows  actually  reported 
on  a  late  enumeration  of  the  cattle,  I  am  obliged  to  buy 
butter  for  the  use  of  my  family."  This  reads  very  much 
like  some  of  the  results  achieved  by  Henry  Ward  Beecher 
and  Horace  Greeley  in  their  attempts  at  farming.  Wash- 
ington cultivated  his  farms,  however,  with  much  foresight, 
and  the  instructions  which  he  issued  to  his  managers  would 
constitute  even  now  a  valuable  farm  manual.  These  in- 
structions show  his  great  familiarity  with  all  the  processes 
of  farming  and  stock-raising. 

Washington  is  preeminent,  among  the  public  men  this 
country  has  produced,  for  his  sense  of  civic  duty.  After 
his  retirement  from  the  presidency,  he  served  as  a  member 
of  a  grand  jury,  and  on  several  occasions  as  a  petit  juror. 
He  was  particular  in  the  discharge  of  all  the  duties  of  citi- 
zenship, invariably  voting  at  the  elections,  although  this  nec- 
essitated his  riding  a  distance  of  ten  miles  from  Mount  Ver- 
non to  the  polling-place.  We  are  accustomed  at  the  present 
day  to  see  public  men  bring  all  possible  influence  to  bear 
to  reach  public  station.     In  the  case  of  Washington  the  ©f' 


132  GEORGE  WASHINGTON. 

fice  sought  the  man,  and  was  by  him  rehictantly  accepted. 
His  tastes  inclined  him  to  the  Hfe  of  a  private  citizen,  and 
he  had  no  longing  for  the  duties  and  honors  of  public  life, 
but  much  preferred  the  retirement  of  a  country  gentleman. 
He  loved  retirement,  and  when  Virginia  insisted  on  sending 
him  to  the  convention  that  was  to  frame  the  Constitution 
of  the  United  States,  he  hesitated  long  before  consenting 
to  accept  the  place.  He  pleaded  age  and  ill-health,  and 
as  late  as  the  February  preceding  the  assembling  of  the  con- 
vention, which  occurred  in  May,  he  wrote  that  his  private 
intention  was  not  to  attend.  Again,  as  late  as  the  last  of 
March,  he  wrote  the  governor  to  have  some  one  appointed 
in  his  place.  At  last,  he  ccnsented  to  attend,  fearing  that 
his  non-attendance  would  be  regarded  as  "a  dereliction  of 
republicanism."  After  the  Constitution  was  adopted  and 
the  people  demanded  that  he  should  accept  the  presidency, 
we  find  him  reluctant  as  before:  again  he  pleaded  old  age, 
and  declared  that  his  acceptance  would  be  attended  with 
more  diffidence  and  reluctance  than  he  ever  experienced 
before  in  his  life.  He  doubted  his  capacity  for  civil  affairs. 
As  he  was  about  leaving  Mount  Vernon  to  assume  the  of- 
fice, he  wrote  to  Knox :  "In  confidence  I  tell  you  that  my 
movements  to  the  chair  of  government  will  be  accompanied 
by  feelings  not  unlike  those  of  a  culprit  who  is  going  to  the 
place  of  execution.*'  These  were  the  feelings,  and  this  the 
distrust,  of  the  man  who  had  been  unanimously  elected 
to  the  office  of  President  of  the  United  States.  As  his 
first  term  was  coming  to  an  end,  he  announced  to  his  friends 
his  desire  to  retire  from  of^ce.  Madison  was  taken  into  his 
confidence,  and  informed  by  Washington  that  the  fatigues 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON.  I  33 

and  clisagreeableness  of  the  office  were  scarcely  tolerable  to 
him,  that  his  inclinations  lead  him  to  his  farm,  and  that  he 
preferred  to  take  his  spade  in  hand  and  work  for  his 
bread  than  remain  in  his  then  situation.  He  spoke  in  the 
same  strain  to  Jefferson,  telling  him  that  tranquillity  and  re- 
tirement had  become  an  irresistible  passion. 

It  was  only  after  a  long  and  painful  conflict  in  his  own 
breast,  to  use  his  own  words,  that  he  finally  made  up  his 
mind  to  give  up  what  had  been  his  "fixed  determination" 
to  retire,  and  consented  to  accept  the  office  for  a  second  term. 
That  he  could  have  been  elected  for  a  third  time  is  conceded, 
but  he  would  not  listen  to  such  a  suggestion.  He  longed 
for  privacy  and  rest  above  all  things,  and  gladly  laid  down 
his  great  office.  To  make  use  of  his  own  expression,  he 
"panted"  for  retirement.  But  earnestly  as  he  wished  to  end 
his  days  in  quiet,  he  was  ready  to  respond  when  once  con- 
vinced that  his  duty  to  his  country  demanded  his  service. 
So  it  happened  that,  two  years  after  his  retirement,  and  one 
year  before  his  death,  when  President  Adams  appointed  him 
Lieutenant-General  and  Commander-in-Chief  of  all  the 
armies,  and  war  with  France  seemed  probable,  we  find  him 
consenting  to  take  the  place.  He  writes  to  John  Adams: 
"Feeling  how  incumbent  it  is  upon  every  person  of  every  de- 
scription to  contribute  at  all  times  to  his  country's  welfare, 
and  especially  in  a  moment  like  the  present,  when  everything 
we  hold  dear  is  so  seriously  *^hreatened,  I  have  finally  deter- 
mined to  accept  the  commis;  ion  of  Commander-in-Chief  of 
the  armies  of  the  United  States."  And  in  the  last  year  of 
his  life  he  writes  to  Lord  Fairfax :  "I  hold  myself  in  readi- 
ness to  gird  on  the  sword,  if  the  emergency  shall  require  it." 


134  GEORGE    WASHINGTON. 

Ill  his  inaugural  address  as  President,  announcement  was 
made  by  Washington  of  his  purpose  to  receive  no  compensa- 
tion for  his  services.  "When  I  was  first  honored  with  a  call 
into  the  service  of  my  country,  then  on  the  eve  of  an  arduous 
struggle  for  its  liberties,"  he  declared,  "the  light  in  which  I 
contemplated  my  duty  required  that  I  should  renounce  every 
pecuniary  compensation.  From  this  resolution  I  have  in  no 
instance  departed.  And  being  still  under  the  impressions 
which  produced  it,  I  must  decline,  as  inapplicable  to  my- 
self, any  share  in  the  personal  emoluments  which  may  be  in- 
dispensably included  in  a  permanent  provision  for  the  execu- 
tive department."  He  thus  made  it  a  matter  of  principle  to 
accept  no  salary  from  the  Government,  and  would  never 
consent  to  more  than  a  reimbursement  for  actual  expendi- 
tures. At  the  same  time,  he  recognized  that  sound  public 
policy  required  suitable  compensation  to  be  provided  for 
the  officials  of  the  Government.  In  his  last  annual  message 
to  Congress  he  advised  a  legislative  revision  of  official  sal- 
aries, and  added :  "The  consequences  of  a  defective  pro- 
vision are  of  serious  import  to  the  Government.  If  private 
wealth  is  to  supply  the  defect  of  public  contribution,  it  will 
greatly  contract  the  sphere  within  which  the  selection  of 
character  for  office  is  to  be  made,  and  will  proportionally 
diminish  the  probability  of  a  choice  of  men  able  as  well  as 
upright.  Besides  that,  it  would  be  repugnant  to  the  vital 
principles  of  our  Government  virtually  to  exclude  from  pub- 
lic trust,  talents  and  virtues  uiless  accompanied  by  wealth." 
There  is  a  wisdom  in  this  upon  which  it  would  be  well  for 
the  country  to-day  to  reflect.  The  fact  is  well  known  that 
many  of  the   leading  officials   of  the   Government   of  the 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON.  I  35 

United  States  are  so  inadequately  compensated  that  a  poor 
man  is  practically  disqualified  from  taking  office.  The  Secre- 
tary of  State  is  obliged,  for  example,  to  entertain  more  than 
the  President,  and  yet  the  salary  attached  to  the  office  is  only 
sufficient  to  pay  the  rent  of  a  house  suitable  for  one  in  his 
position  to  occupy.  An  ambassador  of  the  United  States 
at  Paris  has  been  known  to  expend  his  entire  salary  in  a 
similar  manner.  These  are  simple  examples  of  what  is  true 
of  other  officials,  and  it  is  altogether  wrong  that  such  a  con- 
dition should  exist. 

On  becoming  President  it  became  necessary  for  Wash- 
ington to  make  known  the  rules  by  which  official  intercourse 
was  to  be  carried  on.  He  determined  to  return  no  visits, 
appointed  certain  days  on  which  visits  would  be  received, 
and  decided  that  his  entertaining  should  be  confined  to  pub- 
lic officials.  All  this  was  made  the  subject  of  not  a  little 
animadversion,  and  was  said  to  be  an  imitation  of  the  prac- 
tices of  crowned  heads.  A  great  deal  of  the  President's 
time  is  necessarily  occupied  in  determining  upon  appoint- 
ments to  office,  and  this  Washington  found  the  most  irk- 
some part  of  the  executive  trust.  His  correspondence  shows 
him  again  and  again  referring  to  the  subject,  and  declaring 
that  he  found  it  to  be  the  most  delicate  and  difficult  task  he 
had  to  perform.  It  annoyed  him  greatly,  as  it  has  each  of 
his  successors  in  the  office,  that  applicants  for  appointments 
persisted  in  coming  to  the  seat  of  government,  and  in  spend- 
ing considerable  time  there,  in  an  effort  to  influence  the  ac- 
tion of  the  executive.  As  early  as  May,  1789,  we  find  him 
writing:  "I  only  wish,  so  far  as  my  agency  in  this  busi- 
ness is  concerned,  that  candidates  for  offices  would  save 


136  GEORGE   WASHINGTON. 

themselves  the  trouble  and  consequent  expense  of  personal 
attendance.  AH  that  I  require  is  the  name  and  such  testi- 
monials, with  respect  to  abilities,  integrity,  and  fitness,  as  it 
may  be  in  the  power  of  the  several  applicants  to  produce." 
While  he  held  the  office  he  made  it  an  invariable  rule  never 
to  promise  an  appointment  in  advance,  but  to  remain  to  the 
last  moment  free  and  unengaged. 

In  making  appointments  Washington  was  governed  by 
three  considerations:  i.  The  fitness  of  the  person  to  fill 
the  office.  2.  The  comparative  merits  and  "sufferings  in 
service"  of  the  respective  candidates.  3.  A  regard  for  the 
geographical  distribution  of  offices,  to  the  end  that  there 
might  be  a  distribution  of  appointments  in  as  equal  a  pro- 
portion as  might  be  to  persons  belonging  in  the  different 
States.  In  1795,  he  stated  in  a  letter  to  Timothy  Pickering: 
'T  shall  not,  whilst  I  have  the  honor  to  administer  the  gov- 
ernment, bring  a  man  into  any  office  of  consequence  know- 
ingly whose  political  tenets  are  adverse  to  the  measures 
which  the  general  government  are  pursuing,  for  this,  in  my 
opinion,  would  be  a  sort  of  political  suicide."  At  the  same 
time  no  man  has  ever  regarded  political  parties  as  more 
perilous  to  the  country,  and  his  warning,  in  the  Farewell  Ad- 
dress, against  the  spirit  of  party,  would  do  credit  to  the  most 
pronounced  Mugwump  of  modern  times.  In  1796  he  writes : 
'T  have  never  made  an  appointment  from  a  desire  to  serve 
a  friend  or  relation."  Again,  in  the  same  year,  he  declares : 
"I  can  defy  malignancy  itself  to  ascribe  partiality,  or  inter- 
ested motives,  to  any  of  my  nominations."  So  determined 
was  he  that  no  act  of  his  should  give  occasion  for  calling  in 
question  the  disinterestedness  of  his  motives,  that  he  laid  it 


GEORGE    WASHINGTON.  I  37 

down  as  a  rule  of  conduct  never  to  give  an  appointment  to 
a  relative.  His  successor,  John  Adams,  protested  against 
what  he  styled  Washington's  "hyper-superlative  public  vir- 
tue" in  this  matter.  In  the  opinion  of  Mr.  Adams,  a  Presi- 
dent should  not  be  influenced  for  or  against  a  candidate  by 
any  consideration  of  his  relationship.  Jefferson  adopted  the 
principle  laid  down  by  Washington,  and  wrote:  "Mr. 
Adams  degraded  himself  infinitely  by  his  conduct  on  this 
subject,  as  General  Washington  had  done  himself  the  great- 
est honor."  Alost  of  our  Presidents,  it  can  be  said  to  their 
credit,  have  followed  the  illustrious  example  set  by  Wash- 
ington. The  conduct  of  General  Grant  in  this  particular 
occasioned  a  vast  amount  of  criticism,  which  was  by  no 
means  confined  to  the  party  of  the  opposition. 

Gift-taking  on  the  part  of  public  men  Washington  could 
not  countenance.  At  a  time  when  he  was  in  private  life,  two 
years  after  laying  down  his  commission  as  commander  of  the 
army,  and  four  years  before  he  entered  upon  the  presidency, 
the  State  of  \'irginia,  by  the  unanimous  vote  of  its  Assembly, 
proposed  to  present  him  with  certain  valuable  shares  of 
stock.  It  was  a  time  when  he  found  it  necessary  to  prac- 
tice economy,  as  his  finances  had  suffered  by  neglect  during 
the  war.  But  he  never  for  a  moment,  as  he  wrote  Jeffer- 
son, entertained  an  idea  of  accepting  it.  In  alluding  to  the 
matter  in  a  letter  to  a  friend,  he  writes:  "How  would  this 
matter  be  viewed  by  the  eye  of  the  world,  and  what  would 
be  the  opinion  of  it,  when  it  comes  to  be  related  that  George 
Washington  has  received  twenty  thousand  dollars  and  five 
thousand  pounds  sterling  of  the  public  money  as  an  interest  ? 
.     .     .     Under  whatever  pretense,  and  however  customar- 


138  GEORGE    WASHINGTON. 

ily  these  gratuitous  gifts  are  made  in  other  countries,  should 
I  not  thenceforward  be  considered  as  a  dependent  ?"  When 
he  became  President  he  would  receive  no  favors  of  any 
kind.  A  large  house  was  provided  for  him  in  Philadelphia, 
when  the  seat  of  government  was  in  that  city,  on  grounds 
now  occupied  by  the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  which  he 
declined  to  accept.  Unfortunately,  some  of  those  who  have 
succeeded  to  his  office  have  not  inherited  the  same  conscien- 
tious; scruples  by  which  he  was  distinguished. 

Posterity  has  been  so  much  impressed  by  his  purity  of 
motive  and  lofty  character,  as  well  as  by  the  eminent  ser- 
vices he  rendered,  that  it  is  very  difficult  for  us  to  realize 
that  Washington  was  about  the  most  abused  man  of  his 
time.  No  strong  man  can  fill  public  office,  and  conscien- 
tiously discharge  its  duties,  without  making  enemies.  And 
it  is  quite  the  case  that  a  man  is  to  be  as  much  judged  by 
the  enemies,  as  by  the  friends,  he  makes.  The  country  has 
not  forgotten  how,  in  a  convention  that  nominated  Mr. 
Cleveland  for  the  presidency,  that  body  was  electrified  by  the 
remark:  "We  love  him  for  the  enemies  he  has  made." 
During  the  Revolution  Washington  was  continually  subject- 
ed to  annoying  criticism,  and  there  were  not  a  few  who 
sought  to  displace  him  as  commander  of  the  forces.  Some 
of  those  who  professed  friendship  were  guilty  of  treachery, 
and  entered  into  a  conspiracy  against  him.  One  of  his  gen- 
erals called  him  "most  damnably  deficient"  and  a  blunderer. 
He  was  called  "the  American  Fabius,"  and  all  sorts  of  dis- 
asters were  predicted  if  he  continued  in  command  of  the 
army.  One  of  these  criticisms  ran  as  follows :  "Such  fee- 
bleness and  want  of  authority,  such  confusion  and  want  of 


GEORGE    WASHINGTON.  I39 

discipline,  such  waste,  such  destruction,  would  exhaust  the 
wealth  of  both  the  Indies  and  annihilate  the  armies  of  all 
Europe  and  Asia."  The  worst  of  it  was  that  this  kind  of 
criticism  was  not  confined  to  men  of  base  purposes  and  sel- 
fish motives,  but  was  indulged  in  by  men  of  high  character, 
who  were  not  actuated  by  improper  considerations.  When 
he  became  President  he  was  charged  with  "want  of  merit," 
"insignificance,"  "ostentatious  professions  of  piety,"  "ineffi- 
ciency," "falsehood,"  and  "pusillanimity."  Thomas  Paine 
published  a  pamphlet  against  him,  in  which  he  concluded  as 
follows:  "and,  as  to  you,  sir,  treacherous  in  private  friend- 
ship, and  a  hypocrite  in  public  life,  the  world  will  be  puzzled 
to  decide  whether  you  are  apostate  or  an  impostor ;  whether 
you  have  abandoned  good  principles,  or  whether  yoii  ever 
had  any."  Every  public  man  must  expect  to  be  abused, 
maligned,  and  misrepresented.  The  people  in  the  end  come 
to  understand  the  animus  by  which  all  such  attacks  are  in- 
spired, and  the  man  who  does  his  duty  knows  that  sooner  or 
later  justice  will  be  done  him.  Washington  had  the  good 
sense  to  ignore  all  this  abuse,  and  no  reply  to  it  ever  came 
from  him.  His  name  is,  and  forever  will  remain,  the  price- 
less heritage  of  all  Americans.  He  was  the  Father  of  his 
Country,  and  had  that  loftiness  of  character,  that  purity  of 
purpose,  that  solidity  of  judgment,  which  command  the  ad- 
miration of  the  world.  But  one  other  name,  that  of  Lincoln, 
is  linked  with  his  in  the  affections  of  his  countrymen. 


140  GEORGE  WASHINGTON. 


ANECDOTES,  CHARACTERISTICS  AND  TRIBUTES  TO 
WASHINGTON. 

THE  BIRTHDAY  OF  WASHINGTON. 

