George Washington
by
William Roscoe Thayer
Part 4 out of 4
of some refreshment, and dispersed with the greatest good order and
regularity. The remains of the provisions were distributed among
the blacks. Mr. Peter, Dr. Craik, and Dr. Thornton tarried here all
night.[1]
[Footnote 1: From notes by T. Lear, Ford, XIV, 254-55.]
The Committee appointed by Congress to plan a suitable memorial
for Washington proposed a monument to be erected in the city of
Washington, to be adorned with statuary symbolizing his career as
General and as President, and containing a tomb for himself and for
Mrs. Washington. The latter replied to President Adams that "taught by
the great example which I have so long had before me, never to oppose
my private wishes to the public will, I must consent to the request
made by Congress, which you have had the goodness to transmit me,
and in doing this, I need not say, I cannot say, what a sacrifice of
individual feeling I make to a sense of public duty." The intended
monument at the capital was never erected. Martha Washington lies
beside her husband where she wished to be, in the family vault at
Mount Vernon. From her chamber window in the upper story of the Mount
Vernon house she could look across the field to the vault. She died
in 1802, a woman of rare discretion and good sense who, during forty
years, proved herself the worthiest companion of the founder of his
country.
I have wished to write this biography of George Washington so that
it would explain itself. There is no need of eulogy. All eulogy is
superfluous. We see the young Virginia boy, born in aristocratic
conditions, with but a meagre education, but trained by the sports and
rural occupations of his home in perfect manliness, in courage, in
self-reliance, in resourcefulness. Some one instilled into him moral
precepts which fastened upon his young conscience and would not let
him go. At twenty he was physically a young giant capable of enduring
any hardship and of meeting any foe. He ran his surveyor's chain far
into the wilderness to the west of Mount Vernon. When hardly a man
in age, the State of Virginia knew of his qualities and made him
an officer in its militia. At only twenty-three he was invited to
accompany General Braddock's staff, but neither he nor angels from
heaven could prevent Braddock from plunging with typical British
bull-headedness into the fatal Indian ambush. He gave up border
warfare, but did not cease to condemn the inadequacy of the Virginia
military equipment and its training. He devoted himself to the
pursuits of a large planter, and on being elected a Burgess, he
attended regularly the sessions at Williamsburg. Wild conditions which
in his boyhood had reached almost to Fauquier County, had drifted
rapidly westward. Within less than ten years of Braddock's defeat,
Fort Duquesne had become permanently English and the name of
Pittsburgh reminded men of the great British statesman who had urged
on the fateful British encroachment on the Ohio River. For Washington
in person, the lasting effect of the early training and fighting in
western Pennsylvania was that it gave him direct knowledge of the
Indian and his ways, and that it turned his imagination to thinking
out the problem of developing the Middle West, and of keeping the
connections between the East and the West strong and open.
In the House of Burgesses Washington was a taciturn member, yet he
seemed to have got a great deal of political knowledge and wisdom so
that his colleagues thought of him as the solid man of the House
and they referred many matters to him as if for final decision. He
followed political affairs in the newspapers. Above all, at Mount
Vernon he heard all sides from the guests who passed his domain and
enjoyed his hospitality. From the moment that the irritation between
Great Britain and the Colonies became bitter he seems to have made up
his mind that the contention of the Colonists was just. After that
he never wavered, but he was not a sudden or a shallow clamorer for
Independence. He believed that the sober second sense of the British
would lead them to perceive that they had made a mistake. When at
length the Colonies had to provide themselves with an army and to
undertake a war, he was the only candidate seriously considered for
General, although John Hancock, who had made his peacock way so
successfully in many walks of life, thought that he alone was
worthy of the position. Who shall describe Washington's life as
Commander-in-Chief of the Colonial forces during the Revolutionary
War? What other commander ever had a task like his? For a few weeks
the troops led by Napoleon--the barefooted and ragged heroes of Lodi
and Arcola and Marengo--were equally destitute, but victory brought
them food and clothes and prosperity. Whereas Washington's men had no
comfort before victory and none after it.
Some of the military critics to-day deny Washington's right to be
ranked among the great military commanders of the world, but the truth
is that he commanded during nearly eight years and won one of the
supreme crucial wars of history against far superior forces. The
General who did that was no understrapper. The man whose courage
diffused itself among the ten thousand starving soldiers at Valley
Forge, and enabled them to endure against the starvation and distress
of a winter, may very well fail to be classified among the Prince
Ruperts and the Marshal Neys of battle, but he ranks first in a
higher class. His Fabian policy, which troubled so many of his
contemporaries, saved the American Revolution. His title as General
is secure. Nor should we forget that it was his scrupulous patriotism
which prevented the cropping out of militarism in this country.
Finally, a country which owed its existence to him chose him to be for
eight years its first President. He saw the planting of the roots of
the chief organs of its government. In every act he looked far forward
into the future. He shunned making or following evil precedents. He
endured the most virulent personal abuse that has ever been poured out
on American public men, preferring that to using the power which his
position gave him, and denaturing the President into a tyrant. Nor
should we fail to honor him for his insistence on dignity and a proper
respect for his office. His enemies sneered at him for that, but
we see plainly how much it meant to this new Nation to have such
qualities exemplified. Had Thomas Jefferson been our first President
in his _sans-culotte_ days, our Government might not have outlasted
the _sans-culottist_ enthusiasts in France. A man is known by his
friends. The chosen friends of Washington were among the best of his
time in America. Hamilton, Henry Knox, Nathanael Greene, John Jay,
John Marshall--these were some.
Although Washington was less learned than many of the men of his time
in political theory and history, he excelled them all in a concrete
application of principles. He had the widest acquaintance among men of
different sorts. He heard all opinions, but never sacrificed his own.
