YALE UNIVERSITY
LIBRARY

Gift of
Edith and Maude Wetmore
in memory of their father
George Peabody Wetmore
b.a. 1867

RECOLLECTIONS

AND

PRIVATE MEMOIRS

OF

WASHINGTON

BY

G. ¥. PARKE CUSTI8,

OP ARLINGTON.

COMPILED FHOM FILES OF THE NATIONAL INTELLIGENCER,
PRINTED AT WASHINGTON, D. C.

WASHINGTON, D. C.
PRINTED BY WILLIAM H. MOORE.
1859.

i%^(o. SO\v

INTRODUCTION.
The late G. W.Parke Custis, the author of the "Recollections
AND Private Memoirs of General Washington," whose death
occurred on the 10th October, 1857, was thu.s spoken of by the
Editors of the National Intelligencer :
DEATH OF MR. CUSTIS.
It becomes our painful duty to announce the decease of the venerable
George Washington Parke Custis, the last of the members of the family
of Washington.
Mr. Custis died at -Arlington, near this, city, after a brief illness, on the
morning of the 10th instant, in the 77th year of his age. For several
years he had stood alone in his relations to the Father of his Country,
ever anxious, with filial reverence and affection, to illustrate his char
acter, and from the rich stores of his never-failing memory to bring for-
vifard an annual tribute to his immortal worth. Known and Honored by
his fellow countrymen, his departure will awaken universally a profound
regret. Born amid the great events of the Revolution, by the death of his father,
(Col. Custis, of the army, and a son of Mrs. Washington by a former
marriage,) which occurred near the close of the war, he found his home
during childhood and youth at Mount Vernon, where his manners were
formed after the noblest models ; and from the great worthies of that
period, frequent guests there, he received impressions of wisdom and
patriotism that were never effaced. Under the counsels of Washington
he pursued his classical studies at Princeton, and when deprived by
death of his great guide and father, (and soon after of his revered grand
mother,) he devoted himself to literary and agricultural pursuits on his
ample estate of Arlington, the gift, by will, of that illustrious man. He
was early united in marriage to Miss Mary Lee Fitzhugh, of Virginia, a
lady of unsurpassed excellences in all the relations of life, and whose
irreparable loss, three years ago, he continued with sorrow and affectionate
admiration, to hisL final day, profoundly to deplore. One daughter, (Mrs.
Lee, wife of Col. Robert Lee, of the array) and several grandchildren
survive him.
Mr. Custis was distinguished by an original genius for eloquence,
poetry, and the fine arts ; by a knowledge of history, particularly the

history of this country; for great powers of conversation, for an ever-
ready and generous hospitality, for kindness to the poor, for patriotism,
for constancy of friendship, and for a more than filial devotion to the
memory and character of Washington. His early speeches on the death
of Gen. Lingan and the overthrow of Napoleon were everywhere read
and admired, even by those who dissented from the sentiments, for the
beauty of their conception and their impassioned eloquence. Those
familiar with the columns of this journal will not forget how largely we
and the country are indebted to the warm and ever cheerful spirit of the
deceased for many invaluable reminiscences of revolutionary history, of
the distinguished men of those times, and especially of the private life of
their glorious chief in the retirement of the shades of his home at Mount
Vernon. Thousands from this country and from foreign lands who have visited
Arlington to commune with our departed friend, and look upon the touch
ing memorials there treasured up with care of him who was first in the
hearts of his countrymen, will not forget the charm thrown over all by
the ease, grace, interest, and vivacity of the manners and conversation of
him whose voice, alas ! is silent now. The multitudes of our fellow-citi
zens accustomed, in the heat of summer, to resort to the shades of Ar
lington will hereafter miss that old man eloquent, who ever extended to
them a warm-hearted welcome and became partaker of their joy.
Long a believer in the great truths of Divine Revelation, Mr. Custis
turned to these for consolation in his last days, and died in communion
with the Protestant Episcopal Church.

GEN. WASHINGTON,
HIS LIFE, HABITS AND MANNERS.

General Washington, during the whole of both his public and
private life, was a very early riser ; indeed, the Maternal Mansion,
at which his first habits were formed, abhorred the character of a
sluggard, as much as nature does a vacuum. Whether as Chief
Magistrate or the retired Citizen, we find this man of method
and labor seated in his library from one to two hours before day,
iu winter, and at day-break in summer. We wonder at the amaz
ing deal of work which he performed. N"othing but a method
the most remarkable and exemplary could have enabled him to
accomplish an amount of labor, which might have given pretty
full employment to the lives of half a dozen ordinary, and not
idle men. When we consider the volume of his official papers —
his vast foreign, public, and private > correspondence — we are
scarcely able to believe that the space of one man's life should
have comprehended the doing so many things, and doing them
so well. His toilette was soon made. A single servant prepared
his clothes, and laid them in readiness, also combed and tied his
hair; he shaved and dressed himself, giving but very little of his
precious time to matters of that sort, though remarkable for the
neatness and propriety of his apparel. His clothes were made
after the old-fashioned cut, of the best, though plainest materials.
When President of the United States, the stjde of his household
and equipage corresponded with the dignity of his exalted station,
though avoiding as much as was possible every thing like show
or parade. The expenses of his presidency, over and above the
salary of government, absorbed the proceeds of the sale of a very
considerable estate.
The President never appeared in military costume, unless to
receive his brethren of the Cincinnati, or at reviews. He then
wore the old opposition colors of England, and the regimental
dress of the Volunteer corps which he commanded prior to the
Revolution. With the exception of the brilliant epaulettes, we
believe a present from General Lafayette, and the diamond order

g CUSTIS'S EECOLLEG'TIO.VS
of the Cincinnati, presented by the seanaen of the French fleet,
. our allies in the war of liberty, the uniform of the Commander-
in-Chief of the army and navy, under the Constitution, was as
plain as blue and buff could make it. The cocked hat, with the
black ribbon cockade, was the only type of the heroic time which
appended to the Chief, during his civil magistracy; in all other
respects, he seemed studiously to merge the military into the civil
characteristics of his public life.
About sunrise, General Washington invariably visited and in
spected his stables. He was very fond of horses, and his equip
ages were always of a superior order. The horses which he rode,
in the war of Independence, were said to be superb. We have a
perfect remembrance of the charger which bore him in the great
est of his triumphs, when he received the sword of the vanquished,
on the ever memorable 19th October, 1781. It was a chesnut,
with white face and legs, and was called ISTelson, after the patriotic
Governor of Virginia. Far different was the fate of this favorite
horse of Washington, from that of "the high mettled racer."
When the Chief had relinquished its back, it was never mounted
more, but cropped the herbage in summer, was housed and well
cared for iu winter, often caressed by the master's hand, and died
of old age at Mount Vernon, many years after the Revolution.
The library, and a visit to the stables, occupied the morning till
the hour of breakfast : this meal was without change to him,
whose habits were regular, even to matters which others are so
apt to indulge themselves in, to endless variety. Indian cakes,
honey and tea, formed this temperate repast. On rising from
table, if there were guests, and it was seldom otherwise, books
and papers were offered for their amusement ; they were requested
to take good care of themselves, and the illustrious farmer pro
ceeded to the daily tour of his agricultural concerns. He rode
upon his farms entirely unattended, opening his gates, pulling
down and putting up his fences, as he passed, visiting his laborers
at their work, inspecting all the, operations of his extensive
agricultural establishments with a careful eye, directing useful
improvements, and superintending them in their progress. He
introduced many and valuable foreign, as well as domestic modes
of improved husbandry, showing, by experiment, their practical
utility, and peculiar adaptation to our system of rural affairs ;

o|- WASHINGTON. 7
avid, by his zeal and ability, " gave a speed to the plough," and a
generous impulse to the cause of agriculture and domestic econ
omy — those important sources of- national wealth, industry, and
mdependence. The tour of the farms might average from ten to fifteen miles
per day. An anecdote occurs to us at this moment, which, as it
embraces a Revolutionary worthy, a long tried and valued friend
of the Chief, and is graphic of Washington on Ms farm, we shall,
without apology, present to our readers. We were accosted,
while hunting, by an elderly stranger, who inquired whether the
General was to be found at the Mansion house, or whether he had
gone to visit his estate. We replied, that he was abroad, and
gave directions as to the route the stranger was to pursue, observ
ing, at the same time, you will meet, sir, with an old gentleman
.riding alone, in plain drab clothes, a broad brimmed white hat, a
Mckory switch in his hand, and carrging an umbrella with a long
«teiff, which is attached to his saddle-boiv — that personage, sir, is Q-en-
ercd Washington ! The stranger, much amused at our description,
observed, with a good humored smile, Thank ye, thank ye, young
gentleman ; I think, if I fall in with the General, I shall be rather
apt to know him. At dinner, we had the pleasure of being intro
duced to Colonel Meade, who had been aid-de-camp to the Com-
snander-in-Chief, in the war of the Revolution. The umbrella
was not used as an article of luxury, for luxuries were to him
known only by name. Being naturally of a very fair complexion,
his skin was liable to be affected by the influence of the sun.
This umbrella, just as it was when last he had if down, never
again to require its friendly shade, we have had the good fortune
to preserve for a quarter of a century, and the happiness to pre
sent it to the Patriarch of La Grange, in whose possession it will
long- be treasured, as the relic of his Paternal Chief, and as an ap
propriate memorial of the modern Cincinnatus. Precisely at a
quarter before three, the industrious farmer returned, dressed,
and dined at three o'clock. At this meal he ate heartily, but was
not particular in his diet, with the exception of fish, of which he
was excessively fond, partook sparingly of dessert, drank a home
made beverage, and -from four to five glasses of Madeira wine.
When the cloth was removed, with old-fashioned courtesy he
drank to the health of every person present, and then gave hia

8 CUSTIS'S RECOLLECTIONS
toast  his only toast — all our friends : — than which a nobler or a
kindlier sentiment never was pledged at the board of social friend
ship, or "brayed out with the trumpet's triumphs " at the "ca
rousals" of a King.
While on the subject of toasts, we would ask permission to
o-ive one more. The late Colonel Cropper, of Accomac, was a
Captain in the ninth Virginia Regiment of the line, which formed
part of the Southern Division under Greene, and covered the re
treat of our discomfited army at the battle of Erandywine. On
thfe evening of that hard-fought day, Cropper marched the re
mains of his company into Chester, having his handkerchief fas
tened to a ramrod, in place of a fiag. After serving his country
with fidelity and distinction, Colonel Cropper retired to his estate
on the Eastern Shore, where he lived to an advanced age. This
worthy veteran, like his General, had but one toast, which he gave
every day, and to all companies it was, " God bless General
Washington." Toasts are supposed to convey the feehngs and
wishes of our hearts ; and if ever an aspiration, warm and direct
from the heart, deserved to find favor with "Heaven's Chancery"
on high, it was when, with pious fervor, this old soldier's prayer
implored a blessing upon his revered commander.
The afternoon was usually devoted to the library. At night,
his labors o'er, the venerable citizen would join his family and
friends at the tea-table, .and enjoy their society for several hours —
took no supper, and about nine o'clock retired to bed. When
without company, he frequently read to his family extracts from
the new publications of the day, and, on Sunday, sermons and
other sacred writings. He read with distinctness and precision,
though with a voice, the tones of which had been considerably
broken by a pulmonary affection in early life, and which, when
greatly excited, produced a laboring of the chest. He would fre
quently, when sitting with his family, appear absent^ his lips
would move, his hand be raised, and he would evidently seem
under the influence of thoughts, which had nothing to do with the
quiescent scene around him. This peculiarity is r^sdily accounted
for, since it must be no very easy matter for one who so long
had borne the cares of public life, at once to lay aside all thought
for others, and become content with individual concerns.
In winter, when stress of weather prevented his taking his