The  birthday  of  the  "Father  of  his  Country"!  May  it 
ever  be  freshly  remembered  by  American  hearts!  May 
it  ever  reawaken  in  them  a  filial  veneration  for  his  mem- 
ory; ever  rekindle  the  fires  oi patriotic  regard  to  the  coun- 
try which  he  loved  so  well;  to  which  he  gave  his  youth- 
ful vigor,  and  his  youthful  energy  during  the  perilous 
period  of  the  early  Indian  warfare;  to  which  he  devoted 
his  life,  in  the  maturity  of  his  powers,  in  the  field;  to 
which  again  he  offered  the  counsels  of  his  wisdom  and 
his  experience  as  president  of  the  convention;  which  he 
guided  and  directed  while  in  the  chair  of  state,  and  for 
which  the  last  prayer  of  his  earthly  supplication  was 
offered  up  when  it  came  the  moment  for  him  so  well,  and 
so  grandly,  and  so  calmly  to  die!  He  was  the  first  man 
of  the  time  in  which  he  grew.  His  memory  is  first  and 
most  sacred  in  our  love;  and  ever  hereafter,  till  the  last 
drop  of  blood  shall  freeze  in  the  last  American  heart,  his 
name  shall  be  a  spell  of  power  and  might. — Riifus  Choate. 

THE  VALUE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

The  value  of  Washington  to  his  country  transcends 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON. 


141 


that  of  any  other  man  to  any  land.  Take  him  from  the 
Revolution,  and  all  the  fervor  of  the  Sons  of  Liberty 
would  seem  to  have  been  a  wasted  flame.  Take  him 
from  the  constitutional  epoch,  and  the  essential  condition 


Greenough's  Statue  of  Washington,  Washington.  D.  C. 

The  Inscriptions  are  from  Henry  Lee's  Oration  on  the  death  of  Washington, 

delivered  before  both  Houses  of  Congress,  Dec.  16,  1799. 

of  union,  personal  confidence  in  a  leader,   would  have 
been  wanting. 

Franklin,  when  the  work  of  the  constitutional  con- 
vention was  completed,  said  that  until  then  he  had 
not  been  sure  whether  the  sun  depicted  above  the 
president's  chair  was  a  rising  or  a  setting  sun,  but 
now  his  doubt  was  solved.  Yet  it  was  not  the  symbolic 
figure  above  the  chair,  it  was  the  man  within  it,   which 


142  GEORGE  WASHINGTON. 

should  have  forecast  the  great  result  to  that  sagacious 
mind. 

From  the  moment  that  independence  was  secured,  no 
man  in  America  saw  more  clearly  the  necessity  of  na- 
tional union,  or  defined  more  wisely  and  distinctly  the 
reasons  for  it.  He  is  the  chief  illustration  in  a  popular 
government  of  a  great  leader  who  was  not  also  a  great 
orator. 

Perhaps  that  fact  gave  a  solid  force  to  his  influence 
by  depriving  all  his  expressions  of  a  rhetorical  char- 
acter, and  preserving  in  them  throughout  a  simplicity 
and  moderation  which  deepened  the  impression  of  his 
comprehensive  sagacity.  He  was  felt  as  both  an  inspir- 
ing and  a  sustaining  power  in  the  preliminary  movement 
for  union,  and  by  natural  selection  he  was  both  president 
of  the  convention  and  the  head  of  the  government  which 
it  instituted. —^  Geor£-e  IVtlliam  Curtis. 

THE  MAJESTIC  EMINENCE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

"Westward  the  course  of  empire  takes  its  way; 

The  first  four  acts  already  past, 
A  fifth  shall  close  the  drama  with  the  day, 

Time's  noblest  offspring  is  the  last," 

As  the  human  race  has  moved  along  down  the  centur- 
ies the  vigorous  and  ambitious,  the  dissenters  from  blind 
obedience  and  the  original  thinkers,  the  colonists  and 
state-builders  have  broken  camp  with  the  morning  and 
followed  the  sun  until  the  close  of  day.  They  have  tar- 
ried for  ages  in  fertile  valleys  and  beside  great  streams; 
they  have  been  retarded  by  barriers  of  mountains  and 
seas  beyond  their  present  resources  to  overcome;  but  as 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON.  143 

the  family  grew  into  the  tribe,  the  tribe  into  the  nation, 
and  equal  authority  into  the  despotism  of  courts  and 
creeds  those  who  possessed  the  indomitable  and  uncon- 
querable spirit  of  freedom  have  seen  the  promise  flashed 
from  the  clouds  in  the  glorious  rays  of  the  sinking  orb  of 
day,  and  first  with  despair  and  courage,  and  then  with 
courage  and  hope,  and  lastly  with  faith  and  prayer,  they 
have  marched  westward. 

In  the  purification  and  trials  of  wandering  and  settle- 
ment they  have  left  behind  narrow  and  degrading  laws, 
traditions,  customs,  and  castes,  and  now,  as  the  Occident 
faces  the  orient  across  the  Pacific,  and  the  globe  is  cir- 
cled, at  the  last  stop  and  in  their  permanent  home,  the 
individual  is  the  basis  of  government  and  all  men  are 
equal  before  th?  law.  The  glorious  example  of  the  tri- 
umphant success  of  the  people  governing  themselves  fans 
the  feeble  spirit  of  the  effete  and  exhausted  Asiatic  with 
the  possibilities  of  the  replanting  of  the  garden  of  Eden 
and  of  the  restoration  of  the  historic  grandeur  of  the 
birthplace  of  mankind.  It  is  putting  behind  ever}'  bay. 
onet  which  is  carried  at  the  order  of  Bismarck  or  the  czar, 
men  who,  in  doing  their  own  thinking,  will  one  day  de- 
cide  for  themselves  the  problems  of  peace  and  war.  It 
will  penetrate  the  breeding-places  of  anarchy  and  social- 
ism, and  cleanse  and  purify  them. 

The  scenes  of  the  fifth  act  of  the  grand  drama  are 
changing,  with  the  world  as  its  stage  and  all  races  and 
tongues  the  audience.  And  yet,  as  it  culminates  in  pow- 
er and  grandeur  and  absorbing  interest,  the  attention  re- 
mains riveted  upon  one  majestic  character.     He  stands 


144  '  GEORGE  WASHINGTON, 

the  noblest  leader  who  was  ever  intrusted  with  his  coun- 
try's life.  His  patience  under  provocation,  his  calmness 
in  danger  and  lofty  courage  when  all  others  despaired, 
his  prudent  delays  when  the  Continental  Congress  was 
imperative  and  the  staff  almost  insubordinate,  and  his 
quick  and  resistless  blows  when  action  was  possible,  his 
magnanimity  to  his  defamers  and  generosity  to  his  foes, 
his  ambition  for  his  country  and  unselfishness  for  him- 
self, his  sole  desire  the  freedom  and  independence  for 
America,  and  his  only  wish  to  return  after  victory  to  pri- 
vate life  and  the  peaceful  pursuits  and  pleasures  of  home, 
have  all  combined  to  make  him,  by  the  unanimous  judg- 
ment of  the  world,  the  foremost  figure  in  history.  Not 
so  abnormally  developed  in  any  direction  as  to  be  called 
a  genius,  yet  he  was  the  strongest  because  the  best  bal- 
anced, the  fullest  rounded,  the  most  even  and  most  self- 
masterful  of  men — the  incarnation  of  common  sense  and 
m.oral  purity,  of  action  and  repose. 

The  republic  will  live  so  long  as  it  reveres  the  memo- 
ry and  emulates  the  virtues  of  George  Washington. — 
Chauncey  M.  Depew. 

BYRON'S   TRIBUTES   TO   WASHINGTON. 

Mr.  Gladstone  was  not  the  only  great  Englishman  who 
had  given  Washington  the  first  place  in  history  for  purity 
of  character  and  elevation  of  aim  in  war  and  statesman- 
ship. Byron  pays  homage  to  Washington  repeatedly  in 
his  poems,  and  wrote  of  him  in  his  diary  that  "To  be  the 
first  man  {not  the  Dictator),  not  the  Scylla,  but  the 
Washington,  or  Aristides,  the  leader  in  talent  and  truth, 


I! 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON.  145 

is  to  be  next  to  the  Divinity."  The  last  stanza  in  his 
"Ode  to  Napoleon  Bonaparte"  is  the  following  well 
known  tribute: 

"Where  may  the  wearied  eye  repose 

When  gazing  on  the  Great, 
Where  neither  guilty  glory  glows, 

Nor  despicable  state? 
Yes,  one — the  first — the  last — the  best— 
The  Cincinnatus  of  the  West, 

Whom  envy  dare  not  hate. 
Bequeath  the  name  of  Washington, 
To  make  man  blush  there  was  but  one!" 

In  the  fourth  canto  of  "Childe  Harold"  occurs  the  fol- 
lowing: 

"Can  tyrants  but  by  tyrants  conquered  be. 
And  Freedom  find  no  champion  and  no  child, 

Such  as  Columbia  saw  arise  when  she 
Sprung  forth  a  Pallas,  armed  and  undefiled? 
Or  must  such  minds  be  nourished  in  the  wild, 
Deep  in  the  unpruned  forest,  'midst  the  roar 

Of  cataracts,  where  nursing  Nature  smiled 
On  infant  Washington?    Has  earth  no  more 
Such  seeds  within  her  breast,  or  Europe  no  such  store?" 

In  "The  Age  of  Bronze"  is  the  following  couplet: 

"While  Washington's  a  watchward  such  as  ne'er 
Shall  sink  while  there's  an  echo  left  to  air." 

Byron  calls  all  wars  murder,  except  those  for  freedom, 
and  contrasts  the  ambitious  conquerer  with  the  patriot  in 
"Don  Juan,"  Canto  VIII,  5: 

"Not  so  Leonidas  and  Washington, 
Whose  every  battle-field  is  holy  ground. 

Which  breathes  of  Nations  saved,  not  world's  undone, 
How  sweetly  on  the  ear  such  echoes  sound! 

While  the  mere  victor's  may  appal  or  stun 
The  servile  and  the  vain,  such  names  will  be 
A  watchword  till  the  future  shall  be  free." 


1+6  GEORGE  WASHINGTON. 

In  Canto  IX  of  "Don  Juan"  is  another  allusion; 

"George  Washington  had  thanks,  and  naught  beside, 
Except  the  all-cloudless  glory  (which  few  men's  is) 
To  free  his  country." 

OPINIONS  OF  WASHINGTON. 

"This  great  man  fought  against  tyranny;  he  established 
the  liberty  of  his  country.  His  memory  will  always  be 
dear  to  the  French  people,  as  it  will  be  to  all  freemen  of 
the  two  worlds." — Napoleon  Bonaparte^  February  g^iSoo. 

"He  did  the  two  greatest  things  which,  in  politics,  man 
can  have  the  privilege  of  attempting.  He  maintained,  by 
peace,  that  independence  of  his  country  which  he  had  ac- 
quired by  war.  He  founded  a  free  government  in  the 
name  of  the  principles  of  order,  and  by  reestablishing 
their  sway." — M.  Giiizot. 

"I  have  often  been  told  by  Col.  Ben  Temple,  of  King 
Williams  county,  Virginia,  who  was  one  of  his  aids  in  the 
French  and  Indian  w^ars  ....  that,  on  sudden 
and  unexpected  visits  into  his  marquee,  he  has  more  than 
once  found  Washington  on  his  knees  at  his  devotions." 
— Rev.  C.  L.  IVeenis,  1808. 

"The  commander-in-chief  of  the  American  armies  was 
observed  (at  Valley  Forge)  constantly  to  retire  for  the 
purpose  of  secret  devotion.  The  Father  of  his  Country 
went  alone,  and  sought  strength  and  guidance  from  the 
God  of  armies,  and  of  light.  The  independence  of  our 
country  was  laid,  not  only  in  valor,  patriotism  and  wis- 
dom, but  in  prayer." — Albert  Barnes.^  D.  D. 

"On  Sundays,  unless  the  weather  was  uncommonly 
severe,  the  President  and  Mrs.  W^ashington  attended  di- 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON. 


147 


vine  service  at  Christ  Cliurcli  (Philadelphia),  and  in  the 
evenings  the  president  read  to  Mrs.  Washington  in  her 
chamber  a  sermon,  or  some  portion  from  the  sacred  writ- 
ings. No  vis- 
itors, with 
the  exception 
of  ]\Ir.  Speak- 
er Trumbull, 
were  admit- 
ted on  Sun- 
days."— Geo. 
W.  P.  Custis. 
Said  Wash- 
ington's mo- 
ther of  her 
son:  "I  am 
not  surprised 
at  what 
George  has 
done,  for  he 
was  always  a 
good  boy." 

W^ashing- 
ton  served  us 

Washington  Laying  the  Corner  Stone  of  the  Capitol,  Sept.18,  ^^l^^^Y  ^y  niS 
1793.    One  of  the  Panels  on  the  Bronze  Door  of  the  cnVili-mo  *nrvt- 

Senate,  Washington.  SUDUme  mor- 

al qualities. 
To   him    belonged    the    proud    distinction    of    being 
the  leader  in  a  revolution,  without  awakening  one  doubt 
or  solicitude,  as  to  the  spotless   purity    of  his    purpose. 


148  GEORGE  WASHINGTON 

His  was  the  glory  of  being  the  brightest  manifestation 
of  the  spirit  which  reigned  in  this  country,  and  in  this 
way  he  became  a  source  of  energy,  a  bond  of 
union,  the  center  of  an  enlightened  people's  confidence. 

By  an  instinct  which  is  unerring,  we  call  Washington, 
with  grateful  reverence,  the  Fath- 
er of  his  Country,  but  not  its  Sa- 
vior. A  people  which  wants  a 
savior,  which  does  not  possess  an 
earnest,  and  pledge  of  freedom  in 
its  own  heart,  is  not  yet  ready  to 
be  free. —  William  E.  Channing. 

An  Indian's  testimony: 

"The    Pale    Faces   came,  and 
they  said,  *you  fought  with  us,  you 

°  '  ^  Benjamin  Rush,  a  Signer  of  the 

have  forfeited    your    right    to    this    Declaration  of  independence. 

land  and  must  go  away,'  but  General  Washington  said, 
'Come  back,  and  remain  in  your  land,  and  make  your 
homes  with  us.'  Then  the  prophet  said,  'The  white 
men  are  bad,  and  cannot  dwell  in  the  region  of  the  Great 
Spirit,  except  General  Washington.'  " — Peter  Wilson^  a 
native  Iroqiwis^  before  the  New  York  Historical  Socie- 
ty, 1847. 

gist's  account   of   WASHINGTON'S   ESCAPE    FROM   THE 

INDIANS. 

"We  rose  early  in  the  morning,  and  set  out  about  two 
o'clock,  and  got  to  the  Murdering  Town  on  the  southeast 
fork  of  Beaver  Creek.  Here  we  met  with  an  Indian, 
whom  I  thought  I  had  seen   at  Joncaire's,  at  Venango, 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON.  149 

when  on  our  journey  up  to  the  French  fort.  This  fellow- 
called  me  by  my  Indian  name,  and  pretended  to  be  glad 
to  see  me.  He  asked  us  several  questions,  as,  how  we 
came  to  travel  on  foot,  when  we  left  Venango,  where  we 
parted  with  our  horses,  and  when  they  would  be  there. 
Major  Washington  insisted  on  travelling  by  the  nearest 
way  to  the  Forks  of  the  Alleghany. 

"We  asked  the  Indian  if  he  could  go  with  us,  and  show 
us  the  nearest  way.  The  Indian  seemed  very  glad,  and 
ready  to  go  with  us;  upon  which  we  set  out,  and  the  In- 
dian took  the  Major's  pack.  We  travelled  very  brisk 
for  eight  or  ten  miles,  when  the  Major's  feet  grew  very 
sore,  and  he  very  weary,  and  the  Indian  steered  too 
much    northeastwardly. 

"The  Major  desired  to  encamp;  upon  which  the  Indian 
asked  to  carry  his  gun,  but  he  refused;  and  then  the  In- 
dian grew  churlish,  and  pressed  us  to  keep  on,  telling  us 
there  were  Ottawa  Indians  in  those  woods,  and  they 
would  scalp  us,  if  we  lay  out;  but  go  to  his  cabin,  and 
we  should  be  safe. 

"I  thought  very  ill  of  the  fellow,  but  did  not  care  to 
let  the  Major  know  I  mistrusted  him.  But  he  soon  mis- 
trusted him  as  much  as  I  did.  The  Indian  said  he  could 
hear  a  gun  from  his  cabin,  and  steered  us  more  north- 
wardly. We  grew  uneasy,  and  then  he  said  two  whoops 
might  be  heard  from  his  cabin.  We  went  two  miles 
further.  Then  the  Major  said  he  would  stay  at  the  next 
water;  but,  before  we  came  to  water,  we  came  to  a 
clear  meadow.  It  was  very  light,  and  snow  was  on  the 
grouTid. 


•5° 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON. 


The  Indian  made  a  stop,  and  turned  about.  The  Major 
saw  him  point  his  gun  towards  us,  and  he  fired.  Said 
the  Major,  'Are  you  shot?' 

"  'No,'  said  I;  upon  which  the  Indian  ran  forward 
to  a  big  stand- 
ing white  oak, 
and  began  load- 
ing his  gun, but 
we  were  soon 
with  him.  I 
would  have 
killed  him,  but 
the  Major  would 
not  suffer  me. 
We  let  h  i  m 
charge  his  gun. 
We  found  he 
put  in  a  ball; 
then  we  took 
care  of  h  i  m. 
Either  the  Ma- 
jor or  I  always 
stood  by  the 
guns.  We  made 
him  make  a  fire  for  us  by  a  little  run,  as  if  we  intended 
to  sleep  there. 