As I have said earlier, he was the most _actual_ statesman of his
time; the people in Virginia came very early to regard him as a man
apart; this was true of the later days when the Government sat in New
York and Philadelphia. If they sought a reason, they usually agreed
that Washington excelled by his character, and if you analyze most
closely you will never get deeper than that. Reserved he was, and not
a loose or glib talker, but he always showed his interest and gave
close attention. After Yorktown, when the United States proclaimed to
the world that they were an independent Republic, Europe recognized
that this was indeed a Republic unlike all those which had preceded it
during antiquity and the Middle Age. Foreigners doubted that it could
exist. They doubted that Democracy could ever govern a nation. They
knew despots, like the Prussian King, Frederic, who walked about the
streets of Berlin and used his walking-stick on the cringing persons
whom he passed on the sidewalk and did not like the looks of. They
remembered the crazy Czar, Peter, and they knew about the insane
tendencies of the British sovereign, George. The world argued from
these and other examples that monarchy was safe; it could not doubt
that the supply of monarchs would never give out; but it had no hope
of a Republic governed by a President. It was George Washington more
than any other agency who made the world change its mind and conclude
that the best President was the best kind of monarch.
It is reported that after he died many persons who had been his
neighbors and acquaintances confessed that they had always felt a
peculiar sense of being with a higher sort of person in his presence:
a being not superhuman, but far above common men. That feeling will
revive in the heart of any one to-day who reads wisely in the fourteen
volumes of "Washington's Correspondence," in which, as in a mine,
are buried the passions and emotions from which sprang the American
Revolution and the American Constitution. That George Washington lived
and achieved is the justification and hope of the United States.
THE END
INDEX
Throughout the index, the initial _W_. is used for the name of George
Washington.
Adams, John, his _Diary_ quoted, 57 _n_.;
on committee to confer with Howe, 79;
on Peace Commission, 130;
chosen first Vice-President, 176;
appoints _W_. Commander-in-Chief, in 1799, 217, 240;
letter of _W_. to, 217; 49, 59, 155, 156, 162, 180, 212, 215,
217, 231, 251, 254.
Adams, Samuel, 49, 57, 59, 60, 162, 175, 176.
Addison, Rev. Mr., 253.
Agriculturist, _W_. as an, 37 _ff_.
Albert, Prince, 153.
Alleghany Mts., 7.
American Revolution, 64-126 _passim_;
great extent of field of operations, 67;
really ended with surrender at Yorktown, 126;
nature and results of, 126-128;
proclamation of end of hostilities, 135;
saved by _W.'s_ Fabian policy, 257.
Ames, Fisher, speech on Jay Treaty, and its effect, 211-213.
Anderson, James, 240, 253.
Andre, John, Clinton's messenger to Arnold, court-martialed and
hanged, 110, 111.
Annapolis Convention, 158.
Anti-Assumptionists. _See_ State debts.
Anti-Federalists, 186.
Army, Colonial, at Boston, 69 _ff_.;
brought into order by _W_., 72;
lacks powder, 72;
compels evacuation of Boston, 72,73;
how distributed, 76, 77;
_W_. on proper organization of, 80, 81;
his influence over, 82,88;
condition of, at end of 1776, 84;
desertions from, 84, 97;
at Valley Forge, 100 _ff_.;
_W_. on condition of, after the war, 131, 132;
difficulties about back pay, 133, 134, 141;
some officers of, intrigue to make _W_. king, 134;
_W.'s_ reply, 135;
continued turmoil in, 135;
_W.'s_ farewell to officers of, 136, 137;
attitude of Congress toward, 139, 140.
Arnold, Benedict, repulsed at Quebec, 72;
surrenders West Point, 110;
in Virginia, 122, 123; 77.
Articles of Confederation, 152, 153, 156.
And _see_ States of the Confederation.
Assumptionists. _See_ State debts.
_Aurora. See_ Bache, B.F.
Bache, Benjamin F., attacks _W.'s_ administration, in the
_Aurora_, 201, 219, 221, 222.
Ball, Mary, marries Augustine Washington, 1.
And _see_ Washington, Mary (Ball).
Barbados, _W.'s_ visit to, 9-11.
Barbary States, corsairs of, 155.
Bard, Dr. Samuel, 185, 186.
Beaumarchais, Caron de, 94.
Beefsteak and Tripe Club, 10.
Belvoir, Fairfax estate, 7.
Bennington, Battle of, 92.
Bernard, John, quoted on _W_. in retirement, 234-236.
_Blackwood's Magazine_, 3.
Blair, John, 161.
Bland, Theodorick, letter of _W_. to, 131, 132.
Bonhomme Richard, the. _See_ Jones, John Paul.
Boston, port of, transferred to Salem, 58;
blockaded by _W_., 69;
evacuated by Howe, 72, 73;
_W.'s_ visit to, as President, 189, 190.
Boston Tea Party, 58.
Botetourt, Norborne Berkeley, Lord, 53.
Boucher, Rev. Jonathan, 41.
Braddock, Edward, his career, 19, 20;
in America, 20;
attacks Fort Duquesne, and is defeated and killed, 21, 22; 255.
Bradford, William, 229.
Brant, Joseph, 92.
British troops, position of, at end of 1776, 83, 84, 85;
confined to New York City and Long Island, 86;
_W_. on maltreatment of prisoners by, 98;
field of operations of, transferred to South, 107, 121-123;
surrender of, at Yorktown, 123 _ff_.
Brown, Dr., 244, 245, 247, 248.
Bunker Hill, Battle of, 65, 68.
Burgoyne, John, takes Ticonderoga, 91;
defeated at Bennington, 92;
surrenders to Gates at Saratoga, 93.
Burke, Edmund, 55, 62, 120.
Bute, John Stuart, Earl of, 29, 49.
Butler, Pierce, 162.
Byrd, William, letter of _W_. to, 20, 21.
Calvert, Nelly, 42.
Cambridge, _W_. takes command of army at, 65;
_W.'s_ headquarters at, 69.
Canada, and Wolfe's victory at Quebec, 28.
