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MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. I7 
 
 possessed some mathematical knowledge and under- 
 stood surveying thoroughly. As he reached his fif- 
 teenth year, he desired to enter the British navy. 
 It was a time of war. The tears of his mother, it is 
 said, prevented this step when every preparation had 
 been made ready for his embarkation. Thus it will be 
 seen, that filial love and reverence for a widowed 
 mother were the means used by a superintending Prov- 
 idence to save him from a step that might have led 
 him far away from the brilliant destiny and useful ca- 
 reer that awaited him. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 , There's a divinity that shapes our ends, 
 
 Rough hew them as we will. 
 
 At sixteen years of age we find Washington a visitor 
 at the house of his brother Lawrence. His brother 
 lived at Mount Vernon, on the Potomac. Lawrence 
 Washington had been a member of the ro3^al navy, and 
 had accompanied Admiral Vernon to South America, 
 in the unsuccessful expedition against Carthagena, in 
 1740. While on this expedition Captain Lawrence 
 Washington formed intimate personal relations with 
 Vernon, and at the close of the war, after he retired 
 to his home, named the plantation he had inherited 
 from his father after the Admiral under whom he 
 had served. The meager records which have been 
 spared us of the early youth of Washington, enable 
 us to form some idea of the direction of his mind and 
 the early development of that thoughtful consider- 
 ation for others, and that watchfulness over himself, 
 that so characterized his later years. When about 
 
l8 memoir of WASHINGTON. 
 
 thirteen years of age, he kept a blank book for the 
 reception of such rules and maxims as he thought 
 useful and instructive. About forty rules are found 
 copied in this manuscript for the government of his 
 life, manners, and conversation. We will copy for 
 our young readers three of the rules selected from 
 his code : " When you speak of God or his attributes 
 be seriously reverent. Let your recreations be man- 
 ful^ not sinful. Labor to keep alive in your breast 
 that little spark of celestial fire called conscience." 
 While George was a visitor at his brother's house, 
 he formed the acquaintance of Lord Fairfax, a near 
 neighbor of his brother. This British nobleman, from 
 some disappointment in love, had been induced to 
 abandon the gay world, and had come to Virginia in 
 1739, ^o look after the large estates he had inherited 
 from his mother. His mother was the daughter of 
 Lord Culpepper, who had been the Governor of the 
 province of Virginia between the years 1680 and 1683. 
 His estates comprised more than five millions of- acres 
 lyingbetween the Rappahannock and Potomac, on both 
 sides of tiie Blue Ridge, including a great portion of 
 the Shenandoah Valley. Lord Fairfax was so pleased 
 with the physical and social aspects of the country 
 that he determined to spend the remainder of his life 
 in Virginia. He erected a beautiful seat called Bel- 
 voir, near Mount Vernon. In 1748 he became ac- 
 quainted with George Washington, a boy of sixteen 
 years of age, but so mature did this boy appear to 
 Lord Fairfax, that he intrusted to him the work of 
 surveying his lands west of the Blue Ridge. Wash- 
 ington faithfully executed the business committed to 
 him, undergoing many privations and hardships in 
 
MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. I9 
 
 traversing the wild and then almost uninhabited coun- 
 try. This pursuit was continued for three years. 
 This was the commencement of an intimacy between 
 Fairfax and Washington, which lasted through all po- 
 litical changes and differences of opinion, until Fair- 
 fax closed, at an advanced age, his earthly career. 
 So favorable was the report given by Washington of 
 the lands surveyed, that Fairfax determined to remove 
 to the fertile and beautiful valley of Virginia, where, 
 at a place called Greenway Court, he lived for many 
 years in a state of baronial hospitality. Some of the 
 manuscripts of Washington when a boy have come 
 down to us, written with much accuracy and method, 
 and testify that he had thoroughly improved all the edu- 
 cational advantages he had possessed. How few boys 
 in our vaunted days of progress and school facilities 
 would be qualified at sixteen to do extensive and reliable 
 work as a surveyor. Mr. Irving, in his Life of Wash- 
 ington, speaks of the remarkable neatness and pre- 
 cision of his accounts and papers when a youth, and of 
 his skill in the construction of tables and drawing of 
 plans. Specimens of these from his school-boy days 
 yet remain. He acquired, too, at an early age, among 
 his companions and contemporaries, a character for 
 justice, veracity, and sterling honor, that he main- 
 tained to the latest day of his life. In his intervals of 
 toil he seemed always to be attracted to the best men 
 and to be cherished by them. Fairfax, his employer, 
 an Oxford scholar, became his devoted friend. He 
 read with close attention. His papers show that he 
 gained the power of writing and expressing himself 
 with clearness and directness. His literary culture, 
 as we have already hinted, was not equal to some of 
 
20 MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. 
 
 those with whom he was afterward destined to act 
 on the great theater of national affairs ; but no man 
 ever appeared to be, or ever was, from his youth up- 
 ward and from his first actions, more set apart for 
 his future Hfe and for the cause whose success he 
 was afterward to insure. He early showed a mili- 
 tary taste, as was proved by his desire to enter the navy 
 in a time of war. He had great skill in horsemanship. 
 His robust constitution' was invigorated by his early 
 life in the wilderness and by his rigid temperance, so 
 that few equaled him in strength of arm or power of 
 endurance. In writing to Gov. Dinwiddie, Washing- 
 ton says: "I can answer that I have a constitution 
 hardy enough to encounter and undergo the most se- 
 vere trials, and I flatter myself, resolution to face 
 what any man dares, as shall be proved when it 
 comes to the test." 
 
 In 1754, George II. was listening to a dispatch from 
 the Governor of Virginia, in which young Major Wash- 
 ington concluded an account of the first skirmish 
 with these words : " I heard the bullets whistle, and, 
 believe me, there is something charming in the 
 sound." The king remarked, " He would not say so 
 if he had heard many." Washington was afterward 
 of the king's opinion ; for when the major of the 
 Virginia militia had become commander-in-chief of 
 the armies of the United States, he replied to some 
 one who asked him if he had ever expressed himself 
 thus, " If I ever said so, it was when I was very 
 young." This story, taken from Walpole's Memoirs 
 of George 11. , is of very doubtful authority. George 
 11. was the last monarch of England who appeared 
 
MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. 21 
 
 personally on a field of battle. He had heard many- 
 bullets whistle in the Thirty Years war. Voltaire re- 
 cords as a fact that the reckless Charles XII. of 
 Sweden said, that no music was so sweet to him as 
 the whistling of bullets, but a feeling like this ill 
 comports with the serious and serene ardor of Wash- 
 ington. His youthful ardor bore the authority of ma- 
 turer years. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 I hear the tread of pioneers, 
 
 Of nations yet to be, 
 The first low wash of waves, where soon 
 
 Shall roll a human sea. 
 
 An eventful period now approached, when all the 
 military taste and skill that Washington possessed 
 were to be developed. The boundaries between the 
 British and French possessions in America had been 
 for many years a subject of dispute. The treaty of 
 Aix la Chapelle, in 1748, left those boundaries still 
 undefined. The English based their pretensions to 
 the territories they claimed, on the discoveries of the 
 Cabots. John Cabot, with his son Sebastian, had been 
 sent out by Henry VII. of England on a voyage of 
 discovery. These men were the first to discover the 
 continent of America, in 1497- Columbus discovered 
 the mainland of South America in 1498, at the mouth 
 of the Orinoco. Sebastian Cabot, in a second voyage, 
 took possession, in the name of his sovereign, of all 
 the coast from Labrador to Chesapeake Bay. In 1524, 
 a Florentine navigator, sailing in the service of 
 France, explored the coast from the Carolinas to New- 
 
22 MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. 
 
 foundland. Ten years afterward, Cartier discovered 
 the St. Lawrence river and took possession in the 
 name of the king of France, and all the country north 
 of it. The French, however, made no permanent 
 settlement on the St. Lawrence until one was made 
 at Quebec, in 1608. The English claimed all the 
 coast from Newfoundland to Florida. The French 
 claimed all the interior portion adjacent to the St. 
 Lawrence, and the Mississippi and its tributaries, on 
 the ground that they had explored it ; and in order to 
 make good their claims they had erected forts in vari- 
 ous places in this region. The Spaniards and Portu- 
 guese had taken possession of all South America, 
 and the former power had made settlements in 
 Florida. Thus you see the powers of Europe, the white 
 men, claimed all the immense territories of the red 
 •men. It must ever be thus : ignorance and barbarity 
 must yield to knowledge and civilization. The history 
 of the red men, or Indians, is full of painful and tragic 
 interest. There have been occasionally revealed 
 among these untaught children of the wilderness the 
 most noble traits of character — gleams and flashes of 
 nobility that prove they were created by the Great 
 Spirit, whom they profess to worship. Think of the 
 heroic conduct of the Indian Virginian maiden Poca- 
 hontas, who risked her own life to save another's, 
 and of her kindness and generosity manifested to the 
 infant colony at Jamestown. Where did she learn 
 mercy?* Not from her cruel father or treacherous 
 
 *Some historians now affect to disbelieve the story of the inter- 
 position of tlie Indian maiden to save Smith. The elements of 
 probability in this incident challenge our belief. Some persons are 
 unbelievers in all heroism. " When a man is infected," says Dr. Ar- 
 nold, "with anti-romance, he has lost the finest part of his nature." 
 
MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. 23 
 
 countrymen. No ; they considered it a virtue to tor- 
 ture their enemies. Her virtues were instincts kindled 
 in her breast by the Holy Spirit. There were, too, 
 bold brave spirits among them ; such as Philip in the 
 early days of Indian warfare (in New England), and 
 Pontiac in the Northwest, and Tecumseh, half a cen- 
 tury ago, who would have driven the white man from 
 their borders, but the odds against them were too fear- 
 fully great. 
 
 A short time before the Revolutionary war com- 
 menced (in October, 1774), the Shawanese Indians 
 waged fearful strife in western and southwestern Vir- 
 ginia. Some of the bloodiest and best contested battles 
 in the annals of forest warfare were then fought. Of all 
 the western Indians, the Shawanese were the fiercest. 
 It was in this Indian war that "Logan" satisfied his 
 revenge for injuries he had received previously, from a 
 cruel white man. Logan made a speech in defense of 
 his conduct that has made liis name famous, showing 
 the cruel wrongs he had received. In their early history 
 especially, many of their speeches to the white men 
 were full of eloquence and truth. Some of our 
 statesmen and historians have taken much pains and 
 pleasure to present in their pages the burning words 
 and forcible remonstrances of the poor Indian — but, 
 alas ! they could avail nothing. It was the plan of a 
 wise Providence that the more enlightened white man 
 should possess this great country. It was the plan of 
 God that the religion of Christ should in this land 
 have full scope and extension. Retribution doubt- 
 less has come, and will come, upon the oppressors of 
 this poor savage people. The Great Spirit has heard 
 and will hear their cry. Heaven's unerring arm will 
 
24 MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. 
 
 certainly fall upon those who wantonly have done or 
 are doinsf them wrong. The historical memories of 
 this strange people are embalmed in the grand na- 
 tional features of our country. To future generations, 
 the names of our lakes, rivers, and mountains wall 
 bear the most certain testimony of the existence and 
 residence of this peculiar people. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Come, bright improvement! on the car of Time, 
 And rule the spacious world from clime to clime; 
 Thy handmaid arts shall every wild explore, 
 Trace every wave, and culture every shore. 
 On Erie's banks, where tigers steal along 
 And the dread Indian chants a dismal song. 
 Each wandering genius of the lonely glen 
 Shall start to view the glittering haunts of men. 
 
 We now return to the historical events of which we 
 were speaking. In consequence of the conflicting 
 claims between England and France a war ensued, 
 called the French and Indian war. It was a contest 
 for territory and dominion in America. An organiza- 
 tion known as the Ohio Company had obtained from 
 the king of England a grant of land on and near the 
 Ohio river, for the purpose of settling the country 
 and carrying on the fur trade with the Indians. The 
 plan formed by France, of uniting Canada with 
 Louisiana by a line of forts, now began to be de- 
 veloped. They began to make aggressive acts on 
 the land claimed by the Ohio Compan}'-, and within 
 the province of Virginia. A line of posts was com- 
 menced from the lakes to the Ohio. The attention of 
 Mr. Dinwiddle, then Governor of Virginia, was at- 
 
MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. 25 
 
 tracted to the encroachments of the French. He there- 
 fore deemed it his duty, in the name of the king of 
 England, his master, to protest against the violation 
 of treaties between the two crowns. The envoy se- 
 lected to carry the remonstrance of the Governor of 
 Virginia to the French commandant was George Wash- 
 ington, not then twenty-two years of age. Fame 
 waited on him from his youth. Washington seems to 
 have accepted this arduous mission with alacrity, ex- 
 tending perhaps his view, with prophetic foresight, to 
 the future scenes that would be enacted in that coun- 
 try. Washington set out on his mission on the last 
 day of October, 1753, from Williamsburg, then the 
 capital of Virginia. He was sent to a council of 
 Indian chiefs on the Ohio, and to meet French offi- 
 cers near Lake Erie. A poet speaks of a man in 
 solitude, or on a desolate island, as being denied the 
 greatest of human pleasures, " the sweet music of 
 speech." It must have been a great embarrassment to 
 Washington to be compelled to transact "business with 
 men when both the savage and civilized man must 
 speak to him in an unknown tongue. He took with 
 him a French interpreter and several Indian traders. 
 He had before him a difficult journey of four hundred 
 miles, through a wilderness inhabited by hostile In- 
 dians. When he reached the spot where the Alle- 
 ghany and Monongahela rivers unite to form the 
 Ohio, he examines the spot with the eye of an engi- 
 neer, and recommends in his journal that the Ohio 
 Company should build a fort at this place. A short 
 time subsequent to Washington's visit, the French 
 seized this place, after the Ohio Company had begun 
 
26 MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. 
 
 a fortification. They erected a fort, and called it 
 Fort Du Quesne, alterthe French governor of Canada. 
 Washington met in this vicinity several Indian chiefs. 
 He gives a graphic account of an interview with the 
 king of the Delawares, whose residence or wigwam 
 was in the immediate vicinity of the present city of 
 Pittsburgh. Washington was conducted by his guides 
 to Fort Venango, on the Alleghany river, and from 
 thence to Fort Le Boeuf, on French creek, where he 
 found the French commandant, St. Pierre. On his 
 return he encountered many hardships from storms 
 and floods and hostile Indians. He reached Wil- 
 liamsburg in eleven weeks from the time he had left 
 it, and delivered to Dinwiddie, St. Pierre's letter in re- 
 ply. St. Pierre said he was acting under the orders 
 of Du Quesne, his governor, and that he should not 
 leave the territory. The English now understood 
 that it was time to prepare for a struggle with the 
 French, if they would hold and secure their territory 
 on the Ohio river. This expedition of Washington 
 may seem to the young people of this day a small 
 affair, but remember, it required much bravery of 
 heart and bodily exposure to accomplish it. The 
 perseverance with which Washington surmounted 
 difficulties on this occasion, and the judgment dis- 
 played in his intercourse with the Indians, greatly 
 raised him in public estimation. The country over 
 which this young man now traveled was a wilderness. 
 There were savages to encounter — sometimes friendly, 
 but more frequently inimical ; there were great rivers 
 to cross, whose waters had never been disturbed ex- 
 cept by the Indian's canoe, and almost inaccessible 
 mountain fastnesses to traverse. On one occasion 
 
MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. 27 
 
 his dusky guide proved treacherous. Turning suddenly 
 around, he sped an arrow in the direction of Wash- 
 ington and his companion, Mr. Gist. It fell harmless 
 at their feet : then Mr. Gist would have killed the In- 
 dian, deeming an Indian's life of little worth, but 
 Washington stayed his hand. There was mercy in 
 his Christian heart toward this stealthy foe. Now, 
 all that region that was then so rugged in its wild- 
 ness is clothed with beauty. The mountains still 
 frown in their magnificence, the primeval forests still 
 wave upon their summits, but man has made himself 
 smooth roads around their sides and can travel over 
 them with almost lightning speed, scarcely conscious of 
 ascent or descent. The place that Washington sur- 
 veyed as an excellent site for a fort, is now encom- 
 passed by a large prosperous city. In our country, smil- 
 ing landscapes, fruitful fields, the busy hum of cities, 
 meet us on every hand. Have my young readers 
 ever reflected upon these grand, glorious things? By 
 whom were they purchased? How much danger is 
 to be encountered, how many privations endured, how 
 much toil, how many tears, how much blood, does it 
 cost to build up a nation or an empire? Washington 
 was the leader, the pioneer who opened the way for 
 improvement. He was assisted by a band of noble 
 coadjutors, who laid the foundation of the multiform 
 and wondrous structures which we now glorify. All 
 nations have extolled their founders. The ancient 
 Romans made their apotheosis, i.e.^ they erected sta- 
 tues to those men who had suffered much in procur- 
 ing blessings for their countrymen, and then placed 
 the statues in the temples of their gods. We must 
 not deiiy our fathers, but we must venerate and emu- 
 
28 MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. 
 
 late their self-denial, their industry, their independ- 
 ence, and patriotism. Why are the deeds of virtu- 
 ous ancestors and of the benefactors of states so 
 praiseworthy ? It is because their work was not so 
 much for themselves as for those who came after 
 them. Life is often too short for the fruition of glori- 
 ous deeds, but the works follow them. Let the foot- 
 prints of the wise and good encourage you to follow, 
 treading firmly the paths of truth and right, though 
 the way be rough, and though thorns rise up to prick 
 and sting you. 
 
 CHAPTER VL 
 
 But we will combat for our father's land, 
 And we will drain the life-blood where we stand, 
 To save our children; fight ye side by side, 
 And serried close, ye men of youthful pride. 
 
 St. Pierre's letter and the report made by Wash- 
 ington of the warlike preparation he had witnessed, 
 induced the Virginia assembly to authorize their gov- 
 ernor to raise a regiment. A regiment of three hun- 
 dred men was soon collected. Mr. Fry, a gentleman 
 well acquai4ited with the western country, was made 
 commander or colonel, and JNIajor Washington 
 made lieutenant-colonel. Washington seemed to con- 
 sider it important to enter into active service imme- 
 diately. He therefore requested that he might march 
 in advance with two companies. He accordingly set 
 out m the beginning of April, 1754, ^^ ^ place on the 
 Monongahela river called " Great Meadows." As 
 soon as ht^ arrived, he was informed by some friendly 
 Indians that the French had dispossessed the work- 
 men employed by the Ohio Company to erect a fort 
 
MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. 29 
 
 at the confluence of the Alleghany and Monongahela 
 rivers, and were themselves completing the fort called 
 Fort Du Quesne. They further told them that a de- 
 tachment from that place was on its march to the 
 " Great Meadows." The Indians offering themselves 
 as guides, Col. Washington set out on a dark rainy 
 night. He surrounded the French encampment and 
 completely surprised it. It was a few miles west of the 
 " Great Meadows." At daybreak, Washington's troops 
 fired and rushed upon the French, who immediately 
 surrendered. One man only escaped. There was. but 
 one man killed, but he was a person of distinction : it 
 was Mr. Jumonville, the commanding officer. It is 
 s^id, we believe on the authority of Chateaubriand 
 (a famous Frenchman), that the death of Jumonville 
 was greatly deplored in the salons of Paris, and the 
 young man Washington execrated. 
 
 So you see that even at this early day the eyes of 
 the intelligent and fashionable in the Old World were 
 cast with interest on the rising fortunes of the New. 
 The residue of the regiment was now on its way to join 
 Washington's detachment. Col. Fry died at Patter- 
 son's creek, on his way thither. The command then 
 devolved on Col. Washington. Their junction took 
 place at the Great Meadows, soon after which two in- 
 dependent companies arrived — one from South Caro- 
 lina, the other from New York. The Virginia regi- 
 ment was not complete ; there were in all less than 
 four hundred effective men. Fort Necessity was 
 erected at the Great Meadows for the purpose of se- 
 curing the provisions and the horses. The troops then 
 commenced to march to Fort Du Quesne, to dispossess 
 the French. When they reached Laurel Hill, about 
 
30 MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. 
 
 fourteen miles from Fort Necessity, they were met by 
 friendly Indians, who told them that the French were 
 advancing in numbers "like the pigeons in the woods." 
 A trustworthy chief informed them that the French 
 were eight hundred in number, and the Indians about 
 four hundred. The situation of Washington and his 
 troops was truly hazardous. They had been without 
 bread for six days. The army marching against 
 them could approach within five miles of the fort 
 where they had left their provisions, and cut oft' their 
 supplies. A council of war determined to fall back to 
 the fort at the Great Meadows. In pursuance of this 
 advice. Col. Washington began to ditch around the 
 fort. Before they had proceeded far with their work, 
 the enemy, amounting to fifteen hundred men, under 
 De Villiers, appeared and commenced a furious at- 
 tack upon the fort. The Americans met them with 
 intrepidity, fighting partly within the fort and in the 
 ditch half-filled with water. Col. Washington, it is 
 said, fought the whole day on the outside of the fort. 
 The enemy fought under cover of the trees and high 
 grass. The engagement lasted from ten in the 
 morning until dark, when Monsieur De Villiers of- 
 fered terms of capitulation. The fort was surrendered 
 on condition that the garrison -be permitted to retire 
 unmolested, with the honors of war, and be permitted to 
 retain arms and baggage. Great credit was accorded 
 by his countrymen to CoL Washington for his intre- 
 pidity, and a vote of thanks was rendered to him and 
 the officers under his command. 
 
 Soon after this time, September, 1754, ^^^^ Virginia 
 regiment was reduced to independent companies. In 
 the winter following, orders were received from Eng- 
 
MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. 3I 
 
 land settling the rank of his majesty's forces when 
 serving with the provincial forces in North America. 
 All officers commissioned by the king were to take 
 rank of all^officers commissioned by the governors of 
 their respective provinces. The field officers of the 
 provincial troops should have no rank, when serving 
 with the officers of the crown. Captains of the royal 
 troops were to take rank of provincial officers of the 
 same grade having senior commissions. Notwith- 
 standing Washington's love for a military life, he de- 
 termined to retire from the army, since he could not 
 hold the rank that was justly his due. And, when 
 pressed by letters, begging him to continue to hpld 
 his commission, he replied he would serve with pleas- 
 ure whenever he could do so without dishonor. Such 
 were the punctilious feelings of this heroic soldier. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Wisdom's self oft seeks retired solitude, 
 Where, with her best nurse, contemplation, 
 She plumes her feathers, and lets go her wings. 
 
 His eldest brother, Mr. Lawrence Washington, had 
 lately died and had left him his paternal estate on the 
 Potomac, Mount Vernon. To this place he now retired, 
 but he was not long permitted to enjoy inglorious ease. 
 General Braddock hearing of his merit, and the mo- 
 tives which had induced him to decline military serv- 
 ice, now invited him to become his aid. This invita- 
 tion was accepted, with the stipulation that when the 
 campaign was over he might be permitted to retire to 
 his private affairs. Col. Washington accompanied 
 
32 MEMOIR OF -WASHINGTON. 
 
 Braddock to Will's creek, afterward Fort Cumberland 
 (now the city of Cumberland, in northwestern Mary- 
 land). It is at the eastern base of the Alleghany 
 Mountains. Here the army was detained,. waiting for 
 ■wagons to take their provisions. Washington advised 
 that they should use pack-horses, instead of wagons^ 
 on account of the bad roads. His advice v\as rejected at 
 first, but afterward adopted. This army of Braddock's 
 consisted of two British regiments and a few corps of 
 provincials. Washington was taken ill on the road 
 and compelled to stop. He urged Braddock to take 
 as little baggage as possible, and to choose a select 
 corps in order to press on to Fort Du Quesne before 
 the whole body of the French army expected at that 
 place could arrive. Braddock adopted this advice. 
 He selected twelve hundred men, to be commanded 
 in person by Braddock, accompanied by Sir Peter 
 Halket as a brigadier ; Dunbar and Chapman were 
 to remain with the residue of the regiments and 
 the heavy baggage. Washington was disappointed 
 that there was not more celerity used. He writes to 
 his brother, that this army had occupied four days in 
 reaching the crossing of the Youghiogheny, a distance 
 of only nineteen miles. "They stop," complained 
 Washington, " to level every mole-hill and throw 
 bridges over every brook." The day before the action 
 on the Monongahela, Washington rejoined the army. 
 Washington, knowing the habits of the Indians, 
 begged that a party of scouts should be sent in front to 
 examine the ground and watch the Indians. This all- 
 important suggestion was disregarded. The army 
 soon fell into an ambush of French and Indians. In 
 a short time after this action commenced, Washington 
 
MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. 33 
 
 was the only aid who remained alive and unwounded. 
 Upon him, therefore, devolved the whole duty of car- 
 rying the orders of the commander-in-chief. He had 
 two horses killed under him, and four bullets passed 
 through his coat. Dr. Craik, his surgeon and friend, 
 was an eye-witness of this bloody affair, and expected 
 every moment to see him fall, lie said, in relating the 
 incidents of this tragedy. The action lasted three 
 hours. The brave Braddock, after having three 
 horses killed under him, received a mortal wound. 
 He died four days after the battle. The superintend- 
 ing providence of God saved Washington unhurt. 
 As there was no chaplain present, Washington him- 
 self read the funeral service over the body of his com- 
 mander. Braddock's troops, when their leader was 
 killed, were seized with a panic and fled in all direc- 
 tions. Washington, with pious care, superintended 
 the removal and burial of the body. In writing to 
 Gov. Dinwiddie, Washington says the officers of 
 Braddock behaved with great bravery, but the con- 
 duct of the regular troops (so-called) was dastardly ; 
 they ran as sheep before hounds. The Virginia com- 
 panies acted nobly and died like soldiers ; for out of 
 three companies on the ground that day, only thirty 
 men remained alive ! Washington's conduct in this 
 battle has been greatly extolled, and it is believed by 
 his countrymen that if Washington's advice had been 
 followed, the terrible disasters of that day would have 
 been avoided. "Braddock's defeat brought great suf- 
 ferings on the back settlements of Virginia. 
 
 The Indians were encouraged to make extensive 
 depredations on the valley of Virginia. Many fami- 
 
34 
 
 MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. 
 
 lies fled from their homes, terrified by the incursions 
 of ruthless savages. The Virginia legislature deter- 
 mined to raise sixteen companies to defend the settle- 
 ments in the valley from these wily, treacherous foes. 
 The command of this regiment was given to Col. 
 Washington. He was designated as the commander 
 in-chief of the forces that were raised and of all that 
 might be raised. A task like unto the labors of Her- 
 cules was now imposed upon him. The frontier to be. 
 protected was three hundred and fifty miles in extent. 
 The militia system was very defective, and the num- 
 ber of troops in the regular establishment was totally 
 insufficient to protect so extensive a frontier. Maraud- 
 ing parties of French and Indians were constantly 
 attacking the small forts, and had frequent skirmishes 
 with the scouting parties sent out against them. 
 The people lived in continual alarm. "The suppli- 
 cating tears of the women, and the moving petidons 
 of the men, meet me wath such deadly sorrow, that I 
 could offer myself as a sacrifice if it would contribute 
 to the people's ease." Large bodies of savages 
 were in the service of France, and in 1757 they 
 spread desolation and rapine over the whole country 
 west of the Blue Ridge. The exertions of the Vir- 
 ginia regiments to protect the inhabitants were inef- 
 fectual. Washington had for a long time been 
 anxious to adopt offensive measures, but some time 
 elapsed before his views were adopted. He desired 
 to attack Fort Du Quesne and take it from the French. 
 In 1758, his desire _w^as gratified. The fort w^ns 
 taken without loss of life or the shedding of blood. 
 While Washington and his men were advancing to 
 the fort with painful steps, expecting a severe con- 
 
MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. 35 
 
 flict, the French, pressed by famine, escaped down 
 the Ohio river, deserting forever the place they had 
 seemed so anxious to retain. Tliis fort, so all im- 
 portant to the southern and middle provinces, had 
 been surrendered by the Fre;:ch on account of the in- 
 terceptini^ of their supplies and re-enforcements by a 
 British fleet ; also by the success of th'e English and 
 Americans in the North, which rendered it impossible 
 for the French any longer to support this fort. The 
 fort was now repaired, and a new name was given to 
 it. It was called Fort Pitt (now Pittsburgh), after 
 England's great minister, who now with much vigor 
 and talent governed the nation. Col. Wasiiington, 
 leaving two hundred men at Fort Pitt, returned to 
 Winchester, from which place he soon after set out 
 for the capital, to attend the House of Burgesses, 
 of which he had been elected a member by the county 
 of Frederick, Va. In consequence of the removal of 
 the French from the Ohio, there was a cessation of 
 the hostilities of the Indians. As the country was now 
 relieved from danger, Washington determined to re- 
 tire from military service. His health was impaired by 
 his recent warfare and exposure. He resigned his 
 commission as colonel of the First Virginia regiment 
 and as commander of the colonial troops. 
 
36 MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Domestic Happiness, thou only bliss 
 Of Paradise, that has survived the fall ! 
 Thou art not known where pleasure is adored, 
 That reeling goddess with the zoneless waist. 
 
 The troops that Washington had commanded in his 
 late campaign made him an affectionate address, ex- 
 pressive of the high opinion they entertained both of 
 his military and private character. Soon after his res- 
 ignation he was married to Mrs. Custis, a young 
 widow. This lady had one child, a son — ^John Parke 
 Custis. As an evidence of Washington's apprecia- 
 tion of his wife, we must tell you that on the death of 
 this son, in 1781, Washington adopted two of his chil- 
 dren, G. W. Custis and Eleanor Parke Custis. The 
 portraits of Mrs. Martha Washington that have come 
 down to us, reveal a face and form of much beauty. 
 She is said to have possessed the qualities which 
 make a happy home. Washington's life and domestic 
 record were as unspotted and pure as were the 
 archives of his military and civil career. The inter- 
 val of years between the marriage of Washington 
 and his appointment as commander-in-chief of the 
 armies of the " Thirteen Colonies" was passed chiefly 
 at Mount Vernon. His attention was much occupied 
 and interested in the improvement of his estate, ex- 
 cept when public affairs called him hence. The win- 
 ter months during this time were usually spent in 
 the capital of his native state, representing the inter- 
 ests of his county in the legislature. He took an early 
 and decided part in the opposition made to the prin- 
 ciple of taxation asserted by the British Parliament. 
 
MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. 37 
 
 What is it we are contending against? Is it against 
 paying threepence more for a pound of tea? Has it 
 become burdensome? No; it is the right that we 
 have always disputed. For years previous to the 
 declaration of hostilities, there were continual alter- 
 cations between the mother country, England, and 
 her colonies, chiefly on account of taxation. Parlia- 
 ment declared the right to tax the colonies, inasmuch 
 as much expense of treasure had been incurred dur- 
 ing the French and Indian war, which war they al- 
 leged was for the protection and benefit of the colo- 
 nies. The colonies claimed that they had borne their 
 full share in the expenses of that war, both in 
 blood and treasure. The two states, Virginia and 
 Massachusetts, were foremost in declaring that there 
 could be no taxation without representation. The 
 meaning of this is that, as our country was not repre- 
 sented in the British Parliament, that body had no 
 right to levy taxes upon a people who had no voice 
 or votes in the matter. " It is the glory of England," 
 says Guizot, " that she implanted beside the cradle of 
 her colonies the germ of their freedom. The}^ were 
 endowed with charters, which conferred upon 
 them the liberties of the mother country." One of 
 the first measures that roused open resistance in 
 America was the Stamp Act. This was a tax levied 
 in the shape of a stamp on all records and deeds and 
 public documents. My young readers will recollect 
 that they see constantly, nozv, stamps affixed to many 
 articles that they purchase, also to all receipts of 
 money, except very small sums. This is a favorite 
 mode which governments adopt to obtain a revenue ; 
 but they must understand that our present stamp acts 
 
MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. 
 
 are the result of laws passed b}- our own state legisla- 
 tures or by Congress. So intense was the indignation 
 produced through all the American colonies by the 
 passage of the Stamp Act, in 1765, that Parliament 
 deemed it most prudent to repeal it the next 3'ear. 
 Patrick Henry, in the legislature of Virginia, distin- 
 guished himself by his bold eloquence in opposition 
 to this act. The colonial Congress, held in New 
 York, representing nine colonies, adopted a declara- 
 tion of their rights. They sent a petition to the king 
 and a memorial to Parliament. No officials were bold 
 enough when the day of action came to carry this ob- 
 noxious law into execution. The colonial merchants 
 refused to import goods until the law was repealed. 
 One year after the repeal of the Stamp Act, a tax was 
 levied on glass, painters' colors, paper, and tea. The 
 duties on all these were soon repealed, except the 
 duty on tea. The tax was threepence per pound. 
 The tea brought to New York and Philadelphia was 
 sent back ; that brought to Charleston, South Caro- 
 lina, was stored in damp cellars, and consequently 
 perished. The ship-loads brought to Boston produced 
 the greatest commotions. Men disguised as Indians 
 cast many chests -of the precious article into the sea. 
 As a punishment to Boston for this act and other meas- 
 ures, the Boston port-bill was passed, which prohib- 
 ited intercourse with Boston by water. Two regi- 
 ments of soldiers were sent from Halifax to Boston 
 to overawe the transgressors. In September, i774» 
 the first Continental Congress met at Philadelphia ; 
 Peyton Randolph was its president. This Congress 
 recommended a suspension of commercial intercourse 
 with Great Britain. Able state papers were sent to 
 
MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. 39 
 
 the king and the people of England, but they thought 
 not yet of separation. Washington was a member of 
 this Congress. He said, in October, 1774, that he 
 was convinced that not one thinking man in all North 
 America desired independence. He earnestly de- 
 sired to restore tranquillity on constitutional grounds, 
 but his indignation at the wrongs of Boston could only 
 be appeased by redress. " It is not the wish of that 
 colon}^ or of any of our colonies, to set up for independ- 
 ence, but none of them will consent to the loss of 
 rights, without which, life, liberty, and property 
 are rendered insecure." Independence was not the 
 premeditated design of the colonies, nor at first the 
 object of their wishes. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Now I will unclasp a secret book, 
 And to your quick conceiving discontents 
 I'll read jou matter deep and dangerous; 
 As full of peril and adventurous spirit 
 As to o'erwalk a current roaring loud," 
 On the unsteadfast footing of a spear ! 
 
 To break off the established order of government, 
 and to undertake the establishment of a new state, to 
 begin an insurrection, is an act of most solemn import 
 for such men as these were, or for any men of sense 
 and virtue. The most far-sighted can never measure 
 its whole extent ; the most resolute would quail if they 
 knew the entire danger. The greatest minds of 
 England opposed, with all the argumentative elo- 
 quence they could use, the extreme measures of the 
 king and his ministry. Chatham and his son Will- 
 iam Pitt, Burke, Camden, Shelburne, Fox, and others 
 
40 MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. 
 
 exerted themselves for conciliation. "It is not re- 
 pealing a piece of parchment," said Lord Chatham, 
 " that can restore America to our bosom ; you must re- 
 peal her fears and her resentments, and you may then 
 hope for her love and gratitude. When your 
 lordships look at the papers transmitted to us from 
 America, when you consider their decenc}^ firmness, 
 and wisdom, you can not but respect their cause and 
 wish to make it your own. For myself, I must avow 
 that in all my reading, and I have read Thucydides, 
 and have studied and admired the master states of 
 the world, but for solidity of reasoning, force of sagac- 
 ity, and wisdom of conclusion under a complication of 
 difficult circumstances, no nation or body of men can 
 stand in preference to the general Congress assembled 
 at Philadelphia. Throw down the weapons in your 
 hands, remove the troops from Boston." Thus spoke 
 the wise Lord Chatham. How beautiful the compli- 
 ment he paid to the written protests of our forefathers ! 
 Notwithstanding the eloquence of Chatham and the 
 close reasoning of Camden, the motion was rejected 
 by a vote of sixty-eight to eighteen. The Duke of 
 Cumberland, one of the king's brothers, voted with the 
 minority. The hearts of that majority, like Pharaoh, 
 were hardened. "The debates of that day," says Ban- 
 croft, " prove that the inevitable war was made with 
 the ministry, and not with the British people." Dr. 
 Franklin was then resident in London. He had heard 
 with great admiration Lord Chatham's speech. He 
 was now environed by danger. Some of the ministry 
 affected to consider him the cause of the troubles of 
 the colonies. Gage was his accuser from Boston, and 
 Hutchinson, the former governor of Massachusetts, 
 
MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. 4I 
 
 then in London, his determined enemy. He knew 
 himself to be in danger of arrest, yet he remained, 
 hoping that his presence near the throne and ministry 
 at this momentous time might be productive of good to 
 his beloved country. The friends of the colonies en- 
 treated him to stay, as there was some glimmering of 
 hope that the manufacturers and merchants of England 
 would successfully interpose their mediating influence. 
 But the day of Revolution was at hand. No man, or 
 set of men, could resist the tide of events that surged 
 over the land. The opposition of Boston to the ar- 
 bitrary measures that had been imposed upon her 
 was bold and heroic. Indeed, the whole country was 
 agitated and roused to a spirit of resistance by the 
 wrongs of Boston. Virginia looked to Washington 
 as her adviser in military affairs. In December, i774» 
 the Maryland Convention, resting the security of free 
 governments on a well-regulated militia, had recom- 
 mended to the inhabitants of the province to form 
 themselves into companies, under officers of their 
 own choice, and had apportioned among the several 
 counties ten thousand pounds in currency, to be raised 
 by voluntary offerings, for the purchase of arms. This 
 measure took the sword out of the hands of the gov- 
 ernor, and directed the people to choose their own 
 officers. The Virginians of the Fairfax county com- 
 mittee adopted almost the very words of these reso- 
 lutions, and Washington, as the chairman of this 
 Fairfax committee, published the Fairfax resolves, as 
 they were called, under the sanction of his name. 
 Every county in Virginia glowed with zeal to form 
 its militia, yet Virginia loved to consider herself an 
 integral part of the British empire. " England, with 
 
42 MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. 
 
 all thv faults, I love thee still," was the feeling of many 
 of her people. Though quick to resent aogression, 
 they abhorred the experiment of changing the form 
 of government, without some absolute necessity. Of 
 all the colonies, it was the most open to attack. The 
 bay of the Chesapeake, and the deep waters of the 
 York, the James, and the Potomac, bared it to in- 
 vasions from the sea. Virginia was now almost des- 
 titute of mihtary stores, except a little powder in a 
 magazine near Williamsburg. She had no military 
 defenses. The late war with the Shawanese Indians 
 had drained Virginia of her military resources, and 
 left her largely in debt. Yet she met the coming 
 storm with wonderful determination. 
 
 On the 20th of March, i775» ^^^^ second convention 
 assembled at Richmond, at St. John's Church. It 
 was then and there that Patrick Henry made his 
 famous speech, reported by Mr. Wirt in his Life of 
 Henry. He offered the resolution "that this colony be 
 put in a posture of defense, and that the committee 
 prepare a plan for the embodying, arming, and dis- 
 ciplining such a number of men as may be sufficient for 
 that purpose." His speech was electrical, and pro- 
 duced a conflict of feelings and opinions in every 
 breast. The thought of an actual conflict with the 
 mother country was new and startling. " What," said 
 Henry, "has there been in the conduct of Britain, for 
 the last ten years, to justify a hope of reconciliation? 
 Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, that it must be pur- 
 chased at the price of chains and slavery ? Forbid it, 
 Almighty God ! I know not what others may do, but, 
 as for me, ' Give me liberty, or give me death I' " He 
 was supported by Richard Henry Lee, who made an 
 
MEJ^OIR OF WASHINGTON. 43 
 
 estimate of the force which Great Britain would em- 
 ploy against the colonies, and, after comparing it with 
 their means of resistance, proclaimed that the auspices 
 were good, adding, " Thrice is he armed who hath 
 his quarrel just." The resolutions were adopted to 
 put the colony in a state of defense, and a committee 
 appointed to give them effect. Henry, Lee, Jeffer- 
 son, Washington, and others were members of this 
 committee. 
 
