Memoirs of Washington

Front matter

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Preface

" Another Life of "Washington ! "

Anticipating this very natural exclamation, let the new aspirant be allowed a few words of explanation, if not apology. Abundant and excellent are the biographies of "Washington, certainly. Yet there seems room for one especially adapted to young people — not children, exactly, but the older pupils in our schools, and some learners who have clone with schools.

For these, the very fulness of the best lives of "Washington renders them unsuitable. Details of battles and statesmanship, the cruelties of war and politics, are not particularly interesting or instructive to the young. It seemed not undesirable to offer them some simple memoirs of our great benefactor and friend, in which the space usually occupied by public affairs should be filled with what relates more particularly to Washington himself, too generally looked upon

VI PREFACE.

by the young as a cold, far-off", statue-like person, admirable rather than imitable, lit for reverence but not for love.

This idea of him has grown up very naturally ; for one who attempts to write his life finds so many great things to tell of, that there is little place left for lesser traits and incidents. This very volume, begun with express intent to set forth the private and familiar, not the grand side of "Washington's life and character, proved insufficient to contain at once the mere sketch of his doings and the more personal anecdotes and traditions respecting him, which last would make a volume, of themselves. All that could find space are here, but many were necessarily forced out, lest too voluminous a work should discourage youthful readers. In making selections, anecdotes less known have been preferred ; and some of the personal details were taken down from the conversation of contemporaries of Washington, still able, in our day, to enjoy the homage which ever attends his name.

New York, October, 1856.

Chapter I

Washington's private papers — Little box in the State Department — Virginia Almanac — Care of Washington in preserving and preparing these papers — Variety of 6ubjects treated in them — The use that has been made of them by his biographers — A more private and personal account still possible, partly by addition, partly by omission, 1

Chapter II

English ancestors of Washington — Letter of Sir Henry — Family annals — Curious tradition in England — -Intermarriages in Virginia — Washington's birthplace — Old house suffered to go to ruin — Plain and simple manners of the day in Virginia — Advantages of these to Washington — Associations with the Potomac and its shores, 11

Chapter III

Mr. Augustin Washington — Merits of Mr. Weems's little book — Family legends reported by him — Lesson in generosity — Another in natural religion — Country life and the love of it, 23

Chapter IV

The mother of Washington— Her characteristics and those of her children— Her early estimate of her eldest son— What he was in youth— His only sister's resemblance to him— Mrs. W.'s only weakness— Simplicity of her manners—" Little George "—Obligations of great men to their mothers— Almost forgotten— Duty and virtue of Obedience, 31

Chapter V

Out-of-door habits — Alfred the Great, and Napoleon — Influence on a generous mind of wide possessions and the power they confer — Plantation life — Field school —

VI 11 CONTENTS.

" Old Hobby "—Mother's practice of reading with her children— The Great Audit— The widow's lot— Was Washington deficient in tenderness '—Softening power of piety— Early love affairs— Washington's later gravity— Love of children— Its advantages — Proofs of goodness of heart, ... ... 39

Chapter VI

A new school and new master — No Latin— A good head can make more out of one language than a poor one out of half a dozen — Washington head boy, of course — Military sports and national predilections— Washington a man of peace, after all — Early handwriting — Neatness of his school papers — Practice in mercantile forms — Eobust physical exercises one grand clement in his training— Pitching a stone- Love of horses and riding, 53

Chapter VII

Washington little indebted to books — Early reading limited, but good— His mother's idea of true kindness— Habit of writing ;i great deal — Its advantages and possible disadvantages — How it affected Washington's after life— roetry book — " Rules of Civility and Decent Behavior"— Their influence on his character — His style of writing, excellent, plain, pure English, 62

Chapter VIII

Esteem of his brothers for Washington — Lawrence always his friend and benefactor — Fortunes of the family — George at Mount Vernon — Receives a midshipman's warrant — Gives way to his mother's wishes and stays at home — Learns military tactics and fencing — Contents himself with learning to be a good surveyor — Extreme accuracy of his papers — Old desk — Curious memorandum, . . 75

