The Revolutionary War

       On June 15, 1775, two months after the Battle' of Lexington, Washington was unanimously chosen by Congress to be commander in chief of the Continental forces. Addressing the assembly the following day, he modestly accepted the honor, and assured the delegates that he would expect no remuneration except for his own expenses. He then departed on horseback for Boston, and on July 3, 1775, took command of the Continental army, in Cambridge. The old elm under which this ceremony took place is still preserved as a cherished relic. 

• Under The Washington Elm, Cambridge

       The military events of the long struggle which the colonies waged for independence are told in these volumes in the article on the Revolutionary War. The personal share of Washington in the hard-won victory cannot be overestimated; from the perspective of a century and a half it seems almost incredible that he did succeed. Difficulties beset him that would have broken the courage of a weaker man. His little army of barely 14,000 was lacking in arms, supplies, discipline and organization. There was no uniform policy among the colonies on any matters essential to the prosecution of the war, and authority was vested in too many officials and organizations to bring about any semblance of unity. There were bickerings, quarrels and plots. Yet, somehow, Washington overrode all obstacles. For one thing, he was loved and trusted by his men, and because of that trust they endured terrible hardships to uphold him.

       When the army went into winter quarters at Valley Forge, in December, 1777, Washington informed Congress that he had 2,898 men unfit for duty because they were "bare- footed and otherwise naked." It is a matter of record that blood in the snow marked the path of those unshod troops as they marched into camp.

       As a military leader Washington was superior to any of the field commanders sent over by England. In fact his tactics in the movements on the Delaware River were characterized by Frederick the Great as the "most brilliant achievements recorded in military annals." Years later the old Prussian soldier sent his portrait to Washington, with this message: "From the oldest general in Europe to the greatest general in the world."

       Coupled with his genius as a soldier was an abiding faith in the justice and ultimate triumph of the American cause. Toward the close of the stiniggle a movement was started to have Washington assume the title of king, but his repudiation of such a course was voiced in language as vigorous as he could make it. His great popularity never undermined his modest sense of his own worth or his deep-rooted conviction that the American nation was destined to be a democracy in which kings could have no part. On November 2, 1783, he took final leave of his faithful army, and the following December appeared before Congress to resign the commission tendered him over seven years before. He said: 

"Having now finished the work assigned me, I retire from the great theatre of action, and, bidding an affectionate farewell to this august body, under whose orders I have long acted, I here offer my commission, and take my leave of all employments of public life." "You retire," replied the president of Congress," from the theatre of action with the blessings of your fellow-citizens; but the glory of your virtues will not terminate with your military command: it will continue to animate remotest ages."

       On Christmas Eve Washington arrived at Mount Vernon, where, during the interval before the organization of the government under the Constitution, he enjoyed once more the life of plantation owner and private citizen. 

"The Shot Heard 'Round the World" by Liberty's Kids

At Mount Vernon

Washington's Home in Mount Vernon.

       The period between the close of the French and Indian War and the outbreak of the Revolution brought to Washington some of the happiest years of his life. In January, 1759, he married Mrs. Martha Custis, an attractive and wealthy young widow with two children, John and Martha Parke Custis. The management of his own and his wife's property provided an outlet for his business instincts, and he entered whole-heartedly into the public affairs of Virginia colony as a delegate to the House of Burgesses, to which he had been elected before his marriage. These duties, with those of a good churchman and a hospitable colonial gentleman, rounded out a life completely wholesome and happy. The Mount Vernon mansion was always filled to over- flowing during the hunting season, but none of its inmates enjoyed the pleasures of the chase more than the master himself.

       As relations grew strained between the colonies and the mother country, Washington for a long time hoped that an agreement might be reached without resort to war, and he was very guarded in his utterances. In 1769, however, he drew up a nonimportation agreement which was adopted by the House of Burgesses, and from that time on he refused to permit any of the banned articles to be brought into his house.

       As a member of the provincial convention, held in August, 1774, at Williamsburg, he vigorously upheld the right of the colonies to govern themselves, and, moved by reports about the effects of the Boston Port Bill, exclaimed in an impassioned speech, "I will raise a thousand men and march with them, at their head, for the relief of Boston." Virginia sent him as one of its six delegates to the First Continental Congress, and in this and the succeeding Congress, held in 1775, he was clearly one of the commanding figures, though he let others make the speeches.

Washington's Grave in Mount Vernon.

• President Washington's Receptions

The Early Military Career of Washington

       Not long before he died Lawrence Washington had used his influence to have his brother appointed an adjutant-general over one of the several military districts into which Virginia colony was divided. This division was rendered necessary by the threatened encroachments of the Indians and of the French, who were establishing posts along the Ohio. Washington's eager pursuit of the study of military tactics was interrupted by the trip to the West Indies, but he resumed his duties as adjutant general after his return, and late in 1753 was requested by Governor Dinwiddle to carry a message of warning to the French forces in the Ohio Valley. It was a hazardous mission for a young man of twenty-one, and the selection reflects favorably upon Washington's reputation for reliability and good judgment. In November, accompanied by an experienced frontiersman, he started on his 600-mile journey After many narrow escapes from the Indians and the perils of the wilderness, he completed his mission and reported to Governor Dinwiddle on January 16, 1754, at Williamsburg, the capital of Virginia. Shortly afterwards he was appointed lieutenant-colonel of the Virginia regiment.