OP WASHINGTOX. V
usual exercise, he was in the habit of walking for an hour in the
portico, before retiring to rest. As the eastern portico of the
Mansion House is more than ninety feet in length, this walk
would comprise several miles.
Thus, in the seldom varied routine of useful industry, temperate
enjoyment, and the heartfelt gratifications of domestic felicity,
sped the latter days of the Father of his Country; and oh! it was
luxurious to behold this "time honored man," the race of whose
glory was run, who had seized the goal of all his wishes, obtained
the reward of all his toils, in the freedom and happiness of a ris
ing Empire, resting from his mighty labors, amid the tranquil re
tirement of Mount Vernon.
The sedentary occupations of a President of the United States
necessarily limited the opportunities for active exercise. These
were principally enjoyed in occasional rides to the country, and
in frequent walks to his watch-maker's, in Second street, for the
purpose of regulating his watch by the time-keeper. As he
passed along, often would mothers bring their children to look
on the Paternal Chief, yet not a word was heard of President of
the United StaJos; the little innocents alone were "taught to lisp
the name of Washington."
He was rather partial to children ; their infantine playfulness
appeared to please him, and many are the parents who at this day
rejoice that his patriarchal hands have touched their offspring.
General Washington was always a strict and decorous observer
of the Sabbath. He invariably attended divine service once a
day, when within reach of a place of worship. His respect to
the clergy, as a body, was shown by public entertainments to
them, the same as to the Corps Legislative and Diplomatic, and
among his bosom friends were the venerable Bishop of Pennsyl
vania, and the late excellent prelate and ardent friend of Ameri
can liberty. Dr. Carroll, Archbishop of Baltimore.
On Sunday, no visitors were admitted to the President's House,
save the immediate relatives of the family, with only one excep
tion : Mr. Speaker Trumbull, since Governor of Connecticut, and
who had been confidential secretary to the Chief in the war of the
Revolution, was in the habit of spending an hour with the Presi
dent, on Sunday evenings. Trumbull practised the lesson of
punctuality which he learned in the service of the olden time.

10 CUSTIS'S RECOLLECTIONS
with such accuracy that the porter, by consulting his clock, could
tell when to stand ready to open to the Speaker's Bell, as it was
called in the family, from the circumstance of no hand, other
than the Speaker's, touching the bell on the evenings of the Sab
bath. Forty years an husband. General Washington retained an old-
fashioned habit of husbands, as he always did the ease and
elegance of old-fashioned manners. He wore suspended from his
neck by a gold chain, and resting on his bosom, the minature por
trait of his wife, from the time of his marriage until he ceased to
live in nature. The letter which he wrote to her, upon his ac
ceptance of the command of the armies of Liberty, (which letter,
dated June 18, 1775, is published in this work, from the auto
graph,) is a proof both of his conjugal tenderness, and diffidence
in receiving so important a commission; also of the purity of his
heart, and of the generous and nobly disinterested motives which
governed his life and actions.
The circumstances attending his first interview with his lady,
we shall give from the relation of an aged gentleman, now no
more. The Provincial Colonel was proceeding to Williamsburg,
when he fell in with P. Chamberlayne, Esq., one of the ancient
aristocracy of Virginia, who lived in a style of great hospitality at
his seat, in the county of New Kent. Chamberlayne pressed the
Colonel to dine with him, and stay all night, (as Virginians of
those days were not in the habit of mScing short or ceremonious
visits,) but was answered, that important business at the seat of
government made a compliance, however agreeable, quite out of
the question. Chamberlayne now j-eturned to the charge, by in-
formipg his friend, that it was in his power to introduce him to a
fine, young, and handsome widow, who was spending some days
at his house. The gallant soldier consented to stop, but it was to
dine — only to dine — while his unsaddled horses ate a mouthful,
and then to be oft' so as to accomplish ten or fifteen miles of his
journey by nightfall. Fate destined this interview to produce the
long and happy union which soon followed the first meeting and
mutual attachment of the parties : for the enamoured Colonel,
making duty, for this time only, to yield to love, permitted the
sun to set and rise again upon him, the guest of Chamberlayne,
while Bishop, his old soldier and body servant, tall as his chief.

OF WASHINGTON. 11
and in this one instance more punctilious, had, in obeying his
orders of haste, long stood at his master's stirrup, "ready, aye,
ready for the field." The ensuing evening the Colonel departed,
" nothing loth " to accept the kind bidding of his hospitable host
to call again. The marriage took»place about 1760, at the White
House in the county of New Kent. The ceremony was performed
by the Rev. Mr. Mossom, a clergyman sent out by the Bishop of
London, in whose diocess the Colony of Virginia then was, to
the Rectory of St. Peter's Parish, New Kent.
Soon after his marriage. Colonel Washington became settled
at Mount Vernon, and was elected frequently' from the county of
Fairfax to the House of Burgesses. During the reigns of the Pro
vincial Governors, Botetourt and Eden, the Courts of Williams
burg and Annapolis displayed as much of the polish of high life
as was to be found in the larger cities of Europe, with far les^ of
their corruptions and debaucheries. It was the custom for gen
tlemen of fortune to have their town-houses during the sessions of
the Legislature, where they lived in great splendor and hospitality.
Colonel Washington was of this number: his personal attractions,
not less than his early renown in arms, made him a subject of
much interest to the Europeans, who were frequent visiters to the
Capitals of Virginia and Maryland. Straight as an Indian arrow,
he was easily distinguished in the gay crowds which appeared at
the palaces of the vice-kings, by a something in his air and man
ner which bespoke n# ordinary man. His lower limbs, being
formed mathematically straight, he walked, as it were, on par
allel lines, while his mode of placing and taking up his feet, re
sembled the step of precision and care, so remarkable in the
aboriginal children of the forest. He might be termed rather a
silent than a speaking member of the House of Burgesses, al
though he sometimes addressed the Chair, and was listened to
with attention and respect, while the excellence of his judgment
was put in requisition on all committees, either of important,
general, or local policy.
When Colonel Washington first resided at Mount Vernon, both
the Mansion-house and estate were inconsiderable. All the em
bellishments of the house and grounds are owing to his creative
hand. Prior to the war of Independence, he was much attached
to the pleasures of the chase, and is described as a bold and fear-

12 OUSTIS's KECOLLECTION,-?
less rider. He kept hounds for a short time after the Revolution,
but declined hunting altogether about 1787 or '88.
He was never disposed to conviviality, but liked the cheerful
converse of the social board ; indulged in no games of chance, ex
cept in the olden times when raquired to make up a party at whist,
in playing for a trifle; although, for many years, play of all kinds
was unknown in his household. After his retirement from pub
lic life, all the time which he could spare from his library, was de
voted to the improvement of his estates, and the elegant and
tasteful arrangement of his house and grounds. He was his own
surveyor; and the disposition and appearance of his farms, gave
evident proofs that the genius of useful improvement had directed
its energies with beneficial as well as ornamental effects.
As a master of slaves. General Washington was consistent, as
in everj' other relation of his meritorious life. They were com
fortably lodged, fed, and clothed; required to do a full and fair
share of duty; well cared for in sickness and old age, and kept
in strict and proper discipline. These, we humbly conceive, com
prise all the charities of slavery. To his old servants, where long
and faithful services rendered them worthy of attachment and es
teem, he was most kind. His huntsman and Revolutionary
attendant. Will Lee, commonly called Billy, was specially pro
vided for, and survived his master a good many years. Will had
been a stout, active man, and a famous horseman, but, from acci
dent, was a cripple for many years before his death, which oc
curred at a very advanced age. This ancient follower, both in
the chase and war, formed a most interesting relic of the Chief,
and received considerable largesse from the numerous visitors to
Mount Vernon. The slaves were left, to be emancipated at the
death of Mrs. Washington ; but it was found necessary (for -pru
dential reasons) to give them their freedom in one year after the
General's decease. Although many of them, with a view to their
liberation, had been instructed in mechanic trades, yet they suc
ceeded very badly as freemen: so true is the axiom, "that the
hour which makes man a slave, takes half his worth away."
Bishop, an English soldier, formed an interesting reminiscence
of the war of '56. He belonged to Braddock's own regiment;
and, on account of possessing superior intelligence, was detailed
as a body servant to accompany that ill-fated commander on the

OF WASHINGTON. 13
expedition to Fort du Quesne. Bishop firmly believed in the
Providence which shielded the Provincial Major, in the memora
ble battle of Monongahela, and observed, he was the only mount
ed officer left. The enemy knew him well, from their having
felt him severely', the year before, at the affair of the Meadows ;
and the provincial military being farmore obnoxious to the French
and Indians than the European troops, from the marksmanship
of the rangers, and their intimate knowledge of the modes of
forest warfare, the fire of the enemy became singularly directed
against the devoted young warrior, whom they afterwards termed
"the spirit-protected man," destined to "become the Chief of
Nations," and who "could not die in battle." The hat worn on
that eventful day, and which was pierced by two balls, was at
Mount Vernon, and both seen and handled by .several persons,
long within our remembrance; yet, strange to say, it was no
where to be found on the demise of the Chief. Another and in
valuable relic was Jiso missing; we mean the sword of service
which was worn in action in the war of Independence. It was
described to us, by one who oft had buckled it to the hero's side,
as being a kind of hanger; and we have an indistinct recollec
tion of having been told in the family, that it was given to Greene
at the close of the war. If so, it surely could not have been more
worthily bestowed. Upon mentioning these circumstances to
General Andrew Jackson, he was pleased to say that he would
make inquiry among the descendants of Greene, who, if they
possess, will, no doubt, most dearly prize so valued a gift as the
Sword of the Revolution.
At the commencement of hostilities, in 1775, Bishop being too
old for active service, was left at home in charge of the manufac
turing establishments of the household, where the veteran would
flourish his cane, exacting as perfect obedience as though he had
been on parade. A comfortable house had been built for him ;
he had married ; and, looking no more toward his native land,
he was contented to pass the remainder of his days on the domain
of his patron, where he rested from labor, in the enjoyment of
every possible ease and indulgence — the reward of his long and
faithful services. In his comfortable homestead, and hoary with
age, he would delight the young with tales of fearful interest of
the Indian wars — while, his own wars ended, and at peace with

14 CUSTIS'S RECOLLECTIONS
the world, he feebly trimmed the lamp of life, which, having
burned for more than eighty years, could but for a little while
longer be kept from sinking in its socket.
Notwithstanding his perfect reverence for his patron, this old
soldier would sometimes, presuming on the privilege of age and
long services, chafe his protector on points of expediency, thou'gh
never on those of. obedience. The General would assume a lofty
tone, saying. It is very well, sir ; if you are at length tired of my
services, you are at perfect liberty to depart. The ancient fol
lower of Braddock, however, knew his man, and knew exactly
what best to do ; he wisely became silent, and the storm which
appeared to be brooding quickly passed away, when a returning
sunshine cheered with the warmth' of its kindness the veteran
of '56.
The Washington family were subject to hereditary gout — the
Chief never experienced a pang. His temperance, and the ener
getic employment of both his body and mind, seemed to forbid
the approach of a disease, which severely afflicted several of his
nearest kindred. His illnesses were of rare occurrence, but were
particularly severe ; his aversion to the uses of medicine was ex
treme : for, even when in great suffering, it was only by the en
treaties of his lady, and the respectful, yet beseeching look, of
his oldest friend and companion in arms, (Dr. James Craik,) that
he could be prevailed upon to take the slightest preparation of
medicine. He certainly never had children. We recollect a lady
who called herself his daughter. She was a fine looking woman,
but without any particular likeness to the Chief; nor can we con
sider that as a pardonable vanity in a child, which implicates the
houor of a parent.
The remarkable degree of admiration and awe that was felt by
every one, upon the first approach to Washington, evidences the
imposing power and sublimit}' which belongs to real greatness.
Even the frequenters of the Courts of Princes were sensible of
this exalted feeling, when in presence of the hero, who, formed
for the highest destinies, bore an impress from nature, which de
clared him to be one among the noblest of her works.
Those who have only seen the Leader of Armies and the Chief
Magistrate of the Republic, can have but an imperfect idea of the
same being, when merged into the retired citizen, embosomed