 Before dissolving this convention, she appointed 
 members to Congress in the following May. Before 
 this Congress met, war was declared by the shedding 
 of blood in Massachusetts. Dunmore was at this time 
 colonial governor of Virginia. He seized the pow- 
 der in the magazine at Williamsburg on the night of 
 the 20th of April. As soon as it was discovered, the 
 people sounded the alarm, and he was compelled to 
 restore it. 
 
 On the 29th of April, six hundred well-armed men 
 assembled in Fredericksburg, Virginia, pledging their 
 lives and fortunes to resist all invasions of the rights 
 of Virginia or of any of her sister colonies. This was the 
 immediate consequence of Dunmore's violent acts. 
 Washington and Peyton Randolph persuaded these 
 men to disperse. A message from Massachusetts 
 was already on the wing to apprise them that the 
 battles of Lexingrton and Concord had been 
 fought ; that war had actually commenced. (You 
 of my young readers, who remember the actual 
 beginning and announcement of the war in 1861, 
 can form a definite idea of the horror produced by 
 such a message.) It was on the 19th of April, I775> 
 that Gen. Gage, Governor of Massachusetts, sent 
 
44 MEMOIR OF WASHINGTpN. 
 
 soldiers to Concoid to seize upon stores of ammuni- 
 tion collected in that place. Messengers had been 
 sent in different directions by the patriots of Boston to 
 inform the people on the road to Concord of the de- 
 signs of the British general. When the regiment of 
 eight hundred men, sent by Gage, reached Lexing- 
 ton, they found a party of minute-men on the common 
 to intercept their progress. There were about sev- 
 enty men, young and old, under the command of John 
 Parker. He ordered his men to take care not to be 
 the first to fire. Their guns were loaded with pow- 
 der and ball. Major Pitcairn, who commanded the 
 British regiment, cried out, a few rods distant, " Dis- 
 perse, ye rebels; lay down your arms!" The coun- 
 trymen, too few to resist, yet too brave to flee, stood 
 motionless in the ranks. Pitcairn, seeing their de- 
 termined stand, discharged a pistol, and then cried, 
 "7^/r^/" The order was at first obeyed by a few 
 guns, and afterward by a heavy discharge of mus- 
 ketry. Parker, seeing it was a field of slaughter rather 
 than of battle, ordered his men to retire. Seven of 
 the men of Lexington were killed and nine were 
 wounded. The British troops halted less than thirty 
 minutes on the village green, which they stained with 
 blood, then marched on to Concord. The command- 
 ing officer had before dispatched six companies of in- 
 fantry to take possession of the bridges which lay at 
 some distance beyond the town. While the main de- 
 tachment was employed in destroying the stores at 
 Concord, minute-men and militia were assembling 
 from the town and from all the country around. The 
 king's troops were attacked on all sides — the hills 
 seemed to swarm with rebels. Skirmish after skir- 
 
MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. 45 
 
 mish ensued. When the retreating party reached 
 Lexington, Lord Perc}' met them with a re-enforcement. 
 This re-enforcement kept the provincials at a distance 
 for a time, by Xh^ir Jield-pieces, but as soon as the 
 march recommenced, the attack of the provincials was 
 redoubled. A galling fire was kept up from behind 
 the stone fences until they reached Charleston, about 
 sunset. In this action, or in the many skirmishes of 
 that day (the 19th of April), the British are said to 
 have lost two hundred and seventy-three men in killed 
 and wounded. When we think of the immense 
 masses of men that have been ranged in deadly strife 
 against each other within the last ten years, both in 
 our own beloved country and in Europe, the struggle 
 of the 19th of April, 1775, niay seem a trivial affair, 
 but how important and sublime have been the conse- 
 quences of the events of that day. It was the begin- 
 ning of independence to this vast commonwealth. 
 " C'est le premier pas qui coute," says the French 
 proverb. This first blow, or step, was now made, 
 and all the people (with the exception of some thou- 
 sands of loyalists) from Maine to Georgia felt that 
 there was no retreating, unless, indeed, the mother 
 country offered ample conciliation for the past. 
 
46 MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 " His life was gentle; and the elements 
 So mixed in him, that nature might stand up 
 And saj to all the world, This is a man !" 
 
 Lord North, the Premier of England, offered 
 measures which he deemed conciliatory, but they were 
 rejected. Ticonderoga and Crown Point soon after 
 surrendered to a small army under the command of 
 Col. Ethan Allen and the famous Benedict Arnold. 
 Military stores of considerable value fell into their 
 hands. Arnold also obtained command of the lakes, 
 by seizing a sloop of war lying at St. Johns. Dun- 
 more, the royal governor of Virginia, alarmed by the 
 ferment produced by his seizure of the powder, went 
 on board the Fowey man-of-war, then lying in York 
 river, a few miles below Williamsburg. He never 
 returned to the seat of government, and thus ended 
 forever the royal government of Virginia. In revenge 
 for a defeat he received from a body of Virginians, 
 whom he had attacked with a force of tories and ne- 
 groes, he, on the first day of the new year, i^^6, re- 
 duced the town of Norfolk to ashes. On the very day of 
 the capture of Ticonderoga, May loth, the second Con- 
 tinental Congress convened at Philadelphia. Wash- 
 ington was a member of this Congress, and was 
 placed on all the committees whose duty it was to make 
 arrangements for defense. His military experience in 
 early life, the solidity of his judgment, the steady 
 firmness of his temper, the dignity of his deportment, 
 his integrity and patriotism, together with his inde- 
 pendent circumstances, seemed to designate Washing- 
 ton as the person to whom the destinies of his country 
 
MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. 47 
 
 should be confided. He was unanimously appointed 
 commander-in-chief of all the troops raised in the 
 united colonies and all that should be raised. An 
 army of twenty thousand men was ordered to be 
 raised. Washington modestly consented to accept 
 the momentous responsibilities incposed upon him. 
 He .declined all compensation for his services, but said 
 he would keep an exact account of his expenses, ex- 
 pecting Congress to discharge the debts thus incurred. 
 The appointment of Washington as commander-in- 
 chief was made on the 15th of June, 1775. Con- 
 gress made a solemn declaration to adhere to him 
 through all the trying hours of the coming contest, 
 pledging their lives and fortunes for the maintenance 
 and preservation of American liberty. " Two things," 
 says Guizot, " alike arduous and great, are part of 
 the duty, and may constitute the glory of man : the 
 one is to endure misfortune with resignation ; the 
 other to trust in a good cause with persevering con- 
 fidence." Washington was, at the time of his appoint- 
 ment, forty-three years of age. In stature he rather 
 exceeded six feet ; his limbs were sinewy and well- 
 proportioned ; his chest broad ; his figure stately, 
 blending dignity of presence with ease. His com- 
 plexion was florid ; his hair dark-brown ; his head in 
 its shape was perfectly round. His dark-blue eyes, 
 which were deeply set, had an appearance of resig- 
 nation and an earnestness that was almost sadness. 
 Whether Washingtonwas a man of genius or a man 
 of great military capacity, like Caesar or Napoleon, 
 has not been unfrequently agitated. No comparison 
 can be drawn between characters so differently situ- 
 ated. Washington was compelled to be not only the 
 
48 MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. 
 
 commander of an army, but the creator or organizer 
 of it. Every detail was necessarily made under his 
 inspection. There was no commissariat and no money 
 in the treasury when he reached the army at Cam- 
 bridge. From his early youth, he evinced more mili- 
 tary capacity than his associates. The neglect of his 
 advice cost Braddock his life, in 1755. The skill and 
 energy visible in the .operations of Forbes, by which 
 the valley of the Ohio was recovered, has always been 
 attributed to him. He could not trace with the pencil 
 of the painter the glowing landscape, nor mold as a 
 sculptor the marble. He was not a musician, nor 
 was he an orator like Henry or Rutledge ; but, by a 
 wonderful combination of qualities of mind and heart, 
 he created a nation. He had " an eye like Mars, to 
 threaten and command." He was the father of his 
 country. He was equal to all the trying emergencies 
 that met him, not only as a general, but as a president. 
 " What a relief," says Lord Brougham (after contem- 
 plating the character of Napoleon), " does the friend 
 of mankind, the lover of virtue, experience when, turn- 
 ing from the contemplation of such a character, his 
 eye rests upon the greatest man of any age — the only 
 one upon whom the epithet so thoughtlessly lavished 
 by men can be innocently and justly bestowed." 
 Washington has been sometimes called the American 
 Fabius, from an opinion that the art of avoiding gen- 
 eral engagements, of deceiving the enem}'^ by tem- 
 porizing, was his peculiar taste and talent. (Fabius, 
 my young readers must remember, was a wise, pru- 
 dent Roman general, whose adversary was the 
 greatest general of his age — the renowned Hannibal 
 of Carthage. Fabius generally preferred to harass 
 
MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. 49 
 
 and deceive his foes, than to rneet them in a pitched 
 battle. The battles of Trenton and Princeton show, 
 that whenever it was practicable or possible Washing- 
 ton was anxious to assume the offensive. Bancroft 
 says, in speaking of the religious feelings of Wash- 
 ington, he was profoundly impressed with confidence 
 in God's Providence, and exemplary in his respect 
 for the forms of public worship. No philosopher of 
 the eighteenth century was more firm in the support 
 of the freedom of religious opinions — none more re- 
 mote from bigotr}'- ; but belief in God and trust in His 
 overruling power formed the essence of his char- 
 acter. " He was a man of action, not of words; his 
 creed appears in his life, not in his professions, which 
 rarely burst from him except in those great moments 
 of crisis, when earth and heaven seemed to meet, and 
 his emotions became too intense for suppression ; but 
 his whole being was one continued act of faith in the 
 eternal, intelligent, moral order of the universe." 
 Integrity was so completely the law of his nature, 
 that a planet would sooner have shot from its sphere 
 than he have wandered from the path of uprightness, 
 which was so constant that it seemed almost imper- 
 sonal. This is very eloquent and very just, yet 
 Washington's religion did not dwell in cold abstrac- 
 tions. He doubtless felt the need of all those helps 
 which the church has provided for the sustenance and 
 spiritual growth of her children. He was a man of 
 prayer. It is said upon excellent authority, that he 
 never went into battle without retiring first for seci-et 
 prayer, when time and opportunity permitted. He 
 obeyed the command of our Lord, " Do this in remem- 
 brance of me." He was a communicant of the Episcopal 
 
50 MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. 
 
 Cliurch, in which he had been educated. He was a 
 regular attendant of the church in his neighborhood, 
 when at home. When President of the United States, 
 he was a member of the congregation which wor- 
 shiped at Christ Church, Philadelphia, Bishop White 
 being at that time the rector. 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 What constitutes a state? 
 
 Not high raised battlements or labored mound, 
 
 Thick walls or moated gates, 
 
 Not cities proud with spires and turrets crowned, 
 
 Not bays and broad armed ports, 
 
 Where laughing at the storm rich navies ride. 
 
 No! men, high-minded men. 
 
 Men who their duties know. 
 
 Who know their rights, and knowing dare maintain. 
 
 Upon the arrival of re-enforcements from England, 
 under Generals Howe, Burgoyne, and Sir Henry 
 Clinton, Gage issued a proclamation about the last of 
 May, 1775, declaring all Americans in arms rebels 
 and traitors, but offering pardon to those who should 
 at once return to their allegiance. John Hancock 
 and Samuel Adams were excepted from this offer. 
 It was now evident that the British meditated offen- 
 sive operattons. The Provincial Congress now re- 
 commended the defense of Dorchester Neck and the 
 occupation of a high piece of ground just within the 
 peninsula, on which Charlestown stands. A detach- 
 ment of one thousand men was sent under Col. Pres- 
 cott to take possession, but Breed's Hill was marked 
 out instead of Bunker's Hill for the proposed intrench- 
 ments. This party, by diligent work, threw up in one 
 
MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. 5 1 
 
 night a square redoubt forty yards on each side. The 
 ships ■ of war stationed in the river near by, knew 
 nothing of the fortification in progress. When day- 
 light revealed the work done, a heavy cannonade 
 was commenced. Gen. Gage tliought it necessary to 
 drive the provincials from this eminence, as it over- 
 looked Boston. He sent Major-General Howe, with 
 Pigot, at the head of ten companies of grenadiers and 
 the same number of light infantry. They perceived 
 the Americans stood their ground with firmness. 
 They therefore awaited a re-enforcement from Boston 
 in order to render the enterprise secure. During this 
 interval, the Americans received re-enforcements un- 
 der Generals Warren and Pomeroy ; they also used 
 this delay in pulling up post and rail fences, and ar- 
 ranging them in two parallel lines a small distance 
 apart — the space was filled with hay, so as to form a 
 cover from the musketry of the enemy. The British 
 troops were formed in two lines. Being re-enforced, 
 they advanced slowly under cover of a heavy dis- 
 charge of cannon, frequently stopping to allow their 
 artillery to destroy the works. While they were ad- 
 vancing, orders were given to set fire to Charlestown, 
 a pretty village, which flanked their line of march. 
 The scene of action was in full view of the heights of 
 Boston and its neighborhood, which were covered 
 with spectators taking deep and opposite interests in 
 the awful spectacle before them. Twice the British 
 ascended the hill within a few rods of the redoubt, 
 and were each time repulsed with heavy loss. The 
 third time they ascended, the Americans were forced 
 to retreat for want of ammunition. The British lost 
 in this action of Bunker Hill (as it is called) a thou- 
 
52 MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. 
 
 sand men in killed and wounded. The Americans 
 are said to have lost four hundred and fifty men. 
 Among the killed was Dr» Warren, a man greatly be- 
 loved. About three thousand of the British were en- 
 gaged in this battle of Bunker Hill. The colonial 
 force was stated through the country to have amounted 
 to fifteen hundred men, though some say the Amer- 
 ican force was larger. The British considered it a 
 victory, but it was dearly bought and fruitless. Nine- 
 teen commissioned British officers were among the 
 killed and seventy among the wounded. The Ameri- 
 cans retreated to Cambridge. Although the ground 
 was lost, the Americans gained confidence in them- 
 selves and were greatl}' encouraged by the deter- 
 mined valor and intrepidity of their raw troops at 
 Bunker Hill. Two armies were sent to Canada, to 
 prevent the country being used as a place of rendez- 
 vous and supply for the British. Arnold commanded 
 one division and Schuyler the other. Schuyler, how- 
 ever, soon declined on account of sickness. His place 
 was filled by Montgomery, an officer much beloved. 
 Arnold, after a most tedious march through the wil- 
 derness of Maine, reached Quebec. Quebec was be- 
 sieged for three weeks, but the attempt to take it was 
 unsuccessful. On the last day of 1775 » the Ameri- 
 can army assailed the city in four columns. Mont- 
 gomery fell and Arnold was severely wounded. Ar- 
 nold effected a retreat and remained some time longer 
 in Canada. By the middle of June, 1776, Canada 
 was entirely evacuated by the Americans. Had Ar- 
 nold fallen with Montgomery at the siege of Quebec, 
 the darkest chapter in American history would never 
 have been written. His character would have come 
 
MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. 53 
 
 down to US as a brave man, full of talent and energy, 
 and whose best efforts, amid great privations, had been 
 used for the good of his country. To the memor}'' of 
 the heroic Richard Montgomery, a monument was 
 raised in Philadelphia. In the British Parliament, 
 the great defenders of liberty vied with each other in 
 his praise. Barre, Burke, and Fox pronounced an 
 affecting requiem in bewailing his fate. But for Ar- 
 nold, the brave participator in the siege of Quebec, a 
 traitor's grave was reserved, and a name consigned to 
 infamy. 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 See what a grace was seated on his brow: 
 A combination and a form, indeed, 
 Where every god did seem to set his seal, 
 To give the world assurance of a man. 
 
 On the 3d day of July, 1775, Washington as- 
 sumed the command of the Continental army. His 
 headquarters were at Cambridge. When Washing- 
 ton reconnoitered the enemy from Prospect Hill, he 
 saw that they were strongly posted on Bunker's Hill, 
 From this hill he took an extended view of Boston 
 and Charlestown. Of the latter, nothing was to be 
 seen but chimneys and rubbish. The main body of 
 the British army was under the immediate command 
 of Gen. Howe. Their sentries extended ong hundred 
 and fifty yards beyond Charlestown Neck. On 
 Breed's Hill there was a redoubt ; three floating bat- 
 teries lay in Mystic river. A battery was planted on 
 Copps' Hill, and a twenty-gun ship was anchored be- 
 low the Charlestown Ferry. Boston w^as in the pos- 
 
54 MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. 
 
 session of the British. There were nearly seven 
 thousand Americans in the city, many of them pin- 
 ing with sorrow, exposed to many restrictions, and 
 subjected to the mahce of the soldiers. There were 
 some royalists among the inhabitants. There were 
 more than ten thousand in the British army at Boston ; 
 yet the commanding officer had never more than 
 seven thousand effective men, in consequence of sick- 
 ness, desertion, and other causes. But these soldiers 
 were thoroughly trained, and well furnished with ma- 
 terials for war. The American army lay in a semi- 
 circle, from the west end of Dorchester to Maiden, a 
 distance of nine miles. This army lay on both sides 
 of the Charles river. The commander disposed and 
 organized the army in three divisions. The right 
 wing was under the command of Maj. Gen. Ward, 
 the left under Maj. Gen. Lee, and the center was un- 
 der the immediate command of Washington. The 
 American army presented a motley spectacle. The 
 camp contained a people in arms rather than an 
 army. The soldiers had enlisted under different 
 agreements, and for periods indefinite, but short. No 
 one could tell precisely its numbers, or the state of its 
 stores. Each colony had its rules of military organ- 
 ization. There was little uniformity in dress or weap- 
 ons, but their hearts were stout and brave. The 
 American rolls promised seventeen thousand men, but 
 not more than fourteen thousand men were fit for dut}'. 
 Washington quickly saw the want of subordination, 
 and the stupid confidence of inexperience, which per- 
 vaded not only the privates, but the inferior officers. 
 Washington was alarmed to discover that a great 
 mistake had been made with regard to the quantit}'^ of 
 
MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. 55 
 
 powder they possessed. The greatest exertions were 
 necessary to relieve this pressing w^ant. Congress 
 and all the colonial" governments were called upon to 
 supply their needo 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 Man's love is but a thing apart; 
 'T is woman's whole existence. Man may range 
 The court, the camp, church, vessel, and the mart. 
 Men have all these resources. We but one ! 
 
 Soon after Washington assumed the command of 
 the army at Cambridge, he invited Mrs. Washington 
 to join him in the camp. Lord Dunmore had estab- 
 lished martial law in Virginia, and it was feared by 
 some that the favorite home of the rebel commander- 
 in-chief would be marked out for hostility. The 
 enemy might land from their ships in the Potomac, 
 and lay it waste. Washington does not seem to have 
 participated in this fear, yet he felt for his wife's 
 loneliness, and wished her to be near him. Mr. 
 Irving has given us a very graphic description of her 
 equipage and of her journey to the camp near Boston. 
 " Mrs Washington was accompanied by her son and 
 his wife." She traveled by very easy stages, partly 
 on account of the badness of the roads, and also out 
 of regard to the horses, of which Washington was 
 always very careful. Escorts of honor attended her 
 from place to place. At Philadelphia she received 
 the devoted attentions of the inhabitants. Her arrival 
 at Cambridge was a glad event. The equipage in 
 which she appeared was a chariot and four, with 
 black postilions in black and scarlet liveries. It has 
 been suggested that this was an English style of 
 
56 MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. 
 
 equipage which the Washingtons derived from their 
 neighbors, the Fairfaxes. But in truth it was a style 
 quite prevalent in Virginia at that day, especially 
 when a long journey was to be made. Some of the 
 families in eastern or lower Virginia lived in much 
 elegance and luxury previous to the Revolutionary 
 war. There was some gaiety and entertainment at 
 Cambridge, and in the vicinity, during Mrs. Wash- 
 ington's sojourn, although the stern realities of war 
 were around them. There are some letters of Mrs. 
 John Adams still extant, which relate with much 
 naivete the festivities of that, period. 
 
 We will now give you an extract of a letter from Wash- 
 ington, written about this time, to his agent at Mount 
 Vernon : " Let the hospitality of my house be kept 
 up in our absence. With regard to the poor, let no 
 one go hungry awa}^. If any poor should be in want 
 of corn, supply their necessities. I have no objection 
 to your giving away when it can be well bestowed 
 charity, to the amount of forty or fifty pounds. What 
 I mean by having no objection, is that it is 7}iy de- 
 sire that it should be done." Such traits as these can 
 never be dimmed by the dust of ages. Little did our 
 great and good Washington think, when he wrote this 
 simple letter to his agent, that he was adding another 
 gem to the crown of his fame, of soft, but enduring 
 luster. We must now resume the thread of warlike 
 events. Washington saw the necessity of driving the 
 British from Boston. Several months passed away 
 before the council of war consented to make the at- 
 tempt. The first military maneuver of Washington, 
 in the spring campaign of 17176, evinced his abilities. 
 As soon as his army was recruited, he made a move- 
 
MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. 57 
 
 ment as if intending to attack Boston. The attempt 
 was merely a feint, and the garrison of the town discov- 
 ered, to their astonishment, that in one night the 
 whole chain of Dorchester Heights had been fortified. 
 To frustrate every attempt at regaining them, hogs- 
 heads filled with stones had been chained together, 
 to roll down upon the heads of assailants. In conse- 
 quence of this fortification, Boston and its harbor be- 
 came untenable. 
 
 Howe, who had succeeded Gage, determined 
 quickly to evacuate the cit3^ The Americans did not 
 molest the retreating foe, on condition that the British 
 should not burn Boston. The British left Boston on 
 the 17th of March, 1776. They were accompanied by 
 several hundred families of royalists. They sailed for 
 Halifax. Washington entered the town in triumph, and 
 right joyful ^NQx& the people that Boston was delivered 
 from its enemies. Howe remained but a short time at 
 Halifax. He believed that New York presented su- 
 perior advantages as a station for his arm}'. His 
 views were directed to Long Island, as he knew the 
 countiy was fertile, and would afibrd supplies to his 
 army. As had been foreseen by Washington, the 
 great effort was now to be made on the Hudson. 
 Lord Howe, brother of Gen. Howe, arrived at 
 Halifax just after his brother had left it. He lost no 
 time in joining him at Staten Island, of which island 
 Gen. Howe had taken possession. These generals 
 determined to use every effort to possess themselves 
 of the Hudson river. This river would open com- 
 munication with Canada, and enable them, in a great 
 degree, to prevent intercourse between the Eastern and 
 Southern States. Georgia had some time before en- 
 
58 MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON". 
 
 tered into the confederation. They were now the 
 " Thirteen United Colonies." Gen. Washington ^r^- 
 ceded the Howes to New York. He left at Boston a 
 small detachment, under Gen. Ward. On the day of 
 the battle of Bunker Hill, Congress had elected four 
 major-generals — Ward, Lee, Schujder, and Putnam. 
 Artemas Ward was an old man. When Ward re- 
 ceived his appointment, he said, " I have been always 
 ready to serve my country, and am still ready, not- 
 withstanding my infirmities." Charles Lee, the son of 
 an English officer, was for a time a great favorite 
 with the American army. He was invested by them, 
 in their generous confidence, with virtues which sub- 
 sequent events prove he did not possess. Lee claimed 
 to be versed in the science of war — a soldier of con- 
 summate ability, who had joined tlie American cause 
 from the purest impulses of a generous nature. Gen. 
 Charles Lee, the Englishman, must not be confounded 
 with the family of Lee in Virginia, many members of 
 which were so distinguished during the war, both in 
 the cabinet and in the field. Charles Lee was re- 
 garded by the English as a deserter from their serv- 
 ice. No position was too high for his conceit. Claim- 
 ing to have passed through high military ranks, and 
 to be a major-general of five years' standing, it is said 
 lie waited upon Congress with the hope of being made 
 •' commander-in-chief." Both Congress and the army 
 seem to have been imposed upon by his assumptions, 
 for several 3^ears. Ward's early resignation placed 
 Lee next in command to Washington. The third 
 major-general was Philip Schuyler, of New York. 
 " He had little genius to control undisciplined men, 
 or to penetrate the wiles of a crafty foe ; he was 
 
MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. 59 
 
 therefore destitute of qualities which largely con- 
 tribute to form a great military character, but he pos- 
 sessed personal integrity, social consideration, and 
 ardent patriotism. He willingly used his credit and 
 influence and wide connections to bring out the re- 
 sources of his native province." The fourth major- 
 general was Israel Putnam, of Connecticut. His 
 fame rested chiefly on deeds of personal prowess. 
 He was brave, but had not the combination of quali- 
 ties necessary in a general. His patriotism was ardent 
 and his heart honest. 
 
 Next to these came Horatio Gates, an adjutant- 
 general, with the rank of brigadier. His experience 
 qualified him for the organization of an army, but he 
 was shallow in natural endowments and in military 
 culture. He gained much celebrity from the victory 
 of Saratoga, and the surrender of Burgoyne to him ; 
 but the brilliancy of his reputation was afterward 
 much tarnished by his conduct during the Southern 
 campaign. " There was onl}' one general officer," 
 says Bancroft, " when the continent took up arms, 
 who drew to himself the love and trust of the coun- 
 try. Of the five generals next beJow Washington, 
 not one was fit to succeed to his place." 
 
6o MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 "There is a kind of character in tliy life, 
 That to the observer doth thj history 
 Fully unfold : Thyself and thy belongings 
 Are not thine own so proper, as to waste 
 Thyself upon thy virtues, them on thee. 
 Heaven doth with us as we with torches do, 
 Not light them for themselves; 
 Spirits are not finely touched, but to fine issues." 
 
 Congress appointed, on the 21st of June, 1775. 
 eight brigadiers. Pomeroy, who received the first 
 appointment, retired from the camp on account of his 
 age before he received his commission. The second 
 brigadier was Richard Montgomery — seventh from 
 Washington in rank, but next to him in merit. He 
 was followed by David Wooster ; then came William 
 Heath ; next to him was Joseph Spencer ; then John ' 
 Thomas, of Massachusetts, a good general officer ; 
 John Sullivan, of New Hampshire, not free from de- 
 fects and foibles, but enterprising, able, and spirited ; 
 the last was Nathaniel Greene, of Rhode Island, 
 who, after Washington, had no superior in natural 
 resources, unless it were Montgomery. These were 
 the men who led our armies in the Revolutionary 
 struirele. Officers of inferior rank but of great merit 
 soon became conspicuous. Morgan, the colonel of the 
 Virginia riflemen, was a daring and most efficient' 
 officer ; and Mercer, also of Virginia, who fell at 
 Princeton, and Moultrie, Sumpter, and Marion, of 
 South Carolina, acted most nobly and heroically. Gen. 
 Knox, too, was a man of much military information 
 and a good artillery officer. In 1777, Henry Lee, of 
 Virginia, makes his appearance. His adventurous ex- 
 
MEiMOIR OF WASHINGTON. 6l 
 
 ploits and gallantry gained him the appellation of 
 " Light Horse Harry," He was a great favorite with 
 Washington throughout the war. The fame of the 
 American struggle for independence brought foreign 
 officers as candidates for admission into the patriot 
 army. How and where to place these men, some of 
 them of great merit, caused much embarrassment to 
 the commander-in-chief. Their ignorance of our 
 language was a great obstacle to their full efficiency. 
 Washington was compelled to use much prudence in 
 promoting the foreign officers, lest he should disgust 
 our own men, who had already borne much privation 
 and suffering. The most beloved of all the foreign- 
 ers by Americans was the young Marquis de La 
 Fayette. It was at a public dinner in Philadelphia, 
 w here a number of members of Congress were pres- 
 ent, that Washington first saw La Fayette. The 
 latter said that he immediately knew Washington, 
 surrounded as he was by officers, from his command- 
 ing air and person. The marquis was not yet twenty 
 years of age, but had already been married two 3'ears, 
 to a lady of rank and fortune. Subsequent events 
 proved this lady to be a model of conjugal devotion, 
 and adorned with every pious and virtuous trait 
 that makes woman estimable and lovely. The 
 marquis, full of the romance of liberty, had torn him- 
 self from his youthful bride ; he had turned away 
 from the gaieties and splendors of a court, and in de- 
 fiance of many impediments had made his way to 
 America. La Fayette sent to Congress the following 
 note : " After the sacrifices I have made, I have the 
 right to ask two favors : one is to serve at my own 
 expense ; the other, to commence by serving as a vol- 
 
62 - MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. 
 
 unteer." 'His simple appeal induced Congress at once 
 to make him major-general in the army of the 
 United States. Among the officers who came with 
 La Fayette was the Baron De Kalb. He also Avas 
 made major-general. Colonel Conway, a native of 
 Ireland, was another foreign officer^ who desired an 
 appointment iri the American army. He had served, 
 he said, thirty years in the armies of France. Con- 
 way received the appointment of brigadier-general, 
 of which he afterward proved himself unworthy. 
 He was boastful and jtresumptuous, and became noted 
 for his intrigues and for a cabal against the com- 
 mander-in-chief.. This conspiracy was entitled 
 "Conway's Cabal." He afterward expressed great 
 regret at his conduct^ and wrote, when he considered 
 himself dying, a penitent and apologetic letter to 
 Washington. A candidate of a different stamp was 
 the generous, gallant Kosciusko. He was a Pole, of 
 an ancient family, and had been educated at the mil- 
 itary school of Warsaw. He came to Washington 
 with a letter from Dr. Franklin. " What do you seek 
 here ?" inquired the commander-in-chief. " To fight for 
 American independence." " What can you do?" "Try 
 me." Washington was pleased with his curt reply 
 and with his chivalrous air and spirit, and at once re- 
 ceived him into his family as aide-de-camp. Con- 
 gress afterward appointed him an engineer, with the 
 rank of colonel. He proved a valuable officer 
 throughout the Revolution, and won an honorable 
 name in our country. If my young readers are familiar 
 with the poetry of Thomas Campbell, they will re- 
 member a pretty couplet in connection with Kos- 
 
MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. 6^ 
 
 ciusko. In speaking of a disastrous battle in Poland, 
 the poet says : 
 
 " Hope, for a season, bade the world /a re^veli, 
 And'freedom shrieked when Kosciusko fell." 
 
 Another officer of distinguished merit, also a Pole, 
 was Count Pulaski. He was recommended by Dr. 
 Franklin as an officer whose bravery and conduct in 
 defense of the liberties of his own country against 
 Russia,. Austria, and Prussia was celebrated through- 
 out Europe. Pulaski afterward fell at the siege of 
 Savannah. In 1778, Baron Steuben, through the per- 
 suasion of the French Minister of War, came to 
 America and offered his services. The French were 
 preparing to befriend the American cause, and they 
 were anxious to secure the services of a thorough dis- 
 ciplinarian for American armies. Steuben, by Wash- 
 ington's direction, proceeded to Congress. His letters 
 procured him a distinguished reception from the 
 President of Congress. He offered his services as a 
 volunteer, making no condition for rank or pay. His 
 services were accepted by a committee appointed by 
 Congress, with a vote of thanks for his disinterested- 
 ness, and he was ordered to go to Valley Forge. The 
 army, in its squalid quarters and ragged condition, pre- 
 sented a miserable aspect to one who had been accus- 
 tomed to the order and appointments of European 
 camps. But the liberal mind of Steuben made every 
 allowance, and Washington found him a consummate 
 soldier. He was made inspector-general. The whole 
 army was brought under drill. What proved a difficulty 
 to the aide-de-camp of the great Frederick, was his 
 ignorance of our language. Assistant inspectors were 
 appointed, who were Frenchmen, understanding botli 
 
64 MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. 
 
 French and English, who acted as interpreters for 
 him. The army gradually acquired, says Irving, a 
 proper organization, and Washington found in the 
 baron a disinterested, truthful coadjutor, well worth}^ 
 of the badge he wore, as a knight of the Order of 
 Fidelity. 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 Fear not each sudden sound and shock. 
 'T is of the wave, and not the rock; 
 'T is but the flapping of the sail, 
 And not a rent made by the gale. 
 In spite of rock and tempest's roar. 
 In spite of false lights on the shore, 
 Sail on, nor fear to breast the sea; 
 Our hearts, our hopes, are all with thee. 
 
 We have now attempted to give you in the last few 
 pages, not only a portrait of the master who laid the 
 keel of our ship of state, but also sketches of many 
 of his noble coadjutors. Washington quickly per- 
 ceived the difficulties of his situation at New York. 
 All the means in his power were employed in defend- 
 ing the city against the enemy but all his efforts were 
 powerless against an enemy whose fleet commanded 
 the sea. In order to prevent the enemy from ascend- 
 ing the Hudson, or penetrating the East river, hulks 
 were sunk. Fortifications were thrown up on both 
 sides of the Hudson, also the narrow passage be- 
 tween the islands, but all these precautions ultimately 
 failed. While the war was thus boldly and vigorously 
 carried on at the North, the Southern Colonies were 
 not unemployed. Lord Dunmore was giving Vir- 
 ginia much trouble. He had collected a considerable 
 naval force, and with the assistance of negroes, whom 
 
MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. 65 
 
 he had induced to leave their masters, and any other 
 forces he could procure, he commenced a predatory 
 war. On New Year's day, 1776, Norfolk was laid 
 in ashes by the royal governor, and Hampton v\'as 
 threatened. He was soon repulsed, however, by the 
 bravery of the people, who forced him to flee to his 
 ships. The Virginia forces, who repulsed Dunmore 
 and his men, were under the command of Col. Wood- 
 ford, assisted by John Marshall, as lieutenant, after- 
 ward Chief Justice of the United States. The first 
 gun fired in Virginia against the British, was fired by 
 George Nicholas, who commanded a party of Vir- 
 ginians, at one of the tenders sent by Dunmore to de- 
 stroy Hampton. About the same time. Gen. Clin- 
 ton, having been foiled in an attempt to take the city 
 of New York, proceeded with a large force to 
 Charleston, South Carolina. He was accompanied by 
 Lord Cornwallis and Sir Peter Parker. The people 
 of Charleston, anxious to save their city, determined 
 to make a great effort to protect it. They erected a 
 fort on Sullivan's Island of palmetto wood. This 
 island commanded the channel leading to the city. 
 The garrison consisted of five hundred men, under 
 Col. Moultrie. The fleet approached the island, and 
 after a conflict of nine hours, the ships, much shattered, 
 drew off and sailed to the North. Atone time during 
 this conflict, Charles Lee, who had been sent to 
 Charleston a short time previous with a few thousand 
 men,'crossedoverto the island in a boat, to see if it would 
 be best to withdraw or retreat. He found Moultrie 
 and Motte so fearless and determined that he desisted 
 from any counsel of this sort. When William Jasper, 
 a sergeant, perceived that the flag had been cut down 
 
()(> MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. 
 
 by a ball from the enemy, and had fallen over the 
 ramparts, "Colonel," said he to Moultrie, " do n't let us 
 fight without a flag." "What can you do?" asked 
 Moultrie. " The staff is broken off." " I'll fix it to a 
 halberd," said Jasper. Leaping through an embrasure, 
 and braving the thickest fire from the ship, he took 
 up the flag, returned with it safely, and planted it on 
 the summit of the merlon. Victory crowned the ef- 
 forts of these noble men at the close of the day. Of 
 the four hundred and thirty-five Americans in the fort, 
 who took part in this action, all but eleven remained 
 alive, and but twenty-six were wounded. With tliis 
 small cost of life had Charleston been defended and 
 a province saved. The whole loss of the British 
 fleet, in killed and wounded, was two hundred and 
 five. The royal governors of the Carolinas, as well 
 as Clinton and Cornwallis, and seven regiments, were 
 witnesses of the defeat. The British commodore 
 and General Clinton long indulged in reciprocal 
 criminations. There had been no harmony between 
 them from the beginning. South Carolina decreed 
 that the fort on Sullivan's Island should be known as 
 Fort Moultrie, This victory was gained on the 28th 
 of June, 1776* Rutledge was appointed to return 
 thanks to the defenders. He and Gadsden had sus- 
 tained Moultrie throughout his trials, the former send- 
 ing Moultrie during the siege, from Charleston, five 
 hundred pounds of powder. To Jasper, a lieuten- 
 ant's commission was offered, but he modestly de- 
 clined, accepting only a sword. The tidings of the 
 victory at Fort Moultrie were received at the North 
 with great joy. But it was followed a few weeks 
 after by a most serious disaster, at Long Island, New 
 
MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. 67 
 
 York. In August of this year, 1776, General Howe, 
 assisted by his brother, the Admiral, commenced 
 an attack on Long Island. In three divisions, 
 on three different roads, they advanced toward 
 the American camp at Brooklyn, then under the com- 
 mand of General Putnam. The British army, to- 
 gether with a body of hired troops called Hessians 
 (furnished by the Landgrave of Hesse Cassel), con- 
 sisted of thirty-five thousand men. Washington's 
 army in the vicinity of New York was said to con- 
 tain not more than seventeen thousand men. Major- 
 General Greene, who was considered by his contem- 
 poraries the most able general, except Washington, in 
 the American army, was sick, and his command was 
 necessarily given to Major-General Sullivan. Gen- 
 eral Washington seeing that a battle must be fought, 
 tried to prepare his troops for the emergency. He 
 sought to rouse their valor and patriotism by stirring 
 addresses to the troops. Notwithstanding his vigi- 
 lance and his special directions that certain posts 
 should be guarded and defended, many mistakes were 
 made. As the action became warm, Washington 
 passed over to the camp at Brooklyn, and beheld with 
 anguish the inevitable destruction in which his best 
 troops were involved. The carnage was great. He now 
 directed his efforts to make a retreat, as the only al- 
 ternative to save the remainder of his troops. Favored 
 by a fog which hung over the island, he succeeded in 
 making a safe retreat with his army to New York. 
 This battle of Long Island was very disastrous. 
 Some condemned the commander-in-chief, that he 
 permitted the battle to be fought. The great value of 
 the object to be obtained, the possession and the defense 
 
68 MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. 
 
 of the city of New York and Long Island, seemed to 
 call for great effort and even risk for its attainment. 
 About two thousand Americans were killed, wounded, 
 or. taken prisoners. Major-General Sullivan was 
 among the prisoners. The British loss was not more 
 than four hundred » 
 
 Had Washington relinquished Long Island with- 
 out an effort to keep it, the censure would have been 
 moi"e general. There was doubtless a defect in the 
 construction of the army. There was not a body of 
 cavalry present ; there were no videttes to watch the 
 motions of the enemy. Congress, however, and not 
 the commander, must be blamed for these defects. 
 Gen. Washington had often remonstrated with Con- 
 gress with regard to the construction of the army. 
 He insisted on longer enlistments, and declared that, 
 unless the army could be endued with more perma- 
 nency in its organization, their cause would be lost. 
 After the defeat at Long Island, whole regiments of 
 militia left the army. Congress was now convinced 
 that a new plan of military operations must be adopted. 
 A permanent army of eight3'-eight battalions was 
 proposed to be raised by the different states, in pro- 
 portion to their ability. Bounties were offered as in- 
 ducements to enlist. Virginia was expected to furnish 
 fifteen battalions ; Pennsylvania, twelve ; Massachu- 
 setts, fifteen battalions ; New Yorh, Jour ; North Car- 
 olina, nine ; South Carolina, six ; Maryland, eight 
 battalions ; Connecticut, eight ; New Jersey, four ; 
 New Hampshire, three; Rhode Island, 'lzt>o ; Dela- 
 ware, but one battalion ; Georgia, one. How differ- 
 ent would be the quotas of troops in these days, were 
 requisition now to be made ! 
 
MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. 69 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 Why look you sad ? 
 
 Be great in act, as you have been in thought : 
 Let not the world see fear and sad distrust — 
 Govern the motion of a kingly eye. 
 
 Lord Howe, soon after his great victory at Long 
 Island, opened communications with Congress, with 
 the purpose, if possible, of compromising the dispute 
 between Britain and America. Gen. Sullivan, their 
 prisoner, was sent, on parole, to Congress. A com- 
 mittee of three was sent by Congress to confer with 
 Lord Howe. Mr. Rutledge, John Adams, and Ben- 
 jamin Franklin met Lord Howe on Staten Island, 
 opposite to Amboy, on the nth of September, 1776. 
 He received them as private gentlemen, not as a com- 
 mittee of Congress. The negotiation was fruitless. 
 The time had passed by when Americans would con- 
 sent to return to the domination of Britain. On the 
 4th of July, two months previous, the American Con- 
 gress had declared her independence, and had sent 
 out to the world her famous " Declaration of Inde- 
 pendence," declaring in this instrument the causes 
 which led to the separation, justifying the act to the 
 civilized world by arguments effective and incontro- 
 vertible. 
 
 After the battle of Long Island, Washington re- 
 treated first to the northern part of New York Island, 
 and then to White Plains. At White Plains an un- 
 successful engagement occurred, and Washington re- 
 treated to North Castle. Lee remained at North 
 Castle, with a detachment; Col. Magaw, at Fort 
 Washington-; Gen. Heath, at Peekskill. Washing- 
 
70 MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. 
 
 Ion then crossed the Hudson into New Jerse3\ The 
 Americans had two forts on the Hudson — Fort Wash- 
 ington and Fort Lee. Washington had given dis- 
 cretionary power to Gen- Greene as to the policy of 
 holding Fort Washington. Greene thought the 
 fort could be held, but, so formidable was the at- 
 tack made by the British, that it was forced to sur- 
 render. Fort Lee was then evacuated by necessity. 
 Marshall savs : "Among the many valuable traits in 
 the character of Washington was his unyielding 
 firmness, which resisted these accumulated circum- 
 stances of depression, and which supported him under 
 them, undismayed by the dangers that surrounded 
 him. He did not relax his exertions for an instant, 
 nor omit anything which could obstruct the progress 
 of the enemy or meliorate the condition of his army. 
 He would not despair of the public safety, but strug- 
 gled heroically against adverse fortune with the hope 
 of vanquishing difficulties. He appeared before his 
 enfeebled and harassed army with a serene unem- 
 barrassed countenance, betraying no fears in himself, 
 and invigorating and inspiring with confidence the 
 bosoms of others. To this firmness of temper, to this 
 perfect self-possession, is America in a great degree 
 indebted for her independence." We believe that 
 Washington was a chosen instrument in the hands of 
 God to lead his countrymen to independence, or his 
 faith would never have been so unflinching in the 
 dark trying hours through which he was called to 
 pass. His feeble army was pressed upon by the 
 Bridsh army, from place to place, throughout New 
 Jersey. Washington became very anxious about the 
 safety of Philadelphia. His militia were deserting 
 
MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. 7 1 
 
 him at every opportunity ; his regulars were badly 
 armed, badly clad, without tents or blankets, and des- 
 titute of utensils for preparing their food. In the 
 cold winter of November and December, 1776, 
 Washington found himself at the. head of a small band, 
 dispirited by losses and fatigues, retreating, almost naked 
 and barefooted, before a numerous and well-appointed, 
 victorious army. At this crisis, the British generals 
 sent broadcast through the land offers and proclama- 
 tions of pardon to all who would return to their al- 
 legiance in sixty days. The splendid appearance of 
 the pursuing army, and the beggai'ly aspect of the 
 Americans, made many faint hearts suppose that the 
 contest would soon end. But He "who holds the 
 nations in His hand " had not so determined. The 
 exertions of Gen. Mifflin, who had been commissioned 
 to raise the militia of Pennsylvania, met with some 
 success in Philadelphia. A large proportion of that 
 city, capable of bearing arms, had formed an associa- 
 tion for the defense of their country. Fifteen hun- 
 dred of these joined Washington at Trenton, also a 
 German battalion. Cornwallis was now rapidly ap- 
 proaching him. He therefore crossed the Delaware 
 with as much rapidity as was consistent w^ith saving 
 the tents and breaking down the bridges. As the 
 rear guard of the American army crossed the- river, 
 the van of the British army appeared in sight. 
 
72 MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 How blind is pride ! What eagles are we still, 
 
 In matters that belong to other men, 
 
 What beetles in our own ! 
 
 His soul, like bark with rudder lost. 
 
 On passion's changeful tide was tost. 
 
 Gen. Charles Lee was repeatedly urged by his 
 commander to rejoin him and the main army, but he 
 nevertheless proceeded by slow marches, with an ob- 
 vious disposition to retain a separate command. While 
 marching through Morris county, he indiscreetly 
 quartered his forces, with a small guard, but three 
 miles from the British army. Before Lee had an in- 
 timation of the approach of an enemy, Col. Harcourt, 
 with a body of British cavahy, surrounded him and 
 took him prisoner. This imprisonment of Lee was 
 regarded as a great misfortune by those who still con- 
 sidered him a general of experience and ability. 
 Gen. Washington regretted it on account of his personal 
 feelings and because of the public interest. He was 
 not yet fully aware of Lee's selfish and unscrupulous 
 character. Gen. Sullivan now obeyed with alacrity 
 the orders that had been sent to Lee, as he was next 
 in rank. Gen. Gates joined his commander also on 
 the same da}^ 
 
 Lord Cornwallis had failed to get boats to transport 
 his army across the Delaware. This, for the time, 
 saved Philadelphia. He now seemed preparing to go 
 into winter-quarters. His troops were distributed at 
 various places, from the Delaware to the Hackensack. 
 Gen. Howe's object, in covering New Jersey with his 
 troops, was to impede recruiting. To counteract this 
 object, three regiments, together with eight hundred 
 
MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. 73 
 
 New Jersey militia, were ordered to remain at Morris- 
 town. Gen. Maxwell commanded these troops. 
 
 Gen. Washington, fearing that Gen. Howe would 
 pass the Delaware as soon as it was frozen over, and 
 seize Philadelphia, resolved upon the seeming des- 
 perate expedient of recrossing the Delaware, and at- 
 tacking at the same time all the British posts on the 
 Delaware. To effect this, on the night of the 25th 
 of December, he determined to cross about nine miles 
 above Trenton. Gen. Irvine was to cross at the 
 Trenton Ferry, and Gen. Cadw^allader opposite to 
 Burlington. It was arranged that three divisions 
 were to cross at the same time. Washington, with 
 great difficulty, succeeded in crossing with the men in 
 his division, but the other two divisions failed to exe- 
 cute their part, in consequence of the floating ice and 
 extreme cold. The cold on the night of the 25th was 
 unusually severe, and the rain, hail, and snow fell in 
 great quantities. Washington's army, consisting of 
 twent3'-four hundred men, separated after the crossing, 
 and marched in two divisions to Trenton. Washinpfton 
 commanded the upper division. As soon as he arrived, 
 he heard the firingof his other division, which had come 
 by the river road. A severe action commenced. Capt. 
 Rahl, who commanded at Trenton, was mortally 
 wounded. His men, in much confusion, attempted to 
 escape by the road to Princeton, but Washington 
 threw a detachment in their front, and intercepted 
 them. More than nine hundred prisoners were taken, 
 six lield-pieces, and a thousand stand of arms. 
 About twenty of the enemy were killed. The Amer- 
 ican loss was trifling. This bold, vigorous movement 
 of Washington took the enemy at Trenton by sur- 
 
74 MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. 
 
 prise, and greatly astonished the whole British arn:y. 
 The exhilaration of the Americans was in proportion 
 to the surprise of the British. The American cause, 
 just previous to the battle of Trenton, had been 
 deemed almost desperate. Washington had been de- 
 serted by all the troops whose period of enlistment 
 had expired. Some were determined, it was reported, 
 not to permit the sixty days to expire before they ac- 
 cepted the pardon- of Lord Howe. Cadwallader 
 crossed the next day, and took post on the Jersey 
 shore. Irvine and Mifflin crossed also, with about 
 fifteen hundred men. Washington, encouraged by his 
 increased force, determined to make an effort to re- 
 cover the whole or a great part of Jersey. He now 
 abandoned the Delaware, and marched by a circuit- 
 ous route to Princeton. They decamped with perfect 
 secrecy in the night, leaving their watch-fires burning 
 and the sentries making their usual rounds. About 
 sunrise, the American army met three British regi- 
 ments. A severe action ensued, in which the gallant 
 Gen. Mercer, of Virginia, was mortally wounded, 
 while endeavoring to rally his troops. The death of 
 Mercer was a great grief to Washington. They had 
 served together in the French and Indian wars. The 
 main body of the army under Washington came up 
 opportunely in the rear, and changed the fortune of 
 the day. Another victory was gained ! He was well 
 supported by the troops who had a few days previous 
 saved their country at Trenton. The British gave 
 way, and Washington pressed on to Princeton. The 
 regiments at Princeton saved themselves by a* precip- 
 itate retreat to Brunswick. More than one hundred 
 of the enemy were killed and three hundred were 
 
MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. 75 
 
 taken prisoners. This engagement is called in his- 
 tory the battle of Princeton. The bold and unex- 
 pected attacks made at Trenton and Princeton, had an 
 influence on the fate of the war much more extensive 
 in its consequences than might be supposed from a 
 mere estimate of the killed and of the prisoners. 
 These successes revived the drooping spirits of the 
 American people, and gave a new impulse to the re- 
 cruiting service. Philadelphia was saved for that 
 winter,' 1777, and the State of New Jersey was 
 recovered. Washington commanded an army with 
 some hearts as true and as brave and bold as his own, 
 but on him rested the tremendous responsibility of the 
 leader of an army without discipline or permanency, 
 without proper arms or sufficient y>^;/^5. He was en- 
 couraged and sustained by the hope that by self-sac7'i- 
 Jice, he might accomplish a grand, glorious work. 
 The dignity of his position gave to his undertaking a 
 sublime interest. Dr. Franklin, Deane, and Arthur 
 Lee were sent to France to solicit aid, early in 1776. 
 The government of France hesitated, but the gener- 
 ous La Fayette, as we have before said, fitted out a 
 ship in December, 1776, at his own expense. He 
 was accompanied by De Kalb and twelve French offi- 
 cers. How remarkable was the destiny of La Fay- 
 ette. He figured conspicuously in the grandest and 
 most varied dramas of political history. He tried to 
 act as a pacificator in the terrible revolution of his 
 own country, in 1789. The jealousy of tyrants con- 
 signed him to a prison for two years, in Olmutz, 
 Austria. In 1824, he revisited the United States, the 
 land tor which he had shed his blood in his 3^outh. 
 No Roman consul was ever received or followed by 
 
76 MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. 
 
 more rejoicing triumphant processions than was this 
 great, good man. In 1830, the people of France 
 asked him to select a ruler for them. He advised 
 them to make Louis PhiHppe their king. To return 
 to our history. In April, 1777, an expedition was 
 planned by the British against Danbury, where there 
 were valuable stores and tents. The detachment con- 
 sisted of about eighteen hundred men. The invading 
 party were soon obliged to retire by a different route, 
 as the people in the neighborhood were in motion. 
 They retreated hastily, like the expedition to Concord, 
 in 1775. By a quick march, Arnold and Silliman 
 confronted them at Ridgefield with four hundred men, 
 while two hundred men under Wooster hung on their 
 rear. Wooster, then in his sixty-eighth year, fell at the 
 head of his men mortally wounded, but not until he 
 had taken a considerable number of prisoners. Ar- 
 nold's horse was killed under him. A British soldier, 
 seeing him alone and entangled, advanced on him 
 with fixed bayonet. Arnold drew a pistol, shot the 
 soldier, and retired unhurt. Tiie British were sorely 
 pressed in their retreat b}^ Lamb's battalion of artillery, 
 and by Silliman and Arnold. For three days and nights 
 they (the British) had little rest, until they reached 
 their ships and embarked, protected by an able British 
 detachment commanded by Erskine. The killed 
 and wounded of the British are said to have amounted 
 to two hundred, the Americans losing about half 
 as many. Arnold, in braving the enemy's musketry 
 and grape-shot a second time, had another horse 
 killed under him. Congress, who at Washington's ad- 
 vicehad elected Arnold a major-general, now voted him 
 a horse caparisoned as a token of tiicir apjirobalion of 
 
MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. 77 
 
 his gallant conduct, but they refused to restore him to 
 his former relative rank ; therefore, a sense of wrong 
 rankled in his breast. Congress voted a monument 
 to Wooster, who lingered a few days, ending a long 
 and honorable life. About the same time, the Amer- 
 icans, under Col. Meigs, destroyed some British stores 
 at Sag Harbor, and Col. Benton captured Gen. Pres- 
 cott, in Rhode Island. 
 
 CHAPTER XVHI. 
 
 I see them on their winding way, 
 About their ranks the moonbeams play. 
 Their lofty deeds and daring high 
 Blend with the notes of victory ; 
 And waving arms and banners bright 
 Are glancing in the mellow light. 
 
 Ini777' the arm}' was encamped atMorristown, New 
 Jersey. ■ In the spring, it was removed to Middle- 
 brook. Howe, after withdrawing his troops from New 
 Jersey, established himself on Staten Island. Eighteen 
 thousand men were now embarked on board the fleet 
 of Lord Howe, who sailed up the Chesapeake Bay, 
 but had previously landed the troops, who were on 
 their march to Philadelphia. Washington hastened 
 to dispute the progress of the British, and, with a 
 large portion of his army, took a position at Chad's 
 Ford^ on Brandy wine creek, where, on the nth 
 of September, 1777, a battle was fought. This bat- 
 tle was fought chiefly for the protection of Philadel- 
 phia, but it was a defeat. The undisciplined raw troops 
 were thrown into confusion, and, while a portion of 
 the army defended themselves with great valor, they 
 were forced to give way. Count Pulaski, the Pole, of 
 
78 MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. 
 
 whom we have spoken, was in this battle. Washing- 
 ton made vigorous efforts to save Philadelphia. Gen. 
 Wayne was sent with fifteen hundred men to hang 
 upon the rear of Howe's army, but he was defeated 
 at Paoli. On the 26th of September, Howe entered 
 Philadelphia. A large detachment of Howe's army 
 encamped at Germantown. Washington attacked 
 this force, on the 4th of October, but was re- 
 pulsed with the loss of a thousand men. Two forts 
 on the Delaware commanded that river — Fort Mercer 
 and Fort Mifflin. Count Donop, a Hessian officer, at- 
 tacked Fort Mercer. Fort Mifflin was also attacked, 
 but the assailants of both forts were repulsed with 
 heavy loss. Count Donop was mortally wounded ; 
 about five hundred Hessians were killed, and two 
 ships destroyed. A few weeks after, however, both 
 these forts were abandoned by the Americans. During 
 the winter of 1777-78, the Americans were en- 
 camped at Valley Forge, a town in Pennsylvania, on 
 the Schuylkill. This was a time of great suffering to 
 our troops. Some of the officers, in great need, re- 
 signed their command. As the men moved toward 
 their winter resting-place, at Valley Forge, they had 
 not sufficient clothing to cover their nakedness, nor 
 blankets to lie on, nor tents to sleep under. Their 
 marches through frost and snow might be traced by 
 the blood from their feet. " From his life in the 
 woods, Washington could see through the trees a town 
 of log-cabins, in regular streets, aftbrding sufficient 
 shelter to save the army from dispersion. Had it not 
 been for the love of country, for the patriotism of the 
 soldiers, and their devotion to their leader, the army 
 would have dissolved and vanished at this time." 
 
MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. 79 
 
 Washington's vigilance was unsleeping, to guard his 
 army from surprises. On the 19th of August, 1777, 
 Gates had assumed the command of the Northern 
 army, which lay a few miles above Albany, near the 
 mouth of the Mohawk. He, in conjunction with 
 Arnold and Morgan and a force of nine thousand 
 men, gained a splendid victory over Burgo3'ne, 
 Fraser, and Riedesel, with his Brunswick troops. 
 The battle was fought on the 19th of September, on 
 the Hudson, near Stillwater or Saratoga. Gen. Bur- 
 goyne had formed a plan for penetrating by the lakes 
 to the north of Hudson river, as far as Albany, in 
 order to cut off the communication between the North 
 and South. His army consisted of more than seven 
 thousand men, besides a regiment of Canadians and 
 several tribes of Indians. Before reaching Saratoga, 
 his army began to suffer for provisions. A detach- 
 ment he sent to Bennington, to procure stores, met 
 with a severe defeat from Gen. Stark. After the battle 
 of the 19th of September, the condition of Burgoyne was 
 very perplexing. While the British army declined. 
 Gates was constantly re-enforced. At length, on the 
 13th of October, Burgoyne surrendered. The num- 
 ber surrendered was nearly six thousand men, together 
 with eighteen hundred prisoners of war abandoned to 
 the Americans. Forty-two pieces of the best brass 
 ordnance fell into their hands. The total loss of the 
 British, in this surrender, was nearly ten thousand 
 men. This great victory is known in history as the bat- 
 tle of Saratoga. In the report of this action, Gates com- 
 mended Arnold^ with Morgan, of Virginia, who com- 
 manded abody of Virginiariflemen,andGen. Dearborn-. 
 Bancroft says ; " On this decisive day, men from the 
 
8o MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. 
 
 valley of Virginia, from New York, and from New 
 England fought with one spirit for a common cause." 
 We have seen a very life-like, expressive picture, rep- 
 resenting the surrender of Burgoyne to Gates. It is 
 in the rotunda of the Capitol, at Washington. The 
 splendid uniform of the British general finely con- 
 trasts with the plain, somber dress of Gates, Morgan 
 and his men, dressed in hunting-shirts, are looking 
 grandly on without a particle of exultation in their 
 countenances. Wliat a sublime interest must have 
 invested all the American participants in that hour of 
 success ! 
 
 When the news of the surrender of Burgoj'ne was 
 received in Europe, France acknowledged the inde- 
 pendence of America, and promised immediate as- 
 sistance. Spain, too, united with France. • When the 
 Marquis de La Fayette obtained permission to revisit 
 his native country, he retained, with his rank in the 
 American army, an ardent zeal for her interests. He 
 hastened to the court of Versailles, where he was re- 
 ceived with favor .and distinction. He earnestly sought 
 to impress the cabinet with the importance and policy 
 of granting assistance to the United States. Having 
 succeeded in his favorite object, and finding no proba- 
 bility of active employment in his own countr}', he 
 returned to America with the grateful intelligence that 
 she would soon receive succor from France. He arrived 
 late in April, at Boston, and hastened to headquarters. 
 The intelligence brought by the marquis gave a new 
 impulse both to Congress and the state legislatures. 
 A requisition was now made on all the states, from 
 New Hampshire to Virginia inclusive, for ten millions 
 of dollars. The sums, when raised, were to be sa- 
 
MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. 8 1 
 
 credly appropriated to bringing an army into the fieldr 
 On the nth of July, 1780, intelligence was brought 
 that a large French fleet had been seen between the 
 capes of Virginia and the Delaware. The French" 
 armament soon after arrived at Newport, in Rhode 
 Jsland. The Count de Rochambeau and the Cheva- 
 lier de Ternay were the officers commanding the land 
 and naval forces of France in Newport. A second 
 division of the army waited at Brest, for transports, 
 and might soon be expected. Warm professions of 
 esteem and confidence passed between the American and 
 French commanders. Gen. Washinoton recommended 
 to his officers, as a symbol of affection and friendship 
 toward their allies^ to engraft on the American cock- 
 ade, which was black, a white relief, this being the 
 color of the French cockade. De Ternay commanded 
 a squadron of seven sail of the line and five smaller 
 armed vessels. This force was superior to that of 
 Admiral Arbuthnot, who lay at New York with only 
 four ships ; but three days after de Ternay reached 
 Newport, Admiral Graves arrived with six ships of 
 the line, which reversed the superiority of the forces. 
 De Ternay looked with anxiety for the re-enforcement 
 Irom Brest. 
 
 On the first arrival of the Count de Rochambeau, 
 he had been put in possession of all the forts and bat- 
 teries in and about Newport. Arbuthnot, seeing that 
 the French ships and frigates were moored in a line 
 from Rhode Island to the Connecticut shore, so as to 
 act in conjunction with the land forces, concluded to 
 remain at his station off Block Island. Sir Henry 
 Clinton was anxious, meanwhile, to attack Newport, 
 and had made preparations to embark six thousand 
 
MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. 
 
 troops for this purpose ; but Arbuthnot disapproved a 
 combined attack by land and sea. Clinton, therefore, 
 postponed his design, but encamped near the shore, 
 and retained his transports for any enterprise that 
 might be deemed proper. Gen. Washington was at 
 this time near the Passaic, in Jersey. He, understand- 
 ing Clinton's designs, communicated them to Rocham- 
 beau. As it was not practicable for Washington to 
 unite his troops wnth Rochambeau, he determined to 
 attempt a rapid movement against New York, with the 
 view of compelling Sir Henry Clinton to abandon 
 the plans he had formed against Rhode Island. 
 Washington collected an army of ten thousand men, 
 and was in full march toward Kingsbridge, when 
 Clinton suddenly returned, thus disappointing the 
 hopes of Washington that New York was weakly 
 defended. Count D'Estaing arrived in July, in 
 Delaware Bay. Lord Howe had a short time before 
 sailed from this bay. The count had been eighty- 
 seven days crossing the ocean. Had he arrived a few 
 days earlier, he would have inevitably destroyed the 
 British fleet, so decided was the superiority of the 
 French force. On D'Estaing's arrival within the 
 capes of the Delaware, finding his plans disconcerted, 
 he sailed to Rhode Island, intending to attack the 
 English fleet as soon as it appeared oft^ the 
 coast. Lord Howe followed him there, having 
 received re-enforcements. A violent tempest came 
 on , while the hostile fleets made ready for action, 
 which separated and damaged the two fleets so se- 
 verely that an engagement was rendered impracti- 
 cable. Both naval armaments left Rhode Island in 
 order to refit. Gen. Sullivan was greatly discour- 
 
MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. 83 
 
 aged at the departure of the French fleet; many of 
 his volunteers deserted him, and he was forced to re- 
 treat. Lord Howe, shortly after this time, resigned 
 his commission, and returned to England. Sir Henry 
 Clinton evacuated Philadelphia in June, marching 
 through New Jersey to New York. At Monmouth 
 the two armies met and had a severe conflict. Lee 
 had been exchanged a short time previous to this 
 battle. Lee's division was in retreat when Washing- 
 ton met them. He reproved Lee with some severity 
 and insisted that he should return to the field at Mon- 
 mouth. He obeyed the order and fought well. The 
 advantage in this battle was with the Americans, who 
 slept on their arms, supposing the battle would be re- 
 newed in the morning, but Clinton retreated before 
 dawn. Lee's pride was wounded by the rebuke he 
 received from his commander. He wrote disrespect- 
 ful letters to Washington, for which discourtesy, he 
 was tried by a court-martial, and sentenced to be 
 suspended trom his command for one year. He 
 never rejoined the army. The transaction at Mon- 
 moutli is another proof of the commanding influence 
 of Washington over men, and also evinces that the 
 confidence that Washington had once reposed in 
 Gen. Charles Lee had greatly declined. Sullivan, in 
 August, gained an advantage over Pigot, on the isl- 
 and of Rhode Island. In July of this year, 1779, ^ 
 body of tories and Indians devastated the valley of 
 Wyoming on the Susquehanna river. From the in- 
 cidents connected with this atrocious massacre at 
 Wyoming, Campbell has made a beautiful poem, 
 called " Gertrude of Wyoming." 
 
84 MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 So do the dark in soul expire, 
 
 Or live like scorpions girt by fire. 
 
 So writhes the inind, remorse has riven — 
 
 Unfit for earth, undoomed for heaven. 
 
 Arnold took command of the city of Philadelphia, 
 in 1778, after the British had evacuated it. He, 
 during his residence in that city, is said to have con- 
 tracted large debts, and in order to liquidate them 
 had appropriated public funds. Arnold was tried for 
 these alleged misdemeanors, and in conformity with 
 the decision of the court, he was reprimanded by 
 Washington. He never forgave the reproof. He 
 complained that his services in the war had not been 
 duly appreciated. Washington, willing to soothe his 
 feelings, as a soldier of great merit, and remove his 
 disgrace, gave to him the responsible command of 
 West Point. His courage in battle and his patient 
 fortitude under hardships had secured for him a high 
 place in the opinion of the army. He was at this 
 time unfit for active service, in consequence of 
 wounds received in Canada and at Saratoo"a. His 
 claims against the United States were great, but the 
 commissioners to whom his accounts were referred 
 for settlement, reduced them considerably. He there- 
 fore appealed from their decision to Congress. Con- 
 gress, through a committee, reported that the sum al- 
 lowed by the commissioners was more than he was 
 entitled to receive. His trial had lasted from June, 
 1778, to the 26th of Januar}^ 1779- From the time 
 that the sentence against him was approved, and his 
 general requested to reprimand him, it is probable 
 
MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. 85 
 
 that his proud, unprincipled spirit revolted from the 
 cause of his country. Thus soured and disjjusted, he 
 commenced his career at West Point. " The preserva- 
 tion of this important post had been the principal ob- 
 ject of more than one campaign, and its loss, it was 
 believed, would enfeeble all the mililary operations. 
 West Point was peculiarly interesting to the State of 
 New York, and in this state, Arnold's reputation as 
 a great captain was particularly high. Washington 
 was solicited by Arnold's friends to give him this post ; 
 also, Arnold himself made a personal appeal to his 
 commander-in-chief. It is stated by Marshall, that 
 Arnold, in a letter to Col. Robinson, previous to his 
 solicitation of this post, intimated a change of prin- 
 ciples, and expressed a wish to regain the favor of his 
 prince by some proof of his repentance. This fact, 
 then, has induced the belief that Arnold desired this 
 fortress as an acquisition which would give value to 
 treason, while its loss would inflict a mortal wound 
 on his countrymen and his form.er friends. To solicit 
 power, that we may abuse it, is surely the climax of 
 human baseness. Revenge, too, is the spirit of a 
 demoniac; it is more tormenting to the possessed than 
 to the victim; it is a poisoned clialice commended to 
 other lips, but the dregs of which are wrung out and 
 _ swallowed by him who offers it. In consequence of 
 the letter to Robinson, who was a tory, a correspond- 
 ence was opened with Sir Henry Clinton, the im- 
 mediate object of which was to arrange the means of 
 putting the important post of West Point into the pos- 
 session of the British general. A personal interview 
 with an intelligent, responsible person became 
 necessary for the maturing of the nefarious plan, and 
 
86 MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. 
 
 Clinton selected Major Andre, an officer who held a 
 high place in the esteem and affections of his general, 
 for this dangerous mission. Andre became a spy, 
 that he might confer, as he supposed, a great benefit 
 on liis country. In the morals of a war code, de- 
 ception, that can benefit friends and injure foes, is 
 considered right and justifiable. Therefore, the name 
 and fame of this emissary of the British general has 
 come down to us untarnished. History and tradition 
 have invested him with the virtues and accomplish- 
 ments of a hero of romance. There was no romance 
 in his death ; he died like a felon. He begged that 
 he might be shot, but the rigorous prudence of the 
 laws of war refused his request. The sympathetic 
 reader passes rapidly over this dark page of American 
 history, not so mvich on account of the painful, das- 
 tardly fall of Arnold, the traitor, from his high estate, 
 as on account of the deep sympathy felt for the sad 
 death of the young, promising British officer. In our 
 haste to get through this part of our subject, we have 
 unwittingly anticipated the result without first relating 
 the circumstances of the detention and arrest of Andre. 
 The place appointed for the interview between Arnold 
 and Andre was without the American posts. After the 
 plans were all arranged, circumstances rendered it 
 impossible for Andre to return to New York by water. 
 He had ascended the river in the sloop Vulture, but 
 he was compelled to return by land. With a pass or 
 permit given him by Arnold, he had passed without 
 suspicion (he was now dressed in plain clothes) through 
 all the guards and posts on the road, and was proceed- 
 ing to New York, as he deemed with perfect security, 
 when one of three militia-men, who were employed 
 
MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. 87 
 
 as scouts between the lines of the two armies, sprang 
 suddenly before him and seized the reins of his horse. 
 These young men, whose names were Van Wert, 
 Williams, and Paulding, soon comprehended the im- 
 portance of the capture they had made. Andre of- 
 fered them a purse of gold and his watch, and made 
 many tempting promises of reward and permanent 
 provision from his government, if they would permit 
 him to escape ; but they rejected his offers without 
 hesitation, and manfully resisted the sympathy which 
 sprang up in their hearts for the unfortunate young 
 man. They proceeded to search him. They found 
 concealed in his boots exact returns, in Arnold's hand- 
 writing, of the state of the forces, ordnance, anddefenses 
 at West Point. They conducted Andre to the nearest 
 military post, at North Castle, before Lieut. Col. Jamie- 
 son. This officer, f^iithful himself, rejected the suspicion 
 that Arnold could be a traitor. Andre, still maintain- 
 ing the character and name he had assumed, requested 
 Jamieson to send an express to Arnold, informing him 
 that Anderson had been taken. Arnold at once saw 
 his danger, and, flying from the punishment he mer- 
 ited, took refuge on board the Vulture, and proceeded 
 to New York. When Andre supposed that Arnold had 
 had sufficient time to make his escape, he no longer 
 affected disguise or concealment, but acknowledged 
 himself to be the adjutant-general of the British army. 
 Jamieson, anxious to retrieve any mischief which his 
 incredulity might have caused, now hastened to send 
 to the commander-in-chief the package which con- 
 tained all the papers that had been discovered. 
 Some time elapsed, owing to untoward circumstances, 
 before these papers were received. Meanwhile, 
 
MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. 
 
 Arnold had made sure his escape. Every precaution 
 was now taken for the security of West Point. Sir 
 Henry Clinton, however, undertook no enterprise 
 against it, believing thiit the defection was confined to 
 Arnold himself. A board of general officers, of 
 which Major-Gen. Greene was president, assisted 
 b}' La Fayette and Steuben, was called upon to report 
 the case of the unhappy Andre, and to determine in 
 what character he must be considered, and to what 
 punishment he was liable. The candor and magna- 
 nimity of Andre made a favorable impression upon all 
 with whom he had intercourse. His frankness pre- 
 cluded the necessity of an examination of witnesses. 
 Major Andre was declared a spy by his board of ex- 
 aminers. The execution of the sentence was ordered 
 on the succeeding day to that on which it was rendered. 
 There is a letter extant, written at the time of his ex- 
 ecution by Col. Hamilton, who describes the character 
 of Andre as singularly interesting, embellished by 
 rare attainments and accomplishments. But he could 
 not be saved from his sad fate ! Had the traitor 
 been taken, it is probable Andre's life would have 
 been spared. It was thought necessary that an 
 example must be made. He encountered his fate 
 with fortitude. A hundred years nearly have passed 
 away since this tragical event, yet time has not oblit- 
 erated the vividness of the mournful fact. Great ex- 
 ertions were made by Henry Clinton. Arnold, too, 
 had the hardihood to write to Washincrton in Andre's 
 behalf. His interposition was unnoticed. Washington 
 conveyed Mrs. Arnold to her husband, and transmitted 
 to him his clothes and bajjafage. Arnold was made a 
 brigadier-general in the British arn^iy, bul rank could 
 
MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. 89 
 
 not rescue him from merited contempt and detestatign. 
 Arnold published an address to the American people, 
 in which he labored to palliate his guilt. He after- 
 ward committed great excesses in ravaging with fire 
 and sword his native state, Connecticut. He also de- 
 vastated.the coast of Virginia. Arnold was the only 
 traitor among American officers through all the hard- 
 ships, privations, and irritations of the American war. 
 The thanks of Congress were voted to the three 
 militia-men, who had rendered the invaluable service 
 of exposing a deep-laid conspiracy. A medal, with 
 a suitable inscription expressive of their fidelity and 
 patriotism, wa^ presented to each. Two hundred 
 dollars per annum were to be paid to each of them in 
 specie. This small sum, for so great a service, proves 
 the poverty of the public treasury at this time. Wash- 
 ington made continuous efforts to obtain a permanent 
 military force. He had opposed short enlistments from 
 the beginning of the war. One portion of Congress 
 seemed to be jealous of the army and apprehensive 
 of its hostility to liberty when -peace should be re- 
 stored. Such persons were unwilling to give stability 
 to the army by increasing the numbers who were to 
 serve during the war. How unjust to the American 
 soldiery, and how unnecessary were such fears, the 
 conclusion of the war proved. These fears were not 
 altogether unreasonable, when it is recollected how 
 dangerous and destructive to liberty great armies have 
 proved under successful generals. But they should 
 have better. understood the honest patriotism of their 
 countrymen, and the self-abnegation of their noble 
 commander-in-chief. 
 
90 MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 " They fought like brave men, long and well." 
 
 In the latter part of i778> the war had been prose- 
 cuted with great vigor in the Southern States. In the 
 beginning of 1779, ^^^ posts remained in the hands 
 of the Americans. There were, however, many al- 
 ternations of victory and defeat. Col. Pickens de- 
 feated an army of tories and British, at Kettle creek, 
 as he was defeated by the British general, Prevost, at 
 Brier creek. At Stony Ferry, also, the Americans 
 were repulsed. Clinton, at the North, had captured 
 Stony Point and Verplanck's Point. Stony Point was 
 afterward recaptured b}^ Wayne, by a very brilliant 
 exploit. The loss of the enemy in this adventure was 
 six hundred. The Americans lost only fifteen killed 
 and eighty wounded. Major Harry Lee surprised 
 a post at Paulus Hook and took one hundred and fifty 
 prisoners. Sullivan iiad been successful in checking 
 the depredations of the Indians in western New York. 
 He had been sent thither to avenge " the massacre at 
 Wyoming." In the battle of the Chemung, he had 
 destroyed forty villages of the Indians, and a large 
 quantity of corn. Such are the horrid concomitants 
 of war ! In September, 1779, Paul Jones, with a 
 small squadron of American and French vessels, took 
 two British frigates. This action lasted from seven 
 to ten at night. Coimt D'Estaing, in September, 1779, 
 appeared before Savannah. He expected, in co- 
 operation with Gen. Lincoln, to recover Savannah. 
 It was besieged for three weeks, and closed with a 
 disastrous assault. Count Pulaski, so famous for his 
 virtues and misfortunes, received his death-wound at 
 
MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. 9I 
 
 the siege of Savannah. He had been made general of the ■ 
 American cavalry sometime previous. In 1780, the war 
 was chiefly carried on in the Carolinas. Clinton ap- 
 peared before Charleston, and commenced a regular 
 siege. He sent also expeditions into the interior. 
 Battle after battle ensued. An American corps sta- 
 tioned at Monk's Corners were surprised and put to 
 flight by Tarleton. This officer was abhorred by 
 Americans for his alleged cruelties. At Washaw he 
 overtook a body of patriots, and massacred or 
 maimed all who fell into his power. Gen. Lincoln, 
 after an obstinate and heroic defense of forty days, 
 surrendered Charleston. After the surrender. Sir 
 Henry Clinton, supposing that he had conquered 
 South Carolina, proceeded to New York, leaving 
 Cornwallis to carry the war into North Carolina and 
 Virginia. Carolina, however, was not subdued. 
 Gens. Marion and Sumpter kept up an active guerilla 
 warfare, that required the British officers to be on the 
 alert. At King's Mountain, Col. Campbell, with a 
 force hastily raised for the occasion, met Ferguson, 
 who was mortally wounded, and many of his men 
 were wounded and taken prisoners. Gen. Gates, 
 after his brilliant success at Saratoga, had been ap- 
 pointed to the command of the Southern Department. 
 After a terrible conffict, Gen. Gates met with a disas- 
 trous defeat at Camden. So dissatisfied was Congress 
 at his management and conduct in the battle of Cam- 
 den, that it passed a resolution requiring the com- 
 mander-in-chief to order a court of inquiry on the 
 conduct of Major-Gen. Gates, as commander of the 
 Southern army, and to appoint some other officer to 
 that command until such inquiry should be made. 
 
MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. 
 