"I  said  to  the  Major,'As  you  will  not  have  him  killed, we 
must  get  him  away,  and  then  we  must  travel  all  night;' 
upon  which  I  said  to  the  Indian,  'I  suppose  you  were 
lost,  and  fired  your  gun.'      He  said  he  knew  the  way  to 


Statue  of  Washington  (first  at  right),  Statuary  Hall, 
Old  House  of  Representatives,  Washington,  D.C. 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON.  151 

his  cabin,  and  it  was  but  a  little  way.  'Well,'  said  I. 
'do  you  go  home;  and,  as  we  are  tired,  we  will  follow 
your  track  in  the  morning,  and  here  is  a  cake  of  bread 
for  you,  and  you  must  give  us  meat  in  the  morning.' 

"He  was  glad  to  get  away.  I  followed  him,  and  list- 
ened, until  he  was  fairly  out  of  the  way;  and  then  we 
went  about  half  a  mile,  when  we  made  a  fire,  set  our 
compass,  fixed  our  course,  and  travelled  all  night.  In  the 
morning  we  were  on  the  head  of  Piny  Creek." 


THE  STORY  OF  GEORGE  WASHINGTON. 

FOR  A  SCHOOL  OR  CLUB  PROGRAMME. 

Each  numbered  paragraph  is  to  be  given  to  a  pupil  or 
member  to  read,  or  to  recite,  in  a  clear,  distinct  tone. 

If  the  school  or  club  is  small,  each  person  may  take 
three  or  four  paragraphs,  but  should  not  be  required  to 
recite  them  in  succession. 

1.  George  Washington  was  born  at  Pope's  Creek,  near  Bridge's 
Creek,  Westmoreland  County,  Virginia,  February  22,  1732. 

2.  His  family  was  of  ancient  English  descent,  William  De  Hert- 
burn,  a  Norman  Knight,  was  the  ancestor  of  the  Washingtons. 

3"  His  name  was  changed  with  a  change  of  estate  to  that  of  De- 
Wessyngton.  Later  members  of  the  family  bore  the  names  of  Wesh- 
ington  and  Weschington,  which  in  course  of  time  was  <-ransformed  into 
Washington. 

4.  At  the  head  of  one  of  the  branches  of  the  family  was  John 
Washington  of  Warton,  in  Lancashire,  whose  son,  Lawrence  Wash- 
ington was  for  some  years  Mayor  of  Northampton. 

5.  One  of  the  descendants  of  Lawrence  Washington  was  Sir  Wil- 
liam Washington  who  fought  loyally  for  King  Charles  the  First.in  the 
Civil  War. 


THE 


JOURNAL 


0    F 


Major   George  Wajbtngton^ 

SENT    BY    THE 

Hon.  ROBERT  DlNWlDDtE,  Efq* 
Hi»  Majciiy  s  Lieutenant-Governor,  anci 
Commander  in  Chief  of  ^  I RG  ^  N  lA^ 

TO       THE 

COMMANDANT 

O  P    T  H  1 

FRENCH   FORCES 

O  N 

OHIO. 

To   WHICH    *Rt    ADDW,   TffI 

GOVERNOR'S     LETTER, 

Aiu>  ATRANSLATIONoF   tm» 

Frikcm    OFFICER'S    ANSWER 

W  IL  L  I  A  MS  BV  RGi 
PHfltedby  WILLIAM  HUNTER.    175* 

Reduced  Fac-Similc  of  the  Title  Page  of  Washington  s  Journal. 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON.  153 

6.  His  son,  Sir  Henry  Washington,  fought  with  great  gallantry 
under  Prince  Rupert,  and  held  the  city  of  Worcester  against  the  Par- 
liamentary Army  until  ordered  by  the  king  whom  he  was  serving,  to 
surrender. 

7.  Many  of  the  royalists  were  afterwards  compelled  to  flee  to 
America  from  the  wrath  of  Cromwell.  They  found  congenial  homes 
in  "the  loyal  colony"  of  Virginia, 

8.  Among  these  were  John  and  Andrew  Washington,  uncles  of 
the  gallant  Sir  Henry,  and  great  grandsons  of  Lawrence  Washington. 

q.  They  reached  Virginia  in  1637,  and  "purchased  land  'in  the 
northern  neck,'  between  the  Potomac  and  the  Rappahannock  rivers." 

10.  John  Washington  became  an  extensive  planter  in  Westmore- 
land County,  and  marrying  Miss  Anne  Pope,  built  him  a  residence  at 
Pope's  Creek.  He  became  in  due  course  of  time  a  County  Magistrate, 
and  a  member  of  the  House  of  Burgesses. 

11.  He  distinguished  himself  also,  as  a  colonel  of  the  Virginia 
forces  in  driving  off  a  band  of  Seneca  Indians  who  were  ravaging  the 
neighboring  settlements.  In  honor  of  his  public  and  private  charac- 
ter, the  parish  in  which  he  resided  was  called  W^ashington." 

12.  In  1694  Augustine  Washington,  the  grandson  of  Colonel  John 
Washington  was  born.  He  was  a  man  of  uncommon  height  and  no- 
ble appearance.  He  was  possessed  of  wonderful  muscular  powers, 
and  of  a  strong,  earnest  character. 

13.  Augustine  Washington  was  twice  married.  By  his  first  wife 
he  had  four  children.  Two  of  them  died  young,  but  two  sons,  Lau- 
rence and  Augustine,  survived  their  mother  who  died  in  1728. 

14.  He  married  for  his  second  wife  on  March  6,  1730,  Mary  Ball, 
the  daughter  of  Colonel  Ball,  a  young  and  beautiful  girl,  known  as  "the 
belie  of  Northern  Neck." 

15.  George  Washington  was  her  first  child.  Few  sons  ever  had 
a  more  lovely  and  devoted  mother,  and  no  mother  a  more  dutiful  and 
affectionate  son." 

16.  The  direct  influence  of  this  gifted  Christian  mother  upon  the 
life  of  George  cannot  be  overestimated.  To  her  we  owe  the  precepts 
and  example  that  governed  his  whole  career.  We  cannot  wonder  that 
with  such  an  ancestry  behind  him,  and  with  such  a  mother  to  guide 

him,  Washington  became  one  of  the  foremost  men  of  the  world. 

17.  When  George  was  seven  years  of  age,  his  father  removed 
to  an  estate  in  Stafford  County,  opposite  the  town  of  Fredericksburg. 

18.  Augustine  Washington  was  not  able  to  give  all  of  his  sons 
the  advantages  of  education,  enjoyed  by  Laurence  the  oldest.  He 
being  sent  to  England  at  the  age  of  fifteen  to  complete  his  studies,  and 
returned  at  the  age  twenty-three  to  take  his  place  as  the  head  of  the 
family. 


154  GEORGE  WASHINGTON. 

19.  George  was  educated  at  a  country  school  by  Hobby,  the 
sexton  of  the  parish,  who  was  his  teacher.  His  education  was  of  the 
simplest  character.  He  was  taught  reading,  writing  and  arithmetic, 
with  a  little  geometry  and  surveying. 

20.  The  letters  of  his  brother  Laurence  fired  his  soul  with  stir- 
ring descriptions  of  the  martial  scenes,  he  was  witnessing.  These  let- 
ters awoke  the  military  spirit  in  the  boy,  who  made  soldiers  of  his 
schoolmates,  and  as  their  commander-in-chief  conducted  their  mimic 
parades,  reviews  and  sham  fights. 

21.  The  father  of  George  died  on  April  12,  1743,  when  the  boy 
was  but  eleven  years  of  age.  Soon  after  his  father's  death  he  was 
sent  to  reside  with  his  elder  half-brother  Augustine,  to  whom  the 
Westmoreland  estate  had  been  left.  Here  George  attended  an  acad- 
emy kept  by  a  Mr.  Williams,  who  gave  him  a  plain  and  practical 
education  to  fit  him  for  the  ordinary  business  of  life. 

22.  All  his  school-boy  manuscripts  bear  witness  of  industry  and 
order.  He  took  extreme  care  in  cultivating  a  neat,  clear  and  elegant 
handwriting. 

23.  He  was  noted  for  his  truthfulness,  his  courage  and  his  gen- 
erosity, and  for  his  proficiency  in  athletic  exercises.  Running,  leap- 
ing and  wrestling  were  among  his  favorite  pastimes.  He  was  a  fear- 
less rider  and  a  good  hunter. 

24.  At  the  age  of  fourteen  his  brother  Laurence  obtained  for 
George  a  midshipman's  warrant.  But  when  he  was  just  about  to  en- 
ter the  English  naval  service,  the  earnest  remonstrance  of  his  mother 
prevailed,  and  he  reluctantly  abandoned  the  project. 

25.  A  month  after  he  was  sixteen,  he  became  a  surveyor  of  lands 
belonging  to  Lord  Fairfax.  In  the  discharge  of  his  duties  he  en- 
countered m.any  hardships  and  personal  dangers,  which  he  met  with 
fortitude  and  cheerfulness. 

26.  "At  the  age  of  nineteen  he  was  appointed  Adjutant  General, 
with  the  rank  of  Major,  to  inspect  and  exercise  the  militia  in  one  of 
the  districts  in  which  Virginia  was  divided."  'He  proved  himself 
thoroughly  efficient  in  this  post  of  duty. 

27.  In  1753  he  was  sent  on  a  delicate  and  dangerous  mission  by 
Governor  Dinwiddle.  He  was  to  travel  on  a  journey  of  nearly  600 
miles — "a  great  part  of  it  over  lofty  and  rugged  mountains,  and 
through  the  heart  of  a  wilderness." 

28.  He  was  to  ascertain  from  the  officer  commanding  the  French 
forces  on  the  banks  of  the  Ohio,  by  what  authority  he  was  invading 
the  King's  dominions. 

2g.  A  volume  could  be  written  of  the  great  perils  and  the  mar- 
velous and  providential  escapes  from  treachery,  assassination,  vio- 
lence of  savages,  cold  and  drowning,  which  marked  this  eventful  ex- 
pedition. 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON. 


155 


30.  The  varied  talents  and  striking  characteristics  Washington 
displayed,  made  him  on  his  return,  as  Irving  says,  "the  rising  hope  of 
Virginia." 

31.  Soon  after  his  return,  he  was  appointed  Lieutenant-Colonel 
of  a  regiment  of  which  Joshua  Fry  was  Colonel.  Upon  the  sudden 
death  of  Colonel  Fry  the  expedition  designed  against  the  French  de- 
volved upon  the  young  Lieutenant-Colonel.  Although  the  expedi- 
tion was  unsuccessful,  Washington  received  the  thanks  of  the  Gener- 
al Assembly  of  Virginia. 


St.  Peters  Church,  where  Washington  was  Married. 

32.  He  accompanied  General  Braddock  on  his  ill-fated  cam- 
paign, behaving  "with  the  greatest  courage  and  resolution." 

33.  The  Rev.  Samuel  Davis  in  a  sermon  to  one  of  the  military 
companies,  afterwards  organized,  used  these  prophetic  words:  "I  may 
point  out  to  the  public  that  heroic  youth,  Colonel  Washington,  whom 
I  cannot  but  hope,  providence  has  hitherto  preserved  in  so  signal  a 
manner,  for  some  important  service  to  his  country." 

34.  Having  been  appointed  in  1756  to  the  chief  command  of  a 
force  of  2,000  men,  he  was  engaged  in  the  arduous  work  of  protecting 
the  Virginia  frontier. 


156 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON. 


35.  On  November  25,  1758,  he  planted  the  British  flag  on  the 
smoking  ruins  of  Fort  Duquesne,  which  was  to  be  known  henceforth 
as  Fort  Pitt. 

36.  On  Jan  6,  1759,  he  married  a  charming  young  widow,  Martha 
Custis,  daughter  of  Mr.  John  Dandridge.  She  is  known  in  history  as 
Martha  Washington. 

37.  He  now  resigned  his  commission  as  a  colonial  officer,  and  at- 
tended the  Virginia  House  of  Burgesses,  to  which  he  had  been  elect- 
ed while  absent  on  his  iast  campaign. 

38.  As  soon  as  he  made 
his  appearance,  the  speaker 
in  accordance  with  a  previ- 
ous vote  of  the  Assembly, 
presented  thiir  thanks  in 
the  name  of  the  colony,  for 
his  distinguished  military  ser- 
vices. He  also  gave  expres- 
sion to  words  of  compliment 
and  praise. 

39.  Washington  was  so 
embarrassed  that  he  could 
not  utter  a  single  sentence 
in  reply.  The  speaker  with 
great  address  said,  "Sit  down, 
Mr.  Washington,  your  mod- 
esty equals  your  valor,  and 
that  surpasses  the  power  of 
any  language  I  possess." 

40.  He  spent  nearly  fifteen  years  in  the  quiet  of  his  peaceful  and 
happy  home,  engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits  and  performing  many 
acts  of  kindness  for  his  friends. 

41.  Then  at  the  age  of  forty  three  years,  he  was  called  to  begin 
his  career  of  honor  and  glory,  and  render  those  inestimable  services 
to  his  country,  and  to  mankind,  which  have  made  his  name  immortal. 

42.  He  was  elected  delegate  to  the  first  Continental  Congress 
which  met  at  Philadelphia,  in  1774,  and  took  an  important  part  in  its 
memorable  discussions. 

43.  "When  Patrick  Henry  returned  home  from  the  meeting  and 
was  asked  whom  he  considered  the  greatest  man  in  that  Congress,  he 
replied, 

44.  "If  you  speak  of  eloquence,  Mr.  Rutledge  of  South  Carolina, 
is  by  far  the  greatest  orator;  but  if  you  speak  of  solid  information, and 
sound  judgment,  Col.  Washington  is  unquestionably  the  greatest  man 
on  that  floor." 

45.  He  was  a  delegate  to  the  second  Continental  Congress  May  10, 


Wiishiiiffton  s  c  imj)  Chest  oow  in  the 
Ndt  oiidl  Museum   VVatilnnglon 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON.  157 

1775,  and  through  the  efforts  of  Samuel  and  John  Adams,  and  others, 
he  was  unanimously  elected  Commander-in-chief  of  all  the  Conti- 
nental forces. 

46  On  July  2,  1775,  he  established  his  headquarters  in  the  build- 
ing at  Cambridge,  Mass.,  since  known  as  the  residence  of  the  poet 
Longfellow. 

47.  On  the  next  day  he  took  formal  command  of  the  army  draw- 
ing his  sword  under  an  ancient  tree  known  as  Washington's  elm 

48.  He  drove  the  British  from  Boston  on  March  17.  1775,  for 
which  signal  service.  Congress  voted  him  a  splendid  gold  medal  now 
preserved  in  the  Boston  Public  Library. 

49.  Then  followed  the  disastrous  battle  of  Long  Island  and 
Washington's  rrasterly  retreat  through  New  Jersey. 

50.  Then  with  heroic  fortitude,  with  unwavering  confidence  and 
unsparing  self-devotion,  he  continued  to  lead  the  American  cause  in 
the  face  of  almost  insurmountable  obstacles. 

51.  Monmouth,  Brandywine,  Germantown  and  Valley  Forge  tell 
the  thrilling  and  fascinating  story  of  his  glorious  deeds, which  were  con- 
summated in  the  supreme  triumph  at  Yorktown  on  the  nineteerth 
day  of  October,  1781. 

52.  Two  years  afterwards  the  Treaty  of  Peace  was  signed  and 
the  war  with  England  was  ended,  a  war  which  Washington  so  much 
deplored  at  first,  and  which  he  strove  so  earnestly  to  avert. 

53.  With  the  ending  of  the  war  came  the  question  of  the  pay- 
ment of  the  soldiers  which  had  been  delayed  by  Congress. 

54.  Quite  a  number  of  the  officers  "began  to  distrust  the  effi- 
ciency of  the  government  and  of  all  republican  institutions.  One  of 
them,  a  Colonel  of  the  army,  of  a  highly  respected  character,  and 
somewhat  advanced  in  life,"  sharing  these  sentiments,  presented  them 
to  Washington  and  suggested  for  him  the  title  of  King. 

55.  Washington  made  a  reply  from  Newburgh  on  May  22,  1782. 
In  it  he  expressed  his  "abhorrence"  of  such  a  suggestion  and  reproved 
the  writer  with  great  severity  for  daring  to  make  it." 

56.  When  the  representatives  of  the  army  met  afterwards  at 
Newburgh  to  rouse  the  soldiers  to  resentment  against  the  inaction  of 
Congress,  Washington  appeared  at  the  gathering. 

57.  After  apologizing  for  his  coming,  and  begging  the  indulgence 
of  those  present,  he  paused  to  put  on  his  spectacles.  In  doing  so  he 
said  casually  but  very  touchingly: 

58.  "I  have  grown  gray  in  the  service  of  my  country  and  am 
now  growing  blind." 

59.  The  dignified  and  yet  most  forcible  addresses  which  he  de- 
livered, regarding  the  supreme  loyalty  that  was  due  from  all  to  the 
country,  so  won  over  those  present,  that  they  concurred  entirely  in  the 
policy  he  had  proposed. 


Pi 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON. 


159 


60.  On  April  19,  1783,  the  anniversary  of  the  battle  of  Lexing- 
ton,  Washington  announced  the  proclamation  for  the  cessation  of  hos 
tilities  which  had  been  issued  by  Congress. 

61.  In  his  general  orders  he  said,  "The  chaplains  of  the  several 
brigades  will  render  thanks  to  almighty  God  for  all  his  mercies,  par- 
ticularly for  his  overruling  the  wrath  of  man  to  his  own  glory,  and 

causing  the  rage  of  war  to  cease  among  the  na- 
tions." 

62.  He  took  a  final  leave  of  the  army  Novem- 
ber 2,  1783,  by  general  orders,  and  had  an  affection- 
ate farewell  interview  with  his  principal  officers 
on  December  4.  On  December  23  in  that  year  he 
resigned  his  commission  to  Congress  then  assem- 
bled in  Annapolis,  Maryland. 

6}.  He  then  retired  to  private  life  at  the  'age 
of  fifty-two,  to  resume  his  favorite  occupations  of 
farmer  and  planter  at  Mount  Vernon. 

64.  Frederick  the  Great,  some  years  after 
this,  sent  him  a  portrait  of  himself  accompanied 
witli  the  remarkable  words,  "from  the  oldest  Gen- 
eral in  Europe  to  the  greatest  General  in  the 
world." 