OF WASHINGTON. 15
amid his family and friends, cultivating the social and domestic
virtues, and diffusing pleasure and happiness to all around him.
Persons' iu general have been iu error in supposing that there
belonged to this awful man nothing of the gentler sort — " no tear
for pity." The Master Spirit in the direction of those vast events
which gave a new empire to the world, the austerity of command
could never destroy those kindlier feelings in which he delighted
himself to indulge, and to dispense them to others. Stern he was
to all whom he deemed wanting in those high moral requisites
which dignify and adorn our natures — stern he was to the distur
bers of the repose of society, the violators of those institutes
which promote peace and good will among men ; but he was for
bearing to the imperfections of human kind, where they arose
from the passions only, and not the depravities of the heart.
He was reserved to the many, but there were a chosen few, who,
having passed that barrier, were wooed by his friendship to push
their fortunes, till they finally gained footing in the citadel of his
esteem. He had a tear; for we have seen it shed with parental solicitude
over the manifold errors and follies of our unworthy youth. He
shed a tear of sorrow- for his suffering country in the dark hour
of her destiny, and a tear of joy and gratitude to Heaven for her
dei^verance — when, in 1789, he crossed the Bridge of Trenton;
on which classic spot the hands of freemen "reared for him tri
umphal bowers," while a choir of innocents, with seraph chaunt,
"welcomed the mighty Chief once more," and "virgins fair, and
matrons grave, strewed the hero's way with flowers."
The journey of the first President to the seat of Government was
one continued triumph; but no where was it of so feeling. a char
acter as at the bridge of Trenton. That was indeed a classic
ground. It was there, on a frozen surface, that in 1776 was
achieved the glorious evpnt which restored the fast-failing for
tunes of Liberty, and gave to her drooping eagles a renewed and
bolder flight. What a- contrast to the Chief must have been this
spot in 1789, when no longer " a mercenary foe aimed 'gainst him
the fatal blow ;" when no more was heard the roar of combat,
the shouts of the victors, the groans of the dying — but the wel
come of thousands to Liberty's great Defender, the heartfelt hom
age of freemen to the Deliverer of his Country. The President

16 CUSTIs'fe RECOLLECTIONS
alighted from his carriage, and approached the bridge uncovered.
As he passed under the triumphal arch, a cherub, perched amid
its foliage, crowned him with laurel which will never fade, while
seraph strains from angel minstrelsy sweetly filled the air, as the
Hero trod on his way of flowers. Washington shed tears!
The merit of these appropriate and classical decorations were due
to the late Mrs. Stockton, of Princeton, a lady of superior literary
acquirements and refined taste. She was familiarly called the
Duchess, from her elegance and dignity of manners ; was a most
ardent patriot during the war of the Revolution, and, with the
Stockton family, was marked for persecution on the ruthless inva
sion of the Jerseys. This distinguished lady was the grand
mother of Mr. Secretary Rush, who is "doubly blessed" in his
Revolutionary ancestry; both his father and grand-father having
signed the Declaration of Independence — a most honored distinc
tion, and, we believe, enjoyed by no other citizen of our exten
sive American Empire.

OF WASHINGTON. 17

THE LAST HOURS OF WASHINGTON.— 1828.
Twenty-eight years have passed away since an interesting group
were assembled in the death-room, and witnessed the last hours
of Washington. So keen and unsparing hath been the scythe of
Time, that, of all those who watched over the Patriarch's couch,
on the 13th and 14th of December, 1799, but a single personage
survives. On the morning of the 13th, the General was engaged in
making some improvements in front of Mount Vernon. As was
usual with him, he carried his owu compass, noted his observa
tions, and marked out the ground. The day became rainy, with
sleet, and the improver remained so long exposed to the in
clemency of the weather, as to be considerably wetted before his
return to the house. About one o'clock, he was seized with chill-
ness and nausea, but having changed his clothes, he sat down to
his in-door work — there being no moment of his time for which
he had not provided an appropriate employment.
At night, on joining his family circle, the General complained
of slight indisposition, and, after a single, cup of tea, repaired to
his library, where he remained writing until between eleven and
twelve o'clock. Mrs. Washington retired about the usual family
hour, but becoming alarmed at not hearing the accustomed sound
of the library door, as it closed for the night, and gave signal for
rest iu the well regulated mansion, she arose again, and continued
sitting up, in much anxiety and suspense. At length the well
known step was heard on the stair, and upon the General's enter
ing his chamber, the lady kindly chided him for remaining up so
late, knowing himself to be unwell ; to which Washington made
this memorable reply : " I came so soon as my business was ac
complished. You well know, that, through a long life, it has been
my unvaried rule, never to put off till the morrow the duties which
should he performed to-day."
Having first covered up the fire with care, the man of mighty
labors at last sought repose ; but it came not as it had long been
wont to do, to comfort and restore, after the many and earnest occu
pations of the well-spent day. Thenight was passed in feverish

18 CUSTIS'S RECOLLECTIONS
restlessness and pain. " Tired nature's sweet restorer, balmy
sleep," was destined no more to visit his couch; yet the manly
sufferer uttered no complaint, would permit no one to be disturbed
in their rest on his account, and it was only at daybreak he
would consent that the overseer might be called in, and bleeding
resorted to. A vein was opened, but without affording relief.
Couriers were despatched to summon Dr. Craik, the family, and
Drs. Dick and Brown, as consulting physicians, all of whom came
with speed. The proper remedies were administered, but with
out producing their healing eflfects, while the patient, yielding to
the anxious looks of all around him, waived his usual objection
to medicines, and took those which were prescribed, without hesi
tation or remark. The medical gentlemen spared not their skill,
and all the resources of their art were exhausted in unwearied
endeavors to preserve this noblest work of nature.
Night approached — the last night of Washington ; the weather
became severely cold, while the group gathered nearer to the
couch of the sufferer, watching, with intense anxiety, for the
slightest dawning of hope. He spoke but little. To the respect
ful and aflfectionate inquiries of an old family servant, as she
smoothed down his pillow, how he felt himself, he answered, " I
am very ill." To Dr. Craik, his earliest companion in arms,
longest tried, and bosom friend, he observed : "I am dying, sir —
but am not afraid to die." To Mrs. Washington, he said: "Go
to my escritoir, and in the private drawer you will find two pa
pers — bring them to me." They were brought. He continued :
"These are my wills — preserve this one, and burn the other:"
which was immediately done. Calling to Colonel Lear, he di
rected: "Let my corpse be kept for the usual period of three
days." Here we would beg leave to remind our readers, that, in a for
mer part of this work, we have said that Washington was old-
fashioned in much of his habits and manners, and in some of his
opinions ; nor was he the less to be admired on those accounts.
The custom of keeping the dead for the scriptural period of three
days, is derived from remote antiquity, and arose, not from fear
of premature interment, as in more modern times, but from mo
tives of veneration toward the deceased ; for the better enabling
the relatives and friends to assemble from a distance, to perform
the funeral rites ; for the pious .watchings of the corpse ; and for

OF WASHINGTON. 19
the many sad, yet endearing ceremonials with which we delight
to pay our last duties to the remains of those we have loved.
The patient bore his acute sufferings with manly fortitude, and
perfect resignation to the Divine will ; while, as the night ad
vanced, it became evident that he was sinking, and he seemed
fully aware that his "hour was nigh." He inquired the time,
and it was answered, a few moments to twelve. He spake no
more — the hand of death was upon him, and he was conscious
that his " hour was come." With surprising self-possession, he
prepared to die. Composing his form at length, and folding his
hands upon his bosom — without a sigh — without a groan — the
Father of his Country expired, gently as though an infant di-ed.
Nor pang or struggle told when the noble spirit took its noise
less flight; while so trauquil appeared the manly features in the
repose of "death, that some moments had passed ere those around
could believe that the Patriarch was no more.
It may be asked, and why was the ministry of religion wanting
to shed its peaceful and benign lustre upon the last hours of
Washington ? Why was he, to whom the observances of sacred
things were ever primary duties through life, without their con
solations in his last moments ? We answer, circumstances did
not permit. It was but for a little while that the disease assumed
so threatening a character as to forbid the encouragement of
hopes ; yet, to stay that summons which none may refuse, to give
still farther length of days to him whose " time-honored life"
was so dear to mankind, prayer was not wanting to the Throne
of Grace. Close to the couch of the sufferer, resting her head
upon that ancient book, with which she had been wont to hold
pious communion, a portion of every day, for more than half a
century, was the venerable consort, absorbed in silent prayer, and
from which she only arose when the mourning group prepared to
bear her from the chamber of the dead. Such were the last hours
of Washington.

20 CUSTIS'S RECOLLECTIONS
THE BIRTH NIGHT.
The Birth Night ball was instituted at the close of the Revolu
tionary War, and its first celebration, we believe, was held in
Alexandria. Celebrations of the birth night soon became gen
eral in all the towns and cities, the 22d of February, like the 4th
of July, being considered a National Festival, while the pecu
liarity attending the former was, that its parade and ceremonies
always closed with the birth night ball. In the larger cities,
where public balls were 'customary, the birth night, in the olden
time, as now, was the Gala Assembly of the season, attended by
all the beauty and fashion, by the foreign ambassadors, and stran
gers of distinction at the seat of Government. The first President
always attended on the birth night. The etiquette was, not to
open the ball until the arrival of him in whose honor it was given ;
but, so remarkable was the punctuality of Washingtorf in all his
engagements, whether for business or pleasure, that he was never
waited for a moment in appointments for either. Among the
brilliant illustrations of a birth night of five and thirty years ago,
the most unique and imposing was the groups of young and beau
tiful ladies, wearing in their hair bandeaus or scrolls, having em
broidered thereon, in language both ancient and modern, the
motto of '¦^ Live the President."
The Minuet, (now obsolete,) for the graceful and elegant danc
ing of which Washington was conspicuous, in the vice-regal days
of Lord Botetourt in Virginia, declined down after the Revolu
tion. The Commander-in-Chief danced, for his last time, a
minuet, in 1781, at the ball given in Fredericksburg, in honor of
the French and American officers on their return from the tri
umphs of York-Town. The last birth night atteflded by the ven
erable Chief was in Alexandria, 22d February, 1798. Indeed he
always appeared greatly to enjoy the gay and festive scence ex
hibited at the birth night balls, and usually to remain to a late
hour ; for, remarkable as he was for reserve, and the dignified
gravity inseperable from his nature, Washington ever looked with
most kind and favoring eye upon the rational and elegant plea
sures of life.
The first President was partial to the amusements of the The
atre, and attended some five or six times in a season, more espe
cially where some public charity was to be benefited by the per-

OF WASHINGTON. 21
formahce. The habit was, for the mapager to wait on the Presi
dent, requesting him to command a play ; the pieces so com
manded partook of but little variety, but must be admitted to
have been in excellent taste, the '¦^School for Scandal," and
'¦'¦ Hvery one has Ms Fault," for the pl&ys; and of the afterpieces,
there was almost a standing order for the ^^ Poor Soldier," and
" WigneVs Darby." The Old American Company, comprising
Hallam and Henry, Harper, Wignel, and Old Morris, first played
iu 1789, in the Theatre, John stre^l "and nothing more truly
shows our transcendant march to empire, than the contrast be
tween the humble, nay, barn-like Theatre which the first Presi
dent attended forty years ago, and the now various and magnifi
cent temples of Thespis, which adorn the now great and splendid
city of New York.
The company moved with the Government to Philadelphia,
and performed in the old Theatre, Southwark, (in which was some
scenery, said to have been painted by the interesting and unfor
tunate Major Andre,) until the erection of the house in Chesnut
street, where we believe the curtain fell upon the exits of the last
remnants of the Old American Company.
(By " particular desire,") at the head of the play bill, always an
nounced that the President would attend, and on those nights the
house would be crowded from top to bottom, as many to see the
Hero as the play. Upon the President's entering the stage box
with his family, the Orchestra struck up the President's March,
(now Hail Columbia,) composed by a German named Files, in
'89, and called the President's March, in contradistinction to the
March of the Revolution, called Washington's March. The
audience applauded on the entrance of the President, but the pit
and gallery were so truly despotic in the early days of the Repub
lic, that so soon as Hail Columbia had ceased, Washington's
March was called for by the deafening din of an hundred voices
at once, and upon its being played, three hearty cheers would
rock the building to its base. Indeed, five and thirty years ago
there could not be gotten together any large public assembly with
out a considerable spice of the Revolution being among it. The
soldiers and sailors of the War of Liberty abounded in all public
places, and no sooner would their old Chief appear, than off came
each hat, and the shout of welcome resounded, pure, spontaneous,
direct from the heart.