 The choice of an officer for the Southern Department 
 was submitted lo Gen. Washington. He unhesi- 
 tatingly recommended Major-Gen. Greene for this im- 
 portant field. Major Lee (Light-horse Harr}^ was 
 made lieutenant-colonel of a legion, and ordered to 
 join the Southern army. The brave Baron De Kalb 
 was mortally wounded at Camden. After the British 
 success at Camden, Sumpter was pursued by Tarleton 
 and defeated with considerable loss. As soon as Gen. 
 Greene was appointed to the command of the South, 
 he promptly sent Gen. Morgan to check the course of 
 the British. The battle of the Cowpens was fought 
 January 17, 1781. It was a complete and decisive vic- 
 tory for the Americans. The whole force of Morgan, 
 on this occasion, was about a thousand men. He 
 was ably assisted by Col. Washington and Col. How- 
 ard, of Maryland. The consequences of this victory 
 were very important, as it deprived CornvvalHs of one- 
 fifth of his army. Pvluch embarrassment and perplex- 
 ity were felt, in 1781, on account of the low state of 
 the finances. Robert Morris, who was at this time su- 
 perintendent of the national treasure, by great skill 
 and good management of the finances, enabled Con- 
 gress to prosecute the war. Money is a great desid- 
 eratum in war. Mr. Robert Morris was a representa- 
 tive from the State of Pennsylvania. It became his 
 duty, as treasurer, under the impoverished state of the 
 country, to create funds. He had been very active in 
 establishing a bank in Philadelphia. Mr. Morris pos- 
 sessed a degree of mercantile enterprise and credit 
 seldom equaled in an}^ country. It was due to the 
 financial skill and management of Mr. Morris that 
 the active operations of the campaign of 1781 were 
 
MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. 93 
 
 not impeded, nay, defeated, by a failure of the means 
 of transporting military stores for the feeding of the 
 army. The unspeakable importance of a well- 
 managed treasur}^ in a time of war, was never more 
 strikingly exhibited than in the late civil war in our 
 country. At Guilford Court-House, in North Caro- 
 lina, Cornwallis came in view of Greene's armv. 
 The action was long and diversified. The Americans 
 finally retreated, but Cornwallis could not pursue. His 
 losses were too great. Cornwallis proceeded, after this 
 battle, on a dreary march of six hundred miles to Wil- 
 mington, North Carolina, and afterward to Petersburg, 
 Virginia. " No battle," says Marshall, " in the course 
 of this war reflects more honor on the courage of the 
 British troops than the battle of Guilford. On no other 
 occasion had the British fought with such inferiority of 
 numbers or disadvantage of ground. Gen. Greene's 
 army (not to count the first line, which relinquished 
 without a struggle its advantageous position) consisted 
 of three thousand two hundred men, and the dispo- 
 sition of his army was skillfully made. The British 
 army on this occasion was about two thousand rank 
 and file. Gen. Greene, after the battle of Guilford, 
 expected to be again attacked ; but the situation 
 of Cornwallis was more desperate than Greene had 
 expected. Cornwallis had proclaimed a victory, but, 
 like some of the victories that Pyrrhus won over the 
 Romans, another such victory would have ruined him. 
 Two of their best officers were killed in this engage- 
 ment. Tiie proclamation of victory was made to in- 
 duce loyal subjects to declare themselves ; but the field 
 of Guilford, yielded by the Americans, was barren of 
 the fruits of conquest. When Greene discovered that 
 
94 MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. 
 
 Cornwallis had gone on his -long march, he saw the 
 impossibility of attacking him successt'ully at Wil- 
 mington, on account of the British naval force at that 
 place. Greene then adopted the bold resolution of 
 carrying the war into South Carolina, wisely suppos- 
 ing that such a step would either compel Lord Corn- 
 wallis to follow him or sacrifice all the posts held by the 
 British in the upper parts of South Carolina and 
 Georgia. If the army of Cornwallis followed him, 
 it would liberate North Carolina, and enable her to 
 raise ^her quota of troops, or otherwise it would re- 
 store the upper parts of South Carolina and Georgia, 
 and the possessions of the British in the South 
 would be reduced to the seaports of Charleston and 
 Savannah. Lord Cornwallis had left Lord Rawdon 
 in South Carolina. For the firm establishment of the 
 British power in the South, a line of posts had been 
 continued from Charleston, by the way of Camden and 
 Ninety-Six, to Augusta, in Georgia. The most im- 
 portant point of the line was Camden. These posts 
 were slightly fortified, as no formidable enemy was 
 expected. Sumpter and Marion, who respectively 
 commanded a corps of mounted militia, kept up a 
 spirit of resistance in the northwest and northeast. 
 Their celerity of movement protected them in a great 
 measure from the pursuit of Rawdon, who had been 
 unable to form a body of cavalry. Such was the con- 
 dition of the country when Greene formed the bold 
 and seemingly impracticable resolution of re-annexing 
 it to the American Union. Greene's effective Conti- 
 nental infantry amounted at this time to fifteen hun- 
 dred men. To this number the legion of Major Harry 
 Lee and the cavalry of Lieuto Col. Washington 
 
MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. 95 
 
 amounted to not quite three hundred men. But such 
 men as Lee and Col. Washington were almost equiv- 
 alent to a host. The extensive line of posts kept up 
 by Lord Rawdon presented to Greene, as he thought, 
 some vulnerable points. Li order to make an imme- 
 diate impression on these places, he re-enforced the 
 legion, with a company of infantry, and detached Lee 
 to join Gen. Marion. At the same time Gen. Pickens 
 was requested to assemble the western militia and lay 
 siege to Ninety-Six and Augusta, while Greene en- 
 camped before Camden, about half a mile from the 
 British works. Greene found Rawdon fully prepared 
 for him at Camden, and soon after retreated toHobkirk's 
 Hill, where a severe engagement took place. In this 
 encounter victory at one time seemed to perch upon 
 the American standard. Col. Washington had turned 
 the right flank, charged them in the rear, and the ar- 
 tillery were playing vigorously on the front. Col. 
 Washington had taken from the rear two hundred 
 prisoners, when one of those incidents occurred against 
 which military prudence can make no provision. The 
 First Maryland regiment, which had so distinguished 
 itself at Guilford, and which had gained, with the as- 
 sistance of Col. Washington's cavalry, the battle of Cow- 
 pens, was thrown into disorder, which involved other 
 regiments, and thus the victory was lost. Augusta 
 capitulated to the American legion, on the 5th of 
 June, 1781. The prisoners were three hundred in 
 number. With the hope that this spectacle might in- 
 timidate the garrison of Ninety-Six, the prisoners 
 were marched in full view of the British works, in 
 being conducted to the main army. Ninety-Six was 
 never taken by assault. Many valuable lives were 
 
96 MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. 
 
 lost in attempting to take it. It was afterward evacu- 
 ated. " The continued e?i;ertions of the whole South- 
 ern army," says Marshall, " were highly meritorious, 
 but the successful activity of one cor^s must attract 
 particular attention'." The legion^ from its structure, 
 was peculiarly adapted to the partisan warfare of the 
 Southern States, and, by being detached against the 
 weaker posts of the enemy, liad opportunities for dis- 
 playing with advantage all the energy and talent it 
 possessed. Ln that extensive sweep which this corps 
 made from the Santee to Augusta, which employed 
 from the 15th of April, 1781, to the 5th of June, act- 
 ing in conjunction first with Marion, afterward with 
 Pickens, sometimes alone, it had constituted the prin- 
 cipal force which carried five British posts, and made 
 more than eleven hundred prisoners. We have said 
 that this army displayed great courage ; their general, 
 too, had manifested firmness, enterprise, and prudence. 
 Though defeated in two battles and repulsed with 
 slaughter in an attempt to storm Ninety-Six, this army 
 had always kept the field, and soon limited the British 
 power in the South to the sea-coast, and to the country be- 
 tween the Santee, Congaree, and Edisto. The inhabit- 
 ants of the country felt all the miseries which are in- 
 flicted by w^ar. Being almost equally divided between 
 the two contending parties, reciprocal injuries sharp- 
 ened their resentments against each otiier, until neigh- 
 bor was armed aijainst neio-hbor. The commanders of 
 the British forces, atler overrunning Georgia and 
 South Carolina, seem to have considered those states 
 as re-annexed to the British empire, and determined 
 to treat those as 7'cbels who had once submitted and 
 had again taken up arms against them. The execu- 
 
MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. 97 
 
 tion of Col. Haynes took place on the 3d of August, 
 while Lord Rawdon was in Charleston preparing to 
 sail for Europe. The Americans were at this time in 
 possession of the greater part of that country. The 
 execution of Col. Haynes was taken up by Greene, 
 and had nearly produced a system of retaliation. 
 The British officers are said to have executed several 
 of the partisans of the Revolution, who had fallen into 
 their hands. Such was the exasperation produced 
 by these things, that, when Fort Granby surrendered, 
 the militia attached to the legion manifested so strong 
 a disposition to kill the prisoners who were natives of 
 the country, but had made themselves very obnoxious 
 to the patriots, that it called forth a solemn declara- 
 tion from Gen. Greene that he would put any man to 
 death who would be guilty of so atrocious an act. 
 Gen. Greene did all that he could to discourage this 
 exterminating spirit. He was too humane, as well as 
 too judicious, to encourage such a spirit. He saw in 
 it the destruction of the whole country, and sought to 
 appease it by restraining the excesses of those who 
 were attached to the American cause. 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 Ah ! few shall part where many meet; 
 The snow shall be their winding-sheet, 
 And every turf beneath their feet 
 Shall be a soldier's sepulchre. 
 
 The battle of Eutaw Springs was fought on the 8th 
 of September, 1781, a short time before the -surrender 
 
98 MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. 
 
 at Yorktown, but those engaged in this fiercely fought 
 battle dreamed not that the end was near. Lord 
 Rawdon had gone to Europe, and Lieut. Col. Stuart 
 held his place. "Never did men," said Gen. Greene, in 
 giving an- account of the battle of Eutaw Springs to 
 Congress, " offer their blood more willingly in the ser- 
 vice of their country." All the best captains under the 
 command of Greene were present at Eutaw. Marion 
 and Pickens, Sumner of North Carolina, Lieut. Col. 
 Campbell of Virginia, and Major Lee, with his legion, 
 from {he same state. The state troops of South 
 Carolina were commanded by Henderson. The cavalry 
 of Col. Washington and the infantry of Kirkwood 
 were all there, to do their part on this bloody day. 
 For a short time during the course of this battle, the 
 hostile ranks became intermingled and the officers 
 fought hand to hand. In this fearful moment, Lee, 
 who had turned the left flank, charged them in the 
 rear. So fierce a struggle could not long be main- 
 tained. The British line was broken and driven oft' 
 the field. Early in the action, Henderson, who com- 
 manded the state troops of South Carolina, was dis- 
 abled, and his place was taken by Lieut. Col. Hamp- 
 ton. At a critical time of the battle, the British gen- 
 eral ordered Major Sheridan, with a detachment of 
 New Yorkers, to take post in a brick house standing 
 in the rear of the ground on his right, while others 
 placed themselves in a picketed garden. ' With bas- 
 tions like these, great loss of life must accrue to those 
 who would drive them out. Col. Washington was 
 wounded and taken prisoner. With unyielding 
 firmness, the American troops sought to dislodge the 
 Bridsh ; but as the gallantry of the defense w'as equal 
 
MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. 99 
 
 to that of the attack, their utmost efforts were unsuc- 
 cessful. The loss on both sides bore a large propor- 
 tion to the numbers engaged. The American dead 
 amounted to one hundred and thirty-seven men, and 
 their killed, wounded, and missing to five hundred and 
 fifty-five. Among these were sixty commissioned offi- 
 cers. Their general said, this loss is more griev- 
 ous on account of their value than their numbers. 
 Among the slain was Campbell, whose bold and de- 
 cisive charge with a Virginia brigade had broken the 
 British line. The loss of the British army was stated 
 by themselves at six hundred and ninety-three men, 
 only eight3'-five of whom were killed. If this state- 
 ment be correct, the American dead greatly exceeded 
 that of the adversar}^ This is probable, as the carnage 
 of the Americans, in attempting to dislodge the Brit- 
 ish from the house and garden, was very great. As 
 usual, each party estimated the loss of their foes as 
 greater than their own. Each party claimed the vic- 
 tory. The claim of victory was not unequivocal to 
 either. Gen. Greene's pretensions are supported by 
 the fact, that he drove the British army from the 
 ground on which it was originally drawn up, having 
 pursued them into a house, which he attacked, and 
 having afterward drawn . oft' liis army without being 
 pursued. Lieut. Col. Stuart's pretensions are founded 
 on the fact of his having rallied his broken troops and 
 brought them back into the action, after which his ad- 
 versary gave up the bloody contest and withdrew 
 from the field. The fortunes of the da}^ were obvi- 
 ously nearl}'- balanced. The thanks of Congress were 
 voted to every corps in the army, and a resolution was 
 passed for '* presenting to Major-Gen. Greene, as an 
 
lOO MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. 
 
 honorable testimony of his merit, a British standard 
 and a cfold medal emblematic of the battle and the 
 victory.^'' In less than a month, Cornwallis marched 
 from Wilmington, North Carolina, to Petersburg. 
 Having been re-enforced by nearl}^ two thousand men 
 from Sir Henry Clinton's army, he determined to 
 pursue La Fayette, who was now in Virginia in com- 
 mand of a small force. This gallant nobleman skill- 
 fully eluded pursuit, frequently, however, harassing 
 the outposts of the British. Gen. Washington had at 
 one time entertained the idea of retaking the city of 
 New York. This plan was suggested to his mind 
 while Clinton's army was in the South. With an 
 army of ten thousand men, he had proceeded nearly 
 toKingsbridge, when the sudden return of Sir Henry 
 Clinton disappointed him. He at once relinquished 
 the attempt. Sir Henry Clinton, fortunately for the 
 American cause, supposed that almost every move- 
 ment of Washington was to this end. Clinton bent 
 all his energies to the defense of New York, appre- 
 hending an attack from the combined forces of France 
 and America. Washington, fully understanding the 
 apprehensions of the British general, determined, if 
 possible, to confirm him in them. He therefore wrote 
 letters to some of his officers, declaring that the only 
 way to save Virginia (the coasts of Virginia were at 
 this time attacked by Arnold) was to attack New 
 York. These letters were intercepted by the British, 
 as had been intended. Washington, attended by some 
 of his officers, reconnoitered the island of New York 
 on both sides, from the opposite shore. This tended 
 still further to confirm Clinton in his error. Marshall 
 does not mention the deceptive letters said to have 
 
 J W.I 
 
MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. lOI 
 
 been written by the commander-in-chief, but says, 
 that early in August, seeing his inability to carry out 
 his favorite object, /'.<?., the taking of New York, he 
 changed his plan. He had before this time intimated 
 to La Fayette that his plan might be directed to 
 Southern operations. He now gave him fuller in- 
 formation, requesting him to make such a disposition 
 of his army as to prevent Lord Corn wal lis from es- 
 caping to Charleston. Marshall says, as it was of 
 the utmost importance to conceal from Sir Henry 
 Clinton this change of plan, the arrangements were 
 made secretly. The Count De Grasse had sailed 
 from Brest early in March. He had had an indecisive 
 engagement with Sir Samuel Hood in the West Indies, 
 who had been detached to intercept him. After some 
 further operations and a junction with other French 
 ships on the West India station, he directed his course 
 to the Chesapeake with twenty-eight sail of the line 
 and several frigates, where he arrived late in August. 
 At Cape Henry, De Grasse found an officer with full 
 intelligence of the situation of the armies in Virginia. 
 Lord Cornwallis, having received information that a 
 French fleet would soon appear on the coast, had col- 
 lected his whole force at Yorktown and at Gloucester 
 Point, where he fortified himself. 
 
 The Marquis de La Fayette had taken a position 
 on James river, for the purpose of preventing the es- 
 cape of Cornwallis to Charleston. If my young 
 friends will look at the map, they will understand how 
 easily Cornwallis could, under ordinary circumstances, 
 have taken to his ships, and sailed away to the harbor 
 of Charleston, over which the British flag proudly 
 waved. But insurmountable obstructions now hedired 
 
I02 MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. 
 
 up his way. Four ships of the line lay at the mouth 
 of the York ; frigates were passing up the James, to 
 convey French land forces to make a junction with 
 La Fayette, These had been detached from the fleet 
 that lay just within the capes. De Barras also was 
 there with his squadron from Newport, laden with 
 heavy artillery and military stores, proper for carry- 
 ing on a siege. When Washington set out for Vir- 
 ginia, with the combined forces, on the 19th of August, 
 1781, Clinton believed it to be a feint. It would seem 
 to have been a providential blindness. A power su- 
 perior to either Washington or Clinton had con- 
 trived the plan that led to the surrender of Cornwallis, 
 and the consequent independence of America. Dis- 
 patches had been sent by Sir George Rodney to Ad- 
 miral Graves, that the French fleet was destined for 
 the Chesapeake. These dispatches were intercepted. 
 Sir Samuel Hood was sent over to rejoin Admiral 
 Graves in the Chesapeake. Not finding the admiral in 
 those waters, he immediately set sail lor New York. 
 Cornwallis vainly expected succor from Sir Henry 
 Clinton. It became now^ too late to render direct as- 
 sistance ; therefore, Arnold, now a brigadier-general 
 in the British army, was sent to ravage Connecticut. 
 New London was taken and burned, and the garrison 
 of Fort Griswold, after making a heroic defense, were 
 put to the sword. The British colonel, incensed at the 
 slaughter of his troops, turned the sword yielded to 
 him by Col. Ledyard, the gallant commander of the 
 fort, against its noble defenders. 
 
MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. IO3 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 Like leviathans afloat, 
 Lay their bulwarks on the brine, 
 
 While the sign of battle flew 
 Along the lofty line. 
 
 As they drifted on their path, 
 
 There was silence, deep as death. 
 
 And the boldest held their breath 
 For a time. 
 
 Nothing now could divert Washington's attention 
 from the siege before him. His soul was filled with 
 the sublime hope that the end of the war was near, and 
 with this consummation, the glorious boon of National 
 Independence. A proposition made at this time by 
 Count DeGrasse somewhat alarmed him. The count 
 thought it probable that the commander of the British 
 fleet, anxious to relieve Cornwallis, might come and 
 attack him in the bay. His expectation was strength- 
 ened by hearing of an accession to the English fleet, 
 under Admiral Digby. De Grasse proposed, there- 
 fore, that he might go into the open sea to pursue, in 
 advance, the British fleet. Washington, by im- 
 portunit}^ and arguments, prevailed with him to re- 
 main at the mouth of the bay. Themistocles of old 
 was not more urgent in detaining the Greek navy at 
 the bay of Salamis, than was our great captain in 
 keeping the Frenchman at his appointed station. A 
 battery was erected on Point Comfort, which com- 
 manded the mouth of the Chesapeake. York is a 
 small town on the south side of York river. On this 
 majestic river, a ship of the line can ride in safet}'-. 
 On the opposite shore to York was Gloucester Point. 
 The batteries of Cornwallis protected these posts, 
 
I04 MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. 
 
 also some ships of war which lay under his 
 guns. Tarleton commanded Gloucester Point. 
 He was watched by detachments of French and 
 Americans under the command of De Choise. Corn- 
 wallis withdrew to his inner lines. Two parallels 
 were made by the Americans — one on the 6th of 
 October, and one on the nth. Two British redoubts 
 annoyed our men, as they worked in the trenches. 
 Washiilgton resolved to take them. The attack of 
 one of these was given to the French, headed by 
 La Fa3'ette. Col. Hamilton and Laurens, with a de- 
 tachment of Americans, attacked the other. They 
 were both taken. Cornwallis, seeing his desperate 
 condition, determined to try to make his escape by 
 crossing the river. Arrangements for crossing were 
 made with great secrecy, but a violent storm of wind 
 arose, which drove the boats down the river. They 
 were forced to return. He had intended leaving his 
 sick and baggage behind and crossing over with his 
 effectives to the Gloucester shore to attack De Choise, 
 and force his way, if possible, through Maryland, 
 Jersey, and Pennsylvania, and effect a junction in 
 New York. We have seen that these vain expecta- 
 tions were entirely frustrated by a storm. On the 19th 
 of October, 1781, Cornwallis submitted to a necessity 
 no longer to be avoided. He surrendered the posts of 
 Yorktovvn and Gloucester Point, with the garrisons 
 which had defended them, and the shipping in the 
 harbor with their seamen, to the land and naval offi- 
 cers of America and France. The army, with the ar- 
 tillery, arms and accoutrements, military chest, and 
 public stores, were surrendered to Gen. Washington; 
 the ships and seamen to Count De Grasse. The total 
 
MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. 105 
 
 amount of prisoners, excluding seamen, rather ex- 
 ceeded seven thousand men. The loss sustained by 
 the garrison during the siege amounted to five hun- 
 dred and fifty-two men, including six officers. The 
 soldiers, accompanied by a due proportion of officers, 
 were to remain in Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsyl- 
 vania. The officers not required for this service were 
 permitted to go on parole to Europe. Lord Corn- 
 wallis earnestly sought for permission for his Euro- 
 pean troops to return to their respective countries. 
 On this subject we subjoin two letters : 
 
 York in Virginia, i^tJi October, 1781. 
 Sir : — I have this moment been honored with your 
 excellency's letter. The time limited for sending my 
 answer will not admit of enteringr into the details of 
 articles, but the basis of my proposals will be that the 
 garrisons of York and Gloucester shall be prisoners 
 of war, with the customary honors, and for the con- 
 venience of the individuals which I have the honor to 
 command, that the British shall be sent to Britain and 
 the Germans to Germany, under engagements not to 
 serve against France, America, or their allies until 
 released or regularly exchanged ; that all arms and 
 public stores shall be delivered up to you, but that the 
 usual indulgence of side-arms to officers and of re- 
 taining private property shall be granted to officers 
 and soldiers ; and the interests of individuals in civil 
 capacities, and connected with us, shall be attended to. 
 I have the honor to be, sir, your most obedient and 
 humble servant, 
 
 CORNWALLIS. 
 His Excellency, Gen. Washington. 
 
I06 MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. 
 
 My Lord : — To avoid unnecessary discussions and 
 delays, I shall at once, in answer to your lordship's let- 
 ter, declare the general basis upon which a definitive 
 treaty of capitulation must take place. The garrison 
 of York and Gloucester, including the seamen, as you 
 propose, will be received as prisoners of war. The 
 condition annexed, of s ending the British and German 
 troops to the parts of Europe ,to which they respect- 
 ively belong, is inadmissible. Instead of this, they 
 will be marched to such parts of this country as can 
 most conveniently provide for their subsistence, and 
 the benevolent treatment of prisoners, which is invari- 
 ably observed by the Americans, will be extended to 
 them. The same honors will be granted to the army 
 surrendering as were granted to the garrison of 
 Charleston. The shipping and boats in the two har- 
 bors, with all their guns, stores, tackling, furniture, 
 and apparel, shall be delivered in their present slate 
 to an officer of the navy appointed to receive them. 
 The artiller}', arms, accoutrements, military chest, 
 public stores, shall be delivered iinim-paired to the 
 heads of department to which they belong. The 
 officers will be indulged in retaining their side- 
 arms. The officers and soldiers may keep their bag- 
 gage and etfects with this reserve^ that property taken 
 in the country will be reclaimed. In regard to those 
 in civil capacities, which your lordship wishes may 
 be attended to, until they are more particularly de- 
 scribed, nothing definitive can be settled. The sick 
 and wounded will be supplied by their own hospital 
 stores and attended by British surgeons particularly 
 charged with the care of them. Your lordship will 
 be pleased to signify your acceptance or your rejection 
 
MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. I07 
 
 of the proposals now offered in the course of two 
 liours from the delivery of this letter, that commis- 
 sioners may be appointed to digest the articles of ca- 
 pitulation, or a renewal of hostilities may take place. 
 I have the honor to be, my lord, etc., 
 
 GEORGE WASHINGTON. 
 Lieut. Gen. Earl Cornwallis. 
 
 The whole army merited a high degree of appro- 
 bation, bwt the artillerists and engineers chiefly dis- 
 tinguished themselves. Du Portail and Knox were 
 made major-generals, and Gorivion and Rochfontaine, 
 of the corps of engineers, were advanced a grade by 
 brevet. Gens. Lincoln, De La Fayette, and Baron 
 Steuben were particularly mentioned by the com- 
 mander-in-chief in the orders issued the day after the 
 capitulation. Gov. Nelson, of Virginia (whose resi- 
 dence was at Yorktown), and who remained in the 
 field during the whole siege, was sjwken of by Wash- 
 ington in terms of peculiar warmth. Gen. Nelson 
 exerted his energies, not only in leading a large body 
 of militia, but in using freely his substance to pur- 
 chase supplies for the army. It is related by Irving, 
 that when Nelson was consulted as to where the firing 
 should begin in York, that he pointed to his own 
 house upon the hill as a good point of attack, its in- 
 habitants having been previously' removed. The 
 highest acknowledgments were made to Rochambeau. 
 The allied army, to which that of Cornwallis sur- 
 rendered, is estimated at sixteen thousand men. The 
 French were estimated by Rochambeau at seven thou- 
 sand, the Continental army five thousand five hundred, 
 and the militia thirty-five hundred. When Cornwallis, 
 
I08 MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. 
 
 in his letter to Washington, spoke of the interests of 
 " certain persons in a civil capacity," he meant those 
 Americans who had joined the British army. This 
 article was rejected, as we have seen from Washing- 
 ton's letter ; but when the Bonetta sloop of war was 
 sent to New York by Cornwallis, to Sir Henry Clin- 
 ton, containing dispatches, it was permitted to go un- 
 searched, and on board this vessel were those Ameri- 
 cans who were most obnoxious to their countrymen. 
 Congress determined to go in solemn procession to 
 the Dutch Lutheran Church, to return thanks to Al- 
 mighty God for crowning the allied arms with success, 
 by the surrender of the whole British army under 
 Cornwallis. The 13th of December was appointed 
 as a day of thanksgiving and prayer. The pen of 
 Mr. Jefferson had five years before written the Dec- 
 laration of Independence and sent it forth to the world, 
 but the establishment of the principles therein con- 
 tained laid many a hero prostrate in the dust, and 
 heaved the breasts of patriots with many agonizing 
 throes. Washington stood erect amid these storms — 
 
 " Like some tall rock, that lifts its head on high, 
 Swells from the vale and midway leaves the sky. 
 Tho' round its breast the rolling clouds are spread, 
 Eternal sunshine settles on its head." 
 
 Great was the joy throughout the country produced 
 b}^ the surrender! It was not, of course, yet known 
 that the war might not be continued, yet many thought, 
 as it really proved to be, that the surrender at York- 
 town would be the last act of offensive warfare be- 
 tween England and the United States. The 
 Revolution was accomplished. The American 
 eagle soared aloft. The flag of the United States 
 
MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. IO9 
 
 floated over " the land of the free and the home of 
 the brave." The states were then but thirteen. These 
 were Atlantic states. Now there are thirty-seven, ex- 
 tending from one ocean to the other, and circling 
 around the great Southern gulf. What feelings of 
 sublimity must have swelled the soul of Washington 
 as he stood before York on the 19th of October. For 
 six years the might}' struggle had been waged under 
 all the disadvantages that undisciplined troops, inex- 
 perienced officers, and an empty treasury could impose. 
 How strange to human foresight that the British gen- 
 eral should have sat down with his little army in a 
 place where he could be so easily surrounded. The 
 day of the surrender, Sir Henry Clinton left New 
 York with a large army and twenty-five ships of the 
 line to assist Cornwallis. In our day, you know, such 
 misapprehensions and such delays could not occur. 
 It is true, that in a time of war telegraph lines may be 
 cut, and railroads partially destroyed, but such inter- 
 ruptions would be comparatively short. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 Ye are brothers ! ye are men ! 
 And we conquer but to save. 
 So peace, instead of death, let us bring; 
 But yield, proud foe, thy power. 
 
 After the surrender of Cornwallis, public opinion 
 in England became so decided against a further pros- 
 ecution of hostilities, that negotiations were entered 
 upon for the establishment of peace. In the House 
 of Commons, 22d of February, 1782, Gen. Conway 
 
no MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. 
 
 moved that addresses be presented to his majesty, im- 
 ploring him to listen to the advice of his faithful Com- 
 mons, that the war in America should be no longer 
 prosecuted. This motion was at first negatived, but 
 a short time afterward Mr. Fox and his party suc- 
 ceeded in placing before the king an address praying 
 for a discontinuance of the war. The king returned 
 a favorable answer. During the war, Lord North 
 was the premier or the first minister of state. During 
 this time, Fox, Pitt, and Burke, three of the greatest 
 narnes that adorn English annals, were members of 
 Parliament. In 1782, on the 30th of November, a 
 preliminary treaty was signed at Paris by commission- 
 ers. The commissioners of the United States were 
 John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, John Jay, and 
 Henr}^ Laurens. In this treaty, Great Britain ac- 
 knowledged the independence of the United States. 
 The boundaries were fixed by the lakes on the north 
 and the Mississippi on the west. Florida was re- 
 turned to Spain, but was destined in due time to be- 
 come one of the United States. The army was dis- 
 banded on the 3d of November, 1783. On the 25th 
 of November, New York, which had been so long 
 held by the British, was evacuated. Charleston, in 
 South Carolina, had been given up on the 14th of 
 December, 1782. In May, 1782, Sir Guy Carleton had 
 succeeded to Sir Henry Clinton, in the command of all 
 the British forces in the United States. From the arrival 
 of Carleton at New York, the conduct of the British 
 armies was regulated by a conciliatory spirit. Peace 
 was declared in 1783. In December (the 4th) an af- 
 fecting interview took place between Washington and 
 his officers. His military career was now on the point 
 
MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. Ill 
 
 of terminating, and, before divesting himself of the 
 supreme command, he desired to bid adieu to his 
 comrades in arms. Gen. Washington, accompanied 
 by Gov. Clinton, made, a public entry into the city. 
 At noon, the principal officers of the army assembled 
 at the chief pubHc house (Frances' tavern) of the 
 city. Soon after, their beloved commander entered 
 the room. His emotions were too strong to be 
 concealed. He turned to them and said, with a heart 
 full of love and gratitude : "I now take leave of you. 
 I devoutly wish that your latter days may be as pros- 
 perous and happy as your former days have been 
 glorious and honorable. I can not come to each of 
 you, to take leave, but shall be obliged to you if each 
 one of you will come and take me by the hand." 
 Gen. Knox, being nearest, turned first toward him. 
 Incapable of utterance, Washington grasped Knox 
 by the hand and embraced him. In the same affec- 
 tionate manner, he took leave of every succeeding 
 officer. In every eye was the tear of dignified sensi- 
 bility. Not a word was uttered to interrupt the 
 majestic silence and tenderness of the scene. Leav- 
 ing the room, he passed through the corps of light in- 
 fantry and walked to White Hall, where a barge was 
 in waiting to convey him to Paulus Hook. The 
 whole company followed in mute and solemn pro- 
 cession, with dejected countenances, testifying feel- 
 ings of pleasing melancholy which no language can 
 describe. Having entered the barge, he turned to 
 the company, and, waving Jiis hat, he bade them a 
 silent adieu. They paid him the same affectionate 
 compliment, and, after the barge was gone, they re- 
 turned to the same place, in the same solemn manner 
 
112 MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. 
 
 where they had assembled. Sometimes great men 
 inspire affection in others while they remain cold and 
 unmoved themselves. This was not the case with 
 Washington. Congress was then, 1783, in session at 
 Annapolis, in Maryland, to which place Gen. Wash- 
 ington repaired for the purpose of resigning into their 
 hands the authority with which they had invested 
 him. When he informed Congress of his desire to 
 resign, he requested to know whether it would be their 
 pleasure that he should offer his resignation in writing 
 or at an audience. To give more dignity to the act, 
 Congress resolved that it should be oU'ered at a public 
 audience on the following Tuesday. When the hour 
 arrived, the house was crowded with spectators. The 
 legislative and executive officers of the state, several 
 general officers, and the consul-general of France, 
 were admitted on the floor of Congress. The repre- 
 sentatives of the sovereignty of the Union remained 
 seated and covered. The spectators were standing 
 and uncovered. The president. Gen. Mifflin, then 
 informed him that the United States, in Congress as- 
 sembled, were prepared to receive his communication. 
 Then followed his address to Congress : 
 
 "Mr. President : — The great events on which my 
 resignation depended having at length taken place, I 
 have now the honor of oflering my sincere congratu- 
 lations to Congress and of presenting myself before 
 them to surrender into their hands the trust committed 
 to me, and to claim the indulgence of retiring from 
 the service of my country. Happy in the confirma- 
 tion of our independence and sovereignt}', and pleased 
 with the opportunity afforded the United States of be- 
 coming a respectable nation, I resign with satisfaction 
 
MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. II3 
 
 the appointment I received with diffidence — a diffi- 
 dence in my abilities to accomplish so arduous a task, 
 which, however, was superseded by a confidence in 
 the rectitude of our cause, the support of the supreme 
 power of the Union, and the patronage of Heaven. 
 The successful termination of the war has verified the 
 most sanguine expectations, and my gratitude for the 
 interposition of Providence, and the assistance I have 
 received from my countrymen, increases with every 
 review of the momentous contest. While I repeat 
 my obligations to the army in general, I shall do in- 
 justice to my own feelings not to acknowledge in this 
 place the peculiar services and distinguished merits of 
 the gentlemen who have been attached to my person 
 during the war. It was impossible that the clioice of 
 confidential officers to compose my family, could have 
 been more fortunate. Perm.it me, sir, to recommend, 
 in particular, those who have continued with me in 
 the service to the present hour as worthy of the 
 favorable notice and patronage of Congress. I con- 
 sider it an indispensable duty to close this last act of 
 my official life, by commending the interests of our 
 dearest countr}^ to the protection of Almighty God, 
 and those who have the superintendence of them to 
 His holy keeping. Having now finished the work as- 
 signed me, I retire from the great theater of action, 
 and bidding an affectionate farewell to this august 
 body, under whose orders I have so long acted, I 
 here offer my commission and take my leave of all 
 the employments of public life." 
 
 After advancing to the chair and delivering his com- 
 mission to the president, he returned to his place and 
 
114 MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. 
 
 received standings the following answer of Congress, 
 which was delivered by the president : 
 
 " Sir : — The United States, in Congress assembled, 
 receive, with emotions too affecting for utterance, the 
 solemn resignation of the authorities under which 
 you have led their troops with success through a peril- 
 ous and doubtful war. Called upon b}'' your country 
 to defend its invaded rights, you accepted the sacred 
 charge before it had formed alliances, and whilst it 
 was without funds or a government to support you. 
 You have conducted the great military contest with 
 wisdom and fortitude, invariablv regardinor the riijhts 
 of the civil power through all disasters and changes. 
 You have, by the love and confidence of your fellow- 
 citizens,* enabled them to display their martial genius, 
 and transmit their fame to posterity. You have per- 
 severed until these United States, aided by a mag- 
 nanimous king and nation, have been enabled, under 
 a just Providence, to close the war in freedom, safety, 
 and independence, on which happy event we sincerely 
 join you in congratulations. Having defended the 
 standard of liberty in this New World, having taugiit 
 a lesson useful to those who inflict and to those who feel 
 oppression, you retire from the great theater of action 
 with the blessings of your fellow-citizens ; but the 
 glory of your virtues will not terminate with your mil- 
 itary command : it will continue to animate remotest 
 ages. We feel, with you, our obligations to the 
 army in general, and will particularly charge our- 
 selves with the interests of those confidential officers 
 who have attended your person to this affecting 
 moment. We join you in commending the inter- 
 ests of our dearest country to the protection of Al- 
 
MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. II5 
 
 mighty God, beseeching Him to dispose tlie hearts 
 and minds of its citizens, to improve the opportunity 
 afforded them of becoming a happy and respectable 
 nation. And for you, we address to Him our earnest 
 prayers, that a hfe so beloved may be fostered with 
 all His care ; that your days may be as happy as they 
 have been illustrious, and that He will finally give you 
 that reward which this world can not give." 
 
 "This scene beir::^ closed — a scene rendered pecu- 
 liarly interesting b}^ the personages who appeared in it, 
 and by the great events it recalled to the memor}^ and 
 by the circumstances under which it was displayed — the 
 American chief withdrew from the hall of Congress, 
 leaving on the minds of the silent and admiring specta- 
 tors a deep and solemn impression." Having laid 
 down his military character, Washington retired to 
 Mount Vernon. He returned with much delight to 
 the duties and enjo3'ments of private life. Gen. 
 Washington, during his military career, had some 
 enemies and detractors. A few troubled and design- 
 ing spirits concerted an intrigue of some importance, 
 which reached even unto Congress.. The object of 
 the cabal seems to have been to give Gen. Gates the 
 chief command. This conspiracy seems to have arisen 
 soon after the surrender of Burgoyne, and during the 
 terrible winter at Valley Forge. But so deep-seated 
 was the public esteem of Washington, so warmly was 
 he supported by his friends, so intense was the feeling 
 of the army, that he triumphed without an effort in 
 his own defense. The chief tool of the cabal against 
 the commander-in-chief was Gen. Conway, who re- 
 signed from the army and gave vent to violent lan- 
 guage. Gen. Cadwallader resented his vituperative 
 
Il6 MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. 
 
 expressions. A duel was the consequence, in which 
 Conway was severely wounded. Supposing himself 
 to be at the point of death, he wrote the following let- 
 ter to Washinoton : 
 
 "Sir : — I find myself" just able to hold m}^ pen during 
 a few minutes to express my sincere grief for having 
 done or said anything disagreeable to your excellency. 
 My career will soon be over ; therefore, justice and 
 truth prompt me to declare my sentiments. You are, 
 in my eyes, a great and good man. May you long 
 enjoy the esteem of those states whose liberties you 
 have assisted by your virtues. 
 
 "THOMAS CONWAY." 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 In every government, though terrors reign, 
 Though tyrant kings or tyrant laws restrain. 
 How small, of all that human hearts endure. 
 That part which laws or kings can cause or cure ! 
 Still, to ourselves in every place consigned. 
 Our oivn felicity zvc make or find ; 
 With secret course, which no loud storms annoy, 
 Glides the smooth current of domestic joy. 
 
 The day after Wasliington left Annapolis, he has- 
 tened to his hoiiie, at Mount Vernon. He reached it 
 on Christmas eve, well prepared to enjoy the sacred 
 festival and happy season. Mrs. Washington, who 
 had presided with quiet dignity at headquarters, and 
 who had cheered the wintry gloom at Valley Forge, 
 was now free from the distracting anxieties of war, 
 from which she had so long suffered, and now grace- 
 fully dispensed the hospitalities of her happy home. 
 
MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. II7 
 
 "The scene is at last closed," said he, in a letter to Gov- 
 Clinton, of New York. " I feel myself eased of a 
 load of public care. I hope to spend the remainder 
 of my days in cultivating the affections of good men 
 and in the practice of the domestic virtues." To Gen. 
 Knox, he said : " I feel as a wear}' traveler must do, 
 after treading many a weary step with a heavy burden 
 on his shoulders, who is eased of his load, and, after 
 arriving at a haven of rest, retraces with an eager eye 
 the meanders by which he escaped the quicksands and 
 mires which lay in his way, and out of which none 
 but the all-powerful Guide and Disposer of human 
 events could have delivered him." To La Fayette, he 
 said : "I am retiring within myself, and shall be able to 
 view the solitary walk and tread the paths of private 
 life with heartfelt satisfaction. Envious of none, I am 
 determined to be pleased with all. And this, my dear 
 friend, being the orde?' of my march, I will move 
 gently down the stream of life until I sleep with my 
 fathers." Meanwhile, the supreme council of Penn- 
 sylvania instructed their delegates in Congress to pro- 
 vide some national reward for his services, foreseeing 
 that popular love and curiosity would attract crowds 
 of visitors to Mount Vernon, and thus increase greatly 
 his household expenses. Before acting upon these 
 instructions, the delegates sent a copy of their instruc- 
 tions to Washington. He graciously and respectfully 
 declined all such intervention, maintaining the satis- 
 faction of having served his countrv at the sacrifice 
 of his private interests. Through all his military ca- 
 reer he never ceased to be an ajiriculturist. He was 
 now doing in person what he had previously done 
 through the superintendence of others. On the 17th 
 
Il8 MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. 
 
 of August, 1784, Washington set out with the friend 
 of his youth, Dr. Craik, to visit his lands on the Ohio 
 and Kanawha rivers. It was a soldier-like tour, with 
 tent, pack-horses, and frugal supplies. He traveled 
 six hundred and eighty miles, through the un- 
 settled regions of the Alleghanies, until he came 
 out into the Shenandoah valley near Staunton. This 
 tour is mentioned to prove his continued vigor and 
 activity. He also traveled with Gov. Clinton to the 
 northern forts. During his western tour, Washing- 
 ton had carefully observed the course and character 
 of the streams flowing from the west into the Ohio. For 
 many years he had been convinced of the practica- 
 bility of an easy communication between the Potomac 
 and James rivers and the waters of the Ohio, and 
 thence on to the great chain of lakes, and of the ad- 
 vantaffes that would result to the States of Virginia 
 and Maryland. One object of his recent tour was 
 to make observations on this subject. It was impor- 
 tant to the interests of Virginia that she should at once 
 take active measures if she would secure to herself a 
 share of the western trade. The use of the Mississippi 
 to the western traders had almost been entirel}' barred 
 by the jealousy of the Spaniards, but a time was 
 coming wlien they would change their policy and in- 
 vite trade in that direction. So much was Washing- 
 ton interested in the subject of internal navigation, 
 that he laid the subject before the governor of the 
 state, Benjamin Harrison, and proceeded to Rich- 
 mond, while the state legislature was in session, to in- 
 terest that body in this subject, and also to give his 
 personal support to the measure. A committee of 
 five members, headed by Patrick Henr}^, waited upon 
 
MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. II9 
 
 him. "The suggestions of Washington, in his letter 
 to the governor, and his representations during his visit 
 to Richmond," says Mr. Irving, " gave ihe Jirsi im- 
 pulse to the s^'stem of internal improvements since 
 pursued throughout the United States." Through his 
 exertions two companies were formed, under the pat- 
 ronage of the government of Virginia and Mary- 
 land, for opening the navigation of the Potomac and 
 James rivers. He was appointed president of both 
 companies. By a unanimous vote of the assembly 
 of Virginia, fifty shares in the Potomac and one hun- 
 dred in the James river company were bestowed upon 
 Washington. The aggregate amount of these shares 
 was about forty thousand dollars. He declined to re- 
 ceive the proffered shares for his own benefit, but re- 
 ceived them in trust, to be applied to the use of some 
 institution of a public nature. Washington College, 
 Lexington, Rockbridge county, Virginia, was en- 
 dowed with the profits arising from these shares. At 
 the opening of the year 1785, the entries in his diary 
 show him diligently employed in preparations to im- 
 prove his grass and shrubberies. " In February, he 
 transplants ivy under the walls of the garden, to which 
 it 5/f/7/ clings. The holly-berries, which he then 
 sowed in drills, are still flourishing about this place in 
 full vigor." 
 