65.  But  Washington  was  not  to  be  permitted 
thus  to  live  a  secluded  life.  The  country  which 
seemed,  in  his  own  words,  to  be  "fast  verging  to- 
wards anarchy  and  confusion,"  through  its  inade 
quate  government,  needed  his  services. 

66.  He  went  as  the  head  of  the  Virginia  dele- 
gates to  the  convention  in  Philadelphia  on  May 
!4,  1787,  and  of  that  famous  historical  body  he  was 
elected  President. 

67.  On  April  6,1789,  in  the  presence  of  the  two 
Houses,  Washington,  having  received  every  vote 
from  the  ten  states  that  took  part  in  the  election, 
was  declared  President  of  the  United  States. 

68.  On  April  30,  1789,  he  was  inaugurated 
President  in  New  York  city,  the  oath  of  office  be- 
ing administered  by  Robert  R.  Livingston,  Chancellor  of  the  State 
of  New  York,  on  a  balcony  in  front  of  the  Senate  Chamber,  in  the 
presence  of  an  immense  multitude. 

69.  After  delivering  his  inaugural  address,  the  whole  assemblage 
headed  by  the  President,  proceeded  on  foot  to  St.  Paul's  Church, 
where  appropriate  religious  services  were  held  by  the  Rt.  Rev.  Dr. 
Prevost,  the  Episcopal  Bishop  of  New  York. 

70.  The  President  and  his  family  always  strictly  observed  the 


Washington's 
Sword  and  Staff. 


i6o  GEORGE  WASHINGTON, 

Sabbath.     They  attended  church  in  the  morning  and  passed  the  af- 
ternoon in  retirement. 

71.  On  the  25th  of  August,  1789,  the  mother  of  Washington  end- 
ed  her  long  and  useful  life.  When  the  sad  intelligence  was  commun- 
icated to  him,  although  it  was  not  unexpected,  he  was  deeply  moved 
by  it. 

72.  The  Cabinet  of  Washington  was  not  harmonious,  which 
caused  the  President  great  concern  and  trouble.  Jefferson  and  Ham- 
ilton differed  seriously  in  their  views.  Two  parties  were  formed  in 
consequence.  Hamilton's  party  was  known  as  the  Federalist,  and 
Jefferson's  as  the  Republican. 

73.  Washington  was  glad  when  his  term  as  President  had  expired 
and  looked  with  pleasure  to  a  retirement  again  at  Mount  Vernon. 
But  on  the  repeated  entreaties  of  his  friends,  after  a  long  and  painful 
hesitation,  he  consented  to  be  a  candidate  for  re-election. 

74.  He  received  the  unanimous  vote  of  the  electors,  reflecting 
the  popular  vote,  and  entered  upon  his  second  term  of  office  on  March 
4th,  1793. 

75.  He  saved  the  country  from  a  new  and  most  disastrous  war 
with  Great  Britain,  which  it  was  its  duty  as  well  as  its  interest  to 
avoid,  when  a  new  alliance  was  urged  by  many  with  France  which  had 
declared  war  against  England. 

76.  Genet,  the  Minister  of  the  French  Republic,  succeeded  for  a 
while  in  causing  a  storm  against  Washington  for  his  action.  The  par- 
tisans of  Genet  traduced  the  personal  motives  of  Washington,  and 
misrepresented  and  shamefully  abused  him.  But  better  sentiments 
ultimately  prevailed. 

77.  By  the  vigorous  action  of  the  President,  the  famous  "whisky 
insurrection"  in  Pennsylvania  came  to  an  end  in  1792. 

78.  The  treaty  with  Great  Britain  obtained  by  John  Jay,  the  for- 
mer Chief  Justice,  gave  great  offense  to  the  enemies  of  the  adminis- 
tration. The  President  and  his  supporters  were  fiercely  denounced 
for  approving  it.  But  it  was  the  best  that  could  be  secured,  and  it 
brought  peace  for  many  years  to  the  country  at  a  critical  period  of  its 
history. 

79.  On  no  consideration  would  Washington  yield  to  the  great 
anxiety  that  he  should  serve  a  third  term.  He  issued  a  Farewell  Ad- 
dress to  the  people  of  the  United  States  full  of  wise  counsels  and  ad-, 
monitions. 

80.  The  partisan  hostility  which  had  been  marked  by  unsparing 
denunciations  of  his  policy, and  by  bitter,rancorous  hostility,now  entire- 
ly ceased.  The  gratitude  of  the  nation  was  displayed  in  an  over- 
whelming manifestation. 

81.  "Both  Houses  of  Congress  adopted  replies  to  the  Farewell 
Address,  expressing  their  unshaken  confidence  in  the  wisdom  and  in- 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON. 


i6i 


tegrity  of  Washington.       During   the   winter  of  1796-97  nearly  all  the 
State  Legislatures  adopted  similar  resolutions." 

82.  But  the  quiet  of  his  life  at  Mount  Vernon  was  disturbed  by 
the  prospect  of  a  war  with  the  aggressive  French  Republic.  With 
great  reluctance  he  yielded  to  the  universal  desire  of  the  American 
people  as  voiced  by  President  Adams,  and  because  the  Lieutenant- 
General  and  Commander-in-chief  of  all  the  armies  raised  or  to  be 
raised  for  the  defense  of  the  country. 

83.  His  last  public  act  was  performed  on  the  morning  of  the 
P2th  of  December,  1799.  He  wrote  to  Hamilton  who  was  the  senior 
Major-General  under  him,  cordially  approving  of  the  establishment 

of  a  Military  Academy, which  Ham- 
ilton had  submitted  to  the  Secre- 
tary of  war. 

84.  On  the  evening  of  Decem- 
ber 14,  1799,  Washington  breathed 
his  last  at  Mount  Vernon  in  the 
presence  of  his  wife  and  some  in- 
timate friends. 

85.  He  died,  as  6^<?«<?rrt/ Wash- 
ington, for  he  was  still  at  the  time 
of  his  demise  the  Commander-in- 
chief  of  the  American  army, 

86.  On  the  i8th  of  December 
he  was  laid  away  to  rest  at  Mount 
Vernon.  The  news  of  his  death 
was  received  with  expressions  of 
profoundest  sorrow  not  only  from 
the  people  of  the  United  States, 
but  from  those  in  other  lands. 

87.  "Napoleon,  then  first  con- 
sul of  France, announced  the  death, 
of  Washington  to  the  French  army 

in  a  masterly  order  or  the  day  and   caused   the   standards   of  the 
troops  to  be  shrouded  in  crape  for  ten  days." 

88.  "Lord  Bridport,  commanding  the  Channel  Fleet  of  England, 
on  receipt  of  the  news,  immediately  lowered  his  flag  at  half  mast,  and 
his  example  was  followed  by  every  ship  in  the  fleet." 

89.  The  grandest  tributes  ever  paid  to  mortal  man  have  been  ren- 
dered by  England's  most  illustrious  representatives,  to  the  memory  of 
Washington,  and  have  been  echoed  by  the  most  eminent  men  in  ev- 
ery other  civilized  land. 

90.  But  the  proudest  tribute  of  all,  is  the  never-ceasing  and  ever- 
increasing  love,  with  which  Americans,whether  native  born  or  adopt- 
ed citizens,  cherish  for  the  splendid  character  and  immortal  deeds  of 
THE  P'ATHER  OF  HIS  COUNTRY. 


The  Book-Plate  of  Washington. 


i62  GEORGE  WASHINGTON. 

WASHINGTON'S  BIRTHDAY. 

The  spirit  of  patriotism  should  be  freely  cultivated  in  the  hearts^ 
of  our  younger  citizens,  and  one  of  the  best  methods  of  doing  this^  is 
by  the  celebration  of  the  birthdays  of  American  Heroes.  The  historic 
events  pertaining  to  the  stirring  times  wherein  our  nation  was  born, 
should  be  familiar  to  every  child,  as  well  as  every  man  and  woman  in 
this  broad  and  beautiful  land.  Washington's  birthday  is  a  national 
holiday  and  should  be  celebrated  in  every  school  aud  club. 

We  give  herewith,  a  few  suggestions  to  the  makers  of  programmes 
for  these  occasions. 

PROGRAMME  FOR  A  WASHINGTON  AFTERNOON. 

1.  Vocal  Music — "America." 

2.  Essay — "Washington  as  a  Surveyor."  (Twenty  Minutes.) 

3.  General  Discussion — "Washington  as  a  General."  (Thirty  Min- 
utes.) 

4.  Instrumental  Music — "Yankee  Doodle." 

5.  Declamation — "Washington's  Inaugural  Address."  (Twenty 
Minutes.) 

6.  Essay — "Washington's  First  Cabinet."  (Twenty  Minutes.) 

7.  Anecdotes  of  Washington — (Thirty  Minutes,  all  participat- 


ing.) 


Vocal  Music — "The  Star  Spangled  Banner." 


PROGRAMME  FOR  A  WASHINGTON  EVENING. 

1.  Vocal  Music — "Columbia." 

2.  Essay — "Washington  as  President."  (Twenty  Minutes.) 

3.  Solo — "The  Sword  of  Bunker  Hill." 

4.  Essay — "Washington's  First  Cabinet."  (Twenty  Minutes.) 

5.  Instrumental  Music — "Washington  Post  March." 

6.  Paper  or  Recitation — "Valley  Forge." 

7.  Essay — "Washington's  Second  Administration."(Twenty  Min- 
utes.) 

8.  Declamation — "Washington's  Farewell  Address"  (Portions  of 
it — Twenty  Minutes.) 

9.  Tributes  to  Washington — "All  participating.     (Twenty  Min- 
utes.) 

10.  Vocal  Music — "Rally  Round  the  Flag." 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON.  163 

QUESTIONS  FOR  REVIEW. 

What  is  said  of  ll'as/iington' s  fame,  greatness,  devotion,  etc.? 
Of  his  type  of  character?  Of  his  winning  success?  Of  his  early 
vrominejtce?  Of  his  descent  and  ancestors?  Of  his  brothers? 
Of  Washington  s  birthplace,  etc.?  Of  his  parents?  Of  the  hatchet 
story?  Of  Mary  Washington?  Of  the  education  of  Washington?  Of 
Ids  practical  knowledge?    Of  his  athletic  development? 

Of  his  desire  for  the  sea?  Of  his  land  surveying?  Of  his 
experiences  as  given  in  his  journal?  Of  the  demafid  for  his  services 
as  surveyor?  Of  his  acquisitions  of  land?  What  are  the  rules  of  con- 
duct he  copied  and  studied?  What  does  Lodge  say  ?  What  is  said  of 
Laurence  Washingto/t?  Of  George  *Washingto7i  s  appointment  as 
Major?  Of  the  voyage  to  Barbadoes?  By  Dr.  Toner?  Of  the  i>n- 
provetnent  manifested  by  his  later  journal?  Of  his  new  post  of  honor? 
By  the  historian,  Shea? 

]Vhat  measures  did  France  adopt  to  stay  the  progress  of  the 
English?  What  was  the  action  of  the  Ljidians?  What  is  said  of 
Washington  s  qualifications,  etc.?  Of  his  instructions?  Of  his  jour- 
neyings?    Of  his  reception  by  the  Lndians?   By  the  French? 

What  is  written  in  his  diary?  Of  the  effect  of  his  journal  7ipon 
the  public?  Of  the  action  of  Dinwiddle?  Of  the  campaign  to  the 
Ohio?  Of  the  surrender  of  Washington?  Of  the  rousing  to  action  by 
the  British  governjnejit?  Of  Braddock's  defeat?  Of  Washington's 
account  of  his  peril?  Of  the  story  told  by  Curtis?  \Miat  was  Wash- 
ington s  report  of  the  battle?  Of  his  return  to  Mount  Vernon?  Of 
the  expeditio7i  to  Fort  Duquesne?  Of  Washington  s  love  affairs? 
Of  his  meeting  Mrs.  Martha  Custis?  Of  his  marriage,  etc.?  Of 
Washington  s  wealth?    Ot  his  personal  appearatice? 

IVhat  is  said  of  the  ar7ny?  Of  Congress?  Of  place  hvnters? 
Of  Washington  s  judgment?  Of  the  Conway  Cabal ?  Of  the  army, 
its  members  and  cojnmafiders?  Of  the  want  of  powder?  Of  the  expe- 
ditioti  to  Montreal  and  Quebec? 

Of  the  cruisers?  Of  Mrs.  Washingtofi?  Of  the  Union  Flag? 
Of  Col.  Henry  Knox?  Of  the  attack  on  Boston?  Of  its  success?  Of 
General  LLowe?  Of  the  credit  due  Washi7igto7i?  Of  lVashi7igto7i's 
discipline  ?  Of  the  secret  of  Washingto7i's  success,  etc.  ?  Of  the  77iove- 
77ie7it  against  New  York?    Of  the  words  /;/  the  '■'Orderly  Book?" 

Of  the  battle  of  Long  Island?  Of  Washingto7i's  retreat?  Of  the 
various  ski r/nishes  of  Fo7-t  JVashington? 

What  description  is  giveji  of  Washingto7i  as  to  height  and 
weight?  As  to  eyes,  face,  ski/i  a7id  cou7ite7tance?  As  to  7na7iners 
gestures,  etc.? 

What  descriptio7i  does  Washingto7i  give  of  MountVer7ion?  What 
is  said  of  Washingt07i  as  a  worker,  far7ner,  etc.  ?  As  a  legislator?  As 
a  7/ie77iber  of  the  Continental  Congress?  Of  E7iglish  a7id  yit/ierica7i 
histo/y?  Of  lVashingto7i's  attitude  toward  Engla7id,  etc.?  Of  his 
a7ite-revolutionary  events  ? 

Of  Washi7igto7i's  fidelity  and  co7tfide7tcef    Offuly4,iyy6?   Of 


164  GEORGE  WASHINGTON. 

the  characteristics  of  the  principal  fiatriots?  Of  Washington's  rela- 
tion to  them  and  others?  Of  the  reply  of  Washington  zvhcn  appointed 
Coin»iander-i)i-Chief?  \  Vhat  didfohn  Bell  say  ?  Of  the  important  iiiili- 
taty  engagements?  Of  JVashington's  successes?  Of  the  difficulties  he 
had  to  meet  in  men  and  means  ?  Of  a  depreciated  currency?  Of  the 
equipment  of  the  army?  Of  the  help  of  the  Dutch,  etc.  ?  Of  the  want 
of  unity? 

Of  the  retreat  of  the  Continental  Army  ?  Of  the  retreat  to  Bruns- 
ivick,  etc.?  What  does  Washington  write  to  his  brother  fohn?  HVtat 
is  said  of  the  coming  of  his  Generals?  Of  crossing  the  Delaware?  Of 
the  movements  of  Cornwallis?  Of  the  battle  of  Princeton?  Of  the 
winter  vionths  of  lyy-/?  What  did  the  circular  letter  of  Washitigton 
say?  IVhat  is  said  of  the  battle  of  Brandywine?  Of  the  battle  at  Ger- 
mantown  ?  Of  the  surrender  of  Burgoyne?  Of  siccceeding  encounters? 
Of  ] 'alley  Forge?  What  were  Baron  Steuben  s  i)npressions?  What 
is  said  of  the  "Conway  Cabal?''  Of  North's  Conciliato?y  Bills?  Of 
foseph  Reed?  Of  Treaties  of  Co7nmerce  and  Alliance?  Of  George 
J II?  IVhat  did  Chatham  say?  What  is  said  of  Washiiigton  and 
Lee?  Of  Co7(nt  d'  Estaing?  Of  colonial  affairs?  Of  the  personal  ap- 
pearance of  Washington  ? 

What  is  said  of  British  raids?  Of  wintering  at  JMorristown? 
Of  succor  by  Lafayette?  Of  Washington  s  Fabian  policy?  Of  Bene- 
dict Arnold?  Of  the  condition  of  the  troops?  Of  Jl  'ashington's  birth- 
day? Of  the  ratif  cation  of  the  Articles  of  Confederation,  etc.?  Of 
Washington' s  feelings  ?    Of  brightening  prospects  ? 

Of  the  expedition  against  Lord  Cornwallis?  Of  the  surrender  of 
Cornwallis  ?  Of  the  period  of  inaction?  Of  negotiations  for  peace? 
Of  Washington  and  slavery  ? 

What  is  said  of  Washington  s  religio7is  life?  Of  his  regard  for 
education?  Of  the  years  following  the  Lievolution?  Of  the  Federal 
Convention?  Of  the  new  National  Constitution,  etc.?  Of  Washing- 
ton's relation  to  it?    Of  his  election  as  President?  Of  Ids  inauguration  ? 

Of  Washington' s first  administration?  Of  Washiitgtoti  s feelings 
tepon  assuming  office?  What  did  he  write?  What  is  said  of  his  in- 
augural address,  etc.?    JVhen  and  how  did  Washingtoji  die? 


SUBJECTS  FOR  SPECIAL  STUDY. 

The  Boyhood  of  M'asJiington. 

The  Ohio  Company. 

IVashington  as  an  Envoy  to  the  Comma?tder  of  the  French. 

The  Story  of  Fort  A'ecessity. 

Braddock' s  Campaign  and  Defeat. 

Martha  1 1  'ashi)igton. 

The  Story  of  Fort  Duquesne. 

The  First  Continental  Congress. 

The  Second  Continental  Congress. 

The  appointment  of  IVashington  as  Commander-in-Chief. 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON.  165 

CHRONOLOGICAL  EVENTS  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

1732     Born,  Bridge's  Creek,  Stafford  County,  Virginia,  Feb.  22. 

1748    Appointed  surveyor  by  Lord  Fairfax. 

1751     Appointed  Major  in  colonial  forces. 

1753  Sent  by  Governor  Dinvviddie  as  envoy  to  Commander  of  French 
forces  on  the  Ohio,  October  30. 

1754.  Appointed  Lieutenant-Colonel  of  the  Virginia  troops,  March, 
Capitulation  of  Fort  Necessity,  July  4. 

1755  Defeat  of  General  Braddock  July  9.  Appointed  Commander- 
in-chief  of  the  Virginia  forces, 

1757  Defended  the  Virginia  frontier 

1758  Occupation  of  Fort  Duquesne,  changed  to  Fort  Pitt,  Nov.  25. 

1759  Married  to  Mrs.  Martha  Custis.  January  6.     Took  his  seat  as 

member  of  the  Virginia  House  of  Burgesses. 
1770    Located  lands  on  the  Ohio  for  the  Virginia  troojis. 