22 cusTis's recollections

APPLICANTS FOR OFFICE.
When Washington was appointed to his last command in the
armies of his country, his acceptance was accompanied by an in
timation that he should remain in his beloved retirement at
Mount Vernon, till imperious circumstances should call him to
the field. The Commander-in-Chief gave the necessary atten
tion to military duties thrmgh his private secretary, while him
self continued the occupation of rural aff'airs.
A number of the principal characters in the United States were
desirous that their sons should make a first essay in arms under
the immediate auspices of the venerable Chief; among these was
the Hon. Charles Carroll, of CarroUton, for whom Washington
ever entertained the very warmest political as well as personal
attachment and esteem. To Mr. Carroll's application the Gen
eral replied, that as it was his firm resolve, in case the enemy ef
fected a landing, to meet them on the very threshold of the em
pire, he should in such an event require about his person officers
of tried knowledge and experience in war; but, with a view to
gratify Mr. C, that his son should be received as an extra aid-
de-camp. Among the applicants of a more veteran stamp, was Col. H.,
of Richmond, one of that band of ardent and youthful chivalry,
which Virginia sent to the War of Independence in the very
dawn of the Revolution. H. was lieutenant of Morgan's famed
corps of riflemen, which performed the memorable march across
the wintry wilderness of tha Kennebec in 1775, during which
event of almost superhuman privation and toil, and in the subse
quent assault of Quebec, H. displayed a hardihood of character,
and heroism of heart, that won for him the admiration of his
comrades and esteem of their intrepid commander, and elicited a
cognomen that a Ney might be proud to deserve, " The most dar
ing of all who dare." , Morgan, himself bred iu the hardy school
of the frontier and Indian warfare, declared of H., "He exceeds
all men. During the greatest horrors of our march, when the
bravest fainted and fell from exhaustion and despondency, it was
H. who cheered us on, for oft have I seen him dance upon the
snow, while he gnawed Ms moccasins for subsistence."

OF avashington, 23
Yet even to the application of such a soldier, did the ever cau
tious mind of Washington pause, while he weighed in the bal
ance not the past, but the present merits of the man. The Gen
eral wrote to his nephew then in Richmond to this effect : " H.
has applied to become a member of my military family. In the
war of the Revolution I knew him well ; and of a truth he was
tljen all that could be desired in a good and gallant officer, and
estimable man ; but time, my dear Bushrod, often changes men
as well as things. Now, the object of this letter is to inquire
whether the habits of H. are unaltered, and whether I shall find
him now what I knew him to be in other days." The answer to
this letter was most satisfactory. H. was the same — good, gal
lant, and estimable. The Chief was content, and quickly " marked
him for promotion."
What a moral does this little private memoir impress upon
those who are high in authority, upon whose knowledge and
judgment of men and things, so often depend the destinies of
nations I How careful should chiefs be, in the choice of their
subordinates, to weigh well in the balance the present as well as
past merits of applicants for office, lest, as in the words of the
venerated Washington, Time, which changes men as well as things,
may have rendered them unworthy of being " marked for promo
tion."

24 cusTis's recollections

THE BATTLE OF MONMOUTH.
June 28, 1778.
The Commander-in-Chief (Washington) having completed his
arrangements for bringing the enemy to a general action, pro
ceeded slowly toward Monmouth court-house, early on the morn
ing of the 28th of June, 1778.
In the council of war there Vere but two voices for risking a
general engagement, Cadwallader, a gallant fellow, and devoted
in his attachment to the Chief, and Anthony Wayne, who always
said ay when fighting was to be had on any terms.
Washington certainly assumed a great responsibility in risking
an engagement contrary to the opinions of a large majority of
his generals, and notwithstanding the vast disparity of his forces
when compared with those of his adversary — the dispaiity con
sisting more in the material of which the respective armies were
composed than in their numerical estimates. But it is to be
remembered. that the two principal actions of the grand army in
the preceding campaign, though bravely contested, had resulted
unfortunately. Since the close of the campaign of '77, an alli
ance had been formed with France, whose fleets and armies were
hourly expected on our coasts, while the demands of the people,
and those often loudly expressed, were for battles. Urged by
these considerations, the America Chief, determined, happen
what would, to fight Sir Henry Clinton, so that he should not
evacuate Philadelphia, and reach his stronghold in New York
unscathed. Crossing the Delaware, the American approached
his formidable foe, who, trusting in his superiority of numbers,
discipline and appointment, was leisurely wending his way toward
Staten Island, the place of embarkation for New York.
Asa soldier, Washington was by nature the very soul of enter
prise; but, fortunately for his fame and for his country, this
daring spirit was tempered by a judgment and prudence the
most happy in their characters and effects. And yet an illustri
ous patriot and statesman of the Revolution, and most accom
plished writer, (Mr. Jefferson,) has said that the Pater Patriae was
rather the Fabjus than the Marcellus of war, his extreme caution

OF WASHINGTON. 25
fitting him better for the cool and methodical operations of seiges
than for the daring strategy of surprise or the close and stubborn
conflict of the field. Never was there such a misconception of a
great soldier's attributes. Did not this modern Fabius, in the
very depth of winter, and after overcoming mighty obstacles,
surprise his enemy at Trenton, and recall victory to his standard,
when hope was almost sinking in despair? Did he not by a
masterly manoeuvre and midnight march surprise his enemy in
Princeton, and add yet another laurel to the one acquired by the
capture of the Hessians ? Did he not with an army hastily raised,
and defeated at Brandywine, in twenty-three days thereafter
surprise the enemy at Germantown ? And though victory was
denied him by a force of circumstances no human power could
have controlled, yet the boldness of the enterprise, and the suc
cess attending it in the outset, produced such a confidence abroad
in our courage and resources as to lead to our alliance with a
powerful nation. Did he not surprise the enemy at Monmouth ?
And although untoward events served to cripple the' operations
of the early part of the day, yet the setting sun shone upon the
battle-field in possession of the Americans, the enemy retreating
and their dead and wounded left as trophies to the victors. Such
were the memorable instances in which Washington, with troops
newly raised, and badly provided with every necessary of war,
struck at his veteran and well appointed foe when least expected,
producing the happiest influences upon the American cause, both
at home and abroad ; for it is perfectly well known that the battle
of Germantown decided the ministry of France to form the
alliance that so materially contributed to the conclusion of the
war and the consummation of our Independence.
As the Commander-in-Chief, accompanied by a numerous suite,
approached the vicinity of Monmouth court-house, he was met
by a little fifer-boy, who archly observed, " they are all coming
this way, your -honor." Who are coming, my little man, asked
General Knox. " Why, our boys, your honor, our boys, and the
British right after them," replied the little musician. Impossible,
exclaimed Washington ! And giving the spur to his charger,
proceeded at full gallop to an eminence a short distance ahead.
There, to his extreme pain and mortification, it was discovered
that the boy's intelligence was but too true. The very elite ot
4

26 CUSTIS'S RECOLLECTIONS
the American army, five thousand picked officers and men, were
in full retreat, closely pursued by the enemy. The first inquiry
of the Chief was for Major General Lee, who commanded the
advance, and who soon appeared, when a warm conversation
ensued, that ended by the major general being ordered to the
rear. During this interview, an incident of rare and chivalric
interest occurred. Lieutenant Colonel Hamilton, aid to the
General-in-Chief, leaped from his horse, and drawing his sword,
addressed the General with, we are betrayed; your excellency
and this army are betrayed ; and the moment has arrived when
every true friend of America and her cause must be ready to die
in their defence. Washington, charmed with the generous en
thusiasm of his favorite aid, yet deeming the same ill-timed,
pointing to the colonel's horse that was cropping the herbage,
unconscious of the great scene enacting around him, calmly ob
served. Colonel Hamilton, you will take your horse.
The General-in-Chief now set himself in earnest about restoring
the fortunes of the day. He ordered Colonel Stewart and Lieut.
Colonel Ramsay, with their regiments, to check the advance of
the enemy, which service was gallantly performed ; while the
General, in person, proceeded to form his second line. He rode
on the morning of the 28th of June, and for that time only during
the war, a white charger that had been presented to him. From
the over-powering heat of the day, and the deep and sandy nature
of the soil, the spirited horse sank under his rider, and expired
on the spof; The Chief was instantly remounted upon a chestnut
blood mare, with a flowing main and tail. It was upon this
beautiful animal, covered with foam, that the American General
flew along the line, cheering the soldiers in the familiar and
endearing language ever used by the officer to the soldier of the
Revolution, of " Stand fast, my boys, and receive your enemy ; the
southern troops are advancing to support ye." The person of
Washington, always graceful, dignified, and commanding, showed
to peculiar advantage when mounted ; it exhibited, indeed, the
very beau ideal of a perfect cavalier. The good Lafayette, during
his last visit to America, delighted to discourse of the "Times
that tried men's souls." From that venerated friend of our
country we derived a most graphic description of Washington
and the field of battle. Lafayette said : " At Monmouth I com-

OF WASHINGTON. 27
manded a division, and it may be supposed was pretty well occu
pied, still I took time, amid the roar and confusion of the conflict,
to admire our beloved Chief, who, mounted on a splendid charger,
rode along the ranks amid the shouts of the soldiers, cheering
them by his voice and example, and restoring to our standard the
fortunes of the fight. I thought then, as now (continued the
good Lafayette) that never had I beheld so superb a man."
Among the incidents of this memorable day may be considered,
on the part of the British, the deplorable death of the Hon. Col.
Monckton, a brother of Earl Galway. It is said this gallant and
accomplished officer had greatly injured his fortune by the dissi
pations incident to a long sojourn in city quarters, and that, in
consequence, he exposed himself recklessly on the 28th of June.
He was much regretted in the British army.
On the part of the Americans, the fate of the young and brave
Captain Fauntleroy, of the Virginia line, was remarkable. He
was on horseback, at a well near a farm-house, waiving his turn,
while the fainting soldiers, consumed by a thirst arising from
their exertions on the hottest .day supposed ever to have occurred
in America, were rushing with frantic cries to the well, imploring
for water. The captain, with the point of his sword resting on
his boot, his arm leaning on the pommel, continued to waive his
turn, when a cannon shot, bounding down the lane that led to
the farm-house, struck the unfortunate officer near the hip, and
hurled him to the ground a lifeless corpse. The lamented Faunt
leroy was descended from one of the old and highly respected
families of Virginia. Leaving the comforts of home and the
delights of a large circle of friends, this gallant young soldier
repaired to the standard of his country early in the campaign of
'76. He was highly respected in his grade, and his untimely fate
was deeply mourned in the American army.
Heedless of the remonstrances and entreaties of his officers, the
Commander-in-Chief exposed his person to every danger through
out the action of the 28th of June.
The uight before the battle of Monmouth, a party of the general
officers assembled, and resolved upon a memorial to the Chief,
praying that he would not expose his person in the approaching
conflict. His high and chivalric daring and contempt for danger
at the battle of Princeton, and again at Germantown, where his