Chapter IX

First surveying tour — Groves of sugar trees — Indian dance — People that wouldn't speak English — Rough living — Good pay— Tender passion — Poetic taste not very prominent — Lord Fairfax — Planter life — High-bred manners — Letters to ladies, 83

Chapter X

Important epoch in life — Appointment as adjutant-general against the French — Called upon to go to the West Indies— Matter-of-fact observations there— Seized with small-pox — Washingtonian touch — Returns home — Succeeds to Mount Vernon on the death of his brother — Circumstances force him too early into affairs — Becomes a member of the Masonic fraternity 97

Chapter XI

Contemporary history— George II. and his court— Rudeness of manners — General corruption — Incorrect spelling— Swift— Pope— Bolingbrokf — Chesterfield— Lady M. W. Montague— Burke— Pitt— Marlborough— Admiral Vernon— Duke of Cumberland—Flora Macdonald— C. J. Fox— George III.— Wolfe— Burns— Cowper— Continental European sovereigns, 108

CONTENTS. ix

Quiet life— Training for the future— Country habits— Hunting and surveying- Boundless hospitality— Dancing school— Sick neighbors— Small-pox among the negroes— The bread-and-butter ball— Exact calculations, .... 183

Chapter XIX

Washington a domestic man— Attention to his step-children— Lists for England- Mrs. Washington a doting mother— Washington strict but not severe— Generally beloved— Always doing service— Death of Miss Custis and Washington's emotion—Difficulties of Virginia housekeeping and farming— Two temperance sermon8 196

Chapter XX

Public affairs not forgotten— Independent companies— Organized resistance— Fairfax Resolves— Economy and self-denial— Non -importation act— Boston Port Bill- Public fast— Patrick Henry's opinion of Washington, . . 210

X CONTENTS.

Chapter XXI

Remonstrance changing to hostility— An army to he raised— A general wanted— Several candidates— Choice falls on Washington— Ilis acceptance and stipulation- Letters to his wife, 221

Chapter XXII

The hattle of Bunker Hill already fought— Washington hurries on— Takes command under the Great Elm at Cambridge — The impression he makes— Letters to General Gage — Want of money, clothing, powder, and all the necessaries of war- Sarcasms cast upon the supineness of the army and its general — Cares and troubles of Washington— His patience under them, 232

Chapter XXIII

Doings at Mount Vernon— Some fears of the enemy — Washington's confidence in his agent — Care for the poor — Mrs. Washington's journey to head-quarters — Respect of the people — Her influence — Rural tastes — Plain, generous hospitality, . 255

Chapter XXIV

Distress of Boston— Anxieties on both sides— Both actuated by British spirit— Arrogance of the invaders — Burlesque comedy outdone by General Putnam — Failure of Lord Percy — Resolve to evacuate the town — Hurried retreat — Triumphal entry of American troops, 266

Chapter XXV

Transfer of the troops to New York — Difficulties there — Machinations of the Tories — British head-quarters on Staten Island — Declaration of Independence— Letter to " George Washington, Esq." — Battle of Long Island — Dreadful loss — Retreat across the East River, 279

Chapter XXVI

Discouragement of the army — General Howe threatens New York — Talk of burning the city — Washington fortifies Harlem — Cowardice of some of the troops there — Retreat to White Plains — Illiterate officers — Disaster there — Capture of Fort Washington — Temporary defection of Colonel Reed, 289

CHAPTER XXYII.

Lee's advice — His jealousy of Washington — Delays in obeying orders — Endeavoring 'At make an independent movement, to the injury of the commander-in-chief — Cabals against Washington — Lee's capture by the British — Retreat across the Jerseys — Position and prospects of the Army -New powers granted by Congress, 302

Chapter XXVIII

Public patience wearing out— The art of retreating— Recruiting— Some accessions to the army give rise to new hopes and new projects— Hard duty— Crossing the Del-

CONTENTS. •

-Zu^rT* °f th ° " eSSiaDS - BattI * ° f Trenton-Entrance into Philadelphia -Battle of Princeton-Anecdotes of Washington's bravery, . . su

CHAPTER XXIX. AT 7^ r ^°^r nt ^r L:tn,y( ^ «*«*«- of Chad's Ford-and

vv nite Maish— M inter quarters at Valley For^e— Suffering of tl, t ,,

-Half-pay for the troops-Alliance with the French-Battle of Monmouih Cm CHAPTER XXX.