       A skirmish with the French in the summer of 1754, which was not decisive, was followed by a reorganization of the Virginia, troops and Washington's temporary retirement from things military. Early in 1755, however. General Braddock arrived from England with two regiments of British regulars, and offered the young colonial a place on his staff, with the rank of colonel. Promptly accepting, Washington entered eagerly into the preparation of the campaign, and on July 9 took part in the disastrous fight at Fort Duquesne. How the English regulars were mowed down by bullets fired from behind trees, and how the Virginians under Washington saved the little army from annihilation by fighting under cover, as did the French and Indians, is known to every American school boy. The troops succeeded in withdrawing from the field, but Braddock was fatally wounded, and died four days later. Washington later reorganized the colonial troops and was their chief commander until 1758, when he retired to Mount Vernon to rest. It was with great satisfaction, however, that, in November, 1758, he accompanied the British forces to the smoking ruins of Fort Duquesne, which was renamed Fort Pitt in honor of England's great Prime Minister. 

Ancestry and Youth of George Washington

       The family of the first President came of a line of well-born Englishmen. They were the Washingtons of Sulgiave Manor, in Northamptonshire, who traced their ancestry to a Nonnan knight of the twelfth century. About the year 1657 John and Lawrence Washington, brothers, emigrated to America, and shortly afterwards purchased estates in Westmoreland County, Virginia. The eldest son of John was Lawrence Washington, the grandfather of the future President. His second son, Augustine, manned Mary Ball as his second wife, and the first child of this marriage, George, was born on February 22, 1732, on the family estate at Bridges Creek, in Westmoreland County. When George was three years old his parents removed to an estate on the Rappahannock River, in Stafford County, and there the boy's first school days were spent. He went to his classes in an old-fashioned school house where the sexton of the parish acted as teacher.

       At the age of eleven George lost his father, and his widowed mother sent him to the old homestead at Bridges Creek to live with his half brother, Augustine. There he attended school until he was nearly sixteen, geometry and surveying being included in his studies. While he was not an apt classical student, he made excellent progress in surveying, and throughout this school period he cultivated robust health by outdoor exercise, such as horseback riding and athletic games. It was when he was thirteen that he wrote the rules of good behavior now so well known.

       Soon after he left school George went to live with his eldest half brother, Lawrence, who was occupying that portion of the estate known as Mount Vernon. Lawrence Washington had married the daughter of William Fairfax, who was the manager of the great estate of his cousin. Lord Fairfax, the head of the family. Lord Fairfax conceived a great liking for young Washington, and presently entrusted to him the task of marking out the boundaries of the Fairfax estate. George began his duties in 1748, when he was but a few days past sixteen, and for many months he endured the hardships of a surveyor in the wilderness. His work was so well done that he was subsequently appointed public surveyor of Culpeper County, and his surveys were considered admirable examples of thoroughness and accuracy.

       In 1751 George accompanied his brother Lawrence on a trip to the West Indies. The journey was undertaken in the hope of restoring the elder brother's health, undermined by service in the British navy. In 1752, a few months after the brothers returned to Virginia, Lawrence died, and George found

himself the guardian of his niece and one of the executors of the estate. The death of this niece a few years later made him master of the mansion and the beautiful grounds about it - the Mount Vernon that is today a sacred place to all loyal Americans. 

• George Washington's "Rules of Civility & Decent Behavior In Company and Conversation"

Patriot Sons

A boy scout at a 4th July parade in 1940.

PATRIOT SONS

by Samuel F. Smith

The bright-eyed boys who crowd our schools.

The knights of book and pen.

Weary of childish games and moods.

Will soon be stalwart men -

The leaders in the race of life,

The men to win applause;

The great minds born to guide the state.

The wise to make the laws.

Teach them to guard with jealous care

The land that gave them birth -

As patriot sons of patriot sires.

The dearest spot on earth;

Teach them the sacred trust to keep,

Like true men, pure and brave.

And o'er them thru the ages bid

Freedom's fair banner wave. 

True Heroism

TRUE HEROISM

Let others write of battles fought

On bloody, ghastly fields,

Where honors greet the man who wins.

And death the man who yields;

But I will write of him who fights

And vanquishes his sins.

Who struggles on through weary years

Against himself and wins.

He is a hero, staunch and brave.

Who fights an unseen foe,

And puts at last beneath his feet

His passions base and low;

Who stands erect in manhood's might.

Undaunted, undismayed;

The bravest man that drew a sword

In foray or in raid.

It calls for something more than brawn

Or muscle to overcome

An enemy who marcheth not

With banner, plume and drum -

A foe forever lurking nigh,

With silent, stealthy tread,

Forever near your board by day.

At night beside your bed.

All honor, then, to that brave heart,

Though poor or rich he be.

Who struggles with his baser part -

Who conquers and is free!

He may not wear a hero's crown,

Nor fill a hero's grave.

But truth will place his name among

The bravest of the brave.

Under The Washington Elm, Cambridge

UNDER THE WASHINGTON ELM, CAMBRIDGE

Eighty years have passed, and more,
Since under the brave old tree
Our fathers gathered in arms, and swore
They would follow the sign their banners bore,
And fight until the land was free.

Half of their work was done.
Half is left to do -
Cambridge and Concord and Lexington!
When the battle is fought and won.
What shall be told of you?

Hark! 'tis the south wind moans -
Who are the martyrs down?
Ah, the marrow was true in your children's bones.
That sprinkled with blood the cursed stones
Of the murder-haunted town!

What if the storm-clouds blow?
What if the green leaves fall?
Better the crashing tempest's throe
Than the army of worms that gnawed below;
Trample them one and all!

Then when the battle is won

And the land from traitors free,

Our children shall tell of the strife begun

When Liberty's second April sun

Was bright on our brave old tree!