Canova, Antonio, statue of _W_. by, 148.
Capital, national, question of location of, 182-185.
Carlyle, Thomas, 17.
Carroll, Daniel, 161.
Cavour, Camillo, Count di, 30, 251.
Chamberlayne, Major, 33.
Charming, Edward, _History of the U.S._, 111 _n_.
Chantrey, Sir F.L., statue of _W_., 148.
Cherry-tree story, absurdity of, 2.
Cincinnati, Society of the, public feeling against, 159;
_W_. resigns presidency of, 159.
Clark, Major, 10.
Clinton, George, Governor of New York, 136, 199.
Clinton, Sir Henry, succeeds Howe as Commander-in-Chief, 105;
takes troops to New York, 106;
was he responsible for bribing Arnold? 109, 110;
_W.'s_ criticism of, 118, 119; 93, 121, 123.
Clive, Robert, Lord, 28.
Clymer, George, 161.
Colonies, effect of Seven Years' War on, 29;
opposition to taxation in, 49 _ff_.;
at outbreak of war, 67;
diversity in origin and customs, 67, 68;
increasing urgency of demand for independence in, 75;
relations of, with England, in 1763, 47;
how affected by the Imperial Spirit, 47, 48;
in 1770, 53, 54;
at beginning of Revolution, 66;
lack of ardor for Independence, 84.
Committees of Correspondence, 57, 58.
Compromises of the Constitution. _See_ Representation, Slave
trade, Slavery.
Concord, Battle of, 64.
Congress of the U.S.:
_First: W.'s_ first address to, 179;
votes to assume state debts and change location of capital, 182-185.
_Fourth_: Jay Treaty ratified by Senate, 210;
bill to carry out treaty provisions passed by House, 210-213.
_Sixth_: revives rank of Commander-in-Chief for _W_., 217;
and _W_.'s death, 251, 253, 254.
Connecticut, population of, in 1775, 68.
Constitution of the U.S., in the making, 164-168;
promulgated, 168, 169;
_W.'s_ views of, 170, 171, 172;
ratified by States, 173-175;
opposition to, in N.Y. and Virginia, 174.
Constitutional Convention, call for, 158;
first meeting of, 160;
members of, 160-162;
_W_. President of, 161, 163;
proceedings of, secret, 163;
divers questions discussed, 164-168, 169, 170.
Continental Congress:
_First_: members of, 59;
work of, 59-61;
adopts Declaration of Rights, 60;
importance of, as a symbol, 61.
_Second_: elects _W_. Commander-in-Chief, 64;
sectional intrigues in, 74;
_W_. quoted on, 75;
appoints committee to confer with Howe, 79;
and _W.'s_ "doleful reports," 81;
removes to Baltimore, 85;
method of conducting the war, 90;
_W.'s_ farewell reception by, and address to, 137-139;
post-war attitude of, toward the army, discussed, 141, 142;
powers of, limited by Articles of Confederation, 152, 153;
its weakness, 153;
lack of unanimity in, 155;
rejects Spanish treaty, 155;
orders first election under Constitution, 175.
Conway, Thomas, and the Cabal, 112, 113;
letters of, to _W_., 113; 96.
Conway Cabal, The, 112-114, 116, 117.
Cornwallis, Charles, Earl, surrenders at Yorktown, 123.
Cowpens, Battle of the, 122.
Craik, Dr. James, attends _W_. in his last illness, 243 _ff_.; 253.
Critical Period of American History, 151 _ff_.
Custis, Daniel P., 33, 34.
Custis, Eleanor, _W.'s_ affection for, 233, 234.
And _see_ Lewis, Eleanor (Custis).
Custis, George W P., 233, 247.
Custis, John Parke, _W.'s_ step-son, 40-42; 104.
Custis, Mrs. Martha (Dandridge), widow of D.P. Custis, is courted by
_W_., 33, 34,
and marries him, 35.
And _see_ Washington, Martha (Custis).
Custis, Martha, W.'s step-daughter, 40, 41.
Dandridge, Francis, letter of _W_. to, 51, 52.
Davis, Rev. Mr., 252, 253.
Deane, Silas, sent to enlist aid of France, 94;
his unauthorized promises to Ducoudray, 95,
and Lafayette, 99.
Declaration of Independence, 78, 191.
"Declaration of Rights," 60.
Delaware River, _W.'s_ crossing of, 85, 86.
Democracy in the U.S., contrasted with earlier types, 178.
Democratic Party, 186.
Dent, Elizabeth, 31.
Dick, Dr., 245, 247, 248, 252.
Dickinson, John, 161.
Dinwiddie, Robert, sends _W_. on mission to French, 14;
sends expedition under Fry to take Duquesne, 15; 16, 17, 18, 20, 21.
Dorchester, Guy Carleton, Lord, 208.
Dorchester Heights, occupied by Americans, 73.
Ducoudray, M., 95.
Election, first, under Constitution, 175, 176.
Ellsworth, Oliver. 161.
England, expeditions planned by, 19 _ff_.;
effect of Chatham's administration on power and prestige of, 27, 28;
relations with Colonies in 1763, 47;
the Imperial Spirit in, 47 _ff_.;
measures imposing taxation on Colonies, 49 _ff_.;
division of opinion in, in 1770, 53, 54, 55;
Hessians in service of, 76;
effect of sea-power of, 84;
plans for campaign of 1777, 90, 91;
sends Commission to treat for peace, 109, 120;
reconstruction of government in, after Yorktown, 130;
and _W.'s_ proclamation of neutrality (1789), 204;
hatred of, in U.S., and the Jay Treaty, 208 _ff_.;
threat of war with, 208, 209;
and the U.S. in 1796 and 1914, 227, 228.
And _see_ Paris, Treaty of (1783).
England and France, rivalry between in North America, 12, 13;
actually at war, 19;
effect of Wolfe's victory at Quebec, 28;
war between (1789), 193;
difficulty in maintaining neutrality of U.S., 193 _ff_.