I20 MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 " 1*0 mute and to material things 
 New life revolving summer brings ; 
 The genial call dead nature hears, 
 And in her glory reappears. 
 But, O ! my country's (Virginia) wintry state, 
 What second spring shall renovate? 
 What powerful call shall bid ari^ 
 The buried warlike and the wise?" 
 
 A DIAGRAM of the plan in which he laid out his 
 grounds still remains among his papers. The places 
 are marked on it for particular trees and shrubs. 
 Some of these shrubs are still to be found in the places 
 assigned to them. He corresponded with the cel- 
 ebrated Arthur Young on the subject of husbandry 
 and gardening, and obtained from him seeds of vari- 
 ous kinds. He was an early riser. Much of his 
 correspondence was dispatched before breakfast. He 
 had a private secretary. The children of Parke 
 Custis formed a part of his household. Miss Custis, 
 in recallin<x the scenes of her childhood, said: " I 
 have often made him laugh most heartih^ from sym- 
 pathy with me, but he was a silent, thoughtful man. 
 He spoke little, generally; never of himself." In No- 
 vember, 1784, La Fa3'ette spent two weeks with him 
 ^t Moimt Vernon. When his visit was ended, Wash- 
 ington accompanied him to Annapolis. On returning 
 home, he wrote a farewell letter to the marquis : " In 
 the moment of our separation, upon the road as I 
 traveled, and every hour since, I have felt all that 
 love, respect, and attachment for you which length 
 of years, close connection, and your merits have in- 
 spired me. I asked myself, as oi.ir carriages sepa- 
 
MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. 121 
 
 rated, whether that was the last si^ht I should have of 
 you, and though I wished to answer no, m}' fears 
 answered yes. I called to mind the days of my 
 3^outh, and found they had long since fled, to return 
 no more. 1 felt that I was now descending the hill I had 
 been fifty-two years in climbing, and though blessed 
 with. a good constitution, I was of a short-lived fam- 
 il}^ and" might soon expect to be entombed in the 
 mansion of my fathers." 
 
 Though Washington, as we have said, was deeply 
 interested in the care and ornamentation of his es- 
 tates, happy in the societ}^ of his admirable wife, at- 
 tentive to the education of her grandchildren — who re- 
 ceived daih' instruction from a graduate of Harvard 
 University — the host of many cultivated and refined 
 friends, both native and foreign, yet he looked out 
 from his sylvan retreat with an intense solicitude upon 
 public affairs. Very anxious was he to know, 
 whether the thirteen states, under the present organi- 
 zation, could form a sufficiently efficient general gov- 
 ernment. This confederation had met the public ex- 
 igencies when external danger pressed upon them, 
 when a foe was at their gates ; but now, discontented 
 spirits were rising in rebellion in at least two of the 
 states, which required the strong arm of power to put 
 them down. Troublesome insurrections had arisen, 
 both in Massachusetts and Pennsylvania. " What, 
 gracious God, is man," writes Washington. " It was 
 but the other day that we were shedding our blood to 
 obtain the constitutions under which we now live — 
 constitutions of our own choice and making — and now 
 we are unsheathing our swords to overturn them." In 
 a letter to the former president of the Massachusetts 
 
122 MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. 
 
 Provincial Congress, he writes : " The confederation 
 appears to me to be little more than a shadow without 
 the substance, and Congress a nugatory body, their 
 ordinances being little attended to. To me it is a 
 solecism in politics; indeed, it is one of the most ex- 
 traordinary things that we should confederate as a 
 nation, and yet be afraid to give the rulers of that 
 nation (who are creatures of our own making, ap- 
 pointed for a limited duration, and who are amien- 
 able for every action and may be recalled at any mo- 
 ment, and are subject to all the evils which they may 
 be instrumental in producing) sufficient powers to order 
 and direct the affairs of the same. By such polic}' as 
 this, the wheels of government are clojjged, and the 
 bright and high expectation which was enter- 
 tained of us by the wondering world, is turned into 
 astonishment, and from the high ground on which we 
 stood, we are descending into the vale of confusion 
 and darkness." From 1778 to 1787, the United States 
 existed under " the articles of confederation." It 
 was now deemed necessary to constitute a stronger 
 government. Accordingly, a convention of delegates 
 from all the states was called to meet at Philadelphia, 
 for the purpose of revising the Federal system and 
 correcting its defects. The proceedings of this conven- 
 tion were to be reported to Congress and to the several 
 legislatures for approval and confirmation. Washing- 
 ton was unanimously put at the head of the Virginia 
 delegation. After determining to serve in the con- 
 vention, he went into a course of reading on the 
 history and principles of ancient and modern confed- 
 eracies. The convention met on the 25th of May. The 
 proceedings of this memorable conveniotn occupied 
 
MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. 123 
 
 from four to seven hours each da}'', for four months. 
 Washington was president of this convention. In 
 writing to La Fa3^ette, after the close of the conven- 
 tion, Washington said : " It seems to me little short of 
 a miracle, that the delegates from so many states, 
 different from each other, as you know, in their man- 
 ners, circumstances, and prejudices, should unite in 
 forming a system of national government so little lia- 
 ble to well-founded objections. Nor am I such an 
 enthusiastic, partial, or indiscriminating admirer of it, 
 as not to perceive it is tinctured with some real, though 
 not radical defects. With regard to the two great 
 points, the pivots upon which the whole machine 
 must move, my creed is simply, first, that the general 
 government- is not invested with more powers than 
 are indispensably necessary to perform the functions 
 of a good government, and, consequently, that no ob- 
 jection ought to be made against the quantity of power 
 delegated to it." The constitution was sent to Con- 
 gress, and then transmitted to the state legislatures, 
 each of which submitted it to a state convention, com- 
 posed of delegates chosen by the people. The ratifi- 
 cation of nine states was necessary to make the in- 
 strument effective. During the interval of awaiting 
 the ratification, Washington resumed his retired life 
 at Mount Vernon. Washington's feelings, when he 
 heard of the acceptance of the constitution, were ex- 
 pressed in a religious and solemn thankfulness for the 
 protection of Heaven, which had been so manifest in 
 all the vicissitudes through which his country had 
 passed. Great, indeed, must have been his satisfac- 
 tion to feel that the country for which he had sac- 
 
124 MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. 
 
 rificed and suffered so much, was about to be estab- 
 lished on a stable and sure foundation. 
 
 Mr. Jefferson, the great apostle of Democracy, was 
 in France when the constitution was adopted. Al- 
 though he aflmired it as a whole, he particularly ob- 
 jected to the re-eligibility of the president. He feared, 
 as he wrote to Washington, it would make it an office 
 for \\iQ., first, and then hereditary. Gen. Washington 
 so peremptorily refused re-election, after two terms, 
 that his example impressed the public mind with al- 
 most the force of a law. We presume it would not now 
 be practicable for any one to be elected beyond two 
 terms, whatever might be their qualifications or serv- 
 ices. But the wisdom of Mr. Jefferson's objection to the 
 re-eligibility beyond one term (though perhaps the 
 term might with safety be made longer) has been made 
 very manifest. As soon as the testimonials of ratifi- 
 cation from a sufficient number of states were received, 
 Congress passed an act appointing tlie first Wednes- 
 day in January, 1789, for the people of the United 
 States to choose electors of a president, according to 
 the constitution, and the first Wednesday in the month 
 of February following for the electors to meet and 
 make a choice. The meeting of the government was 
 to be on the first Wednesday in March, in the city of 
 New York. The election took place at the appointed 
 time, and it was soon ascertained that Washington 
 was chosen president for the term of tour years. On 
 the 14th of April, the president of Congress duly noti- 
 fied him that he was elected President of the United 
 States. No man ever rose to a pinnacle of power by 
 a straighter path. In conducting his nation to inde- 
 pendence, he had shown the self-devotion of a hero. 
 
MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. 1 25 
 
 Now, to govern them aright required the wisdom of a 
 sage. He was about to embark on an untried sea. 
 Two political parties now began to be prominent — 
 Federalists and Republicans. While the Republicans 
 generally approved all the articles of the Federal 
 constitution, they were very jealous of any real or 
 supposed infraction of the rights of the states. They 
 regarded the thirteen states as distinct sovereignties, 
 but united under one federal head, by the consent of 
 the people of the several states. All powers not dis- 
 tinctly ceded to the general government they considered 
 as rights reserved to the states. The Federalists were 
 more solicitous to make the general government strong 
 than the states independent. All entered, however, 
 into a solemn compact to preserve and maintain the 
 Federal constitution. Gen. Washington was called 
 a Federalist, though he was never a strong partisan y 
 i. e., he was never willing to risk or sacrifice the 
 peace of the country to the interests of party. In se- 
 lecting his first cabinet, two of his secretaries were 
 Republicans and two were Federalists. Mr. Jeffer- 
 son, the great leader of the Republican party, was 
 given the first place in the Cabinet. He was made 
 secretary of state, immediately after his arrival from 
 France. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 Tke C/«/o«—" Distinct, as the billows, but one, as the sea." 
 
 Washington's journey to New York, where he 
 was to be inaugurated in the presidential office, was a 
 triumph. The ringing of bells, the roaring of cannon, 
 proclaimed his course through the country. Old and 
 
126 MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. 
 
 young, women and children, thron^jed the highways, 
 to bless and welcome him. The parting with his per- 
 sonal friends and neighbors, at Alexandria, was 
 touching and affectionate. Washington had hoped to 
 be spared all military parade, but it could not be 
 avoided. Gen. Mifflin, his old companion in arms, 
 met him on the frontiers of Pennsylvania. At Tren- 
 ton, a triumphal arch was erected over the Assunpink, 
 which flows through Trenton. How vividly the dark, 
 cold night of the 25th of December must have been 
 brought to his mind, when he crossed the Delaware, full 
 of floating ice behind him, and the camp-fires of Corn- 
 wallis in front of him ; but now " the winter of discon- 
 tent was changed to glorious summer." Washington, 
 in his reply to an address of the mayor of Philadelphia, 
 said : " When I contemplate the interposition of Prov- 
 idence, as it was visibly manifested in guiding us 
 through the Revolution, in preparing us for the recep- 
 tion of the general government, and in conciliating 
 the good-will of the people of America toward one 
 another, after its adoption, I feel myself oppressed 
 and almost overwhelmed with a sense of Divine good- 
 ness. I feel that nothing is due to my personal 
 agency in all the wonderful and complicated everilts, ex- 
 cept what can be attributed to an honest zeal for the 
 good of my country." "The motion of the boat" 
 (writes Washington, as he approached New York), 
 " the flags of the shipping, the strains of music, the 
 roar of cannon, the acclamations of the people, filled 
 my mind, as I passed, with emotions as painful as 
 they were pleasurable ; for I thought on the scenes that 
 might occur, on a future day, of an opposite character, 
 in spite of all my efforts to do good." Nearly a 
 
MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. 127 
 
 century and a half before this time, Oliver Cromwell, 
 on a similar occasion, was followed and preceded by 
 crowds. " What crowds ! What acclamations !" said 
 his flatterers. "There would be more to see me hunsf," 
 replied Cromwell. "Cromwell had too deeply read the 
 human heart not to be suspicious of popular applause. 
 Washington knew that the people loved /ii'm, and that 
 their enthusiasm was genuine. His nature was sunny 
 and cheerful, and fully sympathized in the joy of the 
 people. His painful feelings arose from a sense of 
 the difflculties of the situation to which he had been 
 elevated, and its tremendous responsibilities. The in- 
 auguration was delayed a few days, on account of a 
 question as to the form or title by which the president 
 should be addressed. It was finally resolved that the 
 title should be simply " the President of the United 
 States." The 30th of April, 1789, was the day of the 
 inauguration. At nine o'clock on this day, there 
 were religious services in all the churches to implore 
 the blessing of Heaven on the new government. 
 
 Washington was in a coach of state ; his aide-de-camp, 
 Col. Humphreys, and his private secretary, Mr. Lear, 
 in his own carriage ; the foreign ministers and a long 
 train t)f citizens followed. Tl|e vice-president, John 
 Adams, the Senate, and House of Representatives 
 were already in their places. As Washington en- 
 .tered the hall, John Adams advanced and conducted 
 him to a chair of state at the upper end of the hall. 
 A solemn silence prevailed when the vice-president 
 arose and informed him that the moment had arrived 
 to take the oath of office required by the constitution. 
 The oath was administered by the chancellor of the 
 State of New York, in the balcony in front of the 
 
128 MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. 
 
 Senate chamber, and in full view of an immense rnul- 
 litude occupying the street, windows, and roofs of the 
 adjacent houses. In the center of the balcon}- was a 
 table with a covering of crimson velvet, upon which 
 lay a Bible on a velvet cushion. 'The chancellor ad- 
 ministered the oath, and Mr. Olis, the secretary of 
 the Senate, held up tke Bible. The oath was read 
 slowly and distinctly, Washington 'at the same time 
 laying his hand upon the open Bible. " I swear — 
 so help me God !" Mr. Otis would have raised the 
 Bible, but Washington bowed down reverently and 
 kissed it. Washington was clad upon this occasion in 
 a full suit of dark-brown American cloth, with a steel- 
 hilted dress-sword, white silk stockings, and silver shoe- 
 buckles. His hair was dressed and powdered in the 
 fashion of the day. Washington returned to the 
 Senate chamber, where he delivered his inaugural 
 address to both houses of Congress. Alter this, he 
 proceeded with the whole assemblage, on foot, to St. 
 Paul's church, where prayers suited to the occasion 
 were read by Dr. Prevost, bishop of the Protestant 
 Episcopal Church of New York, who was one of the 
 chaplains of Congress. Washington entered upon 
 the presidential office with much anxiety. The de- 
 partments under the new government were not yet 
 orsfanized. He could turn with confidence for counsel 
 to Mr. John Jay, who still remained at the head of af-r 
 fairs, where he had been placed in 1784. He had a 
 ready S3'mpathizer in Knox, his old comrade, who 
 continued to officiate as secretary of war. The af- 
 fairs of the treasury were managed by a board, con- 
 sisting of Livingston, Osgood, and Arthur Lee. To 
 Alexander Hamilton, Washington often had recourse, 
 
MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. 1 29 
 
 in the difficult and intricate problems in government 
 that would be presented. It was a great satisfaction 
 to Washington to consult James Madison, who was 
 one of the members of Congress. Mr. Madison had 
 been with him in the convention ; he had written many 
 luminous and able essays in " The Federalist " (a 
 collection of state papers written by Madison, Hamil- 
 ton, and Jay), and his talents as a speaker, exten- 
 sive information, and legislative experience destined 
 him to be a leader in the house. Only three states 
 had unanimously voted for the constitution. Two 
 states still hesitated. These were Rhode Island and 
 North Carolina. 
 
 As we have already hinted, some feared that the 
 new government would prove too weak to preserve 
 order and prevent civil strife ; others, the Republicans, 
 (afterward called Democrats), that it would be too 
 strong for the independence of the states, and 
 would tend toward consolidation or centralization and 
 despotism. This conflict of opinion produced much 
 irritation, and partisans on both sides were often 
 acrimonious and unjust to each other. The country 
 over which Washington was called upon to govern, 
 was ten times larger than any previous republic. It 
 presented to the Atlantic a front of fifteen hundred 
 miles. Beyond the Alleghanies were territories of 
 immense extent — the asylum of roving Indians and 
 discontented white men. The Mississippi, the great 
 outlet to the products of the West, had not as yet free 
 navigation. Spain opposed a barrier. The hardy 
 yeomanry of the West believed that Congress ought 
 to remove this barrier, and were indignant at the ap- 
 parent indifference of that body. It was said that 
 
130 MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. 
 
 British emissaries were fomenting the Western discon- 
 tents, and offering them their assistance to seize upon 
 the cit}' of New Orleans, and fortify the mouth of the 
 Mississippi ; while others represented that the Spanish 
 authorities were intriguing to effect a separation of 
 the Western territory from the Union, with a view of 
 attaching it to the dominion of Spain. Great Britain 
 still held some western posts, the surrender of which 
 had been stipulated by treaty. The plea for retain- 
 ing these posts was, debts due to British subjects re- 
 mained unpaid, for which, by the same treaty, the 
 United States were bound. These posts were re- 
 tained by the British in order to secure the monopoly 
 of the fur trade. Marauding corsairs from Algiers, 
 Tunis, and Tripoli had seized American merchant 
 vessels and carried their crews into slavery. " No 
 treaty having yet been made with any of the Barbary 
 States, except Morocco, I walk, as it were," said 
 Washington, " upon untrodden ground. I feel the need 
 of the countenance and aid of every friend to myself, 
 of every friend to the Revolution, and of every lover 
 of good government." It was not until the loth of 
 September, after the inauguration of the president, 
 that a cabinet was duly organized. At this time, a 
 department of foreign affairs (afterward termed a 
 department of state) was instituted, a treasury de- 
 partment, and a department of war. As it was a 
 time of great financial exigency, the post of secretary 
 of the treasury was of paramount importance. Al- 
 exander Hamilton was appointed secretar}' of the 
 treasury, and his nomination was confirmed by the 
 Senate on the same day that it was made. Gen. Knox 
 was made secretary of war. Mr. Jefferson, who had 
 
MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. I3I 
 
 acted for some years as minister to the court of 
 France, had recently asked and obtained permission 
 to return liome. Washington wrote to Jefferson, of- 
 fering him the post of secretary of state, but forbear- 
 ing to nominate a successor to his place at the court 
 of Versailles until he should be informed of his deter- 
 mination. With regard to the re-eligibility of the pres- 
 ident, Jefferson's objections seem to have been quieted 
 by the elevation of Washington. " Since the thing 
 (re-eligibility) has been established," he writes, " I 
 would wish it not to be altered during the lifetime of 
 our great leader, whose executive talents are superior 
 to those, I believe, of an}' man in the world, and who 
 alone, by the authority of his name and the confidence 
 reposed in his perfect integrity, is so fully qualified to 
 put the new government under way as to secure it 
 against the efforts of opposition. I hope we will cor- 
 rect our error the ver}' moment we can no longer 
 have the same man at the helm." At this time, 
 Jefferson was deeply interested and immersed in 
 French politics. He was so much excited by this in- 
 terest, the desire that other peoples should enjoy the 
 blessings of a free government, he seemed to forget, 
 in his enthusiasm, that liberty without virtue will 
 degenerate into licentiousness. " Liberty is a means 
 and not an end in attaining happiness, and when 
 taken in too large draughts, it first intoxicates, then 
 maddens, then destroys." Jefferson accepted the post 
 of secretary of state. Now arose questions of form 
 and ceremony. In all these minor matters Washing- 
 ton consulted those around him — Adams, Hamilton, 
 Jay, Madison, and Jefferson. Adams had been min- 
 ister to England before he was elected to the vice- 
 
132 MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. 
 
 presidency. " The glare of royalty and nobility during 
 this mission had made him believe their fascination a 
 necessary ingredient in government." Hamilton 
 thought a high tone ought to be avoided, lest it shock 
 the prevalent notions of equality. The arrival of 
 Mrs. Washington seems to have regulated these mat- 
 ters. On the day after her arrival, Washington gave 
 a dinner, of which we have an account from the pen 
 of Mr. Wingate, a senator from New Hampshire. 
 " The guests consisted of the vice-president, the for- 
 eign ministers, the heads of departments, the speaker 
 of the House of Representatives, and the senators' 
 from New Hampshire and Georgia, then the most 
 Northern and most Southern states. It was the least 
 showy dinner that I ever saw at the president's table. 
 As there was no chaplain present, the president him- 
 self said a short grace before we sat down. After 
 dinner and dessert were finished, one glass of wine 
 was passed around. The president rose, and all the 
 company retired to the drawing-room, from which the 
 guests departed as every one chose, without ceremon}^" 
 On Friday evenings, Mrs. Washington held levees 
 from eight to ten o'clock, to which the families of all 
 respectable persons, native or foreign, were invited. 
 The sanctit}^ and quiet of Sunday were strict!}' ob- 
 served by Washington. He attended church in the 
 morning and passed the afternoon alone in his closet. 
 No visitors were admitted, except some intimate friend 
 in'the evening, which was spent in the bosom of his 
 family. At levees and drawing-rooms, it is said, that 
 the manner of Washington was cold and distant. 
 Those who knew him best, said this distant reserved 
 manner proceeded from the novelty of his position 
 
MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. I33 
 
 and his innate diffidence. Mrs. Washington received 
 her guests with the ease and good breeding of one 
 who had been accustomed to preside over a hospitable 
 mansion in Virginia. The societ}' in and around 
 Alexandria was very cultivated and refined. George 
 William Fairfax, whose home had been the resort of 
 Washington's youth, remained in England during the 
 war. The hand of Fairfax had been open to relieve the 
 distresses of Americans, and he kept up a cordial cor- 
 respondence with Washington. Members of this family 
 still reside in that vicinity. "Old Lord Fairfax, of Green- 
 way Court, lived on," says Mr. Irving, " in his syl- 
 van retreat on the Shenandoah, until he had attained 
 his ninety-second year, when tidings of the surrender 
 of Yorktown so wounded the national pride of the 
 old cavalier as to snap the attenuated cord of his ex- 
 istence." We still quote from Mr. Irving : "Much has 
 been said of Washington's equipages when at New 
 York, and of his having (our and sometimes six horses 
 betbre his carriage, with servants and outriders dressed 
 in livery. Such st3'le was usual at the time both in 
 England and the colonies. It was still prevalent 
 among the wealthy planters of the South and the 
 " merchant princes" of the North. It does not ap- 
 pear that Washington ever indulged in such display 
 through ostentation. When he repaired to the hall of 
 Congress on the day of inauguration, he was drawn 
 by a single pair of horses in a chariot which had been 
 presented for the occasion. Besides this modest equi- 
 page, there was a heavy family carnage, to which four 
 horses were- sometimes attached — once, on a state oc- 
 casion, six horses were attached to it. It is said that 
 he owned, w^hile in New York, four white horses of 
 
134 MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. 
 
 great beauty. Washington's love of horses amounted 
 to a passion. His favorite exercise was on horseback. 
 He was one of the best horsemen of his day," 
 
 CHAPTER XXVn. 
 
 "With more than mortal powers endowed, 
 How high they soared above the crowd. 
 Theirs was no common party race, 
 Jostling by dark intrigue for place. 
 Beneath each banner, proud to stand, 
 Looked up the noblest ot the land." 
 
 The arrangement of the judicial department was 
 one of Washington's earliest cares. Edmund Ran- 
 dolph, of Virginia, was nominated as attorney-general. 
 He had been governor of Virginia and was a mem- 
 ber of the convention of ly^V- ^t is said he had been 
 at first dissatisfied with some of the provisions of the 
 constitution and refused to sign it, but afterward sup- 
 ported it in the state convention of his native state. 
 The supreme court of the United States was to be com- 
 posed of a chief justice and five associate judges. John 
 Jay, of New York, received the appointment of chief 
 justice. John Rutledge, of South Carolina ; Wilson, of 
 Pennsylvania ; Cushing, of Massachusetts ; John Blair, 
 of Virginia, and Iredtll, of North Carolina, were the 
 associate judges. Two questions — the assumption of 
 the state debts and the final settlement where the cap- 
 ital of the Federal government should be placed — 
 greatly agitated Congress. The former subject — the 
 assumption of the debts — produced much discord in 
 the early part of the session. 
 
 At the close of the war, the debt amounted to forty- 
 
MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. I35 
 
 two millions of dollars, but increased by arrears of 
 interest to fifty-four millions. About twelve millions 
 of this money was due abroad. The debt at home 
 was due to individuals who had risked their lives in 
 the sacred cause, and to others, for affording supplies 
 for the sustenance and maintenance of the army. 
 Besides the foreign and domestic debts, the states were 
 individually involved. More than one-half of the 
 debts of the states was due from Massachusetts, Vir" 
 ginia, and South Carolina. The secretary of the 
 treasury, Mr. Hamilton, was requested to digest or 
 prepare a plan for the settlement of these claims. 
 Mr. Hamilton urged the assumption of the debts, 
 state as well as federal, by the general government. 
 This it was that created so much excitement. The 
 Democrats (or Republicans, as they were then 
 called) greatly opposed this measure, fearing that it 
 would give too much power to the central government ; 
 that it would unite the states financially, as well as 
 politically, and tend to consolidation. The Northern 
 and Eastern States were generally in favor of this 
 measure, but Virginia opposed it. The measure 
 passed by a vote of thirty-nine to twenty-six. The 
 funding of the state debts was supposed to benefit 
 especially the Northern States. South Carolina, how- 
 ever, voted for the assumption. Washington had lit- 
 tle sympathy with these sectional jealousies. "Un- 
 easy lies the head that wears a crown," said the great 
 dramatist. In an eight years' war, Washington, as we 
 have seen, suffered all the troubles that are incident to 
 war and an unequal strite, but he was sustained 
 throughout by an unfaltering trust in the God of bat- 
 tles and in the justice of his cause. Now, he was a 
 
136 MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. 
 
 civil ruler, unanimously chosen by a people who loved 
 and honored and trusted him. This confidence of his 
 countrymen did not remove his difficulties. The ship 
 of state was launched on an unknown sea. Would not 
 storms* arise? Were there not rocks and quicksands to 
 be avoided? He was at the helm, with a steady eye 
 and determined purpose, but a republican govern- 
 ment was an experiment. Would it abide safel}'^ amid 
 differing interests and the rude shocks of the ambitious 
 and designing? The wild fury of the French revo- 
 lution reached these shores and disturbed, for a time, 
 the equanimity of our people, exciting their feelings 
 and dividing their opinions. A minister, Mr. Genet, 
 sent here by the French Republic, behaved so indis- 
 creetly that it was proposed to send him back to his own 
 country. Happily his own government recalled him. 
 Washington was greatly disturbed by the political dif- 
 ferences of the secretary of the treasury and the sec- 
 retary of state. The Federalists looked upon Mr. 
 Hamilton as a model exemplar, and the Democrats 
 (or Republicans) regarded Mr. Jefferson with un- 
 swerving reverence and devotion. These intellectual 
 Titans shook the nation with their jarring discord. 
 Washington was a friend of both, and constantly acted 
 as a moderator in his cabinet. Jefferson suspected 
 Hamilton's principles. He believed them to be those 
 of a monarchist, and feared that he would use his in- 
 fluence to centralize and consolidate the power of the 
 general government. Posterity has done justice to 
 both. " How peaceful and how powerful is the grave." 
 The state papers of Hamilton and Jefferson remain as 
 enduring monuments of their patriotism, their wis- 
 dom, and their foresight. While the great men at the 
 
MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. I37 
 
 capital were discussing the important questions of the 
 " assumption of the debt," a national bank, the 
 situation of the capital, and the residence of the 
 president, the Indians of the Miami and Wabash were 
 making cruel depredations on the possessions of the 
 white men. We can scarcely believe that eighty years 
 ago the horrid yell and war-whoop of the Indians 
 were heard in the immediate vicinity of " Fort Wash- 
 ington," now the extensive and beautiful city of 
 Cincinnati. In 1790, an expedition under Gen. 
 Harmer, consisting of several hundred men, was 
 sent against the Miamis. The expedition ended 
 disastrously. Another expedition was sent afterward, 
 under the command of. Gen. St. Clair, who was the 
 governor of the territory west of the Ohio. This ex- 
 pedition also ended in disgrace and failure. The 
 Indians of the Wabash and Miami were not deficient 
 in disc'pline ; they were well-armed, numerous, and 
 warlike, so that Indian warfare at that time was far 
 more hazardous than it is at present* among the In- 
 dians of the Far West. Augustus was not more 
 grieved at the loss of the legions of Varus, than was 
 Washington when he heard of the defeat of St. Clair 
 and the loss of his brave men. When Washington 
 received the dispatches in relation to St. Clair's surprise 
 and defeat, it is said he yielded to a transport of pas- 
 sion and grief. " It is all over !" he exclaimed, when 
 alone with his secretary. " St. Clair's defeated — 
 routed; the officers nearly all killed, the men by 
 wholesale. I warned him to beware of a surprise ! 
 He left me with the warning in his ears — ' Beware of 
 
 * These lines were written some months before the Modoc war. 
 
138 MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. 
 
 a surprise !' And yet, to suffer that army to be cut to 
 pieces — hacked, butchered, tomahawked ! Oh, God ! 
 Oh, God !" exclaimed he, throwing up his hands, 
 while his whole frame shook with emotion. "He's 
 worse than a murderer ; the blood of the slain is upon 
 him-^-the curse of widows and orphans — the curse of 
 Heaven !" In this disastrous battle, the loss of regular 
 troops and levies amounted to five hundred and filty 
 killed and two hundred wounded. The whole loss, 
 including commissioned and non-commissioned offi- 
 cers, was nearly seven hundred men. When Wash- 
 ington recovered his equanimity, he said : " Gen. St. 
 Clair shall have justice. I will receive him without dis- 
 pleasure : I will hear him without prejudice. He shall 
 have justice." A committee of the House of Representa- 
 tives ultimately inquired into the cause of the failure of 
 this expedition, and rendered a report which explicitly 
 exculpated him. His adjutant-general, in his private 
 diary, testified to the coolness and bravery of St. 
 Clair, though debilitated b}' illness. Public sentiment, 
 however, for a long time remained adverse to him ; 
 but Washington, satisfied with the explanations given, 
 honored him with his confidence and friendship. 
 This beautiful West, like every other part of our now 
 highly favored land, has been purchased with hard- 
 ship, privation, blood, and treasure. 
 
 The struggles of the pioneers of the West, being so 
 much nearer our own times, seem to impress us more 
 strongly. Early in 1792, Gouverneur Morris had re- 
 ceived the appointment of minister plenipotentiary at 
 the French court. His diplomatic correspondence kept 
 our government informed of the terrible excesses of 
 the French revolution. Mr. Jefferson was very im- 
 
MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. 1 39 
 
 patient at first of the gloomy pictures drawn by 
 Morris. He had looked with a deeply interested and 
 sanguine eye on the revolutionary movements in 
 France. He was unwilling at lirst to believe the 
 statements of Morris, and ascribed his impressions to 
 a want of sympathy with the cause of human free- 
 dom. But Mr. Jefferson was shortly afterward 
 grieved to acknowledge the madness of the French 
 Jacobins. Washington mourned deeply over the ad- 
 verse fortunes of La Fayette, who, in vainly trjang to 
 check the excesses of his people, completely lost his 
 authority. La Fayette was denounced by the Na- 
 tional Assembly, and an order issued for his arrest. 
 La Fayette, being apprised of this, left his army at 
 Sedan, intending to seek an asylum either in Holland 
 or the United States. He was, however, detained at 
 Rochefort, an Austrian post. He was subsequently 
 a prisoner at Olmutz. When Washington received 
 the intelligence of the capture of La Fayette, he im- 
 mediately wrote to the Marchioness La Fayette, ex- 
 pressing deep concern and sympathy, and informed 
 her that he had placed in the hands of Mr. Van Stap- 
 herst, of x\msterdam, two hundred guineas, subject to her 
 order. Washington, hearing that Madame La Fayette 
 was in want, delicately sought to make his donation 
 assume the form of the repayment of a debt. Mad- 
 ame La Fayette was at that time a prisoner in Paris, 
 awaiting the fate which had, in one day, smitten her 
 grandmother, mother, and sister. She happily es- 
 caped the guillotine by the fall of Robespierre. 
 George Washington La Fayette, her son, just of the 
 age for conscription, made his escape to the United 
 States, through the friendly aid of two American gen- 
 
140 MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. 
 
 tlemen. He found a warm welcome at Mount Ver- 
 non, where he lived for three years. He returned to 
 France on the liberation of his father. Washington 
 addressed a letter to the Emperor of Germany, in be- 
 half of the marquis, but received no answer. His 
 release was peremptorily demanded by Napoleon I., 
 in the conferences which preceded the treaty of Campo 
 Formio. He was set at liberty, on the 22d of Sep- 
 tember, 1797. During the residence of young La 
 Fayette at Mount Vernon, Louis Philippe, with his 
 brother, was also there. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVHL 
 
 " Still achieving, still pursuing." 
 
 After a long and painful conflict of feelings, 
 Washington consented to be a candidate for re-election. 
 There was no opposition on the part of the public, 
 and the vote for him in the electoral college was 
 unanimous. John Adams was re-elected to the vice- 
 presidency, by a majority of twenty-seven electoral 
 votes, over George Clinton, of New York. Mr. 
 Adams had said, during the first presidential term, 
 that it had been the pleasure of his countrymen to 
 endow him with the meanest office in the gift of the 
 government (meaning the vice-presidency), but he re- 
 ceived the office a second time. It was under some- 
 what gloomy auspices that Washington entered upon 
 his second term. There was a reign of terror in 
 France. Louis XVL was beheaded. This tragical 
 event was deplored by many of "the truest advocates 
 
MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. I4I 
 
 of liberty in America. This unfortunate monarch was 
 remembered as tlie Iriend of tliis country in her rev- 
 olutionary struggle, but some were so zealous in the 
 cause of political reform, that the}'- did not deplore the 
 death of this virtuous king (though they execrated his 
 murderers), hoping it would seal the downfall of the 
 French monarchy, and the establishment of a repub- 
 lic. Many crimes have been committed in the name 
 of liberty and religion, but no benefit can ever accrue 
 to a cause through a wicked, unlawful act. Jj. called 
 into exercise all the wisdom and prudence of Wash- 
 ington to guard the neutralit}^ of the United States 
 amid the excitements of his own people, many of 
 whom strongly sympathized with France when a war 
 commenced between England and France. It was en- 
 dangered, not only by the intrigues of the French 
 minister (to whom we have already alluded), but by 
 the ill-advised measures of the British cabinet. We 
 will not, however, attempt any details. One griev- 
 ance, however, was, that Great Britain frequently im- 
 pressed American seamen — a wrong to which they 
 were exposed from national similarity. This griev- 
 ance ultimately led to the war of 1S12. Early in the 
 session of 1793, Mr. Jefferson furnished Congress 
 with an able and elaborate report on the state of trade 
 of the United States with different countries. This 
 report closed his labors as secretary of state. Wash- 
 ington was grieved and embarrassed when he received 
 the notification from Jefferson that he- would retire 
 from the cabinet. He expressed to Mr. Jefferson his 
 chagrin at being deserted by those of his cabinet upon 
 w4iom he iKid relied for counsel. The public mind 
 was in an alarming state of ferment. Political com- 
 
142 MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. 
 
 binations were forming of various kinds. He knew 
 not where it would end. Mr. Jefferson pleaded great 
 repugnance to public life. He also said that the op- 
 position of views between him and Hamilton was 
 peculiarly unpleasant and destructive of the necessary 
 harmony. The conversation was an extended one. 
 In the conversation, recorded by Mr. Jefferson himself, 
 can be discerned the constant effort of Washington to 
 moderate the growing antipathies between die eminent 
 men whose aid he sought to assist him in conducting the 
 government. Jefferson remained in office a few months 
 longer, and then retired to Monticello, his country- 
 seat, in Albemarle county, Virginia. About this time, 
 intense excitement was produced among our people in 
 consequence of orders issued by Great Britain to her 
 cruisers, in June, 1793. The orders required that all 
 vessels laden with produce of any colony belonging to 
 France, or carrying supplies to any such colony, 
 should be detained and brought to British ports for 
 adjudication in the British courts of admiralty. Sev- 
 eral captures of American vessels were made, in con- 
 sequence of these orders, which tended greatly to 
 increase the irritation of the public. Resolutions were 
 moved that all debts due to British subjects be seques- 
 tered and paid into the treasury as a fund to indemnify 
 citizens of the United States for depredations sus- 
 tained from British cruisers, and that all intercourse 
 with Great Britain be interdicted until she had made 
 compensation for these injuries, and until she should 
 surrender the western posts. "Peace or war " was 
 the question. The partisans of France said it would 
 be pusillanimous for Americans any longer to hold 
 terms with England. Those who were in favor of 
 
MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. I43 
 
 resisting Brittish aggressions, put into their hats a tri- 
 colored cockade. Democratic societies were formed 
 to aid these popular sentiments. While the public 
 mind was in this inflammable state, Washington re- 
 ceived advices from Mr. Pinckney, the American 
 minister in London, informing him that the British 
 ministry had issued instructions to the commanders of 
 armed vessels revoking the more obnoxious orders of 
 the 6th of November, 1793. Washington laid Pinck- 
 ney's letter before Congress. It had a soothing effect 
 on both parties. Mr. Jefferson, the reputed head of 
 the French parly, avowed, in a letter to Mr. Madison, 
 his wish that war should be avoided — that by some 
 means American faith and honor could be maintained 
 without war. " I confess to you," said he, " that I 
 have seen enough of one war never to wish to see 
 another." " 'T is as great an error," writes Mr. Ham- 
 ilton, about the same time, " for a nation to overrate 
 itself as to underrate itself. Presumption is as great 
 a fault as timidity. 'T is our error to overrate our- 
 selves and underrate Great Britain. We forget how 
 little we can annoy, how much we may be annoyed." 
 This was doubtless good logic in 1793 ; but, in 1815, 
 the power of annoyance exercised by the people of 
 the United States was not inconsiderable, as was proved 
 by the battle of New Orleans. Washington resolved 
 to prevent a war, if possible. He was too morally 
 brave to allow noisy clamor to overcome his modera- 
 tion. He determined to send to the court of St. James a 
 special envoy to appeal to the justice of England, and 
 to represent to tha:t government the injuries we had 
 sustained from it, in various ways, and urging indem- 
 nification. The envoy selected was John Jay, chief 
 
144 MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. 
 
 justice of the United States. About this time, the 
 French government requested the recall of Gouvern- 
 eur Morris. The request was granted. James Mon- 
 roe was appointed in his place. Mr. Monroe arrived 
 at Paris at a moment of reaction. The reign of terror 
 Was over. Robespierre had fallen. The new minis- 
 ter was received in public by the convention. The 
 sentiments expressed by Monroe were so completely 
 in unison with the feelings of the moment, that the 
 president of the convention embraced him wath 
 emotion, and it was decreed that the American and 
 French flags should be entwined and hung up in the 
 hall of the convention. Monroe presented the 
 American flag to the convention on the part of his 
 country. Washington, meanwhile, was becoming 
 painfully aware that censorious tongues and pens were 
 ready to cavil at every measure. " The affairs of 
 this country can not go wrong," writes he, ironically, 
 to Morris. " There are so many watchful guardians, 
 and such infallible guides, that no one is at a loss for 
 a director at every turn." A short time after the date 
 of this letter, an insurrection broke out in the western 
 part of Pennsylvania on account of the excise law. 
 After every proper effort to reconcile the insurgents 
 was made, without effect, an army of formidable pro- 
 portions was assembled. It was reported that an army 
 of seven thousand men could be raised in the insurgent 
 district. Washington, therefore, made a requisition on 
 the governors of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Mary- 
 land, and Virginia, for militia to compose an army 
 of twelve thousand men. It was afterward augmented 
 to fifteen thousand. The governors of Virginia, 
 Maryland, and Pennsylvania were at the head of the 
 
MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. I45 
 
 troops of their respective states. Gov. Lee, of Vir- 
 ginia, w^as commander-in-chief. In a letter to Gov. 
 Lee, Washington desired him to convey to the army 
 his high sense of their patriotism, their regard for the 
 constitution and laws which had led them cheerfully 
 to quit their homes ,and all the comforts of private life, 
 to undertake and perform a fatiguing march and en- 
 counter the privations of a military life. " No citi- 
 zen can be engaged in a more important service. It 
 is nothing less than to consolidate and preserve the 
 blessings of that revolution which, at much expense 
 of blood and treasure, constituted us a free and inde- 
 pendent nation." His parting admonition is : " That 
 every officer and soldier bear in mind that he must be 
 a supporter of the laws, and not an infringer of them ; 
 that the essential principles of a free government con- 
 fine the -province of the military to two objects : first, 
 to combat and subdue all found tn arms; secondly, 
 to support the civil magistrate in bringing offenders 
 to justice. The dispensation of this justice belongs 
 to the civil magistrates ; and let it ever be our -pride 
 and glory to leave the sacred deposit there inviolate." 
 The great military army under Gen. Lee extinguished 
 at once the kindling elements of a civil war. At the 
 approach of this force, the insurgents laid down tiieir 
 arms. They extolled the clemency of the govern- 
 ment, which was extended to them. When Wash- 
 ington, in his speech on the opening of Congress, 
 November 19, 1794, announced the suppression of the 
 insurrection in Pennsylvania, he had also the pleas- 
 ure of giving favorable intelligence of the campaign 
 of Gen. Wayne against the hostile Indians west of 
 
146 MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. 
 
 the Ohio.* August 8, 1794. — " We remained," says 
 Gen. Wayne, " three days and nights on the banks of 
 the Miami, during which time all the houses and corn 
 were consumed, or otherwise destro3'ed, for some dis- 
 tance above and below Fort Miami, and we were 
 within pistol-shot of the garrison of that place, who 
 were compelled to remain quiet spectators of the gen- 
 eral devastation and conflagration." Wayne's army 
 had been strengthened by eleven hundred Kentuck- 
 ians. His force exceeded that of the savage warriors. 
 In his official address to Congress, Washington had 
 urged the adoption of some plan for the redemption 
 of the public debt. A plan was reported by Mr. 
 Hamilton, January 20, 1795, which he had digested 
 and prepared on the basis of the actual revenues, for 
 the further support of public credit. Mr. Hamilton 
 now retired from his laborious post. He had long 
 thought of retiring, as his pay was inadequate to 
 the support of his family. He had postponed it on 
 account of accusations brought against him in the 
 second Congress, and of which he awaited the in- 
 vestigation. Mr. Hamilton retired from the cabinet 
 on the last day of January, 1795. He was succeeded 
 by Mr. Oliver Wolcott. The secretary of war, Mr. 
 Knox, also retired soon afterward, and was succeeded 
 by Col. Timothy Pickering. We have neglected to 
 mention that Mr. Edmund Randolph succeeded Mr. 
 Jefferson as secretary of state. 
 