Arrival of Count d'Estaing-Hindrances and disasters-Disagreement between French

CHAPTER XXXI. Washington at Philadelphia with Congress-Then in the r„„r,t,. i <■

phia, . . U6 f remtIon of tbe currency-Kindness of the ladies of Philadel-

CHAPTER XXXII. Sufferings of the troops— Treachery of Arnold n.~*

Letter to Mr. Laurens-itS of T« p~ ° ap * nre . and dea ^ <* Major Andre-

lenity-Mutinyof the Lf J sL li " % "T ""^ '"^ SUPPreSS lon * Franklin, . . . 7 1'^-Seventy on this occasion-Letter to Dr.

CHAPTER XXXIII. Co-operation of the French fleet and irmv a ™„! r

operating against Lord C Walls £ Z~tZ o^M ^ ** Vir ^ -'Lafayette for the Chesapeafce-WashiSo:, XtS ZXr^ ^ * *" ^ beau, visits Mount Vernon for the first «me ste^ne T^ C °" Ut ***«■

Chapter XXXV

companions in arms-Returns his commission to Con^sf " "*" ^ ° f Us

XI 1 CONTENTS.

Chapter XXXVI

Persona] habits of Washington al home— Anecdote from Watson — Washington an early riser— Care of his farm — Reading aloud in tin- evening— Regular at church — Abstemious in eating and drinking — His love and care of Mount Vernon, and the description he gave of the estate — Attending to other people's affairs — Number of letters he wrote while at home, 418

Chapter XXXVII

State of the Union after the War — Convention for forming the Constitution — Washington's progress to New York — His inauguration as flrst President of the United States — Labors and excitement afterwards — Severe illness — Death of his mother — Her character— How much was her son indebted to her? — Character of his wife, 432

Washington's opinions on slavery — His Will and its provisions — His morals — nis religion— Testimony of various persons as to his habits of devotion, . . 4C5

MEMOIRS OF WASHINGTON.

Chapter I

Washington's private papers — Little box in the State Department — Virginia Almanac — Care of Washington in preserving and preparing these papers — Variety of subjects treated in them — The use that has been made of them by his biographers — A more private and personal account still possible, partly by addition, partly by omission.

In the Department of State, at Washington, is a box of manuscripts — three or four cubic feet of them, perhaps — all written in the clear, flowing, manly hand of George Washington ; every page, almost, and sometimes the same page more than once, bearing his beautiful signature —

The papers are old and yellow ; some of them a good deal worn at the edges and in the folds ; others hardly legible, being faded copies, on thin paper, taken in a copying* press. Some are autograph letters, filled and endorsed by the same hand, and tied in bundles with red tape ; others are bound books, larger or smaller, according as they were intended for mere memoranda or for letters written out at length. Others are journals and registers, giving at one time, by their characteristic perseverance, for year after year, a lifelike picture of the even tenor of their owner's agricultural life ; and again, vivid suggestions of more public import by their sudden breaking off, as at the memorable time when he left Mount Vernon for some post of public duty, such as the first Convention, or the Presidential chair. These diaries are written on the interleavings of the old Virginia Almanac, on the title-page of which the date is announced as " in the year of our Lord God."

The memoranda commence January 1, 1768, without other preface than this : — " Where, how, and with whom my Time is spent." The Almanac professes, as usual, to contain " The Lunations, Conjunctions, Eclipses, the Sun and Moon's Kising and Setting, the Rising, Southing and Setting of the Heavenly Bodies ; true Places and Aspects of the Planets ; "Weather, &c, calculated according to Art." Also, " Entertaining Observations for Each Month, and other Pieces of Amusement. By T. T. Philomath." On the title-page we read —

LETTERS AND DIARIES PARCHMENTS. 6

" Thus Year by Year the Reader we present Something new matter for to give content ; You'll find here, besides the Calendar Part, Rare Observations, written with much Art, With Verses which to each Month do agree, And other things of Mirth and merry glee."