"Entangling alliances," authorship of the phrase, 227.
Estaing, Charles H, Count d', brings French fleet to America, 108.
Excise tax, on distilled spirits, 189;
and the Whiskey Insurrection, 218.
Fairfax, Bryan, letter of _W_. to, 62, 63; 253.
Fairfax, Sally, 31.
Fairfax, Thomas, Lord, employs _W_. to survey his estate, 5; 7.
Farewell Address, the, 224 _ff_.;
declarations of, how far applicable in 1914, 227, 228.
Fauchet, Joseph, 229.
Fauntleroy, Betsy, 30.
Fauquier, Francis, 35.
_Federalist, The_, 162.
Federalist Party, break-up of, 228; 186, 187.
Fitzsimmons, Thomas, 161.
Fort Duquesne, built by French, 13;
unsuccessfully attacked by Braddock, 21 _ff_.;
renamed Fort Pitt, 34, 255.
Fort Necessity, surrender of, 16, 17.
Fox, Charles James, 55.
France, steps toward alliance with, 94 _ff_.;
effect of victory at Saratoga in, 99;
treaty with, 99 and _n_.;
results of alliance on American commerce and privateering, 108;
sends fleet to America, 108;
effect in England of alliance with, 119;
and _W.'s_ proclamation of neutrality, 204;
effect of feeling of gratitude to, in U.S., 205;
later relations with, 215, 216;
and the U.S. in 1796 and 1914, 227, 228.
And _see_ England and France.
Franklin, Benjamin, on committee to confer with Howe, 79;
on Peace Commission, 130;
quoted, 173; 21, 155, 160, 161, 201, 236.
Frederick the Great, 259.
Freedom of speech, _W_. and, 222, 223.
Freemasons, at _W.'s_ funeral, 253.
French, westward and southward progress of, 13;
build Fort Duquesne, 13.
French Committee of Public Safety, Monroe's letter to, 216.
French and Indian War. _See_ Seven Years' War.
French Revolution, reaction of, in U.S., 193 _ff_.
Freneau, Philip, and his _National Gazette_, encouraged by
Jefferson, 200, 201, 219, 220.
Fry, Colonel, 15.
Gage, Thomas, military and civil governor of Boston, 61;
_W_. quoted on his conduct, 63;
recalled, 72.
Gallatin, Albert, opposes Jay Treaty, 210, 211.
Gates, Horatio, Adjutant-General, 71;
defeats Burgoyne at Saratoga, 92, 93;
ambitious to supplant _W_., 114; 112.
Genet, Edmond Charles, mission of, to U.S., 194 _ff_.;
would appeal to people over government, 198,205;
snubbed by Jefferson, 198;
his recall requested, 199.
George II, 18.
George III, dismisses Pitt, 29;
and the British Empire, 48;
makes North Prime Minister, 54;
effect of events of 1778 on, 119;
and of the failure of the Commission on Reconciliation, 120; 60,
130, 153, 259.
Georgetown, proposed as seat of national capital, 184.
Georgia, only colony unrepresented in First Continental Congress, 59;
British victories in, 122; 165.
Gerry, Elbridge, on X.Y.Z. mission to France, 215; 161, 168, 169.
Giles, William B., and newspaper attacks on _W_., 219, 221.
Gist, Christopher, 14.
Gladstone, W.E., quoted, 173.
Gorham, Nathaniel, 161.
Great Britain. _See_ England.
Great Meadows. _See_ Fort Necessity.
Greene, Nathanael, commands in South, 122; 110, 162, 163, 258.
"Half-King, the." _See_ Thanacarishon.
Hamilton, Alexander, influence of, ensures ratification of
Constitution in N.Y., 174;
Secretary of Treasury, 181, 228, 229;
opposition to, 181, 182;
favors "Assumption," 182,183;
obtains Jefferson's support for compromise, 183, 184;
his political status, 187;
his protective tariff, 188;
his measures tended to centralization, 189,192;
quoted, on the French Revolution, 197, 198;
_W_. seeks to keep peace between Jefferson and, 199, 200;
attacked by Freneau, 200;
attacks Jefferson in newspapers, 201;
urges _W_. to accept second term, 201;
and the Whiskey Insurrection, 218;
and the Farewell Address, 224; 160, 167, 168, 180, 195, 208, 210,
217, 241, 258.
Hancock, John, President of Congress, 64;
letter of _W_. to, 80, 81;
Governor of Massachusetts, and _W.'s_ visit to Boston, 189,
190; 64, 256.
Harlem, Heights of, army stationed on, 80.
Harrison, Benjamin, letter of _W_. to, 143.
Hay, Anthony, 53.
Henry, Patrick, quoted, 50;
opposed to Constitution, 174; 59, 60, 162.
Herkimer, Nicholas, 92.
Hessians, in British army, 76;
defeated at Trenton, 86.
Hortalaz et Cie, 94.
Houdon, Jean A., statue of _W_. 148.
House of Representatives, representation of States in, 167.
Howe, Richard, Lord, takes fleet to N.Y., 76; 72, 83.
Howe, Sir William, evacuates Boston, 72, 73;
fruitless peace overtures of, 79;
in Phila. (1777-78), 104, 105;
succeeded by Clinton, 105; 74, 78, 87, 91.
Humphreys, Colonel, as Chamberlain at President's receptions, 180, 181.
Imperial Spirit, effect of, on relations between England and
Colonies, 47, 48;
revived by events of 1778, 119.
Independence Hall, Phila., 160.
Indians, surprise attack by, 21, 22;
difficulties of _W_.'s administration with, 190, 191.
Ingersoll, Jared, 161.
Irving, Washington, _Life of Washington_, quoted, 181, 185,
186, 195. 217, 233.
Jackson, Robert, 24.
Jacobin Club, 193.