 * Wajne gained a decisive victory at the battle of the Miamis. 
 This was the last struggle of that brave, but ill-fated race, on the 
 Ohio, until that of 1811, which resulted in the cession of their 
 lands to the whites ybrcfer. 
 
MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. I47 
 
 CHAPTER XXIX. 
 
 " The pillar of a people's hope, 
 The center of a world's desire ; 
 Yet feels as in a pensive dream, 
 When all his active powers are still,' 
 A distant dearness in the hill, 
 A sacred sweetness in the stream." 
 
 How sensibl}'' must Washington have felt the loss 
 of two such able coadjutors as Hamilton and Jeffer- 
 son, the foremost men in American annals ! Mr. 
 Adams, however, as vice-president, was still near 
 him, and other friends both wise and true. The suc- 
 cessors, too, of the first secretaries were able men, 
 but strong partisans of the Federal school. Wolcott was 
 a signer ot^ the Declaration of Independence. Wash- 
 ington awaited wiih anxiety the result of Mr. Jay's 
 mission. He knew that he had exposed his popu- 
 larit}' to imminent hazard in opening a negotiation with 
 England ; but the peace and happiness of his country 
 were now of more moment to him. Washington 
 could scarcel}- hope for the complete success of the 
 mission. At length, on the 7th of March, 1795, a 
 few days afler Congress had risen, a treat}^ arrived, 
 which had been signed by the two ministers of the 
 two nations, and was sent out for ratification. Mr. 
 Jay wrote to Washington : "To do more was im- 
 possible. I ought not to conceal from you that the 
 confidence reposed in your personal character was 
 visible throughout the transaction." Washington im- 
 mediately made the treaty a close study. Some of 
 the provisions were satisfactory, others were not. 
 But, believing it to be, as Mr. Jay alleged, the best 
 treaty attainable, he determined to ratify it if the 
 
148 MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. 
 
 Senate should approve it. Many of the people were 
 predisposed to condemn this treaty, because they were 
 vexed that overtures had been made toward a nego- 
 tiation. " If it had been necessar^s" said the oppos- 
 ing party, " to send a minister to England, it should 
 have been to make a downright demand of reparation 
 for wrongs inflicted on our commerce, and the immedi- 
 ate surrender of the western posts." Meanwhile, Jay 
 arrived. He found that, during his absence, he had 
 been elected governor of New York, his native state. 
 He therefore resigned the office of chief justice of the 
 United States. The twelfth article of this treaty met 
 with special objections. The article provided for a 
 direct trade between the United States and the British 
 West India islands, in American vessels not exceed- 
 ing seventy tons burden, conveying the produce of the 
 States or of the islands ; but it prohibited the expor- 
 tation of molasses, sugar, coffee, cocoa, or cotton, in 
 American vessels, either from the United States or 
 the islands, to any part of the world. This was a re- 
 stricted intercourse, but Mr. Jay considered the admis- 
 sion even of smaller vessels to the trade of these islands 
 an important advantage. Cotton was now becoming an 
 important product, and a restriction in this trade was 
 considered a special grievance to the Southern people. 
 The Senate was convened by Washington in June, 
 1795. The, treaty of Mr. Jay was laid before it. 
 The Senate sat with closed doors. Two-thirds of the 
 Senate ultimately voted for its ratification, stipulating, 
 however, that an article be added suspending so much 
 of the twelfth article as related to the West India 
 trade, and that the president be requested to open, 
 without delay, further negotiations on this head. 
 
MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. I49 
 
 Meanwhile the discontent concerning the treaty was 
 daily increasing. Mr. Mason, a senator from Vir- 
 ginia, sent an abstract of the treaty to be published in 
 a leading opposition paper. A portion of the cabinet, 
 also, were opposed to the ratification. The support 
 of the instrument was feeble, while the opposition to it 
 was tremendous. Public meetings adverse to it were 
 held in all the large cities. We can not enter into the 
 details of this famous treaty : if we could fully appre- 
 ciate its demerits or merits so as to give a clear exposi- 
 tion of it, it would probably be devoid of interest to our 
 young friends. Mr. Tucker, in his life of Jefferson, 
 says: "Whether more good or evil resulted to the 
 United States from the ratification, there is still room 
 for a difference of opinion. To trace out the chain of 
 causes and effects in a series of events which have 
 actually occurred, though not always an easy task, 
 may yet be within the scope of human wisdom ; but 
 to perceive the concatenation on a different state of 
 facts, is beyond the reach of any degree of sagacity : 
 and no one can conclusively show that war would have 
 been the certain consequence, or, though it had, that 
 the spirit it indicated would not have prevented the 
 subsequent spoliations of American commerce and the 
 war of 1813. In such questions, the most we must 
 look to is, whether we have defended our own rights 
 without infringing the rights of others, and to approve 
 or condemn the course as it has conformed to that 
 rule. If tried by this test, it would not be easy to 
 defend the treaty of 1794." In this unqualified con- 
 demnation of the treaty, Mr. Tucker says, " It is not 
 meant to cast any imputation on the zeal, talents, or 
 patriotism of its distinguished negotiator." 
 
150 MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. 
 
 News now came that the order of the British govern- 
 ment, of the 8th of June, 1793, for the seizure of ves- 
 sels going to French ports, was renewed. Washington 
 instantly directed that a strong memorial should be 
 drawn up against this order, as it seemed to favor a 
 construction of the treaty which he was determined to 
 resist. While this memorial was in preparation, he 
 was called off to Mount Vernon. The difficult and 
 intricate questions pressing upon government, left 
 Washington little freedom of mind to enjoy his beloved 
 home. Early in August came a mysterious letter from 
 Mr. Pickering, the secretary of war. The receipt 
 of this enigmatical letter induced Washington to go 
 immediately to Philadelphia. The matter related to 
 Mr. Randolph, secretary of state. It was an em- 
 barrassing affair, which ended in the resignation of 
 Mr. Randolph. 
 
 About this time the General Asseml:^ly of Maryland 
 made a unanimous resolution to the following effect : 
 " Observing with deep concern a series of efforts, by 
 indirect insinuation or open invective, to detach from 
 the first magistrate of the Union the well-earned 
 confidence of his fellow citizens, they think it their 
 duty to declare, and they do hereby declare, their 
 unabated reliance on the integrity, judgment, and 
 patriotism of the President of the United' States." 
 
 In September, 1799, Washington published his 
 famous " Farewell Address." In the preparation of his 
 last address to his countrymen, he seems to have felt 
 much solicitude. He well knew how much the people 
 loved him, and believed that his last words, both on 
 political and moral subjects, might have an abiding 
 influence, not only on the generation for which he 
 
MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. I5I 
 
 wrote, but would have its influence for good on future 
 ages. He wrote both to Mr. Madison and Mr. Hamil- 
 ton to assist him in the arrangement of his "Address," 
 but it can never be known how much or how little they 
 contributed to this unrivaled and inimitable state paper. 
 This address will be appended at the close of this 
 volume. Alison, the historian of Europe from 1780 
 to 1815, a period fraught with the most momentous 
 and remarkable issues in the world's history, says of 
 Washington : "The close of this year, 1797, witnessed 
 the resignation of the presidency of the United Slates 
 of America, by General Washington, and his volun- 
 tary retirement into private life. Modern historj' has 
 not so spotless a character to commemorate. Invinci- 
 ble in resolution, firm in conduct, incorruptible in in- 
 tegrity, he brought to the helm of a victorious republic 
 the simplicity and innocence of rural life ; he was 
 forced into greatness by circumstances, rather than led 
 into it by inclination, and prevailed over his enemies 
 rather by the wisdom of his designs and the persever- 
 ance of his character, than any extraordinary genius 
 for the art of war. A soldier from necessity and 
 patriotism, rather than disposition, he was the first to 
 recommend a return to pacific councils when the inde- 
 pendence of his country was secured. He bequeathed 
 to his countrymen an address, on leaving their govern- 
 ment,' to which there is no composition of uninspired 
 wisdom which can bear a comparison. He was 
 modest without diffidence, sensible to the voice of fame 
 without vanity, independent and dignified without 
 either pride or asperity. He was a friend to liberty, 
 but not licentiousness. He was a Cromwell without 
 ambition, and a Sylla without his crimes ; and, after 
 
152 MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. 
 
 having raised his country, by his exertions, to the 
 rank of an independent commonwealth, closed his 
 career by a relinquishment of the power which a grate- 
 ful people had bestowed." 
 
 On the day after the inauguration of Mr. Adams, 
 Washington set out for Mount Vernon, accompanied 
 by Mrs. Washington, Miss Nelly Custis, and G. W. 
 La Fayette, with his preceptor. Miss Custis had now 
 matured into a lovely, attractive woman. The halls 
 of Mount Vernon became the resort of admiring 
 friends and lovers. She had been reared under the 
 tender and watchful care of her grandmother, and 
 educated by private teachers. She was a great 
 favorite with the General, whom she often amused by 
 her sprightl}' sallies, sometimes overcoming his 
 habitual gravity and surprising him into hearty 
 laughter. " I was young and romantic then " (referring 
 to those days), said she to a lady, many years after- 
 ward. "I was fond of roaming by moonlight in the 
 woods around Mount Vernon. I remember once, 
 after one of^ my rambles, as I entered the drawing- 
 room., my grandmother, seated in her arm-chair, gave 
 me a severe reprimand. The General was walking 
 up and down the room, as was his wont, with his 
 hands behind him. I heard the General, in a low 
 voice, interceding for me : ' My dear,' said he, ' per- 
 haps she was not unaccompanied.' Hearing this, I 
 opened the door. ' Sir,' I said, ' you have brought 
 me up to speak the truth, and when I told grandmama 
 that I was alone, I hope you believed that I was alone.' 
 He then made me a magnanimous bow, and said, 
 'My child, I beg your pardon.'" 
 
 We will now quote a letter of advice to his adopted 
 
MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. I53 
 
 child, with regard to her love affairs, when she was 
 about to make her first appearance at a ball in George- 
 town, D. C. She perhaps, to allay parental solici- 
 tude, had expressed indifference with regard to the 
 attention of lovers. " Do not boast," he writes, " of in- 
 sensibility toward your admirers. Young people feel 
 the same inclination toward each other now, that they 
 have ever done. Love is said to be an involuntary 
 passion. This is partly true, but like all things else, it 
 may be nourished and encouraged or stifled and re- 
 pressed. Although we can not avoid first impres- 
 sions, we can place them under guard. When the 
 fire is beginning to kindle, ask yourself questions 
 something like these : Who is this invader? Is he a 
 man of good character? A man of sense? Have I 
 a competent knowledge of him? Be assured, a sen- 
 sible woman can never be happy with a fool. Is his 
 fortune sufficient to maintain me as I have been accus- 
 tomed, or as my sisters do live? Am I sure that I 
 have really engaged his affections? Without this, a 
 heart of sensibility will struggle against a passion that 
 is not reciprocated." A nephew of Washington, Mr. 
 Laurence Lewis, became, about this time, a resident 
 at Mt. Vernon. The influx of visitors was so great 
 that it became a part of Major Lewis' duty to assist 
 his uncle in paying necessary attention to the guests. 
 It w^as soon evident that a strong attachment subsisted 
 between Miss Custis and Mr. Lewis. A formidable 
 rival appeared in the person of young Mr. Carrol of 
 Carrolton, who had just returned from Europe adorned 
 with the graces of foreign travel, whose suit, too, 
 Mrs. Washington was said to encourage. The nup- 
 tials of Miss Custis and Major Lewis were celebrated 
 
154 
 
 MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. 
 
 on the 22d of February, 1779. The newly married 
 couple were settled on a part of the Mt. Vernon lands, 
 which he had designated in his will to be given to 
 Miss Nell}'. Washington was now at the haven of 
 repose, to which his eyes had been long turned. In 
 his rides in the vicinage of his home, melancholy 
 thoughts would arise to sadden the landscape, as his 
 mind reverted to former associations. In a letter to 
 Mrs. Fairfax, then in England, he writes : "It is a 
 matter of deep regret, when I cast my eyes toward 
 Belvoir, that the former occupants are no longer there ; 
 the ruins of your beautiful home, serve as mementoes of 
 pleasure that have passed away. Washington, al- 
 though winter had now set in with occasional wind and 
 rain and frost, still kept up his active round of in-door 
 and out-door associations, as his diary proves. He 
 was in full health ; dined out occasionally ; was part 
 of every day in the saddle, going the rounds of his 
 estates, as he dearly loved agricultural pursuits. But 
 in the retirement of his happy home, he could not re- 
 press the solicitude with which he contemplated pass- 
 ing events. The condition of the country at the close 
 of Washinp-ton's administration seemed to be prom- 
 ising. At home, a sound credit had been created ; 
 the difficulties incident to a system of internal taxation 
 on its first introduction, had been surmounted; the 
 authority of the government was firmly established. 
 The numerous tribes of Indians inhabiting the im- 
 mense tracts which lie between the cultivated country 
 and the Mississippi, had been taught by arms and by 
 justice to respect the United States. Abroad, the 
 troubles with Spain had been accommodated and the 
 free navigation of the Mississippi had been acquired, 
 
MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. 1 55 
 
 with the use of New Orleans as a depot, for three 
 3'^ears,* until some other equivalent place could be' des- 
 ignated. Treaties had been made with the Barbary 
 States. But now the growing discontents of the 
 French Republic began to lower. Gen. Pinckney, 
 who had been sent to France as the successor of Mr. 
 Monroe, was rejected b}'' the French Directory. The 
 Directory announced to Mr. Pinckney their determina- 
 tion not to receive another minister from the United 
 States until after a redress of grievances. Mr. Mon- 
 roe had previously made known the complaint of the 
 French government. A war with France soon became 
 probable ! The eyes of all were directed to Gen. 
 Washington as the person who should command the 
 American army. Mr. McHenry, the secretary of 
 war, was sent to Mt. Vernon with a commissipn 
 signed b}^ President Adams, with the earnest request 
 that Washington would accept the position of lieuten- 
 ant-general provided France should actually declare 
 war with the United Slates. Gen. Washington de- 
 termined not to refuse once more to take the field, if 
 circumstances rendered it necessary, provided he could 
 be permitted to secure efficient aid, by naming the 
 chief officers of the army, and should only be drawn 
 into service in the event of actual invasion. " I can 
 never," said he,"" withhold my services from my coun- 
 try, when they are required. I would not remain an idle 
 spectator under the plea of age or retirement. A war 
 with France was surely a most undesirable thing, in- 
 dependently of all the terrible concomitants of war ; 
 
 * In 1803, Louisiana— that is, all the country between the Missis- 
 sippi and the Rocky Mountains — was purchased by the United States 
 for fifteen millions of dollars. 
 
156 MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. . 
 
 for France had but a few years before assisted us in 
 gaining our independence. A war with France, there- 
 fore, would have had an ungracious and ungrateful 
 aspect. It is true, that the French government was 
 wholly changed ; it was at that time under the control 
 of an arrogant and lawless directory, who had ruth- 
 lessly shed (at least when Robespierre was at the head) 
 the blood of their best citizens. Rochambeau, who 
 had commanded the French army under Washington, 
 in our Revolution, narrowly escaped the guillotine. 
 Nevertheless, it was proper that every effort should be 
 made, and the cup of reconciliation drained to the last 
 drop, than as an enem)'^ meet in deadly strife an army 
 who had so lately battled for us. It would have been, 
 doubtless, an unwilling service to a majority of the 
 American people. Gen. Washington had never be- 
 lieved that France would invade America, being fully 
 persuaded that it was not the interest of France. In- 
 direct pacific overtures were made, and a willingness 
 on the part of France to accommodate existing differ- 
 ences, was communicated before America was ready for 
 war. The President (Mr. Adams) eagerly accepted the 
 overtures, and again appointed three envoys extraor- 
 dinary and ministers plenipotentiary to the French 
 Republic. These ambassadors found the French gov- 
 ernment in the hands of one who had no part in the 
 former imbroglio. With him they entered into ami- 
 cable negotiations. Gen. Washington did not live to 
 witness the restoration of peace. 
 
MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. I57 
 
 CHAPTER XXX. 
 
 How sleep the brave, who sink to rest 
 Bj all their country's wishes blest? 
 When Spring, with dewy fingers cold, 
 Returns to deck their hallowed mold, 
 She there shall dress a sweeter sod 
 Than fancy's feet have ever trod. 
 There Honor comes, a pilgrim gray, 
 To bless the turf that wraps their clay; 
 And Freedom shall an hour repair, 
 To dwell a weeping hermit there. 
 
 He who had filled so large a place in the world's 
 history and in the world's esteem, was about to be 
 summoned to "the great white throne" seen by the 
 Apostle in vision, where both small and great must 
 stand. "The illness of Washinjjton was short and 
 severe. So short was his illness, that the news of his 
 death, at the seat of government, preceded the intelli- 
 gence of his sickness.' On Friday, the i3tii of De- 
 cember, 1799, while attending to some improvements 
 upon his estate, he was exposed to a slight rain, by 
 which his neck and hair became wet. Not thinking 
 of danger, he passed the afternoon as usual, but during 
 the night he was seized with ague, attended by pain 
 in the throat, a cough, and difficult deglutition. Be-- 
 lieving bleeding to be necessary, he was bled by one 
 of his attendants. He would not permit a servant to 
 be sent for a physician until daylight, as the weather 
 was harsh. Dr. Craik, his old friend, arrived about 
 II o'clock. He, perceiving at once the extreme dan- 
 ger of the patient, sent for two other physi-cians. 
 Speaking, which was very painful from the beginning, 
 became almost impracticable. After repeated efforts 
 
158 MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. 
 
 to be understood, he begged to be permitted to die 
 without interruption. To his friend, Dr. Craik, who 
 held his head, he said, with difficulty : " Doctor, I die 
 hard, but I am not afraid to die." He requested to be 
 left alone for a short time. Prayer had been a con- 
 firmed habit of his life. Mrs. Washington left not the 
 chamber of the sufferer, but was seen kneeling at his 
 bedside, her head resting upon her Bible, from which 
 she doubdess read, as she had opportunity, consoling 
 passages to her dying husband. 
 
 His breathing became easier a few minutes before 
 his death, and it is said (we suppose from the testimony 
 of Mrs. Washington, \^■ho was near him during the 
 whole time) that, breathing out this prayer, " Father 
 of mercies, take me to Th3'self," he fell asleep. He 
 said to Mr. Lear, his private secretary, " I am just 
 going. Have me decentl}^ buried, and do not let my 
 body be put into the vault until two days after I am 
 dead." Mr. Lear bowed assent. "Do you under- 
 stand me ?" said the General. Lear replied, " Yes, 
 sir." " 'T is well," said he. " He withdrew his 
 hand," says Mr. Lear, " and felt his own pulse. I 
 spoke to Dr. Craik, who now came to the bedside. 
 The General then placed his hands over his eyes, and 
 expired without a struggle." It was said, and believed 
 at the time, that General Washington closed his own 
 eyes; and "the writer is assured that such was the 
 fact, from one who had the. best opportunity of know- 
 ing." This is not a fact of much importance, but 
 serves to show that, although Mr. Lear's account may 
 be true as far as it goes, some things escaped his 
 notice. It has been a subject of remark, that there 
 was no minister of Christ with him, nor any of the 
 
MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. I59 
 
 offices of the church administered in aid of his faith 
 and hope. There were but a few hours of dayhght 
 during his illness. It was in the depth of winter, and 
 a heavy snow fell on the day of his illness and death. 
 There was no clcrg'vman within a less distance than 
 nine miles of Mount Vernon. The General considered 
 himself to be dying during the greater part of the day. 
 It is a most natural conclusions that a man who had 
 been so attentive to his religious difties during a long 
 life, would have desired, had it been practicable, to 
 have partaken of the memorials of the dying love of 
 his Redeemer, during his last hours. During all the 
 time that he was in the government, he was punctual 
 in his attendance on divine worship. On Sundays, 
 unless the weather was uncommonly severe, the Presi- 
 dent and Mrs. Washington attended divine service at 
 Christ's Church, Philadelphia — Bishop White was 
 then the rector — and in the evenings the President 
 read to Mrs. Washington, in her sitting-room, a sermon 
 on some portion of the sacred writings. After his 
 retirement from the chair of state, the church in Alex- 
 andria was his place of worship. The distance was 
 nine miles, 3'et his pew was seldom unoccupied. In 
 his earlier years he had worshiped at Pohick Church, 
 a forest sanctuary of Fairfax county. He was for 
 some years a vestryman of this church. Pohick 
 Church was probably in a ruinous condition at the 
 close of the war, as the records of this church show 
 that Washington worshiped there until the commence- 
 ment of the Revolutionary war. " I never knew," 
 says the Rev. Lee Masse\^ who was the rector of the 
 church at that time, *' a more constant attendant on 
 church. His behavior in the House of God was so 
 
l6o MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. 
 
 deeply reverential, that it produced the happiest effects 
 on my congregation. I have often been at Mount 
 Vernon on the Sabbath morning, when his breakfast 
 table was filled with guests ; but to him they furnished 
 no pretext for neglecting the worship of his God, for 
 instead of staying at home, out of ialse complaisance 
 to them, he always invited them to accompany him." 
 The deep and wide-spreading grief occasioned by 
 his de*ath, called together a great concourse of people 
 for the purpose ot paying the last tribute of respect to 
 the first of Americans. On Wednesday, the i8th of 
 December, attended by military honors and the offices 
 of religion, his body was deposited in the family, vault 
 at Mount Vernon. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXI. 
 
 Can that man be dead, 
 Whose spiritual influence is upon his kind? 
 He lives in glory; and his speaking dust 
 Has more of life than half its breathing molds. 
 
 WHENthe intelligence of Washington's death reached 
 Philadelphia, both houses of Congress adjourned. 
 The officers of government testified the greatest respect 
 for his memory. The whole natio"!! was in mourning ! 
 'T was not simply "the inky cloak," but genuine 
 grief. John Marshall announced his death in the fol- 
 lowing words : " The melancholy event announced 
 ' yesterday with doubt, has been rendered but too cer- 
 tain. Our Washington is no more ! The hero, the 
 patriot, and the sage of America — the man on whom, 
 in times of danger, every eye was turned and all 
 hopes were placed — lives now only in his own great 
 
MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. l6l 
 
 actions, and in the hearts of an affectionate and afflicted 
 people. If, sir, it had not been usual openly to testify 
 respect for the memory of those whom Heaven has se- 
 lected as its instruments for dispensing good to man, 
 yet such has been the uncommon worth, and such the 
 extraordinary incidents which have marked the life of 
 him whose loss we deplore, that the whole American 
 nation, impelled by the same feelings would call with 
 one voice for a public manifestation of that sorrow 
 which is so deep and so universal. More than any 
 other individual, and as much as to one individual wgs 
 possible, has lie contributed to found this our wide- 
 spreading empire, and to give to the Western v/orld 
 independence and freedom. Having effected this 
 great object, for which we placed him at the head of 
 our armies, we have seen him convert the sword into 
 the ploughshare and sink the soldier in the citizen. 
 When the debility of our federal system had become 
 manifest, and the bonds which connected this vast con- 
 tinent were dissolving, we have seen him the chief of 
 those patriots who formed for us a constitution, which 
 will, I trust, substantiate and perpetuate those bless- 
 ings which our revolution had promised to bestow. In 
 obedience to the general voice of his country, we have 
 seen him, in order to preside over a great people, once 
 more quit the retirement he loved, in a season more 
 stormy and tempestuous than war itself, with calm and 
 true determination pursue the true interests of the 
 nation, and contribute more than any other could con- 
 tribute to the establishment of that system of policy 
 which will, I trust, preserve our peace, our honor, 
 and our independence. However the public confi- 
 dence may change and the public affections fluctuate 
 
l62 MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. 
 
 with respect to others, with respect to him they have, 
 in war and in peace, in pubHc and in private life, been 
 as steady as his own firm mind, and as constant as his 
 own exahed virtues. Let us then, Mr. Speaker, pay 
 the last tribute of respect and affection to our departed 
 friend. Let the grand council of the nation display 
 those sentiments which the nation feels." General 
 Lee (Light-horse Harry) prepared the resolutions 
 which Judge Marshall presented to the House. In 
 one of these resolutions the saying occurs, then we 
 believe for the first time, " First in vvar, first in peace, 
 and first in the hearts of his countrymen." This ex- 
 pressive apothegm has become hackneyed, and by con- 
 stant repetition has lost much of its beauty and force. 
 All classes and conditions bore testimony to the loved 
 veneration that dwelt in their hearts for the Father of 
 his Country. A little incident that occurred to the 
 writer, when young, and when leaving home for the 
 first time, may serve to show how abiding has been 
 this love of the American people. We were ascend- 
 ing the Potomac river, in one of the boats tliat ply 
 weekly between Baltimore and Washington, when 
 suddenly the boat paused, and a sweet strain of music 
 was heard. "What does that mean," I inquired. "We 
 are passing- Mt. Vernon, madam ; and this is our usual 
 sahUe to the tomb of Washington." My eyes filled 
 with tears as I thought of the love that still dwelt in 
 the hearts of our people. Byron speaks very beauti- 
 fully of the burial-place of Napoleon I. : 
 
 "That name shall hallow the ignoble shore, 
 A talisman to all, save him who bore. 
 The fleets that sweep before the eastern blast 
 Shall hear their sea-boys hail it from the mast." 
 
MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. 1 63 
 
 This, indeed, is fame. Yet the exercise of a mighty 
 intellect uncombined with goodness, with the benevo- 
 lence of the heart and with the purity of the life, can 
 never produce deep feelings of love and veneration 
 that will endure. If great deeds a: e performed, 
 merely for self-exaltation, the idol and the idolatry 
 will perish together. The national pride of the French 
 exulted for a time in the "blazing reign" and won- 
 derful achievements of Napoleon I., who delivered 
 them from anarchy and bloody tyranny. The efful- 
 gence of his brilliant track rested for a time on the 
 head of his distinguished nephew, until he had at- 
 tained a pinnacle of power that astonished the nations ; 
 but his fall was signal. Both uncle and nephew 
 crossed " the Rubicon of man's awakened rights." 
 
 The mother of Washington lived to the great age of 
 eighty-three. Her home was in Fredericksburg, Vir- 
 ginia, about fifty miles from Mt. Vernon. He usually 
 visited his mother twice a year when not prevented by 
 public engagements. There are several of his letters 
 to his mother; also letters to his sister specially in re- 
 gard to his mother, breathing a most affectionate and 
 filial spirit. In a Fredericksburg paper of March 12, 
 1789, we find the subjoined notice of a visit of Wash- 
 ington to his mother: "On Saturday evening last, 
 His Excellency, Gen. Washington, arrived in town 
 from Mt. Vernon. The object of his Excellency's 
 visit, at this time, is to take leave of jiis aged mother, 
 sister, and friends, previous to his departure for the 
 new Congress, over the councils of which, the united 
 voice of America has called him to preside." This 
 was the last interview Washington had with his mother, 
 as she died in the following August. A part of the 
 
164 MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. 
 
 mourning-dress that Washington wore in remembrance 
 of his mother's death, has been preserved by his rela- 
 tives. The following sentence is found in his last will 
 and testament : " To my dearly beloved wife, Martha 
 Washington, 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." On the sad night 
 of his dissolution, when attendants were preparing his 
 body for the grave, a miniature likeness of his wife, 
 was found on his breast, where it had hung suspended 
 by a ribbon for more than forty 3'ears. 
 
 It is well known that Washington had no children, 
 but he considered the grandchildren of his wife as he 
 did his own relations, more especially those two whom 
 they had reared from their earliest infancy, — "Where- 
 fore, I give and bequeath," etc. 
 
 Against duelling, drunkenness, swearing, and gam- 
 bling, Washington entered many .protests. His own 
 life and manners were a rebuke to unchastity and im- 
 modest}^ either in word or a'ct. From the Orderly 
 Book, August 30, 1776 : " The General is sorry to be 
 informed that the foolish and wicked practice of pro- 
 fane swearing is growing in fashion — a vice heretofore 
 little known in an American army. He hopes the 
 officers will, by example as well as influence, endeavor 
 to check it, and that they and the men will reflect that 
 we can have little hope of the blessing of Heaven on 
 our arms, if we insult it by our impiety and lolly. 
 Added to this, it is a vice so mean and low, without any 
 temptation, that every man of sense and character 
 must detest and despise it." 
 
MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. , 165 
 
 In a circular to .his brigadier-generals, dated 26th 
 of May, 1777' ^^'^ t^^^ following instructions: "Let 
 vice and immorality of every kind be discouraged as 
 much as possible in your brigade ; and, as a chaplain 
 has been appointed to each regiment, see that the men 
 regularly attend divine worship. Gaming of every 
 kind is expressly forbidden, as being the foundation 
 of evil, and the cause of many a brave and gallant 
 officer's ruin. Games of exercise, for amusement, 
 must not only be permitted but encouraged." 
 
 In a letter to his nephew, Bushrod Washington, 
 who was then a student at Philadelphia, he says : 
 " Remember that it is not the mere study of the law, 
 but to become eminent in the profession of it, that is 
 to yield honor and profit. The first was your choice; 
 let the second be your ambition. Dissipation is in- 
 compatible with both. The company in which you 
 will improve most will be the least expensive to you, 
 yet I am not such a stoic as to imagine that you will, 
 or to think it right that you should, always 4o be in 
 company with senators or philosophers; but of your 
 juvenile associates, let me advise you to be choice. 
 It is easy to make acquaintances, but not so easy 
 to shake them off' when we find tliem unworthy. 
 Be courteous to all, but intimate with few. True 
 friendship is a plant of slow growth. Let your heart 
 feel for the distresses of every one, and let your hand 
 give in proportion to your purse, remembering the 
 estimation of the widow's mite. All who ask are not 
 worthy of charit}^ but all are worthy of the inquiry^ 
 or the deserving may sufler." He then gives sound 
 advice with regard to dress, and most emphalical con- 
 demnation with regard to vices to which young men 
 
l66 MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. 
 
 are liable. He says of gaming, "It is the child of 
 avarice, the brother of iniquity, and the father of 
 mischief." 
 
 CHAPTER XXXH. 
 
 O! je who bask in Fortune's sun 
 And Hope's bright garlands wear, 
 Your blessings, from the God of Love, 
 Let h\% poor children share! 
 
 For those 3'oung people for whom we chiefly write, 
 especially boys, who sometimes think it an evidence 
 of a want of spirit to acknowledge a fault, I will re- 
 count the following authentic anecdote : In the year 
 1754, when Washington was about twenty-two }'ears 
 of age, he was stationea in Alexandria, as colonel of 
 a regiment of Virginia troops. During his stay in 
 that town, an election for members of the House of 
 Burgesses took place. His warm friendship for Col. 
 George Fairfax, one of the candidates, brought him 
 into collision with Mr. Payne, the friend of the other 
 candidate, Mr. Elzey. In consequence of some of- 
 fensive language, into which he was betrayed toward 
 Mr. Payne, that individual struck him with a stick, 
 and, so violent was the blow, that it knocked him 
 down. There was great excitement among the officers 
 and men because of the indignity offered to their be- 
 loved commander. He forthwith emploj'ed his in- 
 fluence in allaying the tumult, and "then retired to his 
 lodgings. From thence he wrote a note to Payne, 
 requesting him to meet him next morning, as he 
 wished to see him in reference to their recent disagree- 
 ment. Payne met him at the appointed place, antici- 
 
MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. l6*J 
 
 pating an unpleasant interview ; but, instead of a 
 hostile meeting, Washington asked his pardon for the 
 passionate and improper language he had used in an 
 unguarded moment. Payne witnessed with admiration 
 this triumph of principle over passion, and a friendship 
 was kindled in his bosom that he did not cease to 
 cherish as longf as he lived. 
 
 Gen. Washington left a large estate. He inherited 
 from his father a small property. His elder brother 
 bequeathed to him Mount Vernon. He received a 
 large accession of wealth from his wife. He made 
 extensive purchases of unimproved land, not only in 
 Virginia, but in other states. A schedule appended 
 to his will of that part of his property which was to be 
 sold, for distribution among his general heirs, amounts 
 to about half a million dollars. General Washington 
 provided that, on the death of his wife, all the slaves 
 held by him in his own right should be emancipated. 
 "To give them their freedom during Aer life," the will 
 proceeds, " would, though earnestly desired by me, 
 be attended with such difficulties, on account of their 
 marriages with the dower negroes, as to excite the 
 most painful sensations." For those emancipated, a 
 comfortable support was provided for those unable to 
 support themselves, by his heirs. Those who were 
 too young to support themselves, were to be bound by 
 the court till they were twentj'-five years of age. 
 They were. to be taught to read and write by the mas- 
 ters to whom they were bound, and brought up to some 
 useful occupation. 
 
 The will expressly forbids the sale or transportation 
 of slaves out of Virginia, of whom he might die pos- 
 sessed. "And I do most pointedly enjoin upon my 
 
l68 MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. 
 
 executors, to see that this clause respecting my slaves 
 be religiously fulfilled, without evasion, neglect, or 
 dut}^ A regular and permanent fund must be estab- 
 lished for their support, so long as there are subjects 
 requiring it, not trusting to the uncertain provision to 
 be made b}^ individuals.'''' To the servant who had at- 
 tended him during the war, immediate freedom was 
 given. Food and clothes were to be supplied to him, 
 and an annuity of thirty dollars. He was to have a 
 home on the Mount Vernon plantation, so long as he 
 would choose to remain in the situation he then occu- 
 pied. The estate of Mount Vernon was bequeathed 
 to his nephew, Bushrod Washington, at the death of 
 his wife. This nephew was afterward one of the asso- 
 ciate judges of the Supreme Court of the United States. 
 Gen. Washington was, as we have seen, an owner of 
 slaves. He was a just, humane, and thoughtful mas- 
 ter, considerate of their comfort, welfare, and happi- 
 ness. He was born to this inheritance. He was op- 
 posed to slavery in the abstract. He lived at a time 
 when the subject was but little agitated. This evil had 
 been entailed upon the Southern colonies more than 
 a century previous, against their will. The first slaves 
 had been brought to Virginia, about 1620, in a Dutch 
 ship. The ministry of the mother country insisted 
 that the American Plantations should receive them, 
 supposing that their labor would increase the revenue. 
 Succeeding generations, born to this inheritance, ex- 
 ercised little thought in regard to slavery. The cruel 
 or neglectful, as well as the hard task-master, was al- 
 ways despised by the good and refined ; but whether 
 a moral wrong was involved'in the institution of slav- 
 ery, was little discussed or thought of until within the 
 
MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. 169 
 
 last half centuiy. Almost all acknowledged thai 
 slavery in the abstract was wrong. The most beau- 
 tiful traits of character were not unfrequently exhib- 
 ited, both on the part of master and dependent. The 
 moral wrong of a traffic in slaves was always recog- 
 nized by the conscientious people of the South, and was 
 regarded with horror ; yet it seemed almost inseparable 
 from the odious system. In 1808 the Southern States 
 were foremost in uniting with the other states in pro- 
 hibiting the African slave-trade. In 1785, Washing- 
 ton said, in a letter to Mr. Morris, " I will never pos- 
 sess another slave by purchase ;" and again, in the 
 same year, he uses these words : " There is not a man 
 living, who wishes more sincerely than I do, to see a 
 plan adopted for the abolition of slavery ; but there is 
 only one proper, effectual mode by which it can be 
 accomplished, and that is legislative authority, and 
 this, so far as my suffrage will go, shall never be 
 wanting." Legislative authority did make efforts to 
 adopt a system of gradual emancipation, especially in 
 Virginia, in 1832. This subject was before the legis- 
 lature at that time, and nearly all the best minds of 
 the House were on the side of emancipation ; but 
 nothing was done. The terrible evil has been re- 
 moved ! But how ? By a baptism of blood ! The 
 only good that proceeded from the late terrible civil 
 war, was the removal of slavery. The late civil war, 
 you will remember, raged furiously from April, 1861, 
 to 1865. Thousands of the best and bravest of the 
 land were sacrificed on both sides. The fairest 
 portions of the South were desolated. When the war 
 closed, slavery was gone ! We turn from a hasty 
 glance at the late war to the proper subject of our 
 
lyo MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. 
 
 memoir. Our task is nearly done. Washington's 
 death startled his countrymen like an electric shock, 
 though he had arrived at the mature age of sixty-eight. 
 We have attempted to sketch in a simple, inartificial 
 way, some of the most interesting and conspicuous 
 incidents in the life of a remarkable man. A biogra- 
 phy of Washington must of necessity be a history of 
 the United States, for from the middle of the eighteenth 
 century to its close, he was the central figure in every 
 picture that may be drawn of national afl^airs. What 
 a priceless heritage to the American people has been 
 the virtuous, unselfish, and Christian life of Washing- 
 ton ! There was a harmony in his life that, like sweet 
 bells sounding down the track of time, has poured 
 forth melody and unison, and has diffused an influence 
 for good through all American history. 
 