1774  Member  of  the  first  Virginia  Convention,  August   i.     Took  his 

seat  as  member  of  the  Continental  Congress,  Philadelphia, 
September  5. 

1775  Member  of  the  second  Virginia  Convention,  March.     Member 

of  the  second  Continental  Congress,  Philadelphia  May  10. 
Appomted  Commander-in-chief  of  the  American  army,  June 
13.  Took  formal  command  of  the  army  at  Cambridge,  July  3. 
r776  Entered  Boston  at  the  head  of  his  army,  March  17.  Declaration 
of  Independendence,  July  4.  Battle  of  Brooklyn,  Long  Island, 
August  26.  Battle  of  Harlem  Plains,  New  York,  September 
16.  Battle  of  White  Plains,  New  York,  October  28.  Battle  of 
Trenton,  New  Jersey,  December  26. 

1777  Battle  of  Princeton,  New  Jersey,  January  3.     Battle  of  Brandy- 

w^ine.  Pa.,  September  II.  Battle  of  Germantown,  Pa.,  Octo- 
ber 4.     Valley  1*  orge. 

1778  Battle  of  Monmouth,  New  jersey,  June  28. 

1779  Battle  of  Stony  Point,  New  York,  July  16. 

1780  Execution  of  Major  Andre  as  a  spy,  October  2. 

1781  Battle  of  Yorktown,  Virginia,  and  surrender  of  Cornwallis. 

1782  Refused  to  be  considered  as  a  King,  May. 

1783  Persuaded  the  officers  of  the  army  to  be  patient  with  Congress, 

March  15.  Cessation  of  hostilities,  April  19.  The  army  dis- 
banded by  order  of  Congress,  November  2.  Took  leave  of 
his  officers,  December  4.  Resigned  his  commission  to  Con- 
gress, December  23. 

1784  Crossed  the  Alleghenies  and  visited  the  lands  beyond,  on  horse- 

back, 

1786  Shay's  Rebellion,  December. 

1787  Elected  Piesident  of  the  Constitutional  Convention,  Philadel- 

phia, May  25. 
^780    Elected  President  of  the  United  States,  January.     Inaugurated 
President  in  New  York,  April  30. 


1 66  GEORGE  WASHINGTON. 

i7gT     Removal  of  the  General  Government  from  New  York. 

1793     Re-elected  for  a  second  term  as  President,  taking  oath  of  office 

March  4. 
1799     Performed  last  public  act  Dec.  12.     Died  on  the  evening  of 

Dec.  14.     Buried  at  Mt.  Vernon  Dec.  18. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY. 


The  older  biographies  of  Washington,  by  Sparks,  Irving,  and  oth- 
ers, are  no  longer  satisfactory.     The  reader  is  advised  to  consuh   the 
following  works: 
"George  Washington."     By  H.  C.  Lodge.   2  vols.     Houghton,  MifHin 

&  Co.,  Boston,  1889. 
"George  Washington."    By  Woodward  Wilson.     Harper  &  Brothers, 

New  York,  1897. 
"The  Life  of  George  Washington   Studied  Anew."     By  E.  E.  Hale. 

G.  P.  Putnam's  Son's,  New  York,  1888. 
"History  of  the  Washington  Family."     By  Albert  Welles.     New  York 

Society  Library,  1879. 
"Recollections  of  Washington."     By  G.  W.  Custis.   Derby  and  Jack- 
son, New  York,  i860. 
"Ear'y  Sketches  of  George  Washington."     Reprinted  with  notes  by 

W.  S.  Baker.     J.  B.  Lippincott  Company,  Philadelphia,  1894. 
"Itinerary  of  General  Washington,"  1775-1783.     By  W.   S.  Baker.     J 

B.  Lippincott  Company,  Philadelphia,  1892. 
"Washington  after  the  Revolution,"  1784-1799.     By  W.   S.  Baker.    J 

B.  Lippincott  Company,  Philadelphia,  1898. 
"Washington's  Journal,"  1747-8.     Edited  by  J,  M.  Toner,  M.  D.,  AI 

bany,  N.,Y.     Joel  Munsell's  Sons,  1892. 
"Washington's  Journal,"  1751-2.     Edited  by  J.  M.  Toner,  M.  D.,  AI 

bany,  N.  Y.     Joel  Munsell's  Sons,  1892. 
"Washington's  Journal,"  1754.     FMited  by  J.  M.  Toner,  M.  D.,  Albany, 

N.  Y.    Joel  Munsell's  Sons,  1893. 
"The  Writings  of  George  Washington."   Edited  by  W.  C.  Ford.     1\ 

vols,   G.  P.  Putnam's  Sons,  New  York,  1889-1893. 
"Old  South  Leaflets,"  Nos.  i,  2,  3,  4,  5,  10. 
"Narrative  and  Critical  History  of  America."     Edited  by  Justin  Win- 

sor.     Vols,  v.,  VI.     Houghton,  Mifflin  &  Co  ,  Boston,  1888. 
"The  Critical  Period  of  American  History,"  1783-1789.    By  John  Fiske 

Houghton,  Mififlin  &  Co.,  Boston,  1888. 
"The  Story  of  the  Revolution."     By  H.  C.  Lodge.    2  vols.     Charleii 

Scribners  Sons,  New  York,  1898. 
"Genera.  Washington."     By  Ik  J.  Johnson.  New  York,  1894. 
**The  True  George  Washington."     By  P.  L.  Ford,  Philadelphia,  1896 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON.  167 

EXTRACT  FROM  WASHINGTON'S  INAUGURAL  ADDRESS. 

"Fellow-Citizens  of  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representa- 
tives:" 

"Among  the  viccissitudes  incident  to  life,  no  event  could  have 
filled  me  with  greater  anxieties,  than  that  of  which  the  notification 
was  transmitted  by  your  order,  and  received  on  the  14th  day  of  this 
month.  On  the  one  hand,  I  was  summoned  by  my  country,  whose 
voice  I  can  never  hear  but  with  veneration  and  love,  from  a  retreat 
which  I  had  chosen  with  the  fondest  predilection,  and,  in  my  flattering 
hopes,  with  an  immutable  decision,  as  the  asylum  of  my  declining 
years;  a  retreat  which  was  rendered  every  day  more  necessary  and 
more  dear  to  me,  by  the  addition  of  habit  to  inclination,  and  of  fre- 
quent interruptions  in  my  health  to  the  gradual  waste  committed  on 
it  by  time.  On  the  other  hand,  the  magnitude  and  difficulty  of  the 
trust,  to  which  the  voice  of  my  country  called  me,  being  sufficient  to 
awaken  in  the  wisest  and  most  experienced  of  her  citizens,  a  distrust- 
ful scrutiny  into  his  qualifications,  could  not  but  overwhelm  with  des- 
pondency one,  who,  inheriting  inferior  endowments  from  nature,  and 
unpracticed  in  the  duties  of  civil  administration,  ought  16  be  peculiar- 
ly conscious  of  his  own  deficiencies. 

"In  this  conflict  of  emotions,  all  I  dare  aver  is,  that  it  has  been  my 
faithful  study  to  collect  my  duty  from  a  just  appreciation  of  every  cir- 
cumstance by  which  it  might  be  affected.  All  I  dare  hope  is,  that,  if 
in  executing  this  task,  I  have  been  too  much  swayed  by  a  grateful  re- 
membrance of  former  instances,  or  by  an  affectionate  sensibility  to 
this  transcendent  proof  of  the  confidence  of  my  fellow-citizens;  and 
have  thence  too  little  consulted  my  capacity,  as  well  as  disinclination 
for  the  weighty  and  untried  cares  before  me;  my  error  will  be  pallia- 
ted by  the  motives  which  misled  me,  and  its  consequences  be  judged 
by  my  country  with  some  share  of  the  partiality  in  which  they  origi- 
nated. 

"Such  being  the  impressions  under  which  I  have,  in  obedience  to 
the  public  summons,  repaired  to  the  present  station,  it  would  be  pe- 
culiarly improper  to  omit,  in  the  first  official  act,  my  fervent  supplica- 
tions to  that  Almighty  Being,  who  rules  over  the  universe,  who  pre- 
sides in  the  councils  of  nations,  and  whose  providential  aids  can  sup- 
ply every  human  defect,  that  his  benediction  may  consecrate  to  the 
liberties  and  happiness  of  the  people  of  the  United  States,  a  govern- 
ment instituted  by  themselves  for  these  essential  purposes,  and  may 
enable  every  instrument  employed  in  its  administration.to  execute  with 
success  the  functions  allotted  to  his  charge. 

"In  tendering  this  homage  to  the  great  Author  of  every  public  and 
private  good,  I  assure  myself  that  it  expresses  your  sentiments  not 
less  than  my  own;  nor  those  of  my  fellow-citizens  at  large,  less  than 
either.  No  people  can  be  bound  to  acknowledge  and  adore  the  In- 
visible Hand,  which  conducts  the  affairs  of  men,  more  than  the  people 
of  the  United  States.     Every  step,  by  which  they  have  advanced  to 


i68  GEORGE  WASHINGTON. 

the  character  of  an  independent  Nation,  seems  to  have  been  distin- 
guished  by  some  token  of  providential  agency. 

"And,  in  the  important  revolution  just  accomplished  in  the  system 
of  their  united  government,  the  tranquil  deliberations  and  voluntary 
consent  of  so  many  distinct  communities,  from  which  the  event  has  re- 
sulted, can  not  be  compared  with  the  means  by  which  most  govern- 
ments have  been  established,  without  some  return  of  pious  gratitude 
along  with  an  humble  anticipation  of  the  future  blessings  which  the 
past  seems  to  presage. 

"These  reflections,  rising  out  of  the  present  crisis,  have  forced 
themselves  upon  my  mind  too  strongly  to  be  suppressed.  You  will 
join  with  me,  I  trust,  in  thinking  that  there  are  none,  under  the  influ- 
ence of  which,the  proceedings  of  anew  and  free  government  can  more 
auspiciously  begin." 

EXTRACTS  FROM  WASHINGTON'S  FAREWELL  ADDRESS. 

"The  unity  of  Government,  which  constitutes  you  one  people,  is 
also  now  dear  to  you.  It  is  justly  so;  for  it  is  a  main  pillar  in  the  edi- 
fice of  your  real  independence,  the  support  of  your  tranquility  at 
home,  your  peace  abroad;  of  your  safety;  of  your  prosperity;  of  that 
very  Liberty,  which  you  so  highly  prize."     *    *     *    * 

"For  this  you  have  every  inducement  of  sympathy  and  interest. 
Citizens,  by  birth  and  choice,  of  a  common  country,  that  country  has 
a  right  to  concentrate  your  affections.  The  name  of  American,  which 
belongs  to  you,  in  your  national  capacity,  must  always  exalt  the  just 
pride  of  Patriotism,  more  than  any  appellation  derived  from  local  dis- 
criminations. With  slight  shades  of  difference;  you  have  the  same 
religion,  manners,  habits,  and  political  principles.  You  have  in  a 
common  cause,  fought  and  triumphed  together;  the  Independence  and 
Liberty  you  possess  are  the  work  of  joint  co  msels,  and  joint  efforts, 
of  common  dangers,  sufferings,  and  successes. 

"But  these  considerations,  however  powerfully  they  address  them- 
selves to  your  sensibility,  are  greatly  outweighed  by  those,  which  ap- 
ply more  immediately  to  your  interest.  Here  every  portion  of  our 
country  finds  the  most  commanding  motives  for  carefully  guarding 
and  preserving  the  Union  of  the  whole. 

"The  North,  in  an  unrestrained  intercourse  with  the  South,  pro- 
tected by  the  equal  laws  of  a  common  government,  finds,  in  the  pro- 
ductions of  the  latter  great  additional  resources  of  maratime  and  com- 
mercial enterprise,  and  precious  materials  of  manufacturing  industry. 

"The  South,  in  the  same  intercourse,  benefiting  by  the  agency  of 
the  North,  sees  its  agriculture  grow  and  its  commerce  expand.  Turn- 
ing partly  into  its  own  channels  the  seamen  of  the  North,  it  finds  its 
particular  navigation  invigorated;  and,  while  it  contributes,  in  differ- 
ent ways,  to  nourish  and  increase  the  general  mass  of  the  national 
navigation,  it  looks  forward  to  the  protection  of  a  maritime  strength: 
to  which  itself  is  unequally  adapted. 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON.  169 

"The  East,  in  a  like  intercourse  with  the  West,  already  finds,  and 
in  the  progressive  improvement  of  interior  communications,  by  land 
and  water,  will  more  and  more  find,  a  valuable  vent  for  the  commodi- 
ties which  it  brings  from  abroad,  or  manufactures  at  home. 

"The  West  derives  from  the  East  supplies  requisite  to  its  growth 
and  comfort,  and,  what  is  perhaps  of  still  greater  consequence,  it  must 
of  necessity  owe  the  secure  enjoyment  of  indispensable  outlets  for  its 
own  productions  to  the  weight,  influence,  and  the  future  maratime 
strength  of  the  Atlantic  side  of  the  Union,  directed  by  an  indissoluble 
community  of  interest  as  one  nation. 

"Any  other  tenure  by  which  the  West  can  hold  this  essential  ad- 
vantage, whether  derived  from  its  own  separate  strength,  or  from  an 
apostate  and  unnatural  connexion  with  any  foreign  power,  must  be  in- 
trinsically precarious."    *    *    *    * 

"Of  all  the  dispositions  and  habits,  which  lead  to  political  pros- 
perity, Religion  and  Morality  are  indispensable  supports.  In  vain 
would  that  man  claim  the  tribute  of  Patriotism,  who  should  labor  to 
subvert  these  great  pillars  of  human  happiness,  these  firmest  props  of 
the  duties  of  Men  and  Citizens.  The  mere  Politician,  equally  with 
the  pious  man,  ought  to  respect  and  cherish  them.  A  volume  could 
not  trace  all  their  connexions  with  private  and  public  felicity. 

"Let  it  simply  be  asked,  Where  is  the  security  for  property,  for 
reputation,  for  life,  if  the  sense  of  religious  obligation  <^^j'^r/the  oaths, 
which  are  the  instruments  of  investigation  in  Courts  of  Justice?  And 
let  us  with  caution  indulge  the  supposition,  that  morality  can  be  main- 
tained without  religion.  Whatever  may  be  conceded  to  the  influence 
of  refined  education  on  minds  of  peculiar  structure,  reason  and  ex- 
perience both  forbid  us  to  expect,  that  national  morality  can  prevail 
in  exclusion  of  religious  principle. 

"It  is  substantially  true,  that  virtue  or  morality  is  a  necessary" 
spring  of  popular  government.  The  rule,  indeed,  extends  with  more 
or  less  force  to  every  species  of  free  government.  Who,  that  is  a  sin- 
cere friend  to  it,  can  look  with  indifference  upon  attempts  to  shake 
the  foundation  of  the  fabric? 

"Promote,  then,  as  an  object  of  primary  importance,  institutions 
for  the  general  diffusion  of  knowledge.  In  proportion  as  the  struct- 
ure of  a  government  gives  force  to  public  opinion,  it  is  essential  that 
public  opinion  should  be  enlightened."  *    *    *    * 

"Though  in  reviewing  the  incidents  of  my  administration,  I  am 
unconscious  of  intentional  error,  I  am  nevertheless  too  sensible  of  any 
defects  not  to  think  it  probable  that  I  have  committed  many  errors. 
Whatever  they  may  be,  I  fervently  beseech  the  Almighty  to  avert  or 
mitigate  the  evils  to  which  they  may  tend.  I  also  carry  in  me  the 
hope  that  my  country  shall  never  cease  to  view  them  with  indulgence; 
and  that,  after  forty-five  years  of  my  life  dedicated  to  its  service  with 
an  upright  zeal,  the  faults  of  incompetent  abilities  will  be  consigned 
Ni  "^blivion.  as  myself  must  soon  be  to  the  mansions  of  rest." 


17©  GEORGE  WASHINGTON. 


WASHINGTON'S  WILL. 


IN  THE   NAMZ  OF  GOD,   AMEN. 

I,  George  Washington,  of  !Moimt  Vernon,  a  citizen  of  the  United 
States,  and  lately  President  of  the  same,  do  make,  ordain,  and  de- 
clare this  instrument,  which  is  written  with  my  own  hand,  and  every 
page  thereof  subscribed  with  my  name,*  to  be  my  last  Will  and 
Testament,  revoking  all  others. 

Imprimis. — All  my  debts,  of  which  there  are  but  few,  and  none 
of  magnitude,  are  to  be  punctually  and  speedily  paid,  and  the  legac- 
ies, hereinafter  bequeathed,  are  to  be  discharged  as  soon  as  circum- 
stances will  permit,  and  in  the  manner  directed. 

Item. — To  my  dearly  beloved  wife,  Martha  Washingto7i,  I  give  and 
bequeath  the  use,  profit,  and  benefit,  of  my  whole  estate  real  and 
personal,  for  the  term  of  her  natural  life,  except  such  parts  thereof 
as  are  specially  disposed  of  hereafter.  My  improved  lot  in  the  town 
of  Alexandria,  situated  on  Pitt  and  Cameron  streets,  I  give  to  her 
and  her  heirs  forever ;  as  I  also  do  my  liousehold  and  kitchen  furni- 
ture of  every  sort  and  kind,  with  the  liquors  and  groceries  which 
may  be  on  hand  at  the  time  of  my  decease,  to  be  used  and  disposed 
of  as  she  may  think  proper. 