28 CUSTIS b RECOLLECTIONS
officers seized the bridle of his horse, made his friends the more
anxious for the preservation of a life so dear to all, and so truly
important to the success of the common cause. It was deter
mined that the memorial should be presented by Dr. Craik, the
companion in arms of Colonel Washington in the war of '55 ;
but Craik at once assured the memorialists that, while their
petition would be received as a proof of their affectionate regard
for their General's safety, it would not weigh a feather in prevent
ing the exposure of his person, should the day go against them,
and tlie presence of the Chief become important at the post of
danger. Dr. Craik then related the romantic and imposing inci
dent of the old Indian's prophecy, as it occurred on the banks of
the Ohio in 1770, observing that, bred, as he himself was, in the
rigid discipline of the Kirk of Scotland, he possessed as little
superstition as any one, but that really there was a something in
the air and manner of an old savage chief delivering his oracle
amid the depths of the forest, that time or circumstances would
never erase from his memory, and that he believed with the
tawny prophet of the wilderness, that their beloved Washington
was the spirit-protected being described by the savage, that the
enemy could not kill him, and that while he lived the glorious
cause of American Independence would never die.
On the following day, while the Commander-in-Chief, attended
by his officers, was reconnoitering the enemy from an elevated
part of the field, a round shot from the British artillery struck
but a little way from his horse's feet, throwing up the earth over
his person, and then bounding harmlessly away. The Baron
Steuben, shrugging up his shoulders, exclaimed "Dat wash very
neer," while Dr. Craik, pleased with this instance of faith in the
Indian's prophecy, nodded to the officers who composed the party
of the preceeding evening, and then pointing to Heaven, seemed
to say, in the words of the savage prophet, " The Great Spirit
protects him — he cannot die in battle."
A ludicrous occurrence varied the incidents of the 28th of June.
The servants of the general officers were usually well armed and
mounted. Will Lee or Billy, the former huntsman and favorite
body servant of the Chief, a square muscular figure, and capital
horseman, paraded a corps of valets, and riding pompously at
their head, proceeded to an eminence crowned by a large syca-

OF WASHINGTON. 29
more tree, from whence could be seen an extensive portion of the
field of battle. Here Billy halted, and having unslung the large
telescope that he always carried in a leathern case, with a martial
air applied it to his eye, and reconnoitred the enemy. Washing
ton having observed these manoeuvres of the corps of valets,
pointed them out to his officers, observing, " See those fellows
collecting on yonder height ; the enemy will fire on them to a
certainty." Meanwhile the British were not unmindful of the
assemblage on the height, and perceiving a burly figure well
mounted, and with a telescope in hand, they determined to pay
their respects to the group. A shot from a six-pounder passed
through the tree, cutting away the limbs, and producing a scamp
ering among the corps of valets, that caused even the grave coun
tenance of the General-in-Chief to relax into a smile.
Nor must we omit, among our incidents of the battle of Mon
mouth, to mention the achievement of the famed Captain Molly,
a ¦aom de gerre given to the wife of a matross in Proctor's artillery.
At one of the guns of Proctor's battery, six men had been
killed or wounded. It was deemed an unlucky gun, and mur
murs arose that it should be drawn back and abandoned. At
this juncture, while Captain Molly was serving some water for
the refreshment of the men, her husband received a shot in
the head, and fell lifeless under the wheels of the piece. The
heroine threw down the pail of water, and crying to her dead
consort, "lie there my darling while I revenge ye," grasped the
ramrod the lifeless hand of the poor fellow had just relinquished,
sent home the charge, and called to the matrosses to prime and
fire. It was done. Then entering the sponge into the smoking
muzzle of the cannon, the heroine performed to admiration the
duties of the most expert artilleryman, while loud shouts from
the soldiers rang along the line: the doomed gun was no longer
deemed unlucky, and the fire of the battery became more vivid
than ever. The amazonian fair one kept to her post till night
closed the action, when she was introduced to General Greene,
who, complimenting her upon her courage and conduct, the next
morning presented her to the Commander-in-Chief. Washington
received her graciously, gave her a piece of gold, and assured her
that her services should not be forgotten.
This remarkable and intrepid woman survived the Revolution,

30 CUSTIS'S RECOLLECTIONS
never for an instant laying aside the appellation she had so nobly
won, and levying contributions upon both civil and military,
whenever she recounted the tale of the doomed gun, and the
famed Captain Molly at the battle of Monmouth.
On the night of this memorable conflict, Washington laid down
in his cloak under a tree, in the midst of his .brave soldiers.
About midnight, an officer approached cautiously, fearful of
awakening him, when the Chief called out, "Advance, sir, and
deliver your errand. I laid here to think and not to sleep."
In the morning, the American army prepared to renew the
conflict, but the enemy had retired during the night, leaving their
dead and many of their wounded to the care of the victors.
Morgan's mountaineers pursued on their trail, and made some
captures, particularly the coach of a general officer.
The British grand army embarked from Staten Island. The
number, order, and regularity of the boats, and the splendid ap
pearance of the troops, rendered this embarkation one of the
most brilliant and imposing spectacles of the Revolutionary war.
Congress passed a unanimous vote of thanks to the General-
in-Chief, his officers, and soldiers, for the promptness of their
march from the Valley Forge, their surprise and defeat of the
enemy, and a feu de joie was fired by the whole American army
for the victory of Monmouth.

OF WASHINGTON. 31

THE BATTLE OF GERMANTOWN, AND DEATH OP
GENERAL NASH.
October 4, 1777.
Undismayed by his defeat at the battle of the Brandywine,
Washington hovered on the march of his enemy ; not with the
hope of saving Philadelphia, but with the determination to strike
yet another blow before the conclusion of the campaign of 1777.
Charmed with the courage displayed by his undisciplined soldiers,
when opposed to a superior army of veterans, in the combat at
Chadsford, the American General anxiously watched for an oppor
tunity of again measuring his sword with that of his skilful and
far better appointed adversary, though vast were the advantages
in favor of the latter.
Sir William Plowe, flushed with his victory over the American
Grand Army, and the occupation of the then capital of the Ameri
can Union, and presuming that his foe was sufficiently subdued
to give him no further molestation for the remainder of the cam
paign, quartered a large portion of his troops in the village of
Germantown, about seven miles from the city of Philadelphia,
while he despatched considerable detachments towards the posi
tions still held by the American forces on the Delaware.
Washington promptly embraced the opportunity thus offered
of striking at his powerful adversary with fair hopes of success.
Gathering together all the troops within his reach, and having
received some reinforcements, although they consisted mostly of
new levies, the American Army broke up from its encampment,
about fifteen miles from Germantown, on the night of the 3d of
October, and advanced upon the enemy in three columns, in order
of battle.
During the night march, several incidents occurred that might
be deemed ominous of the fortunes of the coming day. The
celebrated Count Pulaski, who was charged with the service of
watching the enemy and gaining intelligence, was said to have
been found asleep in a farm house. But, although the gallant
Pole might have been overtaken by slumber from the great fatigue

32 CUSTIS'S RECOLLECTIONS
growing out of the duties of the advanced guard, yet no soldier
was more wide awake in the mojnent of combat than the intrepid
and chivalric Count Pulaski. The delay in the arrival of the
ammunition wagons was productive of the most serious conse
quences in the action of the succeeding day. The general officer
to whom the blame of this delay was attached was afterwards
discovered in a state of intoxication, lying in the corner of a
fence. Lieutenant Benjamin Grimes, of the Life Guard, grasp
ing the delinquent by the collar, placed him on his legs, and bade
him go and do his duty. This bold proceeding on the part of a
subaltern towards a general officer was certainly at variance with
all rules or orders of discipline ; but the exigency of the moment,
and the degraded spectacle that an officer of high rank had pre
sented to the eyes of the soldiery, would seem to have warranted
a proceeding that, under different circumstances, must be con
sidered as subversive of all military discipline. Grimes was a
bold, brave soldier, enthusiastically attached to the cause of his
country, and foremost among the asserters of her liberties. The
general officer of whom we have spoken was brought to a court
martial and cashiered.
The surprise was complete. Between daybreak and sunrise
the British pickets were forced, and the Light Infantry, routed in
their camp, fied in confusion, leaving their camp standing. So
complete was the surprise that the officers' watches were found
hanging up in their marquees, together with their portmanteaus
and trunks of clothes, the latter affording a most seasonable booty
to the American soldiery. Many of the tents and marquees were
burnt, owing to a want of transportation to carry them away.
Although completely routed in the onset, the British light infan
try rallied under their officers, and annoyed their enemy from
every house, enclosure, or other defensible position that offered
in the line of their retreat; thus showing the mighty power of
discipline over broken troops, and its invaluable influences amid
the greatest emergencies of war.
Six companies of the 40th regiment, under their lieutenant
colonel, being hard pressed by the advancing columns of the
Americans, threw themselves into Chew's house, a strongly con
structed stone building, and, barricading the lower windows,
opened a destructive fire from the cellars and upper windows.

OF WASHINGTON. 33
The Americans, finding their musketry made no impression, were
in the act of dragging up their cannon to batter the walls, when
a ruse de guerre was attempted, which, however, failed of success.
An officer galloped up from the house and cried out, " What are
you about; you will fire upon your own people." The artillery
opened, but after fifteen or twenty rounds, the pieces were found
to be of too small caliber to make a serious impression, and were
withdrawn. A most daring and chivalric attempt was now made to fire the
building. Lieut. Col. Laurens, aid-de-camp to the Commander-
in-Chief, with a few volunteers, rushed up to the house under
cover of the smoke, and applied a burning brand to the princi
pal door, at the same time exchanging passes with the sword with
the enemy on the inside. By almost a miracle, this gallant and
accomplished officer escaped unharmed, although his clothes were
repeatedly torn by the enemy's shot. Another and equally dar
ing attempt was made by Major White, aid-de-camp to General
Sullivan, but without as fortunate a result. The Major, while in
the act of firing one of the cellar windows, was mortally wounded,
and died soon after.
Washington accompanied the leading division of Major Gen.
Sullivan, and cheered his soldiers in their brilliant onset, as they
drove the enemy from point to point. Arrived in the vicinity of
Chew's house, the Commander-in-Chief halted to consult his
officers as to the best course to be pursued towards this fortress
that had so suddenly and unexpectedly sprung up in their way.
The younger officers who were immediately attached to the per
son of the Chief, and among the choicest spirits of the Revolu
tion, including the high and honored names of Hamilton, of
Reed, of Pinckney, of Laurens, and of Lee, were for leaving
Chew's house to itself, or of turning the seige into a blockade,
by stationing in its vicinity a body of troops to watch the move
ments of the garrison, and pressing on with the column in pur
suit of the flying enemy. But the sages of the army, at the head
of whom was Major General Knox, repulsed at once the idea of
leaving a fortified enemy in the rear, as contrary to the usages of
war, and the most approved military authorities,-
At this period of the action the fog had become so dense that
objects could scarcely be distinguished at a few yards' distance.