 Note. — Mrs. Washington died in Alexandria in 
 1802. She survived her illustrious husband but little 
 more than two years. From the commencement of 
 her illness, which she bore with great composure, she 
 declared she was undergoing the final struggle, and 
 had long been prepared for her dissolution. She took 
 the sacrament of the Lord's Supper from Dr. Davis, 
 Rector of Christ's Church, Alexandria. She then 
 sent for a white dress, which she had laid by for her 
 last dress. In all the relations of life Mrs. W. had 
 been truly exemplary. 
 
 What hallows ground where heroes sleep? 
 'T is not the sculptured piles jou heap. 
 In dews that heavens far distant weep 
 
 Their turf may bloom ; 
 Or genii twine beneath the deep 
 
 Their coral tomb. 
 
MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. I7I 
 
 But strew his ashes to the wind 
 
 Whose s'Mord ov voice has served mankind — 
 
 And is he dead whose glorious mind 
 
 Lifts thine on high? 
 To live in hearts we leave behind, 
 
 Is not to die. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIII. 
 
 The subject of this chapter will be the pictures and 
 statues of Washington ; yet, before we speak of the 
 representations of the physical man, we would recur 
 again to the grand features of his moral and religious 
 life. Washington did not live in a religious age. In 
 the early days of colonization, England, or the mother 
 church, showed much religious care for her colonies, 
 in building large church edifices and in sending godly 
 and learned ministers to officiate in them ; but for a 
 considerable portion of the eighteenth century, there 
 was a lamentable decline of piety, both in the clergy 
 and in the laity. There were some, doubtless, who 
 kept alive the flame of devotion, and who had not (as 
 in the days of Elijah) bowed the knee to Baal, but 
 much coldness and indifference prevailed. The Revo- 
 lutionary war did not tend to encourage a religious 
 spirit, and the French Revolution, which came quickly 
 after it, like a great tidal wave, deluged France with 
 infidelity, and not only infected for a time the youth 
 of America, but touched with poison some of our most 
 distinguished men : yet Washington, in this irreligious 
 age, held fast to his integrity, and continued to worship 
 in the church of his fathers devoutly and regularly. 
 In all his official documents, both in war and in peace, 
 
172 MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. 
 
 he recognizes the superintending providence of God, 
 and especially in the circuhirs to the governors of the 
 states, and in his farewell address, he commends them 
 to "the Divine author of our blessed religion," and 
 speaks of the pure and benign light of Revelation. 
 Much testimony has been adduced from his aids and 
 officers to prove that Washington was in the daily 
 habit of private prayer. Colonel Benjamin Temple, 
 one of his aids, testifies, that on sudden, unexpected 
 visits, he more than once found him on his knees, at 
 his devotions, in the marquee. During the winter at 
 Valley Forge, when the whole army were crowded 
 together in log huts, it is said, on good authority, that 
 Washington regularly retired to a neighboring wood 
 for the purpose of private prayer. There were several 
 famous infidels in England at this time, and among 
 them Thomas Payne, who came over to America and 
 professed much interest in our affairs. He wrote an 
 able political pamphlet called " The Rights of Man," 
 which enabled him to circulate one of the worst books 
 ever published. This book was called " The Age of 
 Reason." It was written to undermine the faith of 
 Christians in the New Testament. Amid all the up- 
 heavals of society, and an intense, bitter spirit of 
 scoffing infidelity. General Washington was an earnest, 
 sincere believer in the Gospel of our Lord Jesus 
 Christ. 
 
 The pictures and statues of Washington are very 
 numerous. His portraiture is to be seen either on 
 canvas or in marble or brass in every hall and gallery 
 throughout the length and breadth of the land. The 
 pictures so much resemble each other, that a glance 
 reveals for whom it is intended ; yet there are such 
 
MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. 1 73 
 
 obvious points of difference in the work of different 
 artists, that critics can easily detect the hand of the 
 master who executed the work. Artists came over 
 both from England and France to take his likeness. 
 The portraits of Peale are very numerous. Trumbull, 
 who also painted several portraits of Washington, was 
 for some time one of the aids of Washington, and 
 therefore had excellent opportunities of sketching 
 accurately his features and of catching every varied 
 expression. The portrait in the rotunda of the Capitol 
 at Washington is a very spirited copy of one of Trum- 
 bull's pictures, taken from an original painting in the 
 gallery at New Haven. He painted one for Charles- 
 ton, South Carolina. The idea of the artist in this 
 picture was to depict him just before the battle of 
 Trenton. He sees the superior numbers of the enemy : 
 he knows the impossibility of recrossing the Delaware. 
 The artist attempts to represent the moment of heroic 
 resolve to conquer or to perisli. When Trumbull told 
 Washington of his intention to represent him in this 
 connection, Washington became excited at the thought 
 of that eventful moment, and he recited, with glowing 
 interest, the feelings and circumstances of that dread 
 time. Trumbull caught the inspiration, and, as far as 
 canvas can express, depicted the sublime emotion of 
 that hour. When La Fayette first saw this picture, it 
 is said he uttered an exclamation of delight. 
 
 Gilbert Stuart came over from England to America 
 with the especial purpose of making a portrait of 
 Washington. He came in 1794. He painted Wash- 
 ington as a hero in retirement. Stuart painted three 
 pictures from Washington himself, and also made 
 several copies. Mr. Irving very eloquently says of 
 
174 MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. 
 
 this representation of Stuart: "Let such pictures as 
 David's Napoleon, with prancing steed, flashing eye, 
 and waving sword, represent the mere victor and mili- 
 tary genius ; but he who spurned a crown and knew 
 no watchword but duty, no goal but freedom and 
 justice, and no reward but the approval of conscience 
 and the gratitude of his countrymen, lives more appro- 
 priately, both to memory and in art, under the aspect 
 of a finished life, crowned with the harvest of honor 
 and peace, and serene in the consummation of disin- 
 terested purpose." 
 
 One of Stuart's pictures was taken at the request of 
 Mrs. Washington, who wished to place it among the 
 famil}'^ pictures at Mount Vernon. 
 
 Mr. Jefferson, on behalf of the State of Virginia, 
 arranged with Houdon, a sculptor of great merit, to 
 come to America to make a marble statue of Washing- 
 ton. He came over with Dr. Franklin, and remained 
 long enough at Mount Vernon to execute the head of 
 the statue. He finished it at Paris. It is said Gouv- 
 erneur Morris, whose figure strongly resembled that 
 of Washington, stood frequently before the sculptor as 
 the representative of his great countryman. This 
 statue of Houdon's is in the Capitol at Richmond, 
 Virginia. There is a statue of Washington, taken 
 by Canova, in the State House at Raleigh, North 
 Carolina. 
 
 One of the finest statues of Washington is an eques- 
 trian statue executed by Crawford, an American artist. 
 Crawford was a New Yorker. He saw in a Rich- 
 mond newspaper, proposals for a monument by the 
 State of Virginia. The central figure was to be a 
 
MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. 1 75 
 
 colossal figure of Washington. Grouped around on a 
 star-shaped pedestal, were to be six figures of the 
 great statesmen of Virginia. Crawford sent his model 
 of Washington to Richmond, and it was preferred 
 unanimously to any other model sent. Crawford went 
 immediately to Italy to perfect his work. He after- 
 ward went to Munich, as the statue or statues were to 
 be cast in bronze in a Munich foundry. This statue 
 of Washington is twenty-five feet liigh ; it was cast 
 under the immediate personal superintendence of 
 Crawford, The Richmond people testified their en- 
 thusiasm when the ship arrived, by dragging the 
 statue to Capitol Hill, the place of erection. The 
 ship that brought this statue, brought the sad intelli- 
 gence of the artist's death. He only lived to finish, 
 besides the equestrian statue of Washington, the statue 
 of Patrick Henry. Like many other gilted men, he 
 had overtasked his physical strength in his enthusi- 
 astic devotion to his profession. " He wing'd the 
 shaft that quivered in his heart." It is a blest and 
 beautiful art which recalls vividly to our minds the 
 image upon which we love to dwell, though the im- 
 pression of our loved ones is deeply graven in our 
 hearts ; yet the painter's touch or the sculptor's chisel 
 serves to quicken our conceptions and to give life and 
 coloring to those who have been removed from us. 
 It is an honorable and laudable national pride that 
 would perpetuate the forms of heroes and good men, 
 in brass or marble. But no statue or painting, how- 
 ever imposing and beautiful, can fill the mind with 
 such sublime emotions, as the contemplation of a well- 
 spent life ! 
 
176 MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. 
 
 Thou who stealest fire, 
 From the fountains of the past, 
 
 To glorify the present, oh haste ! 
 Visit my desire. 
 
 Strengthen me, enlighten me, 
 I faint in this obscurity, 
 Thou dewy dawn of Memory ! 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIV. 
 
 MOUNT VERNON — CONCLUDING CHAPTER. 
 
 We have spoken, in the early part of this vohjme, 
 of Mount Vernon. We have told our young readers 
 from whom it was derived, and from whom it received 
 its name. I now ask them to revisit with me the re- 
 vered place. Seventy-three years have passed since 
 Washinijton was laid in the tomb. Pilcrrims resort 
 thither, 3-ear after 3'ear, to visit his burial-place and 
 the home he for many years gladdened with his pres- 
 ence. Many years since, we saw this place, so dear to 
 every American heart. Mount Vernon is eight miles 
 from Alexandria, in Fairfax county, Virginia, and 
 fifteen miles from Washington -City. The mansion is 
 built of wood cut in imitation of free-stone. The cen- 
 tral part of this building, it is said, was built by Law- 
 rence Washington ; the wings were added by General 
 Washington. The rooms of the house are spacious 
 and commodious, with some degree of elegance in 
 the arrangement ; but the whole is marked with great 
 simplicity. There is a high piazza on the eastern 
 front of the house. Under this piazza, we are told, 
 upon the pavement of flat stones, Washington used to 
 walk to and fro, with a military regularity, every morn- 
 
MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. I77 
 
 ing, the noble Potomac in full view, spreading out to 
 the width of a bay at the foot of the mount, and the 
 shore of Mar3'land lining its eastern horizon. By the 
 side of the door hung the spy-glass, through which he 
 watched the passing objects on the river. There is 
 one room which he used as a dining-room, where he 
 used to meet his friends and political visitors. The 
 furniture of this room is just as he used it. We re- 
 member that, as we entered this room, our attention 
 was directed to a huge brass key that hung upon the 
 wall. It had been sent to Washington by La Fayette, 
 as an interesting relic. This hold of tyranny, the 
 Baslile, was destroyed by the French people, my young 
 readers will remember, on the 14th of July, 1789. All 
 the friends of liberty throughout the civilized world 
 rejoiced at the demolition of this hideous prison. You 
 know that we learn from Holy Scripture that in the 
 ancient Roman Empire "it was deemed unreasonable 
 to send a prisoner to be judged without signifying the 
 crimes laid against him ;" but in modern France, pre- 
 vious to the French Revolution, men were thrown into 
 the Bastile, when they had offended some of the 
 ministers of government, by a " lettre de cachet," 
 without knowing for what particular offense tliey were 
 imprisoned. They only, I suppose, who have lived 
 where the only law was the monarch's will, can fully 
 appreciate the blessings of a constitutional govern- 
 ment. 
 
 We must return to our theme — Mount Vernon. The 
 rich verdure of the lawns, the neat hedges of the old- 
 fashioned gardens, the grand old trees, and, beyond 
 all, the tomb that incloses all that was mortal of Wash- 
 ington, imparted an inexpressible interestto the revered 
 
178 MEMOIR OF WASHITVOTON. 
 
 place. In a retired spot, at a short distance from the 
 house, we found the family tomb. We looked through 
 a barred iron gate and saw two sarcophagi of white 
 marble, side by side, containing the remains of Wash- 
 ington and his beloved wife, Martha Washington. 
 But it was not what the eye gazed upon that filled us 
 with strange, unwonted emotion. The spirits of the 
 glorious dead seemed to hover around. Washington 
 and many of his noble compeers here had roamed. 
 Here they had planned and digested the schemes that 
 had borne for us such goodly fruit, and had presented 
 a model of government for the imitation of mankind. 
 Thoughts such as these came thronging. " Each 
 object was dim with associations, the shadow of some- 
 thing great and past." It was enchanted ground, and 
 we walked amid the silent shades of Mount Vernon as 
 those who dream. 
 
 "The waters murmured of their names, 
 The woods were peopled with their fame ; 
 The silent pillar, lone and graj^, 
 Claimed kindred with their sacred claj." 
 
 Should any of my young readers ever visit this spot, 
 so dear, to every American heart, do not turn away 
 with disappointment from the gray, time-worn aspect 
 of the house which was once the resort of the wisest 
 and most virtuous of the land. This hospitable home 
 of refinement and exalted sentiment, and also ever and 
 anon of festal cheer, must always have been a simple, 
 unostentatious structure, not to be compared with the 
 palaces that we now see in commercial capitals on 
 every hand. We appreciate the skill of the architect, 
 and the taste of him who adorns the inner rooms with 
 rare and exquisite articles of veriu, convenience, and 
 
MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. 
 
 179 
 
 luxury ; but these baubles (baubles by comparison) 
 can not invest a dwellincr with the elevatin<j associa- 
 tions which cluster around the places, however faded 
 and time-worn, that the great and good have called 
 their own ; — men who lived not merely for themselves 
 but for posterity, leaving us as a nation a legacy be- 
 yond all price. The great dramatist says : 
 
 " Heaven doth with us as we with torches do. 
 Not light them for tliemselves, for if our virtues 
 Did not go forth of us, 't were all alike, 
 As if we had them not. Spirits are not 
 Finely touched, but to fine issues — " 
 
 The centennial anniversary of the beginning of this 
 republic is at hand. In three years the cycle will be 
 complete. America is regarded as the youngest of 
 the nations. Some few men, now living, knew her 
 as a colony. If years were measured by what is 
 achieved by progress in arts, and in all knowledge 
 that has tended to increase comfort and material civil- 
 ization, the century that is about to close, might be 
 regarded as almost immeasurable. The thpteen col- 
 onies of our ancestors have become a mighty empire, 
 extending from ocean to ocean. Space has been al- 
 most annihilated b}^ steam. A girdle has been put 
 around our hemisphere. China and Japan now send 
 their products by our railways to continental Europe. 
 The ends of the earth have come tocjether. When 
 American Christians first sent missionaries to the Chi- 
 nese, they little dreamed that tens of thousands of 
 those pagans would come to our own shores and a door 
 for their evangelization be opened in our own country. 
 But notwithstandincr our blessincrs, "how restless is 
 man ! Grim-visaged war has frowned upon us three 
 
l8o MEMOIR OF WASHINGTON. 
 
 times during this century: the war of 1812, the war 
 with Mexico in 1845, and the war between the North 
 and South, from April, 1861 to April, 1865 — a war 
 never to be forgotten so long as one actor or one spec- 
 tator of the bloody drama survives. It will long be 
 remembered, we trust, as a warning to our people to 
 avoid all unnecessar}^ war. May the flames of war 
 never again be rekindled on these shores ! But there 
 are also evils incident to a long-continued peace. 
 Peace and prosperity tend to luxury and self-indul- 
 gence, and these degenerate into licentiousness and 
 sin. " Righteousness exalteth a nation, but sin is a 
 reproach to any people." There can be no well- 
 founded hope of the perpetuity of our institutions, un- 
 less there be in the people a strong abiding sense of 
 God's presence and of moral accountability. All 
 social reforms must be distrusted, which are not 
 founded on individual reformation. There is no hope 
 for man, either in time or eternity, unless his passions 
 are governed and his wicked propensities are subju- 
 gated. The mere education of the intellect can not 
 accomplish this end. The intellectual nature may be 
 highly cultivated, while the heart or moral part of our 
 nature may be as "a cage of unclean birds." There 
 is an abundant provision in this land for the education 
 of the mental powers. Are our homes and churches 
 equally zealous in training and regulating the moral 
 affections? The heart must be touched by a power 
 above ourselves. This instrument must be attuned to 
 harmony by the Hand that made it. 
 
 "Ah ! if our souls but poise and swing, 
 Like the compass in its brazen ring, 
 Ever level and ever true 
 To the toil and the work we have to do, 
 We shall sail securely and safely reach 
 The Fortunate Isles, on whose shining beach 
 The sights we see, and the sounds we hear, 
 ' Will be those of joy, and not of fear." 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 LAS CASAS — A NOTE ON THE INTRODUCTION. 
 
 We have referred our readers to a note at the end of 
 the volume. We wished, in speaking of the remarkable 
 men of the sixteenth century, to speak of Las Casas, the 
 bishop of Chiapa. This remarkable man was born at 
 Seville, in Spain, in 1474. After completing his studies in 
 law and divinity, at the University of Salamanca, he em- 
 barked for the New World. His father had accompanied 
 Columbus in his first voyage, and had acquired wealth in 
 his vocation. Las Casas now accompanied Oviedo in the 
 most brilliant armament that had ever been equipped for 
 the Western World. A few years after, he was admitted 
 to priest's orders in St. Domingo — memorable because he 
 was the first ecclesiastic ordained in the colonies. Seeing 
 tlie ignorance of the native population, and witnessing, 
 with shame and distress, their cruel oppi'ession by his 
 countrymen, he determined to use all his energies to im- 
 prove their condition ; his Avhole heart yearned for their 
 amelioration and enfranchisement. He was inspired by 
 one great and glorious idea. He has commended himself 
 to posterity, not by discoveries by sea and land, like some 
 of his contemporaries, but in listening to the voice of con- 
 science, or to the Holy Spirit within him, that bade him 
 arise and consecrate his eff'orts for the good of those around 
 him. It was a general idea, in his age, that it was not 
 wrong to enslave the heathen. Even the benevolent Las 
 Casas, when he saw the physical weakness of the Indian, 
 and how they were melting away under the ojDpressive 
 scheme of the repartunientos, recommended the importa- 
 tion of the more hardy negroes. This plan had been pre- 
 
182 APPENDIX. 
 
 viously proposed, by the wisest and most benevolent, as a 
 means of lessening the amount of human suffering. Las 
 Casas afterward confesses with deep regret and humility 
 that he had ever sanctioned the plan of the importation 
 of negroes, saying such advice was founded on erroneous 
 views; "that the same law applied equally to the negro as 
 to the Indian." He was one of those to whose gifted 
 minds are revealed those glorious moral truths which, like 
 the lights of heaven, are fixed and the same forever, but 
 which, though now familiar, were hidden from the many 
 by the general darkness of the time in which the}^ lived. 
 For the furtherance of his benevolent views, he crossed 
 the sea five times to obtain patronage and authority at 
 home. Nothing daunted by the presence of royalt}^ he 
 pleaded the cause of" the poor Indian " before Charles the 
 Fifth. The government testified their sense of his signal 
 services in the colonies and in the cause of humanity by 
 presenting him with the bishopric of Cuzco— one of the 
 richest sees in their gift. He refused it, not coveting 
 riches or preferment; but he accepted the bishopric of 
 Chiapa, because, from the poverty and ignorance of its in- 
 habitants, it offered a wider field for spiritual labor. He 
 preached, also, to the wild tribes of Nicaragua and Guate- 
 mala a century before the good Elliott preached to the 
 Indian tribes of Massachusetts. 
 
 NOTE ON THE FIRST CHAPTER, WITH REGARD TO OLD STYLE 
 AND NEW STYLE. 
 
 We have said General Washington was born on the 22d 
 February, 1732— old style, 11th February. For the in- 
 struction of our young readers, we will add that the sub- 
 ject of our memoir was born twenty years before our cal- 
 endar was reformed. Pope Gregory XIII. reformed the 
 calendar in 1582, by retrenching ten days in October, in 
 order to bring back the vernal equinox to the same day 
 as at the Council of Nice, a. d. 325. England did not 
 
BATTLES OF THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR. 183 
 
 make this change until 1752. The Parliament of England 
 directed that eleven days should be retrenched from the 
 month of September, reckoning the third day of that 
 month as the fourteenth. In the calendar of Julius Caesar 
 there were eleven minutes too much in each year. Hence, 
 in a long series of years, the necessity of the retrenchment 
 of days. 
 
 NOTE ON THE THIRTY-SECOND CHAPTER. 
 
 The chief consideration that used to reconcile conscien- 
 tious people to the existence of slavery, was the thought that 
 their condition was far better in this country than in their 
 own native country — Africa. The writer well remembers an 
 incident of her early childhood. Traveling with her father 
 in a sequestered part of the country, a ferry was crossed. 
 The boat was pulled over by ropes. The ferryman was an 
 old man — a native African. Father entered into conver- 
 sation with him, asking him if he did not recollect when he 
 was brought away from his country. "Yes, sir." "Are 
 you sorry you came here?" " Oh, no, master. If I had 
 not come here, I should not have known Jesus Christ." 
 
 A NOTE ON THE BATTLES OF THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR. 
 
 We are aware that our chapters, in describing some of 
 the battles of the Revolution, are neither graphic nor 
 spirited. It is difficult for one not skilled in military af- 
 fairs fully to comprehend these things, or to be fired with 
 sufficient enthusiasm to paint them truly. We are re- 
 minded of a story we have read somewhere of Hannibal, 
 the great Carthaginian captain. A Grreek sophist was dis- 
 coursing at length upon the art of war to a large audience. 
 Hannibal happened to be present. Some of the hearers 
 were filled with admiration at the eloquence of the Grreek. 
 They appealed, with confidence, to Hannihal for his opin- 
 ion. " I have seen many absurd men in my life, but never 
 
184 APPENDIX, 
 
 one 80 absurd as this lecturer." We can understand the 
 moral bravery and the sjiirit of resistance to oppression 
 that dwelt in the hearts of the people, as evinced by the 
 little battles of Lexington and Bunker Hill. We are 
 struck with admiration at the desperate resolve of Wash- 
 ington in crossing the Delaware on the December night, 
 mid storms and tempests. We can fancy the sublime feel- 
 ings of satisfaction and hope that excited the minds of 
 officers and men when they saw Burgoyne, at Saratoga, 
 withdraw his troops and surrender his sword. Above all, 
 the grand surrender at Yorktown, 19th of October, 1781 — 
 the splendid consummation of toil, privation, and suffer- 
 ing. All this we fully grasp; but in the details on the 
 battle-fields, we fear we have failed. We refer our young 
 readers to a splendid description of a battle scene, in the 
 poem of Marmion. 
 
 NOTE ON THE THIRTY-THIRD CHAPTER. 
 
 When we were about to close our Memoir, a church 
 journal was sent us, containing an admirable sermon on 
 the religious character of Washington. This sermon con- 
 tains these words: "A deep spiritual apathy had crept 
 into the very heart of the church, both in England and 
 America. As Christians and as churchmen, it is sad to 
 lookback upon this period of English history. [The early 
 part of the eighteenth century.] There was a ruling spirit 
 at court, that encouraged such a man as Dean Swift to as- 
 pire to the episcopate, and which turned a cold shoulder 
 and treated with cruel treachery such a man as Dean 
 Berkeley. OjDen, scoffing infidelity vaunted itself in high 
 places." We have spoken fully of the irreligious age in 
 which Washington lived ; but it must not be forgotten that 
 some of the greatest writers and some of the best benefac- 
 tors of the Christian Church lived in that age. While 
 Wesley, reared in a religious home, and in the bosom of 
 the Church of England, together with Whitfield, his noble 
 
RELIGION IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY. 185 
 
 coadjutoi', were pi'eaching to the masses, and kindling a 
 flame of devotion (not unlike the fl.ame that Latimer and 
 Eidlej" kindled in the sixteenth century, without the mar- 
 tyrdoms), Dr. Butler, bishop of Durham, was writing his 
 unanswerable book on "The Analogy of Eeligion, Natural 
 and Eevealed, to the Constitution and Course of Nature." 
 This book was written in 1752. In the latter part of this 
 century, Dr. Paley wrote "The Evidences of Christianity," 
 " Hor^e Paulinse," and "Natural Theology." Books like 
 these have been an invaluable legacy to the church. " The 
 child yet unborn," says Sydney Smith, " shall bless the name 
 of Paley for some of the books he has written." But per- 
 haps no individual in an}' age ever exerted msire influence 
 for good than Mis.s Hannah More, by the establishment of 
 schools for the poor in the district where she lived, and by 
 the writing, of religious tracts in opposition to the infidel 
 tracts, that were in circulation in her time. The attacks 
 of infidels, too, were nobly answered by Watson and oth- 
 ers. The Presbyterians, too, of the last century, had many 
 distinguished writers among them. Who has written so 
 much to charm and instruct lisping infancy as Dr. Watts? 
 How many of the spiritually minded have breathed out 
 holy aspirations through his simple, eloquent hymns ! 
 Mr. Edwards, who wrote a famous work on "The Will," 
 was a powerful champion on the side of Christian truth. 
 " The Eise and Progress of Religion in the Soul," written 
 by Mr. Doddridge, also belongs to the infidel age, of which 
 we have s^ioken. This book is, we believe, little read now; 
 but, in our experience, we have seen anxious inquirers af- 
 ter truth read it with eagerness and kindling interest. 
 We have seen the pallid cheek glow, and the eye now 
 turned from the vanities of earth, rest upon these pages 
 Avith unfeigned delight. We have mentioned these things 
 to prove that notwithstanding the coldness of the Church 
 of England during a portion of the eighteenth century, 
 and the prevalence of infidelity, there was still "a cloud of 
 witnesses " to the value and truth of Revelation. To this age 
 
186 APPENDIX. 
 
 belonged Toplady, who wrote the ftivorite hymn, " Eock 
 of Ages ; " also, Cowper, and Cecil, and John Newton, 
 who awakened new zeal and energy in the chxii'ch of tlieir 
 fathers. The present age is skeptical. There are those 
 who would bring tis back from their scientific researches 
 "a message of despair." But there is little to be feared 
 from "development theories," or other phases of science 
 (falsely so called), so long as ^'^ou strive, with "the help of 
 God," to control animal passion; so long as you recognize 
 the distinction between the nobler and baser parts of your 
 being, and endeavor to lead a pure, upright, and useful 
 life — preferring truth to falsehood, justice to violence, and 
 compassion to cruelty. Farewell ! 
 
WASHINGTON'S FAREWELL ADDRESS. 
 
 Friends and Fellow -citizens: 
 
 The period for a new election of a citizen to administer 
 the executive government of the United States being not 
 far distant, and the time actually arrived when your 
 thoughts must be employed in designating the person 
 who is to be clothed with that important trust, it ajj pears 
 to me proper, especially as it may conduce to a more dis- 
 tinct expression of the public voice, that I should now 
 apprise you of the resolution I have formed, to decline 
 being considered among the number of those out of whom 
 a choice is to be made. 
 
 I beg you, at the same time, to do me the justice to be 
 assured, that this resolution has not been taken without a 
 strict regard to all the considerations appertaining to the 
 relation which binds a dutiful citizen to his country ; and 
 that, in withdrawing the tender of service, which silence 
 in m}^ situation might imply, I am influenced by no 
 diminution of zeal for your future interest — no deficiency 
 of respect for your past kindness ; but am supported by a 
 full conviction that the step is compatible with both. 
 
 The acceptance of, and continuance hitherto in the office 
 to which your suffrages have twice called me, have been a 
 uniform sacrifice of inclination to the opinion of duty, and 
 to a deference for what appeared to be your desii'e. I con- 
 stantly hoped that it would have been much earlier in my 
 power, consistently with motives which I was not at 
 liberty to disregard, to return to that retirement from 
 which I had been reluctantly drawn. The strength of my 
 inclination to do this, previous to the last election, had 
 
188 APPENDIX. 
 
 even led to the preparation ot an address to declare it to 
 you; but mature reflection on the then perplexed and 
 critical posture of atfairs with foreign nations, and the 
 unanimous advice of persons entitled to my confidence, im- 
 pelled me to abandon the idea. 
 
 I rejoice that the state of your concerns, external as well 
 as internal, no longer renders the pui'suit of inclination 
 incompatible with the sentiment of duty or propriety ; and 
 am persuaded, whatever partiality may be I'etained for my 
 services, that in the present circumstances of our country, 
 you will not disapprove of my determination to retire. 
 
 The impressions with wliich I first undertook the ardu- 
 ous trust, were explained on the proper occasion. In the 
 discharge of this trust, I will only say, that I have, with 
 good intentions, contributed toward the organization and 
 administration of the government, the best exertions of 
 which a very fallible judgment was capable. Not uncon- 
 scious, in the outset, of the inferiority of my qualifications, 
 experience in iny own eyes, perhaps still more in the eyes 
 of others, has strengthened the motives to diffidence of 
 myself; and every day the increasing weight of j'ears 
 admonishes me more and more that the shade of retire- 
 ment is as necessary for me as it will be welcome Satisfied 
 that, if any circumstances have given peculiar value to my 
 services, they were temporary, 1 have the consolation to 
 believe that, while choice and prudence invite me to quit 
 the political scene, patriotism does not foi'bid it. 
 
 In looking forward to the moment which is to terminate 
 the career of my political life, mj feelings do not permit 
 me to suspend the deep acknowledgment of that debt of 
 gratitude which I owe to my beloved countiy, for the 
 man}^ honors it hag conferred upon me; still more for the 
 steadfast confidence with which it has supported me; and 
 for the opportunities I have thence enjoyed, of manifesting 
 my inviolable attachment, by services fjiithful and per- 
 severing, though in usefulness unequal to my zeal. If bene- 
 fits have resulted to our country from these services, let it 
 
Washington's farewell address. 189 
 
 alway8 be reniembei'ed to your praise, and as an instructive 
 example in our annals, that under circumstances in which 
 the passions, agitated in every direction, were liable to 
 mislead, amid appearances sometimes dubious, vicissitudes 
 of fortune often discouraging, in situations in which, not 
 unfrequently, want of success has countenanced the spirit 
 of criticism, the constancy of your support was the essential 
 prop of the efforts, and a guaranty of the plans by which 
 they were effected. Profoundly penetrated with this idea, 
 I shall carry it with me to my grave, as a strong incite- 
 ment to unceasing wishes, that Heaven may continue to 
 you the choicest tokens of its beneficence; that yO\ir union 
 and brotherly affection may be perpetual ; that the free 
 constitution, which is the work of your hands, ma}' be 
 sacredl}^ maintained ; that its administration, in every de- 
 partment, may be stamped with wisdom and virtue ; that, 
 in fine, the happiness of the people of these states, under the 
 auspices of liberty, may be made complete by so careful a 
 preservation, and so prudent a use of this blessing, as will 
 acquire to them the glory of recommending it to the ap- 
 plause, the affection, and adoption of every nation which 
 is yet a stranger to it. 
 
 Here, perhaps, I ought to stop; but a solicitude for your 
 welfare, which can not end but with my life, and the aj)- 
 prehension of danger natural to that solicitude, urge me, 
 on an occasion like the present, to offer to your solemn 
 contemplation, and to recommend to your frequent review, 
 some sentiments, which are the result of much reflection, 
 of no inconsiderable observation, and which appear to me 
 all-important to the permanency of j^our felicity as a people. 
 These will be offei-ed to you with the more freedom, as you 
 can only see in them the disinterested warnings of a pair- 
 ing friend who can possibly have no personal motive to 
 bias his counsel ; nor can I foi'get as an encouragement to 
 it, your indulgent reception of my sentiments on a former 
 and not dissimilar occasion. 
 
 Interwoven as is the love of liberty with every ligament 
 
190 APPENDIX. 
 
 of our hearts, no recommendation of mine is necessary to 
 fortify or confirm the attachment. 
 
 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 edifice of your real independence ; the 
 support of your tranquillity at home, your peace abroad ; 
 of your safety ; of j^our prosperity ; of that very liberty 
 which you so highly prize. But as it is easy to foresee, 
 that from different causes and from different quarters, 
 much pains will be taken, many artifices employed, to 
 weaken, in your minds, the conviction of this truth ; as this 
 is the point in your political fortress against which the bat- 
 teries of internal and external enemies will be most constantly 
 and actively (though often covertly and insidiously) directed, 
 it is of infinite moment that you should properly estimate 
 the immense value of your national union to your collective 
 and individual happiness; that you should cherish a 
 cordial, habitual, and immovable attachment to it ; accus- 
 toming yourselves to think and speak of it as a palladium 
 of your political safety and prosperity ; watching for its 
 preservation with jealous anxiety; discountenancing what- 
 ever may suggest even a suspicion that it can, in any 
 event, be abandoned ; and indignantly frowning upon the 
 first dawning of every attempt to alienate any jDortion of 
 our country from the rest, or to enfeeble the sacred ties 
 which now link together the various parts. 
 
 For this you have every inducement of sympathy and 
 intei'est. Citizens by birth or choice of a common country, 
 that country has a right to concentrate your affections. 
 The name of American, M^hich belongs to you in your na- 
 tional capacity, must always exalt the just pride of patriot- 
 ism, 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 ai-e 
 
WASHINGTON S FAREWELL ADDRESS. 191 
 
 the work of joint councils and joint efforts, of common 
 dangers, sufferings, and success. 
 
 But these considerations, however powerfully they ad- 
 di-ess themselves to your sensibility, are generally out- 
 weighed by those which applj^ more immediately to your 
 interest; here every portion of our country finds the most 
 commanding motives for carefullj' guarding and preserv- 
 ing the union of the whole. 
 
 The JN'orth, in an unrestrained intercourse with the 
 South, protected by the e(.j[ual laws of a common govern- 
 ment, finds in the productions of the latter great additional 
 resources of maritime and commercial enterprise, and 
 precious materials of manufacturing industry. The South, 
 in the same intercourse, benefiting by the same agency of 
 the North, sees its agriculture grow and its commerce ex- 
 pand. Turning partly into its own channels the seamen 
 of the North, it finds its particular navigation invigorated ; 
 and while it contributes, in different 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. The East, in like inter- 
 course with the West, in the progressive improvement of 
 interior communications by land and water, will more and 
 more find a valuable vent for the commodities which it 
 brings from abroad or manuftictures 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 the in- 
 dispensable outlets for its own productions, to the weight, 
 influence, and future maritime strength of the Atlantic side 
 of the Union, directed by an indissoluble community of in- 
 terest as one nation. Any other tenure by which the West 
 can hold this essential advantage, whether derived from 
 its own separate strength, or from an apostate and unnat- 
 ural connection with any foreign jiower, must be intrinsi- 
 cally precarious. 
 
 While, then, every part of our country thus feels an im- 
 
192 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 mediate and particular interest in union, all the parts com- 
 bined can not fail to find, in the united mass of means and 
 efforts, greater strength, greater resource, proportionately 
 greater security from external danger, a less frequent in- 
 terruption of their peace by foreign nations; and what is 
 of inestimable value, they must derive from union an ex- 
 emption from those broils and wai's between themselves 
 which so frequently afflict neighboring countries not tied 
 together by the same government, which their own rival- 
 ships alone would be sufficient to produce, but which op- 
 posite foreign alliances, attachments, and intrigues would 
 stimulate and embitter. Hence, likewise, they will avoid 
 the necessity of those overgrown military establishments 
 which, under any form of government, are inauspicious to 
 liberty, and which are to be regarded as particularly hos- 
 tile to i-epublican liberty; in this sense it is that your 
 union ought to be considered as a main prop of your 
 liberty, and that the love of the one ought to endear to 
 3'ou the preservation of the other. 
 
 These considerations sj^eak a persuasive language to 
 every reflecting and virtuous mind, and exhibit the con- 
 tinuance of the Union as a primary object of patriotic 
 desire. Is there a doubt whether a common government 
 can embrace so large a sphere? Let experience solve it. 
 To listen to mere speculation in such a case were criminal. 
 We are authorized to hope that a jDroper organization of 
 the whole, with the auxiliary agency of governments for 
 the respective subdivisions, will afford a happy issue of 
 the experiment. It is well worth a fair and full experi- 
 ment. With such powerful and obvious motives to union, 
 affecting all parts of our country, while experience shall 
 not have demonstrated its impracticability, there will 
 always be reason to distrust the patriotism of those who. 
 in an}^ quarter, may endeavor to weaken its bands. 
 
 In contemplating the causes which may disturb our 
 union, it occurs, as matter of serious concern, that any 
 ground should have been furnished for characterizing 
 
Washington's farewell address. 193 
 
 parties by geographical discriminations— northern and 
 southern, Atlantic and western — whence designing men 
 may endeavor to excite a belief that there is a real differ- 
 ence of local interests and views. One of the expedients 
 of party to acquire influence within particular districts, is 
 to misrepresent the opinions and aims of other districts. 
 You can not shield yourselves too much against the jeal- 
 ousies and heart-burnings which spring from these mis- 
 representations ; they tend to render alien to each other 
 those who ought to be bound together by fraternal affec- 
 tion. The inhabitants of our western country have lately 
 had a useful lesson on this head : thej^ have seen, in the 
 negotiation by the executive, and in the unanimous ratifi- 
 cation hy the senate, of the treaty with Spain, and in the 
 universal satisfaction at that event throughout the United 
 States, a decisive proof how unfounded were the suspicions 
 propagated among them of a policy in the general govern- 
 ment, and in the Atlantic states, unfriendly to their in- 
 terests in regard to the 3Iississippi; they have been wit- 
 nesses to the formation of two treaties — that with Great 
 Britain and that with Spain — which secure to them every- 
 thing they could desire, in respect to our foreign relations, 
 toward confirming their prosperity. Will it not be their 
 wisdom to rely, for the preservation of these advantages, 
 on the Union by which they were procured ? Will they 
 not. henceforth be deaf to those advisers, if such there are, 
 who would sever them from their brethren and connect 
 them with aliens ? 
 
 To the efficacy and permanency of your union, a gov- 
 ernment for the whole is indispensable. No alliances, 
 however strict, between the parts, can be an adequate sub- 
 stitute ; they must inevitably experience the infractions 
 and interruptions which alliances, in all times, have ex- 
 perienced. Sensible of this momentous truth, you have 
 improved upon your first essay by the adoption of a con- 
 stitution of government better calculated than your 
 former for an intimate union, and for the efficacious man- 
 
t 
 
 194 APPENDIX. 
 
 agement of your common concerns. This government, 
 the offspring of your own choice, uninfluenced and un- 
 awed, adopted upon full investigation and mature delibera- 
 tion, completely free in its principles, in the distribution 
 of its powers, uniting security with energy, and contain- 
 ing within itself provision for its own amendment, has a 
 just claim to your confidence and your support. Respect 
 for its authority, compliance with its laws, acquiescence in 
 its measures, are duties enjoined by the fundamental max- 
 ims of true liberty.. Tlie basis of our political system is 
 the right of the people to make and to alter their constitu- 
 tions of government; but the constitution which, at any 
 time, exists, until changed by an explicit and authentic 
 act of the whole people, is sacredly obligatory upon all. 
 The very idea of the power and the right of the people to 
 establish government, presupposes the duty of every in- 
 dividual to obey the established government. 
 
 All obstructions to the execution of the laws, all com- 
 binations and associations, under whatever plausible char- 
 acter, with the real design to direct, control, counteract, 
 or awe the regular deliberation and action of the consti- 
 tuted authorities, are destructive of this fundamental prin- 
 cii)le, and of fatal tendency. They serve to organize fac- 
 tion, to give it an artificial and extraordinary force, to put 
 in the place of the delegated will of the nation the will of 
 party, often a small but artful and enterprising minority 
 of the community, and according to the alternate triumphs 
 of different parties, to make the public administration the 
 mirror of the ill-concerted and incongruous projects of 
 faction, rather than the organ of consistent and wholesome 
 plans, digested by common councils, and modified by 
 mutual interests. 
 