Jay, John, on Peace Commission, 130;
concludes treaty with Spain, 155;
appointed Chief Justice, 186;
mission of, to England in 1794-95, 207;
his character, 207;
prejudice against, in U.S., 208;
Secretary of State, 228;
letters of _W_. to, 142, 157; 59, 162, 180, 258.
And _see_ Jay Treaty.
Jay Treaty, the, negotiated, 207, 208, 209;
opposition of Anti-Federalists to, 209;
ratified by Senate, 210;
violent struggle over, in House, 210-213;
how the controversy was settled, 213;
effect of, 214;
and the Federalist Party, 228.
Jefferson, Thomas, _A Summary View_, 60;
Secretary of State, 181, 186, 192, 228, 229;
interview with Hamilton on Assumption, etc., 183-185;
most aggressive of Democrats, 187, 191;
rivalry with Hamilton, 192;
and the French Revolution, 193;
and Citizen Genet, 194, 195, 198;
_W_. seeks to keep peace between Hamilton and, 199, 200;
and Freneau's attacks on _W_., 200, 219, 220, 221;
intrigues against Hamilton, 200, 201;
urges _W_. to accept second term, 201, 202;
resigns as Secretary of State, 206;
155, 160, 161, 162, 180, 181, 207, 227, 258.
Johnson, W.S., 168.
Joncaire, M., 14.
Jones, John Paul, 120, 121.
Jumonville, M. de, 15, 18.
Kalb, Baron Johann de, 95, 100.
King, Rufus, 161, 167, 168.
Knox, Henry, Secretary of War, 181, 229;
letters of _W_. to, 170, 171, 203;
95, 123, 124, 136, 217, 231, 258.
Kosciuszko, Tadeusz, 95.
Lafayette, Gilbert Motier, Marquis de, joins _W_.'s staff, 99;
and Charles Lee, at Monmouth, 115;
letters of _W_. to, 143, 144, 145, 170, 171, 172; 110, 123.
Lansing, John, 161.
Laurens, Henry, letters of _W_. to, 101-103, 117, 118.
Lear, Tobias, secretary to _W_., 148;
quoted, 242;
his account of _W_.'s last hours, 243-249;
notes on _W_.'s funeral, 252, 253; 232, 241, 250.
Lee, Billy (slave), 238, 239.
Lee, Charles, appointed Major-General, 70, 71;
at Monmouth, 106, 115;
censured by _W_., 106, 115, 116;
early career of, 114, 115;
court-martialed, and leaves the army, 116;
anecdote of, 116 _n_.; 65, 128.
Lee, Charles, Attorney-General, 229.
Lee, Henry, author of phrase, "First in war," etc., 251;
letter of _W_. to, 221, 222.
Lee, Richard H., letters of _W_. to, 96, 147; 163.
Lewis, Mrs. Eleanor (Custis), 242.
Lewis, Lawrence, and Miss Custis, 232, 233; 247.
Lexington, Battle of, 63.
Lillo, George, _George Barnwell_, 10, 11.
Lincoln, Abraham, 149.
Lincoln, Benjamin, surrenders Charleston, S.C., 122;
receives surrender of British at Yorktown, 125; 123.
Livingston, Robert R., 177.
Lodge, H.C., _George Washington_, quoted, 15, 17, 220, 235, 236.
Long Island, Battle of, 77, 78.
Louis XVI, execution of, 193; 94, 99.
Low-Land Beauty, the, 30.
Loyalists, in the Colonies, 61, 62;
during and after the war, 127, 128.
McClellan, George B., 82.
McClurg, James, 162.
McHenry, James, Secretary of War, 229;
letter of, to _W_., 217; 161, 231, 232.
McKean, Thomas, 59.
MacKenzie, Robert, letter of _W_. to, 63.
Machiavelli, Niccolo, _The Prince_, and _W_.'s Farewell
Address, 226.
Madison, James, opposes Jay Treaty, 210;
and the Farewell Address, 224;
letter of _W_. to, 158;
156, 159, 160, 161, 163, 165, 168, 194, 242.
Marie Antoinette, execution of, 193.
Marshall, John, _Life of Washington_, quoted, 28, 136, 137-139;
on X.Y.Z. mission to France, 215; 47, 251, 258.
Mason, George, plan of association, 52, 53;
letter to _W_. 56;
letter of _W_. to, 56; 161, 168, 169.
Massachusetts, leads in opposing acts of British Crown, 49;
charter of, suspended, 58, 59;
population of, in 1775, 67, 68;
and Virginia, jealousy between, 64;
freed from British troops, 74.
Mather, W., _The Young Man's Companion_, 4.
Meil, Mrs., 30, 31.
Mifflin, Thomas, of the Conway Cabal, 116; 138, 139, 161.
Military dictatorship under _W_., fear of, 141, 142, 154.
Militia, _W_. quoted on, 81.
Miner, Rev. James, 252.
Mississippi River, Lower, closed to Americans by treaty with Spain,
155.
Moffatt, Rev. Mr., 252.
Monarchy, fears of reversion to, 142.
Monmouth, Battle of, 106.
Monongahela River, 13.
Monroe, James, Minister to France, recalled by _W_., 216;
his letter to Committee of Public Safety, 116; 242.
Montcalm, Louis Joseph, Marquis de, 28.
Montgomery, Richard, at Quebec, 71, 72; 77.
Morgan, Daniel, 122.
Morris, Gouverneur, 161, 167, 168, 207.
Morris, Robert, letter to _W_., 88; 161.
Morris, Roger, 32, 80.
Morristown, winter quarters at, 89.
Mossum, Rev. Peter, 35.
Mount Vernon, inherited by Lawrence Washington, 5;
hospitality of, 7, 45;
_W_. manager of, 12;
inherited by _W_., 33;
a model plantation of Its kind, 39, 43, 44;
_W_. returns to, after the war, 139;
his life at, 146;
his last days at, 232 _ff_.;
his funeral at, 251-253.
Napoleon I, 218, 240.