There are, among the Washington papers, many of these books, perhaps forty in all ; each containing, first, a calendar, and over and below the calendar on each page a verse of sententious wisdom, homely advice, or satirical observations on human nature, all couched in wretched rhyme. Secondly, ten blank pages, of which the first two or three are filled, in Washington's hand, with a journal of his own ; the next two by a regular register of the weather ; and then one or two by observations on farm business.

The poetry and anecdotes are such as. were, doubtless, palatable at that day, though in ours they might be thought a little homely, if not coarse. Very many of the books were probably intended to be carried in the capacious pockets of their time. One almost wonders where Washington acquired so much taste and delicacy as he possessed, when we see how totally devoid of these qualities were many publications, that seem to have been accepted by society in his youth.

One considerable parcel in the box consists of diplomas and honorary testimonials from corporations ; some of them parchments, with great seals and flowing ends of ribbon.

He wished to have added his own commission as Commander in Chief to the number ; and after he had in due form returned it to Congress at Annapolis, he wrote to a government official, requesting that it might be sent him, saying, playfully, that it might amuse his grand children. But the parchment had been filed among state papers, and could not be had. It is now among the interesting relics of Washington and the Revolution, at the Patent office, at the seat of government.

Intermixed with the letters in Washington's handwriting, are a few addressed to him on various business ; but in general the papers are his own, and afford the most unquestionable picture of his mind and character that we could possibly desire.

Besides the papers contained in the box, there are in the Department, arranged in presses which occupy one entire side of a large room, more than two hundred bound volumes of letters to and from Washington ; a collection including some of the most interesting documents connected with our history ; such as the letters of Major Andre, and the correspondence of the traitor Arnold. The whole includes a complete view of the state of things during the revolutionary war and the presidencies of Washington.

These papers and parchments belong to the United States. Those contained in the box were purchased of the heirs of Washington by the government, for the sum of twenty thousand dollars, and the whole pre-

IMPOKTANCE OF THE PAPEES TO HISTOEY. 5

cious deposite is confided to the care of the keeper of the Rolls Office, who most courteously shows them to any one who comes properly introduced.

Washington himself prepared the greater part of his papers for the public eye, observing that the history of the country during his time could not be properly written without a reference to those papers. All who have been engaged in writing our history have gladly availed themselves of these inestimable materials ; and chiefly Judge Marshall and Mr. Sparks, the latter having, with infinite labor, given to his country and the world a larger portion of Washington's more important letters, with ample notes and appendixes, making eleven volumes, besides a Life of their author, in one large octavo volume. More recently, Mr. Irving has studied the manuscripts, and drawn from them and other sources the Life of Washington, now publishing in several large volumes.

Many other of the biographies of Washington have been drawn more or less from the papers in the Rolls Office, which must ever, of course, be the most reliable and the most ample source of information on the subject.

Yet, after all these researches, so minute and so voluminous are the records of his daily life which Washington, thought it worth while to make, and not only to make, but to leave ready for inspection, that there remained still some personal matter, which, though not exactly fitted for the use of the historian, is yet available to the biographer, especially to one desirous above all things to find out and exhibit traits of the man, rather than of the soldier or the statesman. Washington is far better known to his countrymen in the two last mentioned characters than in his private one. It has even been said that he " had no private character." But this opinion is contrary to all the traditions of the Washington family, who love to dwell upon the domestic traits of their august relative, and who think of him in his character of uncle, guardian, friend, and neighbor, with mingled reverence and affection.

If there could be any doubt about Washington's having intended that all his papers should be at the service of the public, motives of delicacy might be supposed to interfere with the publication of private journals and the details of family affairs ; but the arrangement and preservation of the papers sufficiently show that it was the intention of the writer to lay his entire life open ; to offer materials to future biographers, and to withhold nothing that might aid the world in forming a just estimate of his character.