34 CUSTIS'S RECOLLECTIONS
The Americans had penetrated the enemy's camp even to their
second line, which was drawn up to receive them about the cen
tre of Germantown. The ammunition of the right wing, includ
ing the Maryland brigades, became exhausted, the soldiers hold
ing up their empty cartridge boxes when their officers called on
them to rally and face the enemy. The extended line of opera
tions, which embraced nearly two miles, the unfavorable nature
of the ground in the environs of Germantown for the operations
of troops, a large portion of whom were undisciplined, the ground
being much cut up, and intersected by stone fences and enclosures
of various sorts, the delay of the left wing under Greene in get
ting into action — all these causes, combined with au atmosphere
so dense from fog and smoke as to make it impossible to distin
guish friend from foe, produced a retreat in the American army
at the moment when victory seemed to be within its grasp.
Washington was among the foremost in his endeavors to restore
the fortunes of the day, and while exerting himself to rally his
broken columns, the exposure of his person became so imminent,
that his officers, after affectionately remonstrating with him in
vain, seized the bridle of his horse. The retreat under all cir
cumstances was quite as favorable as could be expected. The
whole of the artillery was saved, and as many of the wounded as
could be removed. The Ninth Virginia Regiment, under Col.
Mathews, having penetrated so far as to be without support, after
a desperate resistance, surrendered its remnant of a hundred men,
including its gallant Colonel, who had received several bayonet
wounds. The British pursued but two or three miles, making
prisoners of the worn-out soldiers, who, after a night march of 15
miles and au action of three hours, were found exhausted and
asleep in the fields and along the roads.
While gallantly leading the North Carolina brigade, that formed
part of the reserve into action. General Nash was mortally wound
ed. A round shot from the British artillery striking a sign-post
in Germantown, glanced therefrom, and passing through his
horse, shattered the General's thigh on the opposite side. The
fall of the animal hurled its unfortunate rider with considerable
force to the ground. With surpassing courage and presence of
mind. General Nash covering his wound with both of his hands,
gaily called to his men, "Nevermind me, I have had a devil of a

OF WASHINGTON. 35
tumble; rush on, my boys, rush on the enemy, I'll be after you
presently." Human nature could do no more. Faint from loss
of blood and the intense agony of his wound, the sufferer was
borne to a house hard by, and attended by Dr. Craik, by special
order of the Commander-in-Chief. The Doctor gave his patient
but feeble hopes of recovery, even with the chances of amputa
tion, when Nash observed, "It may be considered unmanly to com
plain, but my agony is too great for human nature to bear. I am
aware that my days, perhaps hours are numbered, but I do not
repine at my fate. I have fallen on the fleld of honor while lead
ing my brave Carolinians to the assault of the enemy. * I have a
last request to make of his excellency the Commander-in-Chief,
that he will permit you, my dear Doctor, to remain with me to
protect me while I live, and my remains from insult." Dr. Craik
assured the General that he had nothing to fear from the enemy;
it was impossible thaft they would harm him while living, or offer
au insult to his remains ; that Lord Cornwallis was by this time
in the field, and that under his auspices a wounded officer would
be treated with humanity and respect. The dying patriot and
hero then uttered these memorable words: "I have no favors to
expect from the enemy. I have been consistent in my principles
and conduct since the commencement of the troubles. From the
very first dawn of the Revolution I have ever been on the side of
liberty and my country."
He lingered in extreme torture between two and three days,
and died admired by his enemies, admired and lamented by his
companions iu arms. On Thursday, the 9th of October, the whole
American army was paraded by order of the Commander-in-
Chief to perform the funeral obsequies of General Nash, and
never did the warrior's last tribute peal the requiem of a braver
soldier or nobler patriot than of the illustrious son of North
Carolina. Taking rank with the chiefs who had fallen in the high and
holy cause of a Nation's Independence, the name of Nash will
be associated with the martyr names of Warren, Montgomery,
Wooster, Mercer, while the epitaph to be graven on his monu
mental marble should be the memorable words of the Patriot and
Hero on the field of his fame: "From the very first dawn of the
Revolution, I have ever been on the side of liberty and my country."

36 CUSTIS'S RECOLLECTIONS
It was not the halt at Chew's house, it was not the denseness
of the fog, that produced the unfortunate termination of the bat
tle of the 4th of October. Time, that sheds the sober and endur
ing colors of truth over the events of the world, has determined
that the misfortunes of the battle of Germantown are rather to
be ascribed to the undisciplined character of a large proportion
of the American troops, than to all other causes combined.
Washington's oldest Continental Regiments were of but little
more than a year's standing, while many of his troops had seen
but a few months, and some but a few weeks' service. With all
these disjjd vantages, the plan of the surprise of Germantown was
ably conceived and gallantly executed in the outset, and failed of
complete success only from circumstances beyond all human
control. Congress passed a unanimous resolution consolatory to the feel
ings of the Commander-in-Chief, his officer§ and soldiers, under
their disappointment, intimating " that it was not in nature to
command success," but their brave army "had done more; it
had deserved it."
The effects resulting from the battle of Germantown were most
happy both at home and abroad. The enemy were taught to re
spect American troops which they had affected to despise, aud
Sir William Howe deemed it prudent to draw in all his outposts,
and shelter himself in Philadelphia, which proved a great relief
to a large and valuable portion of the adjacent country. Indeed,
it becomes the duty of the historian to declare that matters might
have been much worse on the 4th of October. When the Ameri
cans retreated, the second line of the enemy was in great force,
having been but little impaired in the action, while the reserve,
consisting of the Grenadiers, were close at hand to sustain their
comrades, those chosen fellows having at the first alarm, seized
their arms and ran without halting the distance from the com
mons of Philadelphia to Germantown. Howe's army in 1777,
without disparagement of the British service before or since that
time, may be considered as the finest body of troops that ever
embarked from the British dominions ; yet such was the alarm and
confusion into which these veterans were thrown by the masterly
surprise of Germantown, and such the courage and vigor dis
played by the Americans in their attacks in the early part of the

OF WASHINGTON. 37
day, that a rendezvous at Chester became a measure of serious
contemplation among the commanders of the British army.
But the most happy and imposing influences upon America
aud her cause, resulting from the battle of Germantown, were ex
perienced abroad. Eh, mon Dieu, exclaimed the Count de Ver-
gennes, the French Minister of Foreign Affairs, to the American
Commissioners in Paris, "What is this you tell me. Messieurs;
another battle, and the British grand army surprised in its camp
at Germantown, Sir William and his veterans routed and flying
for two hours, and a great victory only denied to Washington by
a tissue of accidents beyond all human control. Ah, ah, these
Americans are an elastic people. Press them down to-day, they
rise to-morrow. And then, my dear sirs, these military wonders
to be achieved by an army raised within a single year, opposed
to the skill, discipline, and experience of European troops, com
manded by generals grown gray in war. The brave Americans,
they are worthy of the aid of France. They will succeed at last."
The winter of 1777 set in early, and with unusual severity.
The military operations of both armies had ceased, when a de
tachment of the Southern troops were seen plodding their weary
way to winter quarters at the Valley Forge. The appearance of
the horse-guard announced the approach of the Commander-in-
Chief: the officer commanding the detachment, choosing the
most favorable ground, paraded his men to pay to their General
the honors of the passing salute. As Washington rode slowly
up, he was observed to be eyeing very earnestly something that
attracted his attention on the frozen surface of the road. Having
returned the salute with that native grace, that dignifled air and
manner, that won the admiration of the soldiery of the old Revo
lutionary day, the Chief reigned up his charger, and ordering the
commanding officer of the detachment to his side, addressed him
as follows : " How comes it, sir, that I have tracked the march of
your troops by the blood stains of their feet upon the frozen
ground ? Were there no shoes in the Commissary's stores, that
this sad spectacle is to be seen along the public highways ?" The
officer replied : " Your excellency may rest assured that this sight
is as painful to my feelings as it can be to yours ; but there is no
remedy within our reach. When the shoes were issued, the dif
ferent regiments were served in turn ; it was our misfortune to be

38 CUSTIS'S RECOLLECTIONS
among the last to be served, and the stores became exhausted be
fore we could obtain even the smallest supply."
The General was observed to be deeply affected by his officer's
description of the soldiers' privations and sufferings. His com
pressed lips, the heaving of his manly chest, betokened the pow
erful emotions that were struggling in his bosom, when, turning
toward the troops with a voice tremulous yet kindly, Washiugton
exclaimed. Poor fellows ; then giving rein to his charger rode
away. During this touching interview every eye was bent upon the
Chief, every ear was attentive to catch his words ; and when those
words reached the soldiers, warm from the heart of their beloved
commander, and in tones of sorrow and commiseration for their
stifferings, a grateful but subdued expression burst from every
lip, of God bless your excellency, your poor soldiers' friend.
In this interesting event in the life and actions of Washington,
he appears in a new light. He is no longer the grave, the digni
fied, the awe-inspiring and unapproachable General-in-Chief of
the armies of his country. All these characteristics have van
ished, and the Pater Patrias appears amid his companions in arms
in all his moral grandeur, giving vent to his native goodness of
heart.

OF WASHINGTON. 39

WASHINGTON:
His person and personal appearance. Anecdotes of Ms great physical
prowess.
In person Washington was unique: he looked like no one
else. To a stature lofty and commanding, he united a form of
the manliest proportions, limbs cast in Nature's finest mould, and
a carriage the most dignified, graceful, and imposing. No one
ever approached the Pater Patrite that did not feel his presence.
So long ago as the vice regal court at WiUiamsburg, in the days
of Lord Botetourt, Col. Washington was remarkable for his
splendid person, the air with which he wore a small sword, and
his peculiar walk, that had the light elastic tread acquired by his
long service on the frontier, and was a matter of mtich observa
tion, especially to foreigners.
While Col. Washington was on a visit to New York in 1773,
it was boasted at the table of the British Governor that a regi-
ment just landed from England contained among its officers some
of the finest specimens of martial elegance in his Majesty's ser
vice — in fact the most superb looking fellows ever landed upon
the shores of the new world. "I wager your Excellency a pair of
gloves," said a Mrs. Morris, an American lady, " that I will show
you a finer man in the procession to-morrow than your Excellency
can' select from your famous regiment." "Done, madam," replied
the Governor. The morrow came, (the 4th of June,) and the pro
cession in honor of the birthday of the King advanced through
Broadway to the strains of military music. As the troops defiled
before the Governor, he pointed out to the lady several officers
by name, claiming her admiration for their superior persons and
brilliant equipments. In rear of the troops came a band of offi
cers not on duty, of colonial officers, and strangers of distinction.
Immediately on their approach, the attention of the Governor
was seen to be directed toward a tall and martial figure, that
marched with grave and measured tread, apparently indifferent
to the scene around him. The lady now archly observed, "I per
ceive that your Excellency's eyes are turned to the right object ;

40 CUSTIS S RECOLLECTIONS
what say you to your wager now, sir ?" " Lost, madam," replied
the gallant Governor : " When I laid my wager, I was not aware
that Col. Washington was in New York."
To a question that we have been asked a thousand and one
times, viz., to what individual, known to any who are yet living,
did the person of Washington bear the nearest resemblance? we
answer, to Ralph Izard, Senator from South Carolina, in the first
Congress under the Constitution. The form of Izard was cast in
Nature's manliest mould, while his air and manner were both
dignified and imposing. He acquired great distinction, while
pursuing his studies in England, for his remarkable prowess in
the athletic exercises of that distant period.
An officer of the Life Guard has been often heard to observe,
that the Commander-in-Chief was thought to be the strongest
man in his army, and yet what thews and sinews were to be found
in the army of the Revolution. In 1781, a company of riflemen
from the county of Augusta, in Virginia, reinforced the troops of
Lafayette. As the stalwart band of mountaineers defiled before
the General, the astonished and admiring Frenchman exclaimed :
"Mon Dieu-! what a people are these Americans; they have re
inforced me with a band of giants!"
Washington's great physical powers were in his limbs : they
were long, large, and sinewy. His frame was of equal breadth
from the shoulders to the hips. His chest, though broad and
expansive, was not prominent, but rather hollowed in the centre.
He had suffered from a pulmonary affection in early life, from
which he never entirely recovered. His frame showed an extra
ordinary development of bone and muscle ; his joints were large,
as were his feet; and could a cast have been preserved of his
hand, to be exhibited in these degenerate days, it would be said
to have belonged to the being of a fabulous age. During the last
visit of Lafayette to Mount Vernon, among many and interesting
relations of events that occurred in olden days, he said to the
writer ; " It was in this portico that you were introduced to me
in 1784 ; you were then holding by a single finger of the good
General's remarkable hand, which was all that you could do, my
dear sir, at that time."
In the various exhibitions of Washington's greatphysical prowess,
they were apparently attended by scarcely any effort. When he