_National Gazette_, 220, 222.
Neal, John, quoted, 3.
Neutrality, Proclamation of, gives offense to both England and
France, 204;
the only rational course, 205.
New England, manufacturing in, 68;
freed from British troops, 74.
New Jersey, 155.
New York City, _W_.'s headquarters at, 76;
Howe's fleet arrives at, 76;
loyalist sentiment in, 78, 79, 121;
British troops return to, 105,106;
_W_.'s farewell to officers at, 136, 137;
_W_. inaugurated as President at, 176, 177;
ceases to be national capital, 182 _ff_.
New York State, fails to choose electors in 1788, 175.
North, Frederick, Lord, Prime Minister, 54;
his subservience to the King, 54, 55;
retires after Yorktown, 130; 60, 61.
North Carolina, British victories in, 122.
Northwest, the, _W_.'s vision of development of, 144, 145.
Office-seekers, _W_. and, 180.
O'Hara, General, 125.
Ohio River, 13.
Oriskany, Battle of, 92.
Osgood, Samuel, 229.
Otis, James, 49.
Pall-holders at _W_.'s funeral, 252.
Paris, Treaty of (1763), 28, 29.
Paris, Treaty of (1783), 130, 131;
_W_. quoted on, 131.
Parliament, passes and repeals Stamp Act, 49;
lays duties on paper, tea, etc., 49;
other irritating measures passed by, 53, 58;
enacts penal laws, 58, 59.
"Parsons Cause, The," 50.
Parties, in _W_.'s first term, 186, 187.
Peale, Charles, portrait of _W_., 148, 150.
Peale, Rembrandt, portrait of _W_., 148.
Pearson, Captain, 120.
Pendleton, Edmund, 59.
Pennsylvania, population of, in 1775, 68; 58, 155.
Peter the Great, 259.
Philadelphia, non-importation agreement of merchants of, 52;
Continental Congresses meet at, 59, 64;
_W_. at, 75 _ff_.;
British troops at, in 1777-78, 104, 105;
_W_. takes possession of, 106;
to be national capital for ten years, 183, 185;
Genet at, 196.
Philipse, Frederick, 31.
Philipse, Mary, 31, 32.
Pickering, Timothy, Cabinet offices held by, 228, 229; 231.
Pinckney, Charles, 162.
Pinckney, Charles C., on X.Y.Z. mission to France, 215, 216; 162,
165, 166, 217.
Pitt, William, Earl of Chatham, effect of his accession to power,
27, 28;
dismissed by George III, 29;
his last appearance in the Lords, 119, and death, 120.
Pitt, William, the younger, 55, 62.
Pittsburgh, on site of Fort Duquesne, 34, 255.
Plassey, Buttle of, 48.
Portraits of _W_., 148, 149, 150.
President, discussion as to term and method of election of, 167, 168;
_W_.'s view of office of, 178;
_W_.'s example as preventive of third term for, 223, 224.
Press, the, virulence and indecency of, 219 _ff_.
Princeton, Battle of, 86, 87.
Privateering, effect of French Alliance on, 108, 120, 121.
Protective tariff, Hamilton's, 188.
Pulaski, Count Casimir, 95, 97.
Quebec, Battle of, 28, 48;
abortive attack on, 71, 72;
persistence in project of capturing, 77.
Quincy, Josiah, 49.
Rall, Colonel, 86.
Randolph, Edmund, Attorney-General, 181, 186, 229;
Secretary of State, 206,228;
his "Vindication," 229, 230;
letter of _W_. to, 208, 209; 161, 169, 193.
Randolph, Peyton, 59.
Rawlins, Mr., 243, 253.
Reconciliation, Commission on, 109, 120.
Representation of States in Congress, question of, settled by
compromise, 167.
Republicans, 186.
Revolutionary War. _See_ American Revolution.
Robinson, Beverly, 31.
Robinson, Mr., Speaker of the House of Burgesses (Va.), quoted, 36.
Rochambeau, Jean B.D. de Vimeure, Count de, 122, 125.
Rockingham, Charles Wentworth, Marquis of, 130.
Rodney, George, Lord, 153.
Rutledge, Edward, on committee to confer with Howe, 79; 59.
Rutledge, John, 59, 162, 168.
St. Clair, General, 191.
St. Leger, Barry, 91.
Saratoga, Battle of, Burgoyne defeated in, 93;
effect of, in France, 99.
Schuyler, Philip, 65.
Senate of U.S., representation of States in, 167.
Seven Years' War, 27 _ff_.;
effect of, 29.
Shays, Daniel, 158.
Shays's Rebellion, causes of, 157,158.
Shelburne, William Petty, Earl of, 130.
Sherman, Roger, 59, 161, 168.
Shirley, William, 32.
Slave labor, _W_.'s view of, 38; 68.
Slave trade, question of, settled by compromise, 165, 166.
Slavery, why _W_. disapproved of, 38, 39, 238;
question of, settled by compromise, 164, 165.
Slaves, _W_.'s relations with, 38, 237-239;
number of, in Colonies, in 1775, 68.
South Carolina, population of, in 1775, 68;
British victories in, 122; 165.
Sparks, Jared, his _Life of Washington_, defects of, 3;
quoted, 113,116 and _n_., 146.
Spearing, Ann, 31.
Stamp Act, 49, 51, 52, 66.
Stark, John, defeats Burgoyne at Bennington, 92.
State debts, assumption of, by national government, how secured,
182-185;
favored by _W_., 188.
State rights, problem of, 167;
a fundamental subject of difference, 187.
States of the Confederation, _W_.'s farewell letter to
governors of, 135;
after the Revolution, 152, 156;
their relations to one another, 152, 153;
lack of coherence among, 154, 155;
foreign relations of, ignominious, 155;
delegates of, in Constitutional Convention, 160-162;
ratification by, 175, 174.
And _see_ Paris, Treaty of (1783).
Statues of _W_., 148.