 However combinations or associations of the above 
 description may now and then answer popular ends, they 
 are likely, in the course of time and things, to become 
 potent engines by which cunning, ambitious, and unpinn- 
 cipled men will be enabled to subvert the power of the 
 
Washington's farewell address. 195 
 
 people, and to usurp for themselves the reins of govern- 
 ment, destroying afterward the very engines which have 
 lifted them to unjust dominion. 
 
 Toward the preservation of your government and the 
 permanency of your present happy state, it is requisite, 
 not only that you steadily discountenance irregular ojspo- 
 sition to its acknowledged authority, but also that you 
 resist with care the spirit of innovation upon its princi- 
 ples, however specious the pretexts. One method of as- 
 sault may be, to effect, in the forms of tfie constitution, 
 alterations which will impair the energy of the system, 
 and thus to undermine what can not be directly over- 
 thrown. In all the changes to which you maybe invited, 
 remember that time and habit are at least as necessary to 
 fix the true character of governments as of other human 
 institutions; that experience is the surest standard by 
 which to test the real tendency of the existing constitu- 
 tions of a country ; that facility in changes, upon the credit 
 of mere hypothesis and opinion, exposes to perpetual change 
 from the endless variety of hypothesis and opinion ; and re- 
 . member, especially, that, from the efficient management of 
 your common interests in a country so extensive as ours, a 
 government of as much vigor as is consistent with the 
 perfect security of liberty is indispensable. Liberty itself 
 will find in such a government, with powers pi"operly dis- 
 tributed and adjusted, its surest guardian. It is, indeed, 
 little else than a name where the government is too feeble 
 to withstand the enterprises of faction, to confine each 
 member of society within the limits i^rescribed by the 
 laws, and to maintain all in the secure and tranquil en- 
 joyment of the rights of person and property. 
 
 I have already intimated to you the danger of parties in 
 the state, with particular reference to the founding of them 
 on geographical discriminations. Let me now take a more 
 comprehensive view, and warn you, in the most solemn man- 
 ner , against the baneful effects of th e spirit of party generally. 
 
 This spirit, unfortunately, is inseparable from our na- 
 
196 APPENDIX. 
 
 ture, having its root in the strongest passions of the hu- 
 man mind. It exists, under different shapes, in all 
 governments, more or less stifled, controlled, or repressed ; 
 but in those of the popular form it is seen in its greatest 
 rankness, and is truly their worst enemy. 
 
 The alternate domination of one faction over another, 
 sharpened by the spirit of revenge natural to party dis- 
 sension, which, in different ages and countries, has perpe- 
 trated the most horrid enormities, is itself a frightful des- 
 potism. But this leads at length to a more formal and 
 permanent despotism. The disorders and miseries which 
 result, gradually incline the minds of men to seek secu- 
 rity and repose in the absolute power of an individual, and, 
 sooner or later, the chief of some prevailing faction, more 
 able or more fortunate than his competitors, turns this 
 disposition to the purposes of his own elevation on the 
 ruins of the public liberty. 
 
 Without looking forward to an extremity of this kind 
 (which, nevertheless, ought not to be entirely out of 
 sight), the common and continual mischiefs of the spirit 
 of party are sufficient to make it the interest and duty of 
 a wise people to discourage and restrain it. 
 
 It serves always to distract the public councils, and en- 
 feeble the public administration. It agitates the commu- 
 nity with ill-founded jealousies and false alarms ; kindles 
 the animosity of one part against another; foments occa- 
 sional riot and insurrection. It opens the door to foreign 
 influence and corruption, which finds a facilitated access 
 to the government itself, through the channels of party 
 passion. Thus the policy and will of one country are sub- 
 jected to the policy and will of another. 
 
 There is an opinion that parties in free countries are 
 useful checks upon the administi'ation of the government, 
 and serve to keep alive the spirit of liberty. This, within 
 certain limits, is probably true; and in governments of a 
 monarchical cast, patriotism may look with indulgence, if 
 not with favor, upon the spirit of jjarty. But in those of 
 
Washington's farewell address. lO*! 
 
 popular character, in governments purely elective, it is a 
 sj^irit not to be encouraged. From the natural tendency, 
 it is certain there will always be enough of that spirit for 
 every salutarj^ purjDose. And there being constant danger 
 of excess, the effort ought to be, by force of public opinion, 
 to mitigate and assuage it. A fii'e not to be quenched, it 
 demands a uniform vigilance to prevent its bursting into 
 a flame, lest, instead of warming, it should consume. 
 
 It is important, likewise, that the habits of thinking in 
 a free country should inspire caution in those intrusted 
 with its administration, to confine themselves within their 
 respective constitutional spheres, avoiding, in the exercise 
 of the powers of one department, to encroach upon another. 
 The spirit of encroachment tends to consolidate the powers 
 of all the departments in one, and thus to create, whatever 
 the form of government, a real despotism. A just esti- 
 mate of that love of power, and proneness to abuse it, 
 which predominate in the human heart, is sufficient to sat- 
 isfy us of the truth of this position. The necessity of re- 
 ciprocal checks in the exercise of political power, by di- 
 viding and distributing it into different depositories, and 
 constituting each the guardian of the public weal against 
 invasions of the other, has been evinced by expei-iments, 
 ancient and modern ; some of them in our country, and 
 under our own eyes. To preserve them, must be as neces- 
 sary as to institute them. If, in the opinion of the people, 
 the distribution or modification of the constitutional 
 powers be in any particular wrong, let it be corrected by 
 an amendment in the way in which the constitution desig- 
 nates. But let there be no change by usurpation ; for 
 though this in one instance may be the instrument of good, 
 it is the customary weapon by which free governments are 
 destroyed. The precedent must always greatly overbal- 
 ance in permanent evil any partial or transient benefit 
 which the use can at any time yield. 
 
 Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to politi- . 
 
198 APPENDIX, 
 
 cal prosperity, religion and morality ai'e indispensable sup- 
 ports. In vain would that man claim the tribute of pat- 
 riotism, who should labor to subvert these great pillars of 
 human hajipiness — these firmest props of the duties of men 
 and citizens. The mere politician, equally with the pious 
 man, ought to respect and to cherish them. A volume 
 could not trace all their connection with private and pub- 
 lic felicity. Let it be simply asked, where is the security 
 for property, for reputation, for life, if the sense of relig- 
 ious obligation desert the oaths which are the instruments 
 of investigation in courts of justice ? And let us with cau- 
 tion 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 experience both forbid us to expect 
 that national morality can prevail in exclusion of relig- 
 ious principles. 
 
 It is substantially true, that virtue or morality is a nec- 
 essary spring of popular government. The rule indeed 
 extends with more or less force to every species of free gov- 
 ernment. Who that is a sincere friend to it, can look with 
 indifference upon attempts to shake the foundation of the 
 fabric ? 
 
 Promote, then, as an object of primary importance, in- 
 stitutions for the general diffusion of knowledge. In pro- 
 portion as the structure of a government gives force to 
 public opinion, it is essential that public opinion should be 
 enlightened. 
 
 As a very important source of strength and security, 
 cherish public credit. One method of preserving it, is to 
 use it as sparingly as possible ; avoiding occasions of ex- 
 pense, by cultivating peace, but remembering, also, that 
 timely disbursements to prepare for danger, frequently pre- 
 vent much greater disbursements to rej)el it; avoiding, 
 likewise, the accumulation of debt, not only by shunning 
 occasions of expense, but by vigorous exertions in time of 
 peace, to discharge the debts which unavoidable wars have 
 
Washington's farewell address. 199 
 
 occasioned, not ungenerously throwing upon posterity the 
 burden which we ourselves ought to bear. The execution 
 of these* maxims belongs to your representatives, but it is 
 necessary that public opinion should co-operate. To facili- 
 tate to them the performance of their duty, it is essential 
 you should practicallj'" bear in mind, that, toward the pay- 
 ment of debts, there must be revenue; that to have reve- 
 nue there must be taxes; that no taxes can be devised 
 which are not more or less inconvenient and unpleasant; 
 that the intrinsic embarrassment, inseparable from the se- 
 lection of the proper objects (which is always a choice of 
 difficulties), ought to be a decisive motive for a candid con- 
 struction of the conduct of the government in making it, 
 and for a sj^irit of acquiescence in the measures for obtain- 
 ing revenue, which the public exigencies may at any time 
 dictate. 
 
 Observe good faith and justice toward all nations ; cul- 
 tivate peace and harmonj^ with all. Religion and moral- 
 it}^ enjoin this conduct; and can it be that good policy 
 does not equally enjoin it? It will be worthy of a free, 
 enlightened, and, at no distant period, a great nation to 
 give to mankind the magnanimous and too novel example 
 of a people ahvaj'-s guided by an exalted justice and be- 
 nevolence. Who can doubt that in the course of time and 
 things the fruits of such a plan would richly repay any 
 temporary advantages that might be lost by a steady ad- 
 herence toil? Can it be that Providence has connected 
 the permanent felicity of a nation with its virtue? The 
 experiment, at least, is recommended by every sentiment 
 which ennobles human nature. Alas! it is rendered im- 
 ])ossible by its vices. 
 
 In the execution of such a plan, nothing is more essen- 
 tial than that permanent, inveterate antipathies against 
 particular nations, and passionate attachments for others, 
 should be excluded ; and that in the place of them, just and 
 amicable feelings toward all should be cultivated. The 
 nation which indulges toward another an habitual hatred 
 
200 APPENDIX. 
 
 or an habitual fondness, is in some degree a slave. It is a 
 slave to its animosity or to its affection, either of which is 
 sufficient to lead it astray from its duty and its' interest. 
 Antipathy in one nation against another disposes each 
 more readily to offer insult and injury, to lay hold of 
 slight causes of umbrage, and to be haughty and intract- 
 able when accidental or trifling occasions of dispute occur. 
 
 Hence, frequent collisions and obstinate, envenomed, 
 and bloody contests. The nation, prompted by ill-will 
 and resentment, sometimes impels to war the government 
 contrary to the best calculations of policy. The govern- 
 ment sometimes j^articipates in the national propensity, 
 and adopts through passion what reason would reject. 
 At other times, it makes the animosity of the nation sub- 
 servient to the projects of hostility, instigated by pride, 
 ambition, and other sinister and pernicious motives. The 
 peace often, sometimes perhaps the liberty, of nations has 
 been the victim. 
 
 So, likewise, a passionate attachment of one nation for 
 another, produces a variety of evils. Sympath}^ for the 
 favorite nation, facilitating the illusion of an imaginary 
 common interest in cases where no real common interest 
 exists, and infusing into one the enmities of the other, be- 
 trays the former into a participation in the quarrels and 
 the wars of the latter, without adequate inducements or 
 justification. It leads, also, to concessions to the favorite 
 nation of privileges denied to others, which are a^^t doubly 
 to injure the nation making the concessions, by unneces- 
 sarily parting with what ought to have been retained, and 
 by exciting jealousy, ill-will, and a disposition to retali- 
 ate, in the parties from whom equal privileges are with- 
 held ; and it gives to ambitious, corrupt, or deluded citi- 
 zens, who devote themselves to the favorite nation, facility 
 to betray or sacrifice the interests of their own country 
 without odium, sometimes even with popularity, gliding 
 with the appearances of a virtuous sense of obligation to a 
 commendable deference for public apinion, or a laudable 
 
Washington's farewell address. 201 
 
 zeal for public good, the base or foolish compliances of 
 ambition, corruption, or infatuation. 
 
 As avenu6s to foreign influences in innumerable ways, 
 such attachments are particularly alarming to the truly 
 enlightened and independent patriot. How many oppor- 
 tunities do they afford to tamper with domestic factions, 
 to practice the arts of seduction, to mislead public opinion, 
 to influence or awe the public councils! Such an attach- 
 ment of a small or weak nation toward a great and power- 
 ful one, dooms the former to be the satellite of the latter. 
 Against the insidious wiles of foreign influence, I conjure 
 you to believe me, fellow-citizens, the jealousy of a free 
 people ought to be constantly awake, since history and ex- 
 perience prove that foreign influence is one of the most 
 baneful foes of republican government. But that jeal- 
 ousy, to be useful, must be impartial, else it becomes the 
 instrument of the very influence to be avoided, instead of 
 a defense against it. Excessive partiality for one foreign 
 nation, and excessive dislike for another, cause those 
 whom they actuate to see danger only on one side, and 
 serve to vail and even second the arts of influence on the 
 other. Eeal patriots, who may resist the intrigues of the 
 favorite, are liable to become suspected and odious, while 
 its tools and dupes usurp the applause and confidence of 
 the people to surrender their intez-ests. 
 
 The great rule of conduct for us in regard to foreign 
 nations is, in extending our commercial relations, to have 
 with them as little political connection as possible. So far 
 as we have already formed engagements, let them be ful- 
 filled with perfect good faith. Here let us stop. 
 
 Europe has a set of primar}' interests which to us have 
 none or a very remote relation. Hence,-^ she must be en- 
 gaged in frequent controversies, the causes of which are 
 essentially foreign to our concerns. Hence, therefore, it 
 must be unwise in us to implicate ourselves by artificial 
 ties in the ordinary vicissitudes of her politics, or the or- 
 
202 APPENDIX. 
 
 dinary combinations and collisions of her friendships or 
 enmities. 
 
 Our detached and distant situation invite8»and enables 
 us to pursue a different course. If we remain one people, 
 under an efficient government, the period is not far off 
 when we may defy material injurj" from external annoy- 
 ance ; when we may take such an attitude as will cause 
 the neutrality .we may at any time resolve upon to be 
 scrupulously respected ; when belligerent nations, under 
 the impossibility of making acquisitions upon us, will not 
 lightly hazard the giving us provocation ; when we may 
 choose peace or war, as our interests, guided by justice, 
 shall counsel. 
 
 Why forego the advantages of so peculiar a situation? 
 Why quit our own to stand on foreign ground ? Why, by 
 interweaving our destiny with that of any part of Europe, 
 entangle our peace and prosperity in the toils of European 
 ambition, rivalship, interest, humor, or caprice? 
 
 It is our true policy to steer clear of permanent alliances 
 with any portion of the foreign world, so far, I mean, as 
 we are now at liberty to do it ; for let me not be under- 
 stood as capable of patronizing infidelity to existing en- 
 gagements. I hold the maxim no less applicable to public 
 than to private affairs, that honesty is always the best 
 policy. I repeat, therefore, let those engagements be ob- 
 served in their genuine sense. But, in my opinion, it is 
 unnecessary and would be unwise to extend them. 
 
 Taking care alwaj^s to keep ourselves by suitable estab- 
 lishments on a respectable defensive posture, we may 
 safely trust to temporary alliances for extraoi'dinary 
 emergencies. 
 
 Harmon}'' and liberal intercourse with all nations are 
 recommended by policy, humanity, and interest. But 
 even our commercial policy should hold an equal and im- 
 jDartial hand ; neither seeking nor granting exclusive 
 favors or pi'eferences ; consulting the natural course of 
 things; diffusing and diversifying by gentle means the 
 
Washington's farewell address. 203 
 
 stream of commerce, but forcing nothing; establishing 
 with powers so disposed (in order to give trade a stable 
 course, to define the rights of our merchants, to enable the 
 government to suj^port them) conventional rules of inter- 
 course, the best that present circumstances and natural 
 opinion will permit, but temporary and liable to be from 
 time to time abandoned or varied as experience and cir- 
 cumstances shall dictate ; constantly keeping in view that 
 it is folly in one nation to look for disinterested favors 
 from another — that it must pay with a portion of its inde- 
 pendence for whatever it may accept under that character 
 that by such acceptance it may place itself in the condi- 
 tion of having given equivalents for nominal favors, and 
 yet of being reproached with ingratitude for not having 
 given more. There can be no greater error than to expect 
 or calculate upon real favors from nation to nation. It is 
 an illusion which experience must cure, which a just pride 
 ought to discard. 
 
 In offering to you, my countrymen, these counsels of an 
 old affectionate friend, I dare not hoj^e that they will make 
 the strong and lasting impression I could wish — that they 
 will control the usual current of the passions, or prevent 
 our nation from running the course which has hitherto 
 marked the destiny of nations. But if I may even flatter 
 myself that they may be jDroductive of some partial bene- 
 fit, some occasional good — that they may now and then 
 recur to moderate the fury of party spirit, to warn against 
 the mischiefs of foreign intrigue, to guard against the 
 impostures of pretended patriotism — this hope will be a 
 full recompense for the solicitude for your welfare by 
 which they have been dictated. 
 
 How far in the discharge of my official duties I have 
 been guided by the principles which have been delineated, 
 the public records and the other evidences of my conduct 
 must witness to you and to the world. To myself, the 
 assurance of my own conscience is, that I have at least 
 believed myself to be guided by them. 
 
204: APPENDIX. 
 
 In relation to the still subsisting war in Europe, my 
 proclamation of the 22d of April, 1793, is the index to my 
 plan. Sanctioned by your approving voice, and by that 
 of your representatives in both houses of Congress, the 
 spirit of that measure has continually governed me, unin- 
 fluenced by any attempts to deter or divert me from it. 
 
 After deliberate examination, with the aid of the best 
 lights I could obtain, I was well satisfied that our country, 
 under all the circumstances of the case, had a right to take, 
 and was bound in duty and interest to take, a neutral po- 
 sition. Having taken it, I determined, as far as should 
 depend upon me. to maintain it with moderation, persever- 
 ance, and firmness. 
 
 The considerations which respect the right to hold this 
 conduct, it is not necessary on this occasion to detail. 1 
 will only observe, that according to my understanding of 
 the matter, that right, so far from being denied by any of 
 the belligerent powers, has been virtually admitted by all. 
 
 The duty of holding a neutral conduct may be inferred, 
 without anything more, from the obligation which justice 
 and humanity impose on every nation, in cases in which it 
 is free to act, to maintain inviolate the relations of peace 
 and amity toward other nations. 
 
 The inducements of interest for observing that conduct, 
 will best be referred to your own reflections and experience. 
 With me, a predominant motive has been, to endeavor to 
 gain time to our country to settle and mature its yet recent 
 institutions, and to progress without interruption to that 
 degree of strength and constancy which is necessary to 
 give it, humanly speaking, the command of its own for- 
 tunes. 
 
 Though, in reviewing the incidents of my administra- 
 tion, I am unconscious of intentional error, I am, never- 
 theless, too sensible of my defects, not to think it probable 
 that I may have committed many errors. Whatever they 
 may be, I fervently beseech the Almighty to avert or miti- 
 
Washington's farewell address. 205 
 
 gate the evils to which they may tend. I shall also carry 
 with me the hope that my countr}^ will 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 to obliv- 
 ion, as myself must soon be to the mansions of rest. 
 
 Eelying on its kindness in this, as in other things, and 
 actuated by that fervent love toward it, which is so natural 
 to a man, who views in it the native soil of himself and 
 his progenitoi-s for several generations, I anticipate, with 
 pleasing expectations, that retreat, in which I promise my- 
 self to realize, without alloy, the sweet enjoyment of par- 
 taking, in the midst of mj^ fellow-citizens, the benign 
 influence of good laws under a free government, the ever 
 favorite object of my heart, and the happy reward, as I 
 trust, of our mutual cares, labors, and dangers. 
 
 GEOEGE WASHINGTON. 
 
 United States, September 17", 1796. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 Preface 3 
 
 Introduction 5 
 
 Chap. 1. — Anniversaries — Birth, baptism, and ancestry of Wash- 
 ington — Birthplace — Westmoreland Co., Va. — A tablet now 
 marks the spot — A wise Congress — Prophetic opinion of 
 Henry — Rutledge 11 
 
 Chap. 2. — Father and mother of Washington — Father twice 
 married — Two sons of the first marriage— Mary Ball, mother 
 of George Washington — Instruction of the father, his early 
 death — Favorite book of the mother — Property managed by 
 the mother — Estate on the Potomac given to the oldest sons 
 — College of William and Mary at Williamsburg, Va. — Jeffer- 
 son educated there — Washington desires to enter the British 
 navy in his fifteenth year 14 
 
 Chap. 3. — At sixteen years a visitor at the house of his brother 
 Lawrence — Lawrence Washington had served in the royal 
 navy, under Vernon, hence the name of his estate on the Poto- 
 mac, Mount Vernon — Lord Fairfax — In 1748, Lord Fairfax in- 
 trusted Washington, a boy of sixteen, with the work of sur- 
 veying his lands — Belvoir and Greenway Court — Fairfax an 
 Oxford scholar— Washington's robustconstitution, invigorated 
 by a life in the wilderness, and rigid temperance — Letter to 
 Dinwiddie 17 
 
 Chap. 4. — British and French boundaries a subject of dispute^ — 
 The powers of Europe claimed all the immense territories of 
 the Red men — The Great Spirit — Pocahontas — Heroic conduct 
 true. To future generations, the names of our lakes, rivers, and 
 mountains will bear the most certain testimony of the exist- 
 ence of this people — Their history embalmed in the grand 
 features of nature 21 
 
 Chap. 5 — The OhioCompany — Plan of France to connect Canada 
 with Louisiana, by a line of forts — Aggressive acts within the 
 
 (2U7) 
 
208 INDEX. 
 
 province of Virginia — Dinwiddie sends George Washington, 
 at twenty-two years of age, to the French commandant on 
 the Alleghany river, to protest against the encroachments of 
 the French — Washington set out October, 1753, to meet In- 
 dians on the Ohio, and French officers near Lake Erie — The 
 commandant, St. Pierre, under the French governor Du 
 Quesne, refuses to leave — The English prepare for a struggle — 
 Washington executes his mission, and delivers St. Pierre's 
 letter to the Governor of Virginia in eleven weeks — Encount- 
 ers hardships — The founders of a nation, how great their 
 glory 24 
 
 Chap. 6. — The Virginia Legislature authorizes their Governor to 
 raise a regiinent — ^Washington sets out as lieutenant-colonel, 
 April, 1754, in advance, with two companies, to a place on the 
 Monongahela called " Great Meadows " — The French had dis- 
 possessed the Ohio Company of the fort they were building, 
 and themselves completed it, and called it Fort Du Quesne — 
 Washington had only four hundred effective men, one com- 
 pany from South Carolina, one from New York, one from Vir- 
 ginia — They surprised a French encampment a few miles from 
 "Great Meadows; " compelled to build "Fort Necessity; " en- 
 countered here a numerous foe, and surrender with the honors 
 of war, retaining their side-arms — Failed to take, as they de- 
 sired. Fort Du Quesne — Washington and his troops were com- 
 plimented for their intrepidity in their conflict with De Vil- 
 liersat " Fort Necessity" — In the winter following (1754), Wash- 
 ington retires from the army — Punctilious feelings wounded 
 by orders received from England 28 
 
 Chap. 7. — Death of Lawrence Washington — Washington inherits 
 Mount Vernon, and retires thither — Braddock invites him to be 
 his aid — Accompanies Braddock — Action on the Monongahela 
 — Rejects advice of Washington — Signal defeat — Braddock 
 died four days after the battle — All the aids killed or wounded 
 but Washington — -French and Indians make extensive depre- 
 dations on the settlements in the valley of Virginia — Hercu- 
 lean labors imposed on Washington — A frontier of three hun- 
 dred and fifty miles in extent to defend — Fort Du Quesne now 
 taken without bloodshed— ^Called Fort Pitt, after the Premier 
 of Enjiland — Resiixned his commission 31 
 
INDEX. 209 
 
 Chap. 8. — Marriage of Washington with Mrs. Custis — Domestic 
 record unspotted — Interval between the marriage arid his ap- 
 pointment as commander-in-chief spent chiefly at Mount Ver- 
 non — Winter months in the capital of his native state as legis- 
 lator — Opposed taxation — Stamp Act — Repeal the next year — 
 Patrick Henrj' — Colonial Congress adopts a Declaration of 
 Rights (nine colonies) — Virginia and Massachusetts foremost 
 in opposing taxation — Tea desti'oyed — Two regiments of Brit- 
 ish soldiers sent to Boston — Boston Port-bill — September, 
 1774, First Continental Congress met at Philadelphia — Peyton 
 Randolph president — State papers sent to the king and people 
 of England^Washin gton member of this Congress — Independ- 
 ence not the premeditated design 36 
 
 Chap. 9. — To begin an insurrection a matter of solemn import — 
 Lord Chatham's eulogy of the American State Papers — Duke 
 of Cumberland, the king's brother, votes with the minority — 
 The hearts of the majority, like Pharaoh, are hardened — Dr. 
 Franklin in London ; he heard Chatham's speech — -Virginia 
 drained of her resources, by a war with the Shavvanese In- 
 dians — Situation — Exposed to invasion — York, James, and Po- 
 tomac bared it to invasions from the sea — March 20, 1775, 
 second convention met at Richmond — Then and there Henry 
 made his famous speech — Supported by Richard Henry Lee — 
 Resolutions to put the colony in a state of defense — Dunmore 
 seized the powder in a magazine at Williamsburg — April 19, 
 Gage sends to Concord — Battles of Lexington and Concord 
 — Important and sublime consequences 39 
 
 Chap. 10. — Lord North, Premier of England, offers conciliation 
 — Ticonderoga and Crown Point surrender to Arnold and 
 Allen — On the day of the surrender Second Congress convenes 
 at Philadelphia — Washington on all the committees for defense 
 — Dunmore, royal governor of Virginia, burns Norfolk to 
 ashes — January 1, 1776, Washington made commander-in-chie 
 — On June 15, 1775, accepts the momentous responsibilities — 
 Receives no pay — Keeps an exact account of expenses — An 
 army of 20,L'00 men ordered to be raised — Washington forty- 
 three years of age — Description of his person — Religious opin- 
 ions, remote from bigotrj' — His religion did not dwell in cold 
 abstractions — Obeyed the command of our Lord, " Do this in 
 
210 INDEX. 
 
 remembrance of me '' — Communicant of the Episcopal 
 Cliurch 46 
 
 Chap. 11. — What constitutes a state? — Generals Howe, Bur- 
 goyne, Sir Henry Clinton, and Gage issued a proclamation last 
 of May, 1775 — Americans in arms, rebels, but offering par- 
 don to all (except Samuel Adams and Hancock), if they 
 would return to their allegiance — Defense of Dorchester Neck 
 — In one night the Americans made a square redoubt forty 
 yards on each side on Bunker Hill — Gen. Gates determines 
 to drive away thei^rovincials from that eminence — British ad- 
 vance three times — Americans retreat for want of ammunition 
 — This action is called battle of Bunker Hill — British loss, 
 1,000 men — American loss 450 — Armies sent to Canada under 
 Arnold and Montgomery — Unsuccessful — Montgomery falls 
 before Quebec — An affecting requiem pronounced by English 
 statesmen on Montgomery's fate — For Arnold, a traitor s grave is 
 reserved 50 
 
 Chap. 12. — July 3, 1775, Washington assumes command of the Con- 
 tinental &vmy — Main body of the British under Gen. Howe — 
 Boston in possession of the British — 7,000 Americans in Bos- 
 ton pining with sorrow — A few royalists among them — Amer- 
 ican army in a semicircle from Dorchester to Maiden, about 
 nine miles, on both sides Charles river, under the command 
 of Maj.-Gens. Ward, Charles Lee, and Washington — The last 
 commanded the center — The army presented a motley crew. 
 Hearts stout and brave — 14,000 men tit for duty— Want of 
 powdei' — Great exertions to obtain a supply 53 
 
 Chap. 13. — Mrs. Washington visits the camp at Cambridge — Her 
 equipage — Letters of Mrs. John Adams; she notes with " naiv- 
 ete" of the festivities of this time — Interesting letter of Washing- 
 ton to his agent at Mount Vernon — A gem of soft but enduring 
 lustre — The chain of Dorchester Heights fortified — Howe de- 
 termines to evacuate Boston, March 17, 1776 — The people of 
 the city joyful — Howe goes to Halifax, then to New York — 
 Lord Howe, his brother, joins him at New York — Anxious to 
 possess themselves of the Hudson river, to open intercourse 
 
 . with Canada, and separate the Eastern from the Southern 
 States — Washington preceded the Howes to New York — 
 Georgia has entered the Confederacy — Thirteen colonies — 
 
INDEX. 211 
 
 Four major-generals appointed, Ward, Lee, Schuyler, Put- 
 nam — Gates, adjutant-general 55 
 
 Chap. 14. — Congress appointed, June 21, 1775, eight brigadiers 
 — Officers of great merit but inferior rank soon became con- 
 spicuous — Foreign officers came also ; the most beloved was 
 La Fayette — De Kalb came with La Fayette — ^Kosciusko was 
 presented by Dr. Franklin — Conway an Irishman — Pulaski — 
 Steuben, who had been an aid of Frederick the Great, was 
 sent to Valley Forge, -as inspector-general 60 
 
 Chap. 15. — Washington j)erceives the difficulties of his situation 
 at New York — Hulks sunk in the Hudson — Fortifications 
 erected on both sides of the river, ineffectual — Dunmore gives 
 Virginia trouble — Virginia repulses Dunmore's forces, under 
 command of Woodford, assisted by John Marshall as lieutenant, 
 afterward chief justice — Victory gained on Sullivan's Island, 
 South Carolina, by Moultrie — Sustained by Rutledge and Gads- 
 den — Gallant act of Jasper — Fort afterward called Moultrie — A 
 few weeks after followed the serious defeat at Long Island, 
 New York— General aiid Admiral Howe make a furious attack 
 — Army large — Assisted by Hessians — Greene sick — Command 
 given to Sullivan — Washington passes over to camp at Brook- 
 lyn — The carnAge of his troops — Retreats in safety, favored by 
 a fog — Sullivan a prisoner — Defect in the construction of the 
 army — N<J cavalry — No videttes — Congress convinced that a 
 new plan of operation was necessary — Eighty-eight battalions 
 to be raised by levies on the different States 64 
 
 Chap. 16. —Washington retreats to New York Island, then to 
 White Plains — A committee meet Lord Howe on Staten Island 
 Sept. 11, 1776 — Too late for compromise — Declarafion of Inde- 
 pendence sent forth to the world two months previous — Forts 
 Washington and Lee, on the Hudson, surrendered — Washing- 
 ton invigorates and inspires with confidence his feeble and 
 harassed army — His firmness and trust unwavering — A large 
 number of Philadelphians form an association for the defense 
 c*" their city 69 
 
 Chap 17. — Gen. Charles Lee (the Englishman), through careless- 
 ness and self-sufficiency, was taken prisoner in Morris Co., N. 
 J., by Col. Harcourt — Regarded by the army as a great mis- 
 fortune — Sullivan and Gates rejoin Washington on the same 
 
212 INDEX. 
 
 day — Cornwallis covered Jersey with troops to impede 
 recuiting — Washington crosses the Delaware — His division 
 succeeds — Two fail to cross — Battle of Trenton — Rahl, the Hes- 
 sian commander, killed — Battle of Princeton — The British 
 army astonished — The American army greatly exhilarated by 
 the victories of Trenton and Princeton — Philadelphia saved 
 for that winter (1777), and New Jersey recovered — Self-sacrifice 
 — Franklin, Deane, and Arthur Lee sent to France for aid 
 early in 1776 — La Fayette came in Dec, 1776 — Varied destiny 
 of this great man — In 1789 he is in a dungeon at Olmutz — 
 1824, followed by triumphal processions as a visitor to the 
 United States — 1830, solicited by the French people to choose 
 for them a ruler 72 
 
 Chap. 18. — At Chadd's Ford, Brandy wine creek, a battle was 
 fought — A defeat — 11th Sept., 1777 — Battle of German town — 
 Winters of 1777-1778 j^assed by the army at Valley Forge — 
 Great suffering — The army would have vanished under their 
 terrible trials at this time had it not been for the patriotism 
 of the soldiers, and their dovoiion to their leader — Splendid vic- 
 tory at Saratoga, 19th Sept., 1787 — Burgoyne the British 
 general — Gates the American general — Total loss of the Brit- 
 ish nearly 10,000 men — France acknowledges the independ- 
 ence of America — Immediate assistance promised — July 11, 
 1780, a French fleet is seen between the capes of Virginia and 
 the Delaware — Rochambeau, De Ternay, D'Estaing, French 
 commanders — Battle of Monmouth — Lee had been released 
 and was in this battle — Received a reproof from Washington 
 — Obeyed the order and fought well — Wounded by the rebuke 
 — Wrote disrespectful letters — Tried by a court-martial — Sus- 
 pended — Never returned to the army — Massacre at Wy- 
 oming 77 
 
 Chap. 19. — Arnold takes command of Philadelphia, 1778 — He is 
 tried for misdemeanors — Reprimanded by Washington — Trial 
 lasted from June, 1778, to Jan., 1779 — His unprincipled spirit 
 revolts — Solicits and obtains the responsible command of 
 West Point — Betrays his trust — Makes his escape — Andre is ex- 
 ecuted — Thanks of Congress are rendered to the three militia- 
 men who apprehended Andre — Also a medal with an inscrip- 
 tion — Poverty of the public resources — $200 to be paid per 
 annum to each of them 84 
 
INDEX. 213 
 
 Chap. 20. — War prosecuted with vigor in the Southern States — 
 In the beginning of 1779, few posts remained in the hands of 
 the Americans — Col. Pickens' victory at Kettle creek — Major 
 Henry Lee — Takes prisoners at Paulus Hook — Paul Jones, in 
 1779, took two British frigates — Count D'Estaing fails to re- 
 cover Savannah — Sept. 1779 — Pulaski slain — Tarleton's (Brit- 
 ish) cruelties — Marion and Sumpter active guerillas — Gates 
 made commander in the South after his victory at Saratoga, 
 but removed from the Southern department after his defeat 
 at Camden — Greene put in his place — Major Hai'ry Lee (Lieu- 
 tenant-Colonel) ordered to join the Southern department — 
 Alternations of victory and defeat — Victory at the battle of 
 the Cowpens — Morgan the victor — Battle of Guilford C. H. — 
 Robert Morris at the head of the finances — Enables Congress, 
 by his energy and skill, to prosecute the war — Cornwallis goes 
 on a long march to North Carolina and to Virginia — Greene 
 leaves North Carolina and goes into South Carolina — Successful 
 activity of one corps — The legion adapted to the warfare of 
 the Southern States — Battle of Eutaw Springs 90 
 
 Chap. 21. — Those who engaged in this fiercely fought battle 
 knew not that the end was near — Sept. 1781, Cornwallis, after 
 pursuing La Fayette, takes a position on York river — Collects 
 his whole force at Yorktown — He hears of a French fleet on 
 the coast — De Grasse ai'rives at Cape Henry — I-a Fayetie is 
 stationed on the James river to prevent the escape of Corn- 
 wallis — Four ships of the line are at the mouth of the York — 
 Washington goes to Virginia — Clinton is deceived 97 
 
 Chap. 22. — The siege of Yorktown — De Gl'asse proposes to go 
 into the open sea — Not Themistocles of old was more urgent 
 than was Washington to insist upon his remaining — 19th of 
 Oct., 178], Cornwallis surrendered — Letters between Wash- 
 ington and Cornwallis — The whole army deserved much praise 
 — Rochambeau — Col. Nelson, when consulted where the siege 
 should begin, pointed to his own house — Cornwallis surren- 
 dered 7,000 men — Our allied army is estimated at 16,000 
 men 103 
 
 Chap. 23. — After the surrender — No more fighting — Parliament's 
 decision — Fox, Pitt, and Burke, members of this Parliament — 
 Nov., 1782, a preliminary treaty signed at Paris — Commission- 
 ers from the United States were Adams, Franklin, Jay, and 
 
214 INDEX. 
 
 Laurens — Army disbanded, Nov., 1783 — Charleston given up 
 Dec, 1782 — Carleton succeeds to Clinton — He is conciliatory — 
 Peace declared in 1783 — Dec. 4th, an affecting parting between 
 Washington and his officers — Washington goes to Annapolis 
 and resigns his power to Congress — Addresses 109 
 
 Chap. 24. — -The day after he leaves Annapolis, he retires to Mount 
 Vernon — In 1784, visits his lands on the Ohio and Kanawha 
 rivers — He receives a j^resent of shares in the James river and 
 Potomac companies — He devotes the money, $40,000, to the 
 endowment. of a college in Lexington, Rockbridge county, 
 Va 116 
 
 Chap. 25. — Washington's devotion to agriculture — 1784, La 
 Fayette visits him at Mount Vernon — From 1778 to 1787, the 
 United States existed under " the articles of confederation " 
 — A convention at Philadelphia, 25th of May — Sat for four 
 months — Washington president of the convention — The re- 
 sult of their deliberations was our present Federal Constitu- 
 tion — Washington chosen president for four years — Two par- 
 ties prominent. Federalists and Republicans — JetFerson, leader 
 of the Republican party, secretary of state — Gen. Washington 
 a Federalist — Not a strong partisan 120 
 
 Chap. 26. — Journey to New York a triumph — The inaugura- 
 tion — Inaugural address — Assemblage attend church — Wise 
 counsellors — Madison, Hamilton, and Jay — Knox, secretary 
 of war — Hamilton, secretary of the treasury — Jefferson op- 
 posed to the re-eligibility of the president — John Adams, 
 vice-president — Mrs. Washington has levees on Friday even- 
 ings — She regulates form and ceremony — Sanctity of Sunday 
 strictly observed by Washington and his household — Death of 
 Lord Fairfax — Washington's love of horses 125 
 
 Chap. 27. — The judicial department — Edmund Randolph, at- 
 torney-general — John Jay, 'chief justice — Debt, $54.000,000 — 
 Genet troublesome — Sent by France — Jefferson and Hamilton 
 — War-whoop heard in 1790 in the vicinity of Fort Washington 
 (now Cincinnati) — Two vexed questions — Disastrous Indian 
 expedition under St. Clair — Washington's letter to Madame 
 La Fayette — Offer of pecuniary aid — Her son three years at 
 Mount Vernon — Louis Philippe also there 134 
 
 Chap. 28. — Washington re-elected a second time to the presi- 
 dency — John Adams — A reign of terror in France — Louis 
 
INDEX. 215 
 
 XVI. beheaded — Jefferson resigns — Retires to Monticello — 
 Mr. JeflFerson head of theFrench party — A special envoy to Eng- 
 land — Gouverneur Morris recalled from France — Mr. Monroe 
 goes in his place — Insurrection in Pennsylvania — Favorable 
 campaign of Wayne — Hamilton retires, 1795 — Wolcott suc- 
 ceeds — Randolph succeeded Jefferson 140 
 
 Chap. 29. — Jay's treaty arrives, and produces much excitement — 
 Mr. Mason, of Virginia — Sept., 1796, " Washington's Farewell 
 Address" — Alison's "Opinion" — Inauguration of Mr. Adams 
 — Mrs. Washington, Miss Nellie Cvistis, accompany Washing- 
 ton to Mount Vernon — Miss Custis marries Mr. Lewis, the 
 
 nephew of Washington 147 
 
 Chap. 30. — Death of Washington — Grief of the people 157 
 
 Chap. 31. — Marshall announces the death of Washington to 
 Congress — Gen. Harry Lee prepared the resolutions that 
 Marshall presents to the House — " Letter to his nephew, 
 
 Bushrod Washington" 160 
 
 Chap. 32. — His noble conduct to Payne when young — Opposition 
 to duelling and all mce — The will of Washington — Provision 
 
 for his slaves — "Slavery" 166 
 
 Cyi^v. 33. — Pictures and statues 171 
 
 Chap. 34. — Mount Vernon 176 
 
 Appendix. — Note on the introduction, LasCasas — Note on Old and 
 New Style — Note on the 32d chapter — Note on the battles of 
 the Revolution — Note on the religion of the eighteenth cen- 
 tury — Washington's Farewell Address 181 
 
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