How else account for these private papers having been left mingled with those of public interest, by a man so methodical, so cautious, and so free from all suspicion of vanity ? A careful examination of the ground leads rather to the conclusion, that having been the subject of unbounded calumny, Washington thought the best and most complete answer to these sinister imputations, would be to show without reserve what manner of man he had been, from the beginning, and

CANDID SELF-REVELATION. 7

throughout his whole career, as well behind the scenes as upon the great stage ; in his home business as well as in affairs of world-wide moment ; in his amusements as well as in the most serious occupations that ever were laid upon mortal man. Here we find him as he was ; neither hiding his anger nor parading his charity ; full of interest in his own affairs, yet with an ear and hand never inaccessible to the unfortunate ; telling as coolly what money he lost and won at cards, as on what occasions he went to church ; recording in one line the arrival of splendid guests, and the illness of an old negro woman ; reproving an overseer ; lecturing a spendthrift ; trying to manage the affairs of a troublesome lady ; recounting the performance of the dogs and the fortunes of each day's hunt ; ordering handsome things for the house and table ;' giving all the particulars of a day's ploughing or hoeing ; making out long lists of Mrs. Washington's and Miss Custis's finery, to be ordered from London, or describing that household implement, a mangle ; — in short, chronicling every day's doings, without fear or reserve, as one who should say — Here I am ; make what you can of me !

Purposely to conceal all this truth, and nature, and variety, for fear that the exhibition of the private side of Washington should lessen the reverence we have all been accustomed to feel for the public one, would be truly the most irreverent thing we could be guilty of. It is substituting for true, heartfelt honor, a kind of superstitious image- worship ; parading a statue instead of the man, in order that art may ingeniously cover up the deficiencies of nature. Washington needs very little of this kind of consideration.

The desire to know every trifling particular that can be ascertained about those we admire, is so natural that there must be some respectability about it. A feeling nothing less than universal cannot be considered morbid or unbecoming. Let it be conceded that History must give only the dignified aspect of a public man ; biography, especially when intended for the young, may venture a little lower. When we would hold up to young people an example, in which we desire to interest them, we must, if possible, bring that example within their reach, in order to inspire them with hope of imitation. The image of Washington presiding over armies and senates, however magnificent it may be, can only affect us like a picture in the distance. We see the grand outline and admire the effect, but we can accord only vague and general admiration. Few expect to be eminent in the cabinet or in the field ; and it is natural to look lower for the characteristics on which our lives are to be modelled.

Happily for us, Washington, the man, is not wholly inaccessible to us, and more happily still, the qualities of the man are by his life found to be entirely compatible with those of the hero, — one of the most valuable of facts. He himself said truly, in an address to his officers on retiring from the army, " The private virtues of economy, prudence, and industry will not be

LIMITED OBJECT OF THIS BOOK. 9

less amiable in civil life than the more splendid qualities of valor, perseverance, and enterprise were in the field." Such was his modest, abiding sentiment, and happy was it for the great and successful soldier that he could afford to utter it. Happy is it for us that he was enabled to show it in his own case.

I would by no means be understood as promising great things in the way of novelty. No startling facts hitherto concealed ; no newly discovered virtues or weaknesses, no qualities as yet unsuspected, have rewarded my faithful study of the Washington manuscripts. All I propose is as familiar and home-like a life of the great man, as can be gathered from his own papers and the sayings of his contemporaries, many of whom wrote about him ; and in order to make the story as interesting as I can to young people, I omit much that is usually interwoven with the Life of Washington, such as details of battles and of politics ; supplying the place of such particulars by extracts from the diary of daily life at Mount Vernon, and descriptions of Washington's doings, appearance, habits, and manners, as reported by himself and his contemporaries. The world has long been in possession of the facts ; in this book there is some attempt to present them in a homely and familiar way, without any departure from the profound respect which should fill every American heart when contemplating the character of Washington.

The notes which Mr. Sparks collected with infinite pains and labor, afford a world of interesting matter, of a more private and personal kind than that which he embodies in the text. To these I am particularly indebted, though I have sought in many other directions for information suited to my purpose.

Chapter II

English ancestors of Washington— Letter of Sir Henry— Family annais— Curious tradition in England — Intermarriages in Virginia — Washington's birth-place — Old house suffered to go to ruin — Plain and simple manners of the day in Virginia — Advantages of these to Washington — Associations with tho Potomac and its shores.