OF WASHINGTON. 41
overthrew the strong man of Virginia iu wrestling, while many
of the finest of the young athletse of the times were engaged in
the manly games, Washington had retired to the shade of a tree,
intent upon the perusal of a favorite volume; and it was only
when the champion of the game strode through the ring, calling
for nobler competitors, and t9,untingthe student with the reproach
that it was the fear of encountering so redoubted an antagonist
that kept him from the 'ring, that Washington closed his book,
and without divesting himself of his coat, calmly walked into the
arena, observing that fear formed no part of his being; then grap
pling with the champion, the struggle was fierce but momentary,
for, said the vanquished hero of the arena, in Washington's lion
like grasp I became powerless, and was hurled to the ground with
a force that seemed to jar the very marrow in mj^ bones; while
the victor, regardless of the shouts that proclaimed his triumph,
leisurelj^ retired to his shade, and the enjoyment of his favorite
volume. The power of Washington's arm was displayed in several mem
orable instances — in his throwing- a stone across the Rappahan
nock river below Fredericksburg, another from the bed of the
stream to the top of the Natural Bridge, and yet another over the
Palisades into the Hudson. While the late and venerable C. H.
Peale was at Mount Vernon in 1772, engaged in painting the
portrait of the provincial Colonel, some young men were cou-
tending in the exercise of pitching the bar. Washington looked
on for a time, then grasping the missile in his master hand,
whirled the iron through the air, which took the ground far, very
far, beyond any of its former limits — the Colonel observing, with
a smile, " You perceive, young gentlemen, that my arm yet re
tains some portion of the vigor of my earlier days." He was then
in his fortieth year, and probably in the full meridian of his physi
cal powers ; but those powers became rather mellowed th^^^-
cayed by time, for "his age was like a lusty winter, frost^^t
kindly," and, up to his sixty-eighth year, he mounted a horse
with surprising agility, and rode with the ease and gracefulness
of his better days. His personal prowess, that elicited the admi
ration of a people who have nearly all passed from the stage of
life, still serves as a model for the manhood of modern times.
With all its development of muscular power, the form of Wash-
6

42 CUSTIS'S RECOLLECTIONS
ingtou had no appearance of bulkiness, and so harmonious were
its proportions, that he did not appear so passing tall as his por
traits have represented. He was rather spare than full during his
whole life; this is readily ascertained from his weight. The last
time he weighed was in the summer of 1799, when having made
the tour of his farms, accompanied by an English gentleman, he
called at his mill and weighed. The writer placed the weight in
the scales. The Englishman, not so tall, but stout, square built,
and fleshy, weighed heavily, and expressed much surprise that
the General had not outweighed him, when Washington observed
that the best weight of his best days never exceeded from 210 to
220. In the instance alluded to he weighed a little rising 210.
Of the portraits of Washington, the most of them give to his
person a fulness that it did not possess, together with an abdomi
nal enlargement greater than in the life, while his matchless
limbs have in but two instances been faithfully portrayed — in the
equestrian portrait by Trumbull of 1790, a copy of which is in the
City Hall of New York, and in an engraving by Losier, from a
painting by Coginet, French artists of distinguished merit. The .
latter is not an original painting, the head being from Stuart, but
the delineation of the limbs is the most perfect extant.
Of the remarkable degree of awe and reverence that the pres
ence of Washington always inspired, we shall give one out of one
thousand instances. During the cantonment of the American
army at the Valley Forge, some officers of the 4th Pennsylvania
regiment were engaged in a game of fives. In the midst of their
sport they discovered the Commander-in-Chief leaning upou the
enclosure and beholding the game with evident satisfaction. In
a moment all things were changed. Tke ball was suffered to roll
idly away", the gay laugh and joyous shout of excitement were
hushed into a profound silence, and the officers were gravely
grouped together. It was in vain the Chief begged of the players
tflipthey would proceed with their game, declared the pleasure
he had experienced from witnessing their skill, spoke of a pro
ficiency in the manly exercise that he himself could have boasted
of in other days. All would not do. Not a man could be in
duced to move, till the General, finding that his presence hindered
the officers from continuing the amusement, bowed, and wishing
them good sport, retired.

OF WASHINGTON. 43

THE HEADQUARTERS.
Many of the establishments that constituted the Headquarters
in the War of the Revolution yet remain for the veneration of the
Americans. At Cambridge, Morristown, Newburg, West Point,
New Windsor, and other places, the buildings are still preserved,
but of the Valley Forge it is doubtful whether there exists at this
time any remains of the Headquarters so memorable in the history
of the days of trial.
If the Headquarters at Morristown were bleak and gloomy,
from being located in a mountainous region, and occupied in the
depth of winter, the soldier. was cheered amid his privations by
the proud and happy remembrance of his triumphs at the close
of the campaign of 1776. Not such were the associations that
attended the Headquarters at Valley Forge, at the close of the
campaign of 1777. The American army, defeated in two hard-
fought general engagements, beheld its enemy comfortably housed
in Philadelphia, while it was compelled at an inclement season
to retire to a forest, there to erect huts for shelter, and where it
afterwards endured the greatest extremities of human suffering.
But Washington was in the midst of his faithful companions in
arms, ever employed in limiting their .privations, in alleviating
their miseries, and holding up to them the hopes of better fortunes.
And oft in the rude wintry night, when the tempest howled
among the hovels, and the shivering sentry paced his lonely
round, would his eye be attracted to the taper that burned in the
Headquarters, where the man of mighty labors, watching while
others slept, toiled in the cause of unborn millions.
At the Headquarters of the Valley Forge occurred some of the
most memorable incidents of .the War of Independence. It was
there the General received the appalling intelligence that not
another ration was in store to issue to his troops. It was there
that he was forced, by a stern and painful necessity, to use the high
powers vested in him by Congress, to seize upon provisions for
the relief of his starving soldiers. It was there, while struggling

44 CUSTIS S RECOLLECTIONS
with dangers and difficulties, while borne down with the cares
and sorrows of his country's cause, that Washiugton was informed
of the cabal then agitating in Congress and tho army for the
removal of the Commander-in-Chief.
But with all these glooms there were glories, too, that shed
their lustre upon the Headquarters of the Valley Forge. It was
there first proclaimed to the army the grateful tidings of the
alliance with France; and it was from that scene of so many trials
and sufferings, that on the return of the genial season, the modern
Fabius marched again to grapple with his formidable and well-
appointed foe, and to wrest from him, after a most gallant and
hard-fought conflict, a glorious victory on the plains of Monmouth.
The Headquarters were under canvass during the siege and
after the surrender of Yorktown. The marquees of the Com
mander-in-Chief were pitched in the rear of the grand battery,
just out of the range of the enemy's shells. There were two
marquees attached to the Pleadquarters during all the campaigns.
The larger, or banqueting tent, would contain from forty to fifty
persons; the smaller or sleeping tent had an inner chamber,
where, on a hard cot-bed, the Chief reposed. There is a most
interesting reminiscence attached to the sleeping tent. The
Headquarters, even during the summer season, were located, in
a great majority of instances, in private dwellings, the sleeping
tent being pitched in the yard or very near at hand. Within its
venerable folds, Washington was in the habit of seeking privacy
and seclusion, where he could commune with himself, and where
he wrote the most memorable of his despatches in the Revolu
tionary war. He would remain in the retirement of the sleeping
tent some times for hours, giving orders to the officer of his guard
that he should on no account be disturbed, save on the arrival of
an important express. The objects of his seclusion being accom
plished, the Chief would appear at the canvass door of the marquee
with despatches in his hand, giving which to his secretary to copy
and transmit, he .would either mount his charger for a tour of
inspection, or return to the Headquarters and enjoy social con
verse with his officers.
The marquees were made in Third street, Philadelphia, under
the direction of Captain Moulder, of the artillery, and were first
pitched on the Heights of Dorchester, in August, 1775.

OF WASHINGTON. 45
The life-guard was attached to the Headquarters from the time
of its formation till the end of the war. This chosen corps of
picked men, with Gibbs and Colfax, and their gallant officers,
was always in the finest order, proud of its being attached to the
person of the Chief, and appearing smart and soldierly, even in
the worst times.
In our Memoirs of the Pater Patriae, we shall continue to intro
duce some mention of the dis'tinguished patiots, statesmen, and
soldiers who enjoyed his intimacy, and were dear to his affections.
High on this honored list appears in bold relief the name of
Jonathan Trumbull, the patriotic governor of Connecticut during
the whole of the Revolution. He was, indeed, more fitted for
the times in which he fiourished, and such a one as revolution
alone seems capable of producing. Wise to conceive, and ener
getic to execute, his prudence equalled his courage in the con
spicuous part he was destined to bear in those momentous con
cerns that eventuated in the Independence of his country ; yet
did he "bear his high offices so meekly " that he was as deservedly
beloved for the mildness of his private virtues as he was admired
for the stern unyielding integrity with which he discharged his
public duties. It is enough for his fame or his epitaph that he
was a man after Washington's own heart.
When the news arrived in Connecticut 'of the battle of Lexing
ton, Putnam, who was ploughing in his field, instantly repaired
to the Governor for orders. "Go," said Trumbull "to the scene
of action." "But my clothes. Governor!" "Oh, never mind
your clothes," continued Trumbull, " your military experience will
be of service to your countrymen." "But my men. Governor;
what shall I do about my men?" "Oh, never mind your men,"
continued the man for the times, "I'll send your men after you."
Putnam hurried to Cambridge.
One of the most •rgent appeals for assistance that ever eman
ated from the American Headquarters was contained in a
dispatch to the Governor of Connecticut. It was dated from
the camp, near the North river, in the latter years of the war.
, Governor Trumbull was alone in his room of business ; on the
table were various letters and despatches, some just opened and
others sealed for immediate transmission; a cocked hat of the
cut and fashion of the days of George II, the Governor's sole

46 CUSTIS'S RECOLLECTIONS
insignia of office, was also on the table, while the Chief Magistrate
himself was busily engaged in writing.
An aid-de-camp of the Commander-in-Chief was introduced,
much worn and "travel stained" from the haste of his journey.
The Governor rose, and while cordially welcoming Colonel  ,
inquired after the health of his excellency, and .what news from
the army. The aid-de-camp replied that the General was well,
and the news from the army of a very sombre character, and pre
sented a letter. The letter was very short. It contained an
apology from Washington for having applied for assistance where
it had been so often and so liberally rendered before, but con
tinued that the situation of the army was critical in the extreme,
the country adjacent to the camp being completely exhausted, as
well by the enemy's as by his own foraging parties; and con
cluded by lamenting that, unless supplies could be speedily
obtained, he should be obliged to abandon his position, and fall
back into the interior to obtain the necessary subsistence for the
troops. The Governor pondered for a moment upon the contents.of the
letter, then rising, and cordially grasping the Colonel by the
hand, observed, in a firm, yet cheerful tone, " When you return
to camp, bear with you, my dear sir, my love and duty to his
excellency, and say to him that brave old Connecticut, patriotic
Connecticut, is not quite exhausted, but for every barrel of pro
visions she has furnished to the cause of liberty, she will furnish
another, and yet another to the same glorious cause; say further,
that on such a day our teams may be looked for on the bank of
the North river." The aid-de-camp departed rejoicing.
And now the patriot became "every inch" the executive
officer. From his intimate acquaintance with the resources of
his native State, he knew exactly where those resources were to
be obtained, and their facilities for transpoltation, for with him
every thing was done by method and regularity. His orders flew
in all directions. His orders were obeyed.
Meantime the return of the aid-de-camp to Headquarters with
intelligence of the promised supplies diffused a general gladness
throughout the army. When the expected day arrived, many
an anxious eye was turned to the road leading from the eastward
to the landing on the North river; a dust is seen in the distance,