Item. — Upon  the  decease  of  my  wife,  it  is  my  will  and  desire  that 
all  the  slaves  whom  I  hold  in  my  oun  riffht  shall  receive  their  free- 
dom. To  emancipate  them  during  her  life  would,  though  earnestly 
wished  by  me,  be  attended  with  such  insuperable  difficulties,  on  ac- 
count of  their  intermixture  by  marriage  with  the  dower  negroes, 
as  to  excite  the  most  painful  sensations,  if  not  disagreeable  conse- 
quences to  the  latter,  wliile  both  descriptions  are  in  the  occupancy 
of  the  same  proprietor;  it  not  being  in  my  power,  under  the  tenure 
by  which  tlie  dower  negroes  are  lield  to  manumit  them.  And  where- 
as, among  those  who  will  receive  freedom  according  this  device,  there 
may  be  some,  who.  from  old  age.  or  bodily  infirmities,  and  others, 
who,  on  account  of  their  infancy,  will  be  unable  to  support  them- 
selves, it  is  my  will  and  desire,  that  all.  who  come  under  the  first 
and  second  description,  shall  be  comfortably  clothed  and  fed  by  ray 
heirs  while  they  live;  and  that  such  of  tlie  latter  description  as" have 
no  parents  living,  or,  if  living,  are  unable  or  unwilling  to  provide 
for  them,  shall  be  bound  by  the  court  until  they  shall  arrive  at  the 
age  of  twenty-five  years;  and,  in  cases  where  no  record  can  be  pro- 
duced, whereby  their  ages  can  be  ascertained,  the  judgment  of  the 
court,  upon  its  own  view  of  the  subject,  shall  be  adequate  and  final. 


*Tn  the  original  maniisoript,  George  W.\.shington's  name  was  written 
at  the  bottom  of  every  page. 


GEORGE   WASHINGTON.  I71 

rhe  negroes  thus  bound,  are  (by  their  masters  and  mistresses)  to 
be  taught  to  read  and  write,  and  to  be  brought  up  to  some  useful 
occupation,  agreeably  to  the  laws  of  the  Commonwealth  of  Virginia, 
providing  for  the  support  of  orphan  and  other  poor  children.  And 
I  do  hereby  expressly  forbid  the  sale  or  transportation  out  of  the 
said  Commonwealth,  of  any  slave  I  may  die  possessed  of,  under  any 
pretense  whatsoever.  And  I  do,  moreover,  most  pointedly  and  most 
solemnly  enjoin  it  upon  my  executors  hereafter  named,  or  the  sur- 
vivors of  them,  to  see  that  this  clause  respecting  slaves,  and  every 
part  thereof,  be  religiously  fulfilled  at  the  epoch  at  which  it  is  di- 
rected to  take  place,  without  evasion,  neglect,  or  delay,  after  the 
crops  which  may  then  be  on  the  ground  are  harvested,  particularly 
as  it  respects  the  aged  and  infirm;  seeing  that  a  regular  and  perma- 
nent fund  be  established  for  tlieir  support,  as  long  as  there  are  sub- 
'jeets  requiring  it;  not  trusting  to  the  uncertain  provision  to  be 
made  by  individuals.  And  to  my  mulatto  man,  William,  calling 
himself  William  Lcc,  I  give  immediate  freedom,  or,  if  he  should  pre- 
fer it,  (on  account  of  the  accidents  which  have  befallen  him,  and 
which  have  rendered  him  incapable  of  walking,  or  of  any  active 
employment.)  to  remain  in  the  situation  he  now  is,  it  shall  be 
optional  in  him  to  do  so;  in  cither  case,  however,  I  allow  him  an 
annuity  of  thirty  dollars,  during  his  natural  life,  which  shall  be 
independent  of  the  victuals  and  clothes  he  has  been  accustomed  to 
receive,  if  he  chooses  the  last  alternative;  but  in  full  with  his  free- 
dom, if  he  prefers  the  first;  and  this  I  give  him  as  a  testimony  of 
nxy  sense  of  his  attachment  to  me,  and  for  his  faithful  services  dur- 
ing the  Revolutionary  War. 

Item. — To  the  trustees  (governors,  or  by  whatsoever  other  name 
they  may  be  designated)  of  the  Academy  in  the  town  of  Alexandria, 
I  give  and  bequeatli.  in  trust,  four  thousand  dollars,  or  in  other 
words,  twenty  of  the  shares  which  I  hold  in  the  Bank  of  Alexandria, 
towards  the  support  of  a  free  school,  established  at  and  annexed  to, 
the  said  Academy,  for  the  ])urpose  of  educating  such  orphan  children, 
or  the  children  of  such  other  poor  and  indigent  persons,  who  are 
unable  to  accomplish  it  witli  their  own  means,  and  who,  in  the 
judgment  of  the  trustees  of  the  said  seminary,  are  best  entitled  to 
the  benefit  of  this  donation.  The  aforesaid  twenty  shares  I  give  and 
bequeath  in  perpetuity;  the  dividends  only  of  which  are  to  be  drawn 
for  and  applied,  by  the  said  trustees  for  the  time  being,  for  the 
uses  above  mentioned ;  the  stock  to  remain  entire  and  untouched, 
unless  indications  of  failure  of  the  said  bank  should  be  so  apparent, 
or  a  discontinuance  thereof,  should  render  a  removal  of  this  fund 
necessary.  In  either  of  these  cases,  the  amount  of  the  stock  here 
devised  is  to  be  vested  in  some  other  bank  or  public  institution, 
whereby  the  interest  may  with  regularity  and  certainty  be  drawn 
and  applied  as  above.  And  to  prevent  misconception,  my  meaning 
is,  and  is  hereby  declared  to  be.  that  these  twenty  shares  are  in  lieu 
of,  and  not  in  "addition  to,  the  thousand  pounds  given  by  a  missive 


172  GEORGE   WASHINGTON. 

letter  some  years   ago,   in   consequence   wliereof   an   annuity   of  fifty 
pounds  lias  since  been  paid  towards  the  support  of  this  institution. 

Item'. — Whereas  by  law  of  the  Conunonwealth  of  Virginia,  enacted 
in  the  year  1785,  the  legislature  thereof  was  pleased,  as  an  evidence 
of  its  approbation  of  the  services  1  had  rendered  the  public  during 
the  Revolution,  and  partly,  I  believe,  in  consideration  of  my  having 
suggested  the  vast  advantages  which  the  community  would  derive 
f'lOm  the  extension  of  its  inland  navigation  under  legislative  patron- 
age, to  present  me  with  one  hundred  shares,  of  one  hundred  dollars 
each,  in  the  incorporated  Company,  established  for  the  purpose  of 
extending  the  navigation  of  James  River  from  the  tide  water  to  the 
mountains;  and  also  with  fifty  shares,  of  £100  sterling  each,  in  the 
corporation  of  another  company,  likewise  established  for  the  similar 
purpose  of  opening  the  navigation  of  the  River  Potomac  from  the 
tide  water  to  Fort  Cumberland;  the  acceptance  of  which,  although 
the  offer  was  highly  honorable  and  grateful  to  my  feelings,  was 
refused,  as  inconsistent  with  a  principle  which  I  had  adopted  and 
had  never  departed  from,  viz.,  not  to  receive  pecuniary  compensation 
for  any  services  I  could  render  my  country  in  its  arduous  struggle 
with  Great  Britain  for  its  rights,  and  because  I  had  evaded  similar 
propositions  from  other  States  in  the  Union;  Adding  to  this  refusal, 
however,  an  intimation,  that,  if  it  should  be  the  pleasure  of  the 
legislature  to  permit  me  to  appropriate  the  said  shares  to  public 
uses,  I  would  receive  them  on  those  terms  with  due  sensibility;  and 
this  it  having  consented  to,  in  flattering  terms,  as  will  appear  by  a 
subsequent  law,  and  sundry  resolutions,  in  the  most  ample  and  hon- 
orable manner;  I  proceed  after  this  recital,  for  the  more  correct  un- 
derstanding of  the  case,  to  declare;  that,  as  it  has  always  been 
a  source  of  serious  regret  Avith  me,  to  see  the  youth  of  these 
United  States  sent  to  foreign  countries  for  the  purpose  of  edu- 
cation, often  before  their  minds  were  formed,  or  they  had  imbibed 
any  adequate  ideas  of  the  happiness  of  their  own;  contracting  too 
frequently,  not  only  habits  of  dissipation  and  extravagance,  but  prin- 
ciples unfriendly  to  republican  government,  and  to  the  true  and  genu- 
ine liberties  of  mankind,  Avhich  thereafter  are  rarely  overcome;  for 
these  reasons  it  has  been  my  ardent  wish  to  see  a  plan  devised  on  a 
liberal  scale,  which  would  have  a  tendency  to  spread  systematic  ideas 
through  all  parts  of  this  rising  empire,  thereby  to  do  away  local 
attachments  and  State  prejudices,  as  far  as  the  nature  of  things 
would,  or  indeed  ought  to  admit,  from  our  national  councils.  Look- 
ing anxiously  forward  to  the  accomplishment  of  so  desirable  an  ob- 
ject as  this  is  (in  my  estimation),  my  mind  has  not  been  able  to 
contemplate  any  plan  more  likely  to  effect  the  measure,  than  the 
establishment  of  a  University  in  a  central  part  of  the  United  States, 
to  which  the  youths  of  fortune  and  talents  from  all  parts  thereof 
may  be  sent  for  the  completion  of  their  education,  in  all  the  branches 
of  polite  litoratui'e,  in  arts  and  sciences,  in  acquiring  knowledge  in 
the  princijiles  of  politics  and  good  government,  and,  as  a  matter  of 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON.  I73 

Infinite  importance  in  my  judgment,  by  associating  with  each  other 
and  forming  friendships  in  juvenile  years,  be  enabled  to  free  them- 
selves in  a  proper  degree  from  those  local  prejudices  and  habitual 
jealousies  which  have  just  been  mentioned,  and  whicli,  when  carried 
to  excess,  are  never-failing  sources  of  disquietude  to  the  public  mind, 
and  pregnant  of  mischevious  consequences  to  this  country.  Under 
these  impressions,  so  fully  dilated. 

Item. — I  give  and  bequeath,  in  perpetuity,  the  fifty  shares  which 
I  hold  in  the  Potomac  company  (under  the  aforesaid  acts  of  the 
Legislature  of  Virginia,)  towards  the  endowment  of  a  University,  to 
be  established  within  the  limits  of  the  District  of  Columbia,  under 
the  auspices  of  the  general  government,  if  that  government  should 
incline  to  extend  a  fostering  hand  towards  it;  and,  until  such  semi- 
nary is  established,  and  the  funds  arising  on  these  shares  shall  be 
required  for  its  support,  my  further  will  and  desire  is,  that  the 
profit  accruing  therefrom  shall,  whenever  the  dividends  are  made, 
be  laid  out  in  purchasing  stock  in  the  bank  of  Columbia,  or  some 
other  bank,  at  tlie  discretion  of  my  executors,  or  by  the  Treasurer  of 
the  United  States  for  the  time  being  under  the  direction  of  Con- 
gress, provided  that  honorable  body  should  patronize  the  meas- 
ure; and  the  dividends  proceeding  from  the  purchase  of  such  stock 
are  to  be  vested  in  more  stock,  and  so  on,  until  a  sum  adequate  to 
the  accomplishment  of  the  object  is  obtained,  of  which  I  have  not 
the  smallest  doubt,  before  many  years  pass  away,  even  if  no  aid  or 
encouragement  is  given  by  the  legislative  authority,  or  from  any 
other  source. 

Item. — The  hundred  shares  which  I  hold  in  the  James  River  Com- 
pany, I  have  given  and  now  confirm  in  perpetuity,  to  and  for  the 
use  and  benefit  of  Liberty  Hall  Academy,  in  the  County  of  Rock- 
bridge in  the  Commonwealth  of  Virginia. 

Item. — I  release,  exonerate,  and  discharge  the  estate  of  my  de- 
ceased brother,  tiamuel  Washington,  from  the  payment  of  the  money 
which  is  due  to  me  for  the  land  I  sold  to  Philip  Pendleton  (lying  in 
the  county  of  Berkeley),  who  assigned  the  same  to  him,  the  said 
Samuel,  who  by  agreement  was  to  pay  me  therefor.  And  whereas, 
by  some  contract  (the  purport  of  which  was  never  communicated  to 
me)  between  the  said  Sumucl  and  his  son,  Thornton  Washington,  the 
latter  became  possessed  of  the  aforesaid  land,  without  any  conveyance 
having  passed  from  me,  either  to  the  said  Pendleton,  the  said  Sam- 
uel or  the  said  Thornton,  and  without  any  consideration  having  been 
made,  by  which  neglect  neither  the  legal  nor  equitable  title  has  been 
alienated ;  it  rests  therefore  with  me  to  declare  my  intentions  con- 
cerning the  premises,  and  these  are,  to  give  and  bequeath  the  said 
land  to  whomsoever  the  said  Thornton  Washington  (who  is  also 
dead)  devised  the  same,  or  to  his  heirs  forever,  if  he  died  intestate; 
exonerating  the  estate  of  the  said  Thornton,  equally  with  that  of  the 
said  Samuel,  from  payment  of  the  purchase  money,  which,  with  inter- 
est,   agreeably   to    the    original    contract   with    the    said   Pendleton, 


174  GEORGE  WASHINGTON. 

would  amount  to  more  than  a  thousand  pounds.  And  whereas  two 
other  sons  of  my  said  deceased  brother  Soiiiticl,  nanudy,  (Irorge  titep- 
toe  Washington  and  Lairrcncv  An<jii.sti)iv  Washington,  were,  by 
the  decease  of  tliose  to  whose  care  they  were  committed,  brought 
under  my  protection,  and,  in  consequence,  have  occasioned  advances 
on  my  part  for  tlieir  education  at  college  and  other  schools,  for  their 
board,  clothing,  and  other  incidental  expenses,  to  the  amount  of  near 
five  thousand  dollars,  over  and  above  the  sums  furnished  by  their 
estate,  which  sum  it  may  be  inconvenient  for  them  or  their  fathers's 
estate  to  refund;  I  do  for  these  reasons  acquit  them  and  the  said 
estate  from  the  payment  thereof,  my  intention  being  that  all  ac- 
counts between  them  and  me,  and  their  father's  estate  and  me,  shall 
st.ind  balanced. 

Item. — Tlie  balance  due  to  me  from  the  estate  of  Bartholomeio 
Dandridge,  deceased  (my  wife's  brother),  and  which  amounted  on  the 
first  day  of  October,  1795,  to  four  hundred  and  twenty-five  pounds 
(as  will  appear  by  the  account  rendered  by  his  deceased  son,  John 
Dandridge,  who  was  the  acting  executor  of  his  father's  will),  I  re- 
lease and  acquit  from  the  payment  thereof.  And  the  negroes,  then 
thirty-three  in  number,  formerly  belonging  to  tlie  said  estate,  who 
were  taken  in  execution,  sold,  and  purchased  in  on  my  account,  in 
the  year  [blank],  and  ever  since  have  remained  in  the  possession  and 
to  the  use  of  Mary,  widow  of  the  said  Bartholomew  Dandridge,  with 
their  increase,  it  is  my  will  and  desire  sliall  continue  and  be  in  her 
possession,  without  paying  hire,  or  making  compensation  for  the 
same  for  tlie  time  past,  or  to  come,  during  her  natural  life;  at 
the  expiration  of  which,  I  direct  that  all  of  them  who  are  forty 
years  old  and  upwards  shall  receive  their  freedom,  and  all  under  that 
age  and  above  sixteen  shall  serve  seven  years  and  no  longer,  and 
all  under  sixteen  years  shall  serve  until  they  are  twenty-five  years 
of  age,  and  then  be  free.  And,  to  avoid  disputes  respecting  the  ages 
of  any  of  these  negroes,  they  are  to  be  taken  into  the  court  of  the 
county  in  which  they  reside,  and  the  judgment  thereof,  in  this  rela- 
tion, shall  be  final  and  record  thereof  made,  which  may  be  adduced 
as  evidence  at  any  time  thereafter  if  disi)utes  should  arise  concerning 
the  same.  And  I  further  direct,  that  the  heirs  of  the  said  Bartholo- 
meio Dandridge  sliall  equally  share  the  benefits  arising  from  the 
services  of  the  said  negroes  according  to  the  tenor  of  this  devise, 
upon  the  decease  of  their  mother. 

Itemi. — If  Charles  Garter,  who  intermarried  with  my  niece  Betty 
Letris,  is  not  sufficiently  secured  in  the  title  to  the  lots  he  had  ot 
me  in  the  town  of  Fredericksburg,  it  is  my  will  and  desire  that  my 
executors  shall  make  such  conveyances  of  them  as  the  law  requires 
to  render  it  perfect. 

Item. — To  my  nephew,  William  Angnstine  Washington,  and  hi? 
heirs,  (if  he  should  conceive  them  to  be  objects  worth  prosecuting), 
a  lot  in  the  town  of  Manchester,  (opposite  to  Richmond,)  No.  265 
drawn  on  my  sole  account,  and  also  the  tenth  of  one  or  two  hun- 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON.  1/5 

dred  acre  lots,  and  two  or  three  half-acre  lots,  in  the  city  and  vicin- 
ity of  Ricliniond,  drawn  in  partnershij)  with  nine  others,  all  in  the 
lottery  of  the  deceased  William  Byrd,  are  given;  as  is  also  a  lot 
which  I  purchased  of  John  Hood,  conveyed  by  William  Willie  and 
Samuel  Gordon,  trustees  of  the  said  Johti  Hood,  nvimbered  129,  in 
the  town  of  Edinburgh,  in  the  County  of  Prince  George,  State  of 
Virginia. 

Item. — To  my  nephew,  Btishrod  Washington,*  I  give  and  bequeath 
all  the  papers  in  my  possession  which  relate  to  my  civil  and  military 
administration  of  the  affairs  of  this  country. 

I  leave  to  him  also  such  of  my  private  papers  as  are  worth  pre- 
serving; and  at  the  decease  of  my  wife,  and  before,  if  she  is  not  in- 
clined to  retain  them,  I  give  and  bequeath  my  library  of  books  and 
pamphlets  of  every  kind. 