Steuben, Baron Frederick W. von, 95, 110, 111.
Stone, F.D., _Struggle for the Delaware_, quoted, 100, 101.
Strong, Caleb, 161, 168.
Stuart, Gilbert, portraits of _W_., 149.
Sulgrave, English home of Washington family, 1.
Sullivan, John, defeated on Long Island, 77.
Talleyrand-Perigord, Charles M. de, and the X.Y.Z. mission, 216.
Tariff, _W_.'s view of a, 189.
Tarleton, Sir Banastre, 122.
"Taxation without representation," 55, 57.
Thanacarishon, Seneca chief, quoted, on _W_. 14, 15.
Thomas, John, 71.
Ticonderoga, taken by Burgoyne, 91.
Tobacco-raising in Virginia, 39, 40.
Toner, J.M., _The Daily Journal of George Washington_, 11
_n_.
Trenton, Battle of, and its effect, 86, 87.
Trumbull, Jonathan, letter of _W_. to, 231.
Tryon, William, 79.
United States, debt of Confederation turned over to, 182;
excitement in, over Citizen Genet, 195 _ff_.;
anomalous position of, between France and England, 205, 206;
the first country in which free speech existed, 222;
effect of _W_.'s example on world's opinion of, 259.
United States Bank, 189.
Valley Forge, American army in winter quarters at, 100 _ff_., 118.
Van Braam, Jacob, 14.
Vergennes, Charles Gravier, Count de, favors cause of the Colonies, 94;
secures cooeperation of Spain, 99; 142.
Vernon, Edward, Admiral, 5, 9.
Victoria, Queen, 153.
Virginia, effect in, of Braddock's defeat, 24, 25;
in the 1750's, 44, 45;
fox-hunting and horse-racing, 45,46;
opposition in, to acts of the Crown, 50, 51;
state of opinion in, 55, 56; population of, in 1775, 67, 68;
jealousy between Mass, and, 64; 164, 166.
Virginia House of Burgesses, _W_. a member of, 36, 37;
adopts Mason's plan of association, 53.
Walpole, Horace, 18.
Washington, Augustine, _W.'s_ father, marries Mary Ball, 1.
Washington, George, ancestry, 1;
birth, 1, 2;
childhood and education, 2;
errors of Weems's biography, 2, 3;
absurdity of the cherry-tree story, 2;
Sparks's ill-advised editing of letters of, 3, 4;
and Mather's _Young Man's Companion_, 4;
surveys Fairfax estate, 5;
results of his experience as surveyor, 5;
his journals, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 37, 38, 39, 169;
his disposition, 7, 8;
attention, to dress, 8, 9;
declines appointment as midshipman, 9;
commissioned major of militia, 9;
visit to Barbados, 9, 10;
as manager of Mt. Vernon, 12;
sent by Dinwiddie on mission of warning to French, 14;
and the "Half-King," 14, 15;
second in command of Fry's expedition, 15_ff_.;
was he a "silent man"? 17, 18;
a volunteer on Braddock's expedition, 20, 21;
his account of the defeat, 22, 23;
his conduct in the battle, 23;
moral results of his campaigning, 25, 26;
his early love-affairs, 30, 31;
and Mary Philipse, 31, 32;
his physique, 32, 69;
a sound thinker, 33, 70;
inherits Mt. Vernon, 33;
courts and marries Mrs. Custis, 33, 34, 35;
in House of Burgesses, 36, 37;
as an agriculturist, 37 _ff_.;
his views on slave labor, 38, and slavery, 38, 39, 238;
relations with his slaves, 38, 237-239;
and his step-children, 40-42;
by nature a man of business, 42, 43;
improves his education, 43, 44;
as a country gentleman, 44_ff_.;
the hospitality of Mt. Vernon, 45.
His view of the Stamp Act and other measures of the British
Government, 51, 52;
a loyal American, 52;
signs Mason's plan of association, 53;
no doubt as to his position, 55, 56, 57;
offers to raise 1000 men at his own expense, 57;
in first Continental Congress, 59, 60;
his mind made up, 62, 63;
chosen Commander-in-chief of Continental forces, 64, 65;
takes command at Cambridge, 65, 69;
plans to blockade Boston, 69;
jealousy among his officers, 70, 71;
and military amateurs, 71;
opposes expedition against Canada, 71;
whips his army into shape, 72;
appeals for supply of powder, 72;
forces evacuation of Boston, 73;
moves troops to New York, 74;
before Congress in Phila., 74, 75;
his opinion of Congress, 75;
retreats from Long Island after Sullivan's defeat, 77, 78;
inadequacy of his resources, 78;
moves army to Heights of Harlem, 80;
on the evils of American military system, 80, 81;
his troops not discouraged by his frankness, 82;
on the difficulty of his position, 82, 83;
his movements after battle of White Plains, 83 _ff_.;
crosses the Delaware and wins battles of Trenton and Princeton, 86;
a Necessary Man, 87;
his fearlessness of danger, 87, 88;
his movements impeded by dependence on Congress, 90, 118, 119;
his miscellaneous labors, 95 _ff_.;
his circular on looting by his troops, 97, 98;
on the maltreatment of American prisoners, 98;
takes Lafayette on his staff, 99;
chooses Valley Forge for winter quarters, 100;
describes its horrors, 101-103;
enters Phila. on the heels of the British, 106;
censures Charles Lee at Monmouth, 106;
the uneventful summer and autumn of 1778, 109;
refuses to commute Andre's sentence, 111;
jealous ambitions of his associates: the Conway Cabal, 111 _ff_.;
and Gates, 114;
and C. Lee, 114-116, 116_n_.;
on the intrigues of his enemies, 117, 118;
difficulties of his position, 118;
forced inactivity of, 121;
marches South to Virginia, 123;
lays siege to Yorktown, and forces Cornwallis to surrender, 122-125;
the country unanimous in giving him credit for the final victory 128,
129.