The English ancestors of "Washington were of great respectability, and noted for a spirit of independence and patriotism. The name appears in English annals as early as the twelfth century. The family appellation was originally Hertburn, but William de Hertburn, about the middle of the thirteenth century, assumed the name of his property, the manor of Wessyngton, which, in course of time, came, by means of the ordinary changes, to be written Washington. One of the family, Sir Henry Washington, is celebrated as having held the city of Worcester against Fairfax and the Parliamentary army, in Cromwell's time. The letter he wrote on the occasion is so like what our Washington might have written in similar circumstances, that we must take the liberty of copying it from Irving's Life, Vol. I. page 14.

" Sik, — It is acknowledged by your books and by report of your own quarter, that the king is in some of your armies. That granted, it may be easy for you to procure his Majesty's commands for the disposal of this garrison. Till then I shall make good the trust reposed in me. As for conditions, if it shall be necessitated, I shall make the best I can. The worst I know and fear not ; if I had, the profession of a soldier had not been begun, nor so long continued, by

" Your Excellency's humble servant,

" Henry "Washington."

Another of the family, Joseph Washington, an emi nent lawyer in London, in 1692, translated from the Latin one of Milton's political works, which shows him to have been an advocate of freedom and the rights of the people. We find, by all accounts, Washington's ancestry to have been in general patriotic and manly.

In 1539 the manor of Sulgrave, near Northampton, commonly called Washington's manor, a piece of confiscated property formerly belonging to the monastery of St. Andrews, was granted to Lawrence Washington, to whose memory and that of his wife is found, in the church there, a monument with an inscription, and effigies in brass of four sons and seven daughters. The eldest of these sons had a still more numerous family, having been endowed with sixteen children, and his eldest son after him had fourteen — seven sons and seven daughters. The second and fourth of these sons,

1657.] CUKIOUS TRADITION. 13

who very naturally thought it prudent to look for a future some where else than on the patrimony, were the John and Lawrence who emigrated to Virginia about 1657.

In the pretty little English village of Cookham, in Berkshire, not very far from the royal precincts of Windsor Castle, many tombs of the Washington family are extant, and the inhabitants of that place insist not only that Mr. Augustin Washington married his second wife, Mary Ball, there, but even that George Washington himself was born there in a house still pointed out. But when tradition goes so far as to show a tree that he planted, we are obliged to demur a little, and find it difficult to extend our faith beyond the probability, or something like it, that Mary Ball may have been a native of Cookham.* -

We cannot help feeling some interest in every trifling particular relating to the Washington family, though General Washington himself cared but little about his pedigree. Men of his stamp do not think of borrowing honor. When he had become famous, Sir Isaac Heard, of the Herald's office in London, took pains to trace back the ancestry of the new wonder, and wrote to him for such particulars as might be in his possession. In the answer, Washington says : — " This is a subject to which I confess I have paid but very little attention. My time has been so much occupied in the busy and active scenes of life from an early

* See Appendix. No. 1.

period of it, that but a small portion could have been devoted to researches of this nature, even if my inclination or particular circumstances should have prompted to the inquiry."

When family affection and kind offices were in question, he seems to have been active in tracing relationships. His last will shows that he remembered the remotest ; and we know that when he was making that will, he caused inquiries to be made, both in England and the United States, for unknown relatives to whom he might leave memorials ; but we can discover no research prompted by pride or ambition. He had neither time nor inclination to turn aside to visit the tomb of any Jupiter Ammon of the Old World. We should have been surprised to find him opening a correspondence with the Herald's office, or even entering with alacrity upon researches suggested there.

Augustin Washington was twice married ; first to Jane Butler, who left him two sons, and secondly to Mary Ball, characterized on her tomb and known to history as " Mary, the mother of Washington," a sufficient distinction. Little is known of the father of George Washington, except that he was a handsome, stout, strong man, prosperous and happy, and much respected by his neighbors, and that he died at the age of forty-nine. We have reason to believe he was a man of sense and virtue. It is pleasant to think so, and to find tradition confirming the impression. Tradition loves the marvellous, and might easily have

1657.] SETTLEMENT OF THE FAMILY. 15

made out George Washington to have been the miraculous product of bad antecedents, like Eugene Sue's heroes and heroines, whose virtues are the growth of the very circumstances which are sometimes represented as the excuse for every degree of criminality.