Item. — Having  sold  lands  which  I  possessed  in  the  State  of  Penn- 
sylvania and  part  of  a  tract  held  in  equal  right  with  George  Clinton, 
late  governor  of  New  York,  in  the  State  of  New  York,  my  share 
of  land  and  interest  in  the  Great  Dismal  Swamp,  and  a  tract  of 
land  which  I  owned  in  the  county  of  Gloucester, — withholding  the 
legal  titles  thereto,  until  the  consideration  money  should  be  paid — 
and  having  moreover  leased  and  conditionally  sold  (as  will  appear 
by  the  tenor  of  the  said  lease)  all  my  lands  upon  the  Great  Kenhawa, 
and  a  tract  upon  Difficult  Run,  in  the  County  of  Loiuloun,  it  is  my 
will  and  direction,  that  whensoever  the  contracts  are  fully  and  re- 
spectively complied  with,  according  to  the  spirit,  true  intent,  and 
meaning  thereof,  on  the  part  of  the  purchasers,  their  heirs  or  as- 
signs, that  then,  and  in  that  case,  conveyances  are  to  be  made,  agree- 
ably to  the  terms  of  the  said  contracts,  and  the  money  arising 
therefrom,  when  paid,  to  be  vested  in  bank  stock;  the  dividends 
whereof,  as  of  that  also  which  is  already  vested  therein,  are  to 
inure  to  my  said  wife  during  her  life;  but  the  stock  itself  is  to 
remain  and  be  subject  to  the  general  distribution  hereafter  directed. 

Item.- — To  the  Earl  of  Buchan  I  recommit  the  "Box  made  of  the 
Oak  that  sheltered  the  great  Sir  William  W^allace,  after  the  battle 
of  Falkirk,"  presented  to  me  by  his  Lordship,  in  terms  too  flattering 
for  me  to  repeat,  with  a  request  "to  pass  it,  on  the  event  of  my  de- 
cease, to  the  man  in  my  country,  who  should  appear  to  merit  it  best, 
upon  the  same  conditions  that  have  induced  him  to  send  it  to  me." 
Whether  easy  or  not  to  select  the  man,  who  might  comport  with  his 
Lordship's  opinion  in  this  respect,  is  not  for  me  to  say;  but,  con- 
ceiving that  no  disposition  of  this  valuable  curiosity  can  be  more 
eligible  than  the  recommitment  of  it  to  his  own  cabinet,  agreeably  to 
the  original  design  of  the  Goldsmiths'  Company  of  Edinburgh,  who 
presented  it  to  him,  and,  at  his  request,  consented  that  it  should  be 


•As  General  Washington  never  had  any  children,  he  gave  the  larger 
part  of  his  propert.v  to  his  nephews  and  nieces,  and  the  children  of  Mrs. 

,TT__,  .__^._,^  —   ...  , —  ^..^^  -"-ge.     The  principal  heir t>„„i,„^» 

Augustine  Washington. 


part  or  his  propert.v  to  his  nephews  anu ^^„,  „„„   — ^  ^_  --  

Washington's  son  hy  her  first  marriage.     The  principal  heir  was  Bushrod 
Washington,  son  of  his  brother,  John  Ai 


!76  GEORGE   WASHINGTON. 

transferred  to  nie,  I  do  give  and  bequeatli  the  same  to  his  Lordship; 
and,  in  case  of  his  decease,  to  his  heir,  witli  my  grateful  thanks  for 
the  distinguished  honor  of  presenting  it  to  me,  and  more  especially 
for  the  favorable  sentiments  with  wliicli  he  accompanied  it. 

Item. — To  my  brother,  Charles  Washington,  I  give  and  bequeath 
the  gold-headed  cane  left  me  by  Dr.  Franklin  in  his  will.  I  add 
nothing  to  it  because  of  the  ample  provision  I  have  made  for  his 
issue.  To  the  acquaintances  and  friends  of  my  juvenile  years, 
Lawrence  Washington  and  Rohert  Washington,  of  Chotanck,  I  give 
my  other  two  gold-headed  canes,  having  my  arms  engraved  on  them; 
and  to  each,  as  they  will  be  useful  where  they  live,  I  leave  one  of 
the  spyglasses,  which  constituted  part  of  my  equipage  during  the 
late  war.  To  my  compatriot  in  arms  and  old  and  intimate  friend. 
Dr.  Craik,  I  give  my  bureau  (or,  as  the  cabinet-makers  call  it,  tam- 
bour secretary)  and  the  circular  chair,  an  appendage  of  my  study. 
To  Dr.  David  Stewart  I  give  my  large  shaving  and  dressing  table, 
and  my  telescope.  To  the  Kevcrend,  now  Bryan,  Lord  Fairfax,  1 
give  a  Bible,  in  three  large  folio  volumes,  with  notes,  presented  to 
me  by  the  Right  Reverend  Thomas  Wilson,  Bishop  of  Sodor  and 
U.an.  To  General  de  Lafayette  I  give  a  pair  of  finely-wrought  steel 
piitols,  taken  from  the  enemy  in  the  Revolutionary  War.  To  my 
sisters-in-law  Hannah  Washington,  and  Mildred  Washington,  to  my 
friends,  Eleanor  Htuart,  Hannah  Washington,  of  Fairfield,  and 
Elizabeth  Washington,  of  Hayfield,  I  give  each  a  mourning  ring,  of 
the  value  of  one  hundred  dollars.  Tliese  bequests  are  not  made 
for  the  intrinsic  value  of  them,  but  as  mementoes  of  my  esteem 
and  regard.  To  Tobias  Lear  I  give  the  use  of  the  farm,  which  he 
now  holds  in  virtue  of  a  lease  from  me  to  him  and  his  deceased 
wife,  (for  and  during  their  natural  lives.)  free  from  rent  during 
liis  life;  at  the  expiration  of  which,  it  is  to  be  disposed  of  as  is 
hereinafter  directed.  To  Sally  B.  Haynie,  (a  distant  relation  of 
mine,)  I  give  and  bequeath  three  hundred  dollars.  To  Sarah  Green, 
daughter  of  the  deceased  Thomas  Bishop,  and  to  Ann  Walker,  daugh- 
ter of  John  Alton,  also  deceased,  I  give  each  one  hundred  dollars,  in 
consideration  of  the  attachment  of  their  fathers  to  me:  each  of  whom 
having  lived  nearly  forty  years  in  my  family.  To  each  of  my 
nephews  William  Augustine  Washinton,  George  Lewis,  George  Step- 
toe  Washington,  Bushrod  Washington,  and  Samuel  Washington,  I 
give  one  of  the  swords  or  couteaux,  of  which  I  may  die  possessed; 
and  they  are  to  choose  in  the  order  they  are  named.  These  swords 
are  accompanied  with  an  injunction  not  to  unsheath  them  for  the 
purpose  of  shedding  blood,  except  it  be  for  self-defense  or  in  defense 
of  their  country  and  its  rights;  and  in  the  latter  case,  to  keep  them 
unsheathed,  and  prefer  falling  with  them  in  their  hands  to  the  re- 
linquishment thereof. 

And  now,  having  gone  through  these  specific  devises,  with  ex- 
pl#  nations  for  the  more  correct  understanding  of  the  meaning  and 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON.  177 

design  of  thSm,  I  proceed  to  the  distribution  of  the  more  important 
part  of  my  estate,  in  manner  following: — 

FiKST. — To  my  nephew,  Buslirod  Washington,  and  his  heirs,  (part- 
ly in  consideration  of  an  intimation  to  his  deceased  father,  while 
we  were  bachelors,  and  he  had  kindly  undertaken  to  superintend  my 
estate  during  my  military  services  in  the  former  war  between  Great 
Britain  -and  France,  that,  if  I  should  fall  therein  Mount  Vernon, 
then  less  extensive  in  domain  than  at  present,  should  become  his 
property,)  I  give  and  bequeath  all  that  part  thereof,  which  is  com- 
prehended within  the  following  limits,  viz.  Beginning  at  the  ford  of 
Dogue  Run,  near  my  Mill,  and  extending  along  the  road,  and  bounded 
thereby,  as  it  now  goes,  and  ever  has  gone,  since  my  recollection  of 
it,  to  the  ford  of  Little  Hunting  Creek,  at  the  Gum  Spring,  until  it 
comes  to  a  knoll  opposite  to  an  old  road,  which  formerly  passed 
through  the  lower  field  of  Muddy-Hole  Farm;  at  which,  on  the  north 
side  of  the  said  road,  are  three  red  or  Spanish  oaks,  marked  as  a 
corner,  and  a  stone  placed ;  thence  by  a  line  of  trees,  to  be  marked 
rectangular,  to  the  back  line  or  outer  boundary  of  the  tract  between 
Thompson  Mason  and  myself;  thence  with  that  line  easterly  (now 
double  ditching,  with  a  post-and-rail  fence  thereon)  to  the  run  of 
Little  Hunting  Creek;  thence  with  that  run,  which  is  the  boundary 
between  the  lands  of  the  late  Humphrey  Peake  and  me,  to  the  tide 
water  of  the  said  creek;  thence  by  that  water  to  Potomac  River; 
thence  with  the  river  to  the  mouth  of  Dogue  Creek;  and  thence  with 
tlie  said  Dogue  Creek  to  the  place  of  beginning  at  the  aforesaid 
ford ;  containing  upwards  of  four  thousand  acres,  be  the  same  more 
or  less,  together  with  the  mansion-house,  and  all  other  buildings  and 
improvements  thereon. 

Second. — In  consideration  of  the  consanguinity  between  them  and 
my  wife,  being  as  nearly  related  to  her  as  to  myself,  as  on  account 
of  the  affection  I  had  for,  and  the  obligation  I  was  under  to,  their 
father  when  living,  who  from  his  youth  had  attached  himself  to  my 
person,  and  followed  my  fortunes  through  the  vicissitudes  of  the 
late  Revolution,  afterwards  devoting  his  time  to  the  superintend- 
ence of  my  private  concerns  for  many  years,  whilst  my  public  em- 
ployments rendered  it  impracticable  for  me  to  do  it  myself,  thereby 
affording  me  essential  services,  and  always  performing  them  in  a 
manner  the  most  filial  and  respectful;  for  these  reasons,  I  say,  I 
give  and  bequeath  to  George  Payette  Washington  and  Lawrence 
Augustine  Washington  and  their  heirs,  my  estate  east  of  Little  Hunt- 
ing Creek,  lying  on  the  River  Potomac,  including  the  farm  of  three 
hundred  and  sixty  acres,  leased  to  Tobias  Lear,  as  noticed  before, 
and  containing  in  the  whole,  by  deed,  two  thousand  and  twenty- 
seven  acres,  be  it  more  or  less;  which  said  estate  it  is  my  will  and 
desire  should  be  equitably  and  advantageously  divided  between  them, 
according  to  quantity,  quality,  and  other  circumstances,  when  the 
youngest  shall  have  arrived  at  the  age  of  twenty-one  years,  by  three 
judicious   and   disinterested  men;    one  to  be  chosen  by  each  of  the 


178  GEORGE  WASHINGTON. 

brothers,  and  the  third  by  these  two.  In  the  meantime,  if  the  ter- 
mination of  my  wife's  interest  therein  should  have  ceased,  the  profits 
arising  therefrom  are  to  be  apjilied  for  tlieir  joint  uses  and  benefit. 

Third. — And  wliereas  it  has  always  been  my  intention,  since  my 
expectation  of  having  issue  has  ceased,  to  consider  the  grandchildren 
of  my  wife  in  the  same  light  as  I  do  my  own  relations,  and  to  act  a 
friendly  part  by  them ;  more  especially  by  the  two  whom  we  have 
raised  from  their  earliest  infancy,  namely,  Eleanor  Parke  Ciistis  and 
George  Washington  Parke  Ciistis;  and  whereas  the  former  of  these 
hath  lately  intermarried  with  Laicre)ice  Lewis,  a  son  of  my  deceased 
sister,  Betty  Leicis,  by  which  the  inducement  to  provide  for  them 
both  has  been  increased ;  wherefore,  I  give  and  bequeath  to  the  said 
Laiorence  Lewis,  and  Eleanor  Parke  Leicis,  his  wife,  and  their 
heirs,  the  residue  of  my  Mount  Vernon  estate,  not  already  devised  to 
my  nephew  Bushrod  Washington,  comprehended  within  the  following 
description,  viz.  All  the  land  north  of  tlie  road  leading  from  the 
ford  of  Dogue  Run  to  the  Gum  Spring  as  described  in  the  devise 
of  the  other  part  of  the  tract  to  Bushrod  Washington,  until  it  comes 
to  the  stone  and  three  red  or  Spanish  oaks  on  the  knoll;  thence  with 
tae  rectangular  line  to  the  back  line  (between  Mr.  Mason  and  me)  ; 
thence  with  tliat  line  westerly  along  the  new  double  ditch  to  Dogue 
Run,  by  the  tumbling  dam  of  my  Mill;  thence  with  the  said  run 
to  the  ford  aforementioned.  To  which  I  add  all  the  land  I  possess 
west  of  the  said  Dogue  Run  and  Dogue  Creek,  bounded  easterly  and 
southerly  thereby ;  together  with  the  mill,  distillery,  and  all  other 
houses  and  improvements  on  tlie  premises,  making  together  about 
two  thousand  acres,  be  it  more  or  less. 

Fourth. — Actuated  by  the  principle  already  mentioned,  I  give 
and  bequeath  to  George  Washington  Parke  Custis,  the  grandson  of 
my  wife,  and  my  ward,  and  to  his  heirs,  tlie  tract  I  hold  on  Four 
Mile  Run,  in  the  vicinity  of  Alexandria,  containing  one  thousand 
two  hundred  acres,  more  or  less,  and  my  entire  square.  No.  21,  in 
the  city  of  Washington. 

Fifth. — All  the  rest  and  residue  of  my  estate  real  and  personal, 
not  disposed  of  in  manner  aforesaid,  in  whatsoever  consisting, 
wheresoever  lying,  and  whensoever  found,  (a  schedule  of  which,  as 
far  as  is  recollected,  with  a  reasonable  estimate  of  its  value,  is  here- 
unto annexed,)  I  desire  may  be  sold  by  my  executors  at  such  times, 
in  such  manner,  and  on  such  credits,  (if  an  equal,  valid,  and  satis- 
factory distribution  of  the  specific  property  cannot  be  made  without,) 
as  in  their  judgment  shall  be  most  conducive  to  the  interests  of  the 
parties  concerned ;  and  the  moneys  arising  therefrom  to  be  divided 
into  twenty-three  equal  parts,  and  applied  as  follows,  viz.  To  Wil- 
liam Augustine  Washington,  Elizabeth  Spotswood,  Jane  Thorhton, 
and  the  heirs  of  A7in  Ashtmt,  sons  and  daughters  of  my  deceased 
brother,  Augustine  Washington,  I  give  and  bequeath  four  parts; 
that  is,  one  part  to  each  of  them.  To  Fielding  Lewis,  George  Letvis, 
Robert  Leicis,  Hoioell  Lewis,  and  Betty  Carter,  sons  and  daughters 


eEORGE  WASHINGTON. 


179 


of  my  decpased  sister,  Betiy  Lewis,  T  give  and  bequeath  five  other 
parts;  one  to  each  of  them.  To  George  Steptoc  Wa shingi on,  Law- 
rence Augustine  Washington,  Harriet  Parks,  and  the  heirs  of  Thorn- 
ton Washington,  sons  and  daughters  of  my  deceased  brother,  S,amucl 
Washington,  I  give  and  bequeath  other  four  parts  one  to  each  of 
them.  To  Corhin  Washington,  and  the  heirs  of  Jane  Washington, 
son  and  daughter  of  my  deceased  brother,  John  Augustine  Washing- 
ton, I  give  and  bequeatli  two  parts;  one  to  each  of  them.  To  Hamuel 
Washington,  Francis  Ball,  and  Mildred  Hammond,  son  and  daughters 
oi  my  brotlier,  Charles  Washington,  I  give  and  bequeatli  three  parts; 
nna  to  each  of  them.  And  to  George  Fayette  Washington,  Charles 
Augustine  Washington,  and  Maria  Washington,  sons,  and  daughter 
of  my  deceased  nephew,  George  Aiigustine  Washington,  I  give  one 
other  part:  that  is,  to  each  a  third  of  that  part.  To  Elizabeth  Parke 
Laio,  Martha  Parke  Peter,  and  Eleanor  Parke  Lewis,  I  give  and 
bequeath  three  other  parts;  that  is,  a  part  to  eacli  of  them.  And 
to  my  nephews,  Bushrod  Washington,  and  Lawrence  Leicis,  and  to 
my  ward,  tlie  grandson  of  my  wife,  I  give  and  bequeath  one  other 
part;  that  is,  a  third  thereof  to  each  of  them.  And,  if  it  should 
so  happen  that  any  of  the  persons  whose  names  are  here  enumerated 
(unknown  to  me)  should  now  oe  dead,  or  should  die  before  me,  that 
in  either  of  tVse  cases,  the  heir  of  such  deceased  person  shall,  not- 
withstanding, derive  all  the  benefits  of  the  bequest  in  the  same 
manner  as  if  he  or  she  was  actually  living  at  the  time.  And,  by 
way  of  advice.  I  recommend  it  to  my  executors  not  to  be  precipitate 
in  disposing  of  the  landed  property,  (herein  directed  to  be  sold,)  if 
from  temporary  causes  the  sale  thereof  should  be  dull;  experience 
having  fully  evinced  that  the  price  of  land,  especially  above  the  falls 
of  the  river  and  on  the  western  Avaters,  has  been  progressively  ris- 
ing, and  cannot  be  long  checked  in  its  increasing  value.  And  I  par- 
ticularly recommend  it  to  such  of  the  legatees  (under  this  clause  of 
my  will),  as  can  make  it  convenient,  to  take  each  a  share  of  my 
stock  in  the  Potomac  Company  in  preference  to  the  amount  of  what 
it  might  sell  for;  being  thoroughly  convinced  myself  that  no  uses 
to  which  the  money  can  be  applied,  will  be  so  productive  as  the 
tolls  arising  from  this  navigation  when  in  full  operation,  (and  thus, 
from  the  nature  of  things,  it  must  be,  ere  long,)  and  more  especially 
if  that  of  the  Shenandoah  is  added  thereto. 