His view of the problems to be solved after the peace, 131;
urges payment of troops in full, 131-133, 134;
and the plan to make him king, 134, 135;
his letter to governors of States, 135;
his farewell to his officers, 136, 137;
his reception by, and address to, Congress, 137-139;
returns to Mt. Vernon, 139;
his life there, described, 140, 141, 143, 144, 146, 147;
fears of military dictatorship under, 141, 142;
his vision of the development of the Northwest 144, 145;
declines all gifts and pay for his services, 146;
his correspondence, 147, 148;
fears further trouble with England, 153;
his pessimism over the outlook for the future, 156, 157;
reluctantly consents to sit in Constitutional Convention, 158, 159;
and the Society of the Cincinnati, 159;
President of the Convention, 163, 164, 168, 169, 170;
his view of the Constitution, 170 _ff_.;
unanimously elected first President of the U.S., 175;
the journey to New York and inauguration, 176, 177.
His receptions as President, 178, 179, 180, 181;
his inaugural address, 179;
dealings with office-seekers, 180;
his first Cabinet, 181, 186;
serious illness of, 185, 186;
appoints Justices of Supreme Court, 186;
a Federalist, 187, 199, 215;
favors Assumption, 187, 188;
his tariff views, 189;
his visit to Boston, 189, 190;
sends expeditions against Indians, 191;
approves Hamilton's centralizing measures, 192;
determined to maintain neutrality as between France and England, 193;
deals firmly with Genet, 198;
open criticism of, 199, 200, 201, 219 _ff_.;
his sympathies generally with Hamilton against Jefferson, 199;
effect on, of newspaper abuse, 201, 223;
disinclined to serve second term, 201;
reelected, 202, 203, 204;
issues Proclamation of Neutrality, 204;
its effect, 204, 205;
appoints Randolph to succeed Jefferson, 206;
and the Jay Treaty, 207 _ff_.;
sends C.C. Pinckney to replace Monroe in Paris, 215;
why he recalled Monroe, 215, 216;
consents to act as Commander-in-Chief in 1799, 217, 240;
puts down Whiskey Insurrection, 218, 219;
favors maintenance of free speech, 222;
declines to consider a third term, 223;
effect in later years of the precedent set by him, 223, 224;
his "Farewell Address," 224-227;
what would he have done in 1914? 228;
changes in his Cabinet, 228, 229;
and the charges against Randolph, 229, 230.
Again in retirement at Mt. Vernon, 231 _ff_.;
and Nelly Custis, 233;
his career reviewed, 234, 254-260;
Bernard quoted on, 234-236;
his detractors, 236, 237;
his religious beliefs, 239, 240;
declines all public undertakings, 240;
his last illness, 241 _ff_.;
the last hours described by T. Lear, 243-249;
his death, 249;
action of Congress and President Adams, 251;
his funeral at Mt. Vernon, 252, 253;
project for memorial of, abandoned, 254;
his rank as a soldier, 256, 257;
as President, 258;
the most _actual_ statesman of his time, 258;
his example made the world change its mind about republics, 259.
_Portraits and statues of_, 148-150.
_Letters_ (quoted in whole or in part) to John Adams, 217;
Theodorick Bland, 131;
Rev. Mr. Boucher, 41;
William Byrd, 20;
Thomas Conway, 112;
Francis Dandridge, 51;
Robert Dinwiddie, 17, 22;
Bryan Fairfax, 62;
John Hancock, 9;
Benjamin Harrison, 143;
Sir W. Howe, 98;
Robert Jackson, 24;
John Jay, 142, 157;
Thomas Jefferson, 221;
Henry Knox, 170;
Marquis de Lafayette, 143, 145, 170, 171;
Henry Laurens, 101, 117;
Henry Lee, 203, 221;
Richard H. Lee, 96, 147;
Robert Mackenzie, 63;
George Mason, 56;
Gouverneur Morris, 207;
Edmund Randolph, 208;
Jonathan Trumbull, 231;
John Augustine Washington, 23, 75, 85;
Lund Washington, 82;
Martha (Custis) Washington, 34;
Mary Ball Washington, 24.
Washington, John, _W_.'s great-grandfather settles in Virginia, 1.
Washington, John Augustine, _W_.'s brother, letters of _W_.
to, 75, 85; 1, 11, 23.
Washington, Lawrence,_W.'s_ half-brother, inherits Mount Vernon, 5;
_W_.'s guardian, 5;
marries Lord Fairfax's daughter, 5;
visits Barbados with _W_., 9-11;
his death, 11, 12; 7, 33.
Washington, Lund, letter of _W_. to, 82, 83.
Washington, Mrs. Martha (Custis), quoted, 104;
and _W_.'s last illness, 243 _ff_.;
letter of, to President Adams, 254;
buried at Mount Vernon, 254; 9, 38, 41, 43, 45, 252, 253.
Washington, Mrs. Mary (Ball), _W_.'s mother, 2, 9, 24.
Washington, Mildred, _W_.'s niece, _W_. guardian of, 12;
her death, 12.
Washington family, the, 1.
Wayne, Anthony, 191.
Webster, Daniel, quoted, 188; 211.
Webster, Peletiah, 156.
Weems, Rev. Mason L., his _Life of_ _Washington_,
discredited, 2, 3.
West Point, surrendered by Arnold, 110.
Whigs, in Parliament, favor Colonies, 54, 62.
Whiskey Insurrection, the, 218, 219.
White House (Custis estate), 34, 35, 36.
White Plains, Battle of, 83.
Wilson, James, 161.
Wister, Owen, 30 _n_.
Wolcott, Oliver, Jr., 228, 229.
Wolfe, James, 28, 105.
Wythe, George, 161.
X.Y.Z. mission to France, 215, 216.
Yates, Robert, 161.
Yorktown, Cornwallis surrenders at, 123 _ff_.;
the war really ended at, 126;
effect in England, 130.
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