The  family  vault  at  Moiint  Vernon  requiring  repairs,  and  being 
improperly  situated  besides,  I  desire  that  a  new  one  of  brick,  and 
upon  a  larger  scale,  may  be  built  at  the  foot  of  what  is  commonly 
called  the  Vineyard  Enclosure,  on  the  ground  which  is  marked  out; 
in  which  my  remains,  with  those  of  my  deceased  relations  (now  in 
the  old  vault)  and  such  others  of  my  family  as  may  choose  to  be 
entombed  there,  may  be  deposited.  And  it  is  my  express  desire, 
that  my  corpse  may  be  interred  in  a  private  manner,  without  parade 
or   funeral   oration. 


l8o  GEOKGE  WASHINGTON. 

Lastly,  I  constitute  and  appoint  iny  dearly  beloved  wife,  Martha 
Washinyton,  my  nephews,  Willioin  Augustine  Wasliiiujton,  Bushrod 
Washington,  George  Sleploc  Wusliington,  Humiicl  Washingtoiv  and 
Laivrence  Lewis,  and  my  ward,  George  Washington  I'arke  Custis, 
(when  he  shall  have  arrived  at  the  age  of  twenty-one  years,)  exe- 
cutrix and  executors  of  this  my  will  and  testament;  in  the  con- 
struction of  which  it  will  be  readily  perceived,  that  no  professional 
character  has  been  consvilted,  or  has  liad  any  agency  in  the  draft; 
and  that,  although  it  has  occupied  many  of  my  leisure  hours  to  di- 
gest, and  to  throw  it  into  its  present  form,  it  may,  notwithstanding, 
appear  cruae  and  incorrect;  but  having  endeavored  to  be  plain  and 
explicit  in  all  the  devises,  even  at  the  expense  of  prolixity,  perhaps 
of  tautology,  I  hope  and  trust  that  no  disputes  will  arise  concern- 
ing them.  But  if,  contrary  to  expectation,  the  case  should  be 
otherwise  from  the  want  of  legal  expressions,  or  the  usual  technical 
terms,  or  because  too  much  or  too  little  has  been  said  on  any  of  the 
devises  to  be  consonant  with  law,  my  will  and  direction  expressly 
is,  that  all  disputes  (if  luihappily  any  should  arise)  shall  be  de- 
cided by  three  impartial  and  intelligent  men,  known  for  their  probity 
and  good  understanding,  two  to  be  chosen  by  the  disputants,  each 
having  the  choice  of  one,  and  the  third  by  those  two;  which  three 
men,  thus  chosen,  shall,  unfettered  by  law  or  legal  constructions, 
declare  their  sense  of  the  testator's  intention;  and  such  decision  is, 
to  all  intents  and  purposes,  to  be  as  binding  on  the  parties  as  if  it 
had  been  given  in  tlie  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States. 
In  witness  of  all  and  of  each  of  the  things  herein  contained  I  have 

set  my  hand  and  seal,   this  ninth  day  of  July,  in  the  year  one 

thousand  seven  hundred  and  ninety,*  and'  of  the  Independence  of 

the  United  States  the  twenty-fourth. 

GEORGE    WASHINGTON. 


*It  appears  that  thf  testator  omitted  the  word  "nine." 


GEORGE   WASHINGTON. 


BIRTHPLACE  OF  WASHINGTON 
AS  IT  APPEARS  TO-DAY.* 

A  granite  shaft,  set]  with  solemn  ceremony  by  representatives 
of  the  government  of  the  United  States,  now  stands  where  stood 
the  house  in  which  George  Washington  was  born  181  years  ago. 
Around  this  monument  is  an  iron  picket  fence  and  clustering  against 
this  fence,  both  from  within  and  without,  are  fig  bushes,  which 
bear  fruit  and  which  are  descendants  of  the  fig  bushes  that  grew  in 
the  Washington  garden. 

Over  the  surrounding  field,  now  a  pasture  dotted  with  grazing 
cows  and  imbedded  in  the  turf,  and,  no  doubt,  buried  under  the 
grassy  mat,  are  broken  bricks  and  rock  fragments  that  were  once 
a  part  of  the  foundations  and  chimneys  of  the  Washington  house. 
The  field  in  which  the  simple  shaft  stands,  though  long  a  grazing 
ground  for  cattle,  is  billowed  with  old  corn  furrows,  for  these  marks 
of  tillage  are  wonderfully  persistent,  and  sometimes  in  that  coun- 
try the  trace  of  the  plow  may  be  seen  in  land  that  has  grown  to 
forest  since  the  last  crop  was  gathered. 

Springing  up,  green  and  straight  in  this  monument  field,  are 
cedar  trees,  and  probably  before  many  more  Washington  anniver- 
saries swing  round  the  monument  will  be  inclosed  and  shaded  by 
a  dense  copse  of  this  somber  evergreen,  and  making  what  Ameri- 
cans may  come  to  regard  as  a  sacred  grove. 

To  the  east,  the  northeast  and  the  southeast  the  prospect  from 
the  bluff  on  which  the  early  Washingtons  lived  sweeps  across  and 
up  and  down  the  Potomac  River,  which  at  this  point  in  Westmore- 
land county,  Virginia,  is  eight  miles  wide — so  wide  that  the  tree- 
grown  hills  of  Maryland,  even  when  the  sun  shines,  are  never  more 
than  blue  and  purple  haze  beyond  the  glittering  water.  Up  and 
down  the  river  the  eye  catches  no  glimpse  of  land  excepting  dim 
snatches  of  distant  shore  line. 

At  night  beams  from  the  lighthouse  on  Blackstone  island,  ten 
miles  eastward,  and  that  at  Lower  Cedar  Point,  ten  miles  north- 
ward, come  over  the  black  .stretch  of  salt  water.  The  flashing  of 
the  beacon  at  Church  Point,  three  miles  west  by  north,  tended  by 
Daniel  Wirt,  a  kinsman  of  George  Washington  and  William  Wirt, 
a  great  attorney-general  of  the  United  States,  glows  red  and  ominous. 

Looking  southward  from  the  monument  is  a  romantic  breadth 
of  quiet  water  called  for  nearly  300  years  Pope's  Creek.  It  is  called 
so  for  Col.  Nathaniel  Pope,  from  whom  John  Washington,  the  immi- 
grant, bought  this  farm  about  1652,  and  whose  daughter,  Anne 
Pope,  he  married,  thereby  adding  to  his  acres.     Pope's  Creek  is  not 


*By  permission,  from  the  Washington  "Star"  for  February  22,  1913. 


182  GEORGE    WASHINGTON. 

a  paltry  stream.  Near  its  channel  to  the  Potomac  River  it  forms 
a  bay,  shoal,  but  broader  than  the  busy  harbor  of  many  great  cities. 
The  part  of  the  stream  navigable  for  small  sailing  vessels  reaches 
inland  between  tree  shaded  banks  that  are  steep  and  high,  and  the 
unnavigable  part  extends  back  through  wood  and  pineland  to  the 
watershed  which  guides  the  course  of  branches  into  the  Potomac 
or  the  Rappahannock. 

Washington's  birthhouse  was  burned  in  the  long  ago,  but  exactly 
when  is  a  matter  of  conjecture.  By  some  it  is  believed  that  when 
George  Washington's  father,  Augustine  Washington,  removed  from 
this  place,  since  called  "Wakefield,"  with  his  family  to  the  farm  in 
Stafford  county,  opposite  Fredericksburg,  in  1735,  or  when  George 
Washington  was  3  years  old,  it  was  because  the  Pope's  Creek  home- 
stead had  been  destroyed. 

By  others  it  is  believed  that  George  Washington's  brother,  Augus- 
tine Washington,  lived  in  the  Pope's  Creek  house,  and  that  it  was 
destroyed  in  the  lifetime  of  his  son,  William  A.  Washington.  There 
are  numerous  bits  of  evidence  to  support  this  theory.  But,  at  any 
rate,  the  ruined  chimneys  of  the  Pope's  Creek  home  are  within  the 
memory  of  man. 

About  one  mile  northwest  of  the  Washington  birthplace  flows 
a  little  stream  called  Bridges  Creek.  In  some  parts  of  its  course 
it  is  narrow  and  in  others  it  turns  forests  of  sweet  gum  trees  into 
marshland.  It  is  a  jungle  where  the  boys  of  the  vicinage  resort 
mainly  for  coon  hunting.  At  the  time  of  the  building  of  the  birth- 
j)lace  monument  the  government  built  a  long  pier  far  out  into 
the  Potomac  at  the  point  where  Bridges  Creek  enters  that  river. 
The  idea  was  to  facilitate  pilgrimage  to  Wakefield.  The  pier  is  in 
decay.  No  boats  ever  stop  there  except  the  sailing  craft  that  load 
cordwood,  cut  from  the  near-by  woods,  for  Washington,  D.  C,  or 
Alexandria,  Va.  The  rules  formulated  by  the  government  for 
landing  there  and  the  river  steamboat  men  could  not  agree,  and  few 
landings  were  made.  It  is  believed  that  the  house  of  the  first  Ameri- 
can Washington,  John,  stood  near  this  creek  and  not  on  the  site  of 
the  house  in  which  George  Washington  was  born. 

There  is  much  conjecture  about  this.  There  is  a  strong  presump- 
tion that  George  Washington  was  not  born  in  the  house  in  which 
the  immigrant,  John,  made  his  home.  Washington's  birthplace 
is  variously  written  of  as  being  on  Bridges  Creek  and  Pope's  Creek. 
One  would  incline  to  think  that  these  were  two  names  for  a  single 
stream.  Bridges  Creek  lies  a  mile  and  a  half  to  the  northwest  of 
Pope's  Creek.  The  Washington  burial  ground  and  family  vault 
are  on  high  ground  above  Bridges  Creek.  The  George  Washington 
birthplace,  as  has  been  said,  stood  near  the  bank  of  Pope's  Creek. 
The  house  marker  and  the  family  burial  ground  are  more  than  a 
mile  apart.  Such  a  situation  was  very  unusual  in  early  colonial 
times. 

The  private  burial  ground  was,  as  a  rule,  not  far  from  the  family 
dwelling,  and  in  the  vast  majority  of  instances  was  but  a  few  yards 


GEORGE    WASHINGTON.  1 83 

away.  Not  far  from  the  Washington  cemetery  and  on  rising  ground 
overlooking  Bridges  Creek  is  a  spot  on  which  long  ago  was  human 
habitation.  The  richness  of  the  soil  and  the  character  of  the  vege- 
tation prove  this;  besides,  there  have  been  unearthed  by  the  plow 
fragments  of  brick,  glass  and  pottery.  It  is  believed  that  the  first 
Washington  made  his  home  here.  It  may  be  that  later  he  built 
the  house  overlooking  Pope's  Creek,  or  that  house  may  have  been 
built  by  his  son,  Capt.  Lawrence  Washington.  But  there  can  be 
no  certainty  as  to  this. 

All  the  present  day  accounts  of  George  Washington  give  his  birth- 
' place  as  "Wakefield,  Westmoreland  county,  Va."  The  origin  and 
significance  of  the  name  Wakefield  is  obscure.  George  Washing- 
ton never  knew  this  old  home-place  as  Wakefield.  In  his  time, 
and  in  the  time  of  the  Washingtons  before  him,  it  was  known  as 
"Pope's  Creek"  or  "the  farm  on  Pope's  Creek"  or  "the  farm  at 
Pope's  Creek"  or  "the  home  on  Pope's  Creek."  In  the  writings  of 
Washington  he  notes  a  visit  to  his  brother,  John  A.  Washington,  at 
Nomini  (about  fifteen  miles  from  Pope's  Creek),  to  the  widow  of  his 
brother  Augustine  at  Pope's  Creek  and  to  his  brother  Samuel  at 
Chotank  (near  Mathias  Point  in  King  George  county). 

There  is  never  any  mention  of  "Wakefield."  It  is  believed  that 
the  name  Wakefield  was  given  the  place  by  William  AugustineWash- 
ington,  who  was  George  Washington's  nephew,  being  the  son  of 
Washington's  brother,  Augustine,  who  inherited  the  Pope's  Creek 
farm.  In  the  will  of  this  William  Augustine  Washington  he  bequeaths 
"Wakefield  to  his  son  George  Corbin  Washington."  This  is  the 
first  reference  of  record  of  "Wakefield." 

The  birthplace  of  George  Washington,  as  well  as  thousands  of 
acres  of  old  Washington  and  Pope  lands,  are  to-day  owned  and 
tilled  by  collateral  descendants  of  George  Washington,  who  are 
numerous  in  that  historic  region  as  well  as  in  King  George  county, 
which  is  the  county  north  of  Westmoreland.  Vast  tracts  of  these 
lands  have  never  been  out  of  the  possession  of  the  Washingtons, 
though  the  birthplace  has  seen  many  changes  of  ownership. 

This  farm,  from  the  time  of  its  purchase  by  the  immigrant,  ■ 
remained  in  the  family  for  a  number  of  generations.  First,  there 
was  the  immigrant  John.  He  left  it  to  his  son,  Capt.  Lawrence 
Washington.  He  left  it  to  his  son,  Augustine  Washington,  the 
father  of  George  Washington.  Augustine  Washington  died  April 
12,  1743.  To  his  son  Lawrence  he  left  a  farm  on  the  Potomac 
River  between  Hunting  Creek  and  Dogue  Run,  which  Lawrence 
later  called  Mount  Vernon.  To  his  son,  Augustine  Washington, 
he  left  the  Pope's  Creek  homestead.  To  George  Washington  when 
he  should  come  of  age  he  bequeathed  the  farm  on  the  Rappahan- 
nock, directly  across  from  Fredericksburg.  All  the  other  children 
were  well  provided  for. 

At  the  death  of  George's  brother,  Augustine,  the  Pope's  Creek 
farm  passed  to  his  son,  William  Augustine  Washington,  and  then 
to  his  son,    George  Corbin   Washington.     In    1813   George  Corbin 


184  GEORGE    WASHINGTON. 

Washington  sold  the  farm  to  John  Gray  of  Stafford  county, 
Virginia,  who  gave  it  to  his  son,  Atchison  Gray.  It  was  next  sold 
to  Daniel  Payne,  who  did  not  want  the  place,  but  took  it  in 
connection  with  some  other  property  and  owed  a  balance  on  it  of 
$15,000.  He  sold  the  farm,  subject  to  this  debt,  to  Harry  T. 
Garnett,  who  moved  away  to  Alabama. 

Garnett  sold  it  to  Charles  C.  Jett,  who  did  not  lift  the  mortgage 
on  it.  Daniel  Payne  dying,  the  place  was  sold  at  trustees'  sale, 
the  executors  of  Payne  buying  it  in  and  making  it  a  part  of  the  Payne 
estate.  Payne's  heiress,  Betty  Payne,  became  the  wife  in  1845  of 
Dr.  William  Wirt,  son  of  W^ilHam  Wirt,  who  was  attorney-general 
\inder  President  Jackson.  The  year  after  her  marriage  Wakefield 
was  sold  to  John  F.  Wilson  of  Anne  Arundel  county,  Maryland,  and 
he  settled  his  son,  John  E.  Wilson,  on  the  farm.  This  John  E. 
Wilson  married  Betty  Washington,  granddaughter  of  W^illiam  Augus- 
tine Washington,  and  the  farm  at  Pope's  Creek  came  back  to  the 
Washington  family. 

John  E.  Wilson  lived  to  a  ripe  old  age,  a  splendid  example  of  the 
gentleman,  and  died  two  or  three  years  ago.  His  widow,  who  was 
Betty  Washington^  lives  on  the  farm  to-day.  Among  the  children 
of  Mrs.  Betty  Washington-Wilson  are  Latney  Wilson,  William, 
Lawrence,  Augustine,  James,  Janet  and  Bessie.  Another  daughter, 
Miss  Susan,  married  an  Episcopal  clergyman,  who  had  charge  of  the 
little   church   at   Oak   Grove,   Westmoreland   county. 

Through  all  this  broad,  fertile  but  isolated  country  live  many 
Washingtons,  Wirts,  Paynes,  Wilsons  and  others  having  in  their 
veins  the  same  blood  that  was  in  the  father  of  his  country.  The 
nearest  steamboat  landing  to  the  Washington  land  is  Wirt's  Wharf, 
in  Maddox  Creek.  This  wharf  has  been  W'irt  property  for  a  cen- 
tury and  is  now  owned  by  Daniel  Wirt.  He  has  a  large  tract  of 
land,  but  tenants  work  it  for  him,  while  he  watches  over  the  beacon 
that  has  been  put  on  Church  Point  bar — a  bar  that  runs  out  a  mile 
across  the  mouth  of  Maddox  Creek.  His  home  and  farm  are  called 
Bleak  Hall,  and  it  belonged  to  the  Butler  family — the  family  of  Jane 
Butler,  first  wife  of  George  Washington's  father. 

A  mile  beyond  the  wharf  toward  Wakefield  was  the  old  home- 
stead, Laurel  Grove,  where  dwelt  until  last  year  Goerge  Washing- 
ton, his  wife,  Agnes  Wirt  Washington;  their  daughters,  Elizabeth 
Wirt  Washington  and  Frances  Wirt  Washington,  and  their  young 
son,  Lee  Swanson  Wirt  Washington.  That  was  a  year  ago.  To-day 
George  Washington  and  little  Lee  sleep  in  the  quiet  churchyard  at 
Oak  Grove,  two  miles  away,  and  Laurel  Grove  is  a  mound  of  brick 
and  ashes,  having  burned  down  a  few  months  ago. 

Mrs.  Washington,  with  Elizabeth  and  Frances,  are  living  in  a 
new  little  bungalow  on  Church  Point,  a  mile  away  and  on  the  river, 
surrounded  by  many  of  the  old  family  servants. 

Mrs.  Washington  is  farming  part  of  the  thousand  acre  tract  she 
owns.  Her  farm  is  stocked  with  horses,  cattle,  hogs  and  sheep,  and 
Mrs.  Washington  raises  ducks  and  chickens  by  the  hundred  and  some 
turkeys  and  geese. 

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