OF WASHINGTON. 47
and presently are heard the cries of the teamsters, urging their
fine oxen, while the heavy-laden wains groan under their generous
burdens. A shout rtngs through the American camp, and the
Commander-in-Chief, attended by his officers, rode to an eminence
to witness the arrival of the welcome supplies.
Governor Trumbull had two sons attached to the Headquarters,
John, the distinguished artist and the last of the aids-de-camp, and
Jonathan, Military Secretary to the Commander-in-chief at the
siege of Yorktown.
But one attempt was made to surprise the Headquarters during
the war. The army lay in Jersey. The enemy, taking advantage
of their facilities for water communication, and under cover of
night, landed in considerable force a short distance above the
American camp, and made a spirited attack upon its outposts.
The alarm soon extended to the Headquarters, where Lady
Washington (always so called by the soldiers) and the ladies of
several of the general officers were sojourning during the winter
quarters. The life-guard rushed to the house, the windows were
taken out in a moment, the doors barricaded, and the rooms and
staircases filled with armed men. Cannon were dragged into the
yards, and every preparation made for a vigorous defence. An
aid-de-camp proposed that the ladies should be removed under
an escort to a place of safety. This Washington at once refused,
gallantly observing, " No, Colonel, let the ladies remain where
they are, that. they may see how bravely we will defend them;"
and then mounted his charger, and proceeded to the scene of
action. Meantime the firing was distinctly heard, and evidences
of battle became painfully apparent in the wounded borne along
in the arms of their comrades in search of medical assistance.
After a short, but sharp skirmish, the firing ceased altogether;
the enemy, finding themselves baffied in their hopes of a surprise,
retreated to their boats, and gained the eastern bank of the Hud
son. Day was now breaking, and the ladies were gratified in
beholding the Commander-in-Chief, with his staff and the general
officers, returning at full gallop to the Headquarters.
Among the great variety of persons and character that were to
be found from time to time at and about the Headquarters, was
the famed Captain Molly. After her heroic achievements at the
battle of Monmouth, the heroine was always received with a

48 CUSTIS'S RECOLLECTIONS
cordial welcome at Headquarters, where she was employed in
the duties of the household. She always wore an artillery
man's coat, with the cocked hat and feather, the distinguishiug
costume of Proctor's artillery. One day the Chief accosted this
remarkable woman, while she was engaged in washing some
clothes, pleasantly observing: "Well, Captain Molly, are you
not almost tired of this quiet way of life, and longing to be once
more on the field of battle?" " Troth, your Excellency," replied
the heroine, "and ye may say that; for I care not how soon I
have another slap at them red coats, bad luck to them." "But
what is to become of your petticoats in such an event. Captain
Molly?" "Oh, long life to your excellency, and never de ye
mind them at all, at all," continued this intrepid female. " Sure,
and it is only in the artillery your Excellency knows that I would
sarve, and divil a fear but the smoke of the cannon will hide my
petticoats." The name and memory of Headquarters expired not with the
war of the Revolution, but was preserved in the Presidoliads of
New York and Philadelphia, where hundreds of the war-worn
veterans of the days of trial repaired, as they said, to Head
quarters to pay their respects, and inquire after the health of his
Excellency and the good Lady Washiugton. All were made
welcome and "kindly bid to stay;" and while they quafted a
generous glass to the health of their beloved Chief, the triumphs
of Trenton and Princeton, of Monmouth and Yorktown, " were
freshly remembered."
And poor Pat, too, reverently, with hat in hand, would ap
proach the Headquarters. " To be sure, he would say, that he
well knew his Excellency had no time to spare to the likes of
him. He just called to inquire after his honor's health, long life
to him and to the good Lady Washington, the poor soldier's
friend." But, taking the steward aside, with a knowing look,
would observe : " Now, my darlint, if his excellency should happen
to inquire who it was that called, jist tell him it was one of ould
Mad Anthony's boys. Hurray for Ameriky!" And repeating
the shout that so often had rang above the battle's roar, the vete
ran would go on his way rejoicing.
It may be in the course of human events, that upon the places
at Morristown and the Valley Forge, where the soldier of liberty

OF WASHINGTON. 49
erected his cheerless hut, the domes and spires of cities may arise
in the splendid progress of a mighty empire, but the patriotic
American of that future day, proud of the fame of the Father of
his Country, and glorying in the recollections of America's heroic
time, will pass by the palaces of pomp and power to pay homage
to the mouldering ruins of the Headquarters.

50 CUSTIS'S RECOLLECTIONS

ALEXANDER HAMILTON.
Faithful to our purpose of giving, in the course of this work,
brief Memoirs of the distinguished characters of the age of Wash
ington, who were either attached to his person or stood high in
his esteem, next to Nathaniel Greene and Robert Morris, we
introduce Alexander Hamilton.
In this illustrious individual were united the patriot, the soldier,
the statesman, the jurist, the orator, and philosopher, and he was
great in them all. Born in the Island of Nevis, the first rudi
ments of his education were obtained in Santa Cruz, from which,
at a very early age, he came to America, and completed his
studies at Columbia College, in New York. In that city the
Revolution found the West Indian engaged in the direction of an
extensive mercantile concern, where the youthful aspirant for
liberty soon laid aside his ledger, and wielded his pen, ere he
drew his sword, for the natural rights of mankind.
Among the efforts then making in behalf of the royal cause in
New York, were a series of able essays, published with a view to
alarm the patriots as to a rupture with the mother country, urging
that, in such an event, all supplies of clothing would be withheld,
and thus the most serious privations be endured by the colonists.
Young Hamilton wrote a powerful reply to these essays, in which
he proved that resources abounded in the country ; and then, for
the first time in the world, it was left for this precocious genius
to predict that the cotton plant could and would be grown in the
southern colonies, and wquld yield an abundance of the raw material
for the supply of our wants.
The troubles increasing, Mr. Hamilton spoke of revisiting the
West Indies, with a view to recruit his finances; this the patriots
of New York would not hear of for a moment; they had witnessed
the powers of his pen, and wished him to try the temper of his
sword. "Well, my friends," said the gallant youth, "if you are
determined that I shall remain among ye, and take part in your
just and holy cause, you must raise for me a full, company of
artillery." This was done, and Captain Hamilton lost no time
in enlisting the services of several veteran artillerists, and by con-

OP WASHINGTON. 51
stant drilling, soon brought his company into a very high state of
order and discipline. He remained in New York diligently
engaged in his military duties, until the Asia, Admiral Pandeput,
fired upon the city. Retreat becoming necessary,' Hamilton here
displayed that noble disinterestedness and disregard of self that
adorned all the subsequent actions, whether public or private, of
his illustrious life. A cart, drawn by a single horse, contained
the baggage of this young officer. He ordered his baggage to be
abandoned, and the horse that drew it to be harnessed to the
cannon. Hamilton's military talents were apparent in very early life.
Previous to the battle of Long Island, he crossed over to Brooklyn,
and thence, by examining the positions of the American forces
with a military eye, he became convinced that with such mate
rials as composed the American army, a conflict with troops
which consisted of all soldiers would be hopeless of success.
Filled with these ideas, Hamilton addressed an anonymous letter
to the Commander-in-Chief, detailing many and forcible argu
ments against risking an action, and warmly recommending a
retreat to the strong grounds of the niain land. The letter created
no little surprise in the mind of the General, but it was mixed
with respect for the talent displayed by the writer. The dis
astrous battle of Long Island is a matter of historj'.
The letter of which we have made such honorable mention was
forwarded to the General by M  , afterwards celebrated for
having conveyed to the American commander the mo.«t import
ant information during the occupancy of New York by tl le British
army. The morning after Washington made his triumjihal entry
into the city of New York, 25th November, 1783, he breakfasted
with M  , to the wonder of the Tories, and- the perfect horror
of the Whigs.
Hamilton's artillery joined the American army, and took part
in the memorable retreat through the Jerseys. It was, as we
have before related, at the passage of the Raritan, near Brunswick,
that Hamilton first attracted the notice of the Commander-in-
Chief, who, while posted on the river bank, and contemplating
with anxiety the passage of the troops, was charmed by the bril
liant courage and admiral skill displayed by a young officer of
artillery, who directed a battery against the enemy's advanced

52 CUSTIS'S RECOLLECTIONS
columns that pressed upon the Americans in their retreat by the
ford. The General ordered Lieutenant Colonel Fitzgerald, his
aid-de-camp, to ascertain who this young officer was, and bid him
repair to Headquarters at the first halt of the army.
At the interview that ensued, Washington quickly discovered
in the young patriot and warrior those eminent qualities of the
head and heart that shed such a renown upon the actions of his
after life. From that interview Washington " marked him for
his own."
The American Commander-in-Chief was peculiarly happy in
the selection of the officers of his military family, of his guard,
&c., save in a solitary instance, and in that instance the individual
served but for a vei-y short time. The members of the military
family and of the life-guard were gentlemen of the first order in
intellect, patriotism, and all right soldierly qualities — they were
attached to the Chief and to each other. Hamilton and Laurens
were kindred spirits, brothers alike in arms, in affection, and in
accomplishments, and might be styled the preux chevaliers of the
American Army.
Lieutenant Colonel Hamilton was at the side of the Chief during
the most eventful periods of the Revolutionary war. In the
memorable campaigns of 1777 and 1778, the habit at the Head
quarters was for the General to dismiss his officers at a very late
hour of the night to snatch a little repose, while he, the man of
mighty labors, drawing his cloak around him, and trimming his
lamp, would throw himself upon a hard couch, not to sleep, but
to think. Close to his master (wrapped in a blanket, but " all
accoutred" for instant service) snored the stout yet active form
oi Billy, the celebrated body servant during the whole of the
Revolutionary war.
At this late lone hour silence reigned in the Headquarters,
broken only by the measured pacing of the sentinels, and the oft-
repeated cry of "all's well;" when suddenly the sound of a horse-
tramp, at speed, is borne upon the night wind, then the challeng
ing of the guard, and the passing the word of an express from the
lines to the Commander-in-Chief. The despatches being opened
and read, there would be heard in the calm deep tones of that
voice, so well remembered by the good and the brave in the old

OF WASHINGTON. 53
days of our country's trial, the command of the Chief to his now
watchful attendant, " Cqll Colonel Hamilton."
The remarkable condu'is.t of the aid-de-camp during the exciting
interview of Washington aijd Major General Lee, on the field of
Monmouth, as has been related in another part of this work,
caused no little sensation in the army at that time. It was,
indeed, a generous burst of enthusiasm, emanating from a noble
and gallant spirit, that, pure in its own devotion to the cause of
liberty, viewed with indignation and abhorrence even the sus
picion of treachery in another. It is somewhat singular that
there were several distinguished officers of the American army,
who, judging from events at the close of the campaign of 1776,
anticipated. some defection on the part of Lee, on his return from
captivity, and rejoining his former colors; yet it was left for a
member of a different cloth from the military to give the first
alarm to the. Commander-in-Chief on this momentous subject.
The Rev. Dr. Griffith, a Welshman by birth, a warm patriot in
the cause of America, and chaplain to one of the Virginia regi
ments, repaired to the Headquarters at a late hour of the night
preceding the battle of Monmouth, and warned the chief against
the employment of Major General Lee to command the advance
guard on the ensuing morning — a command which that veteran
officer had at first declined. Washington received"the information
cautiously, nay, doubtingly, when the reverend gentleman, on
making his bow to retire, observed, "I am not permitted to say
more at present, but your Excellency will remember my warning
voice to-morrow in the battle."
From a difficuly that occurred in 1780, Lieutenant Colonel
Hamilton retired from the Headquarters, and assumed his rank
in the line, in the command of a battalion of light infantiy, then
the crack corps of the army. With this command he marched
to the south in 1781. At the siege of Yorktown, it was deter
mined to storm the two advanced redoubts of the enemy, and
the selection of officers aud men for this daring achievement was
entrusted to Major General the Marquis de Lafayette. The
Marquis lost no time in choosing as the officer who was to lead
the assault Lieutenant Colonel Gimet, a gallant Frenchman, who
had been attached to the Marquis's military family. Hamilton,
belonging to the division of light infantry commanded by La-

54 CUSTIS's RECOLLECTIONS
fayette, was about to prefer his claim, when his warmest friends
and admirers dissuaded him, owing, as they said, to the vast in
fluence in favor of the Frenchman, from the presence of a splendid
French fleet and army, aud the universal desire of doing every
possible honor to our generous and gallant allies. Hamilton
observed, "I am aware that I have mighty influences to contend
with, but I feel assured that Washington is inflexibly just. I will
not urge my claim on the plea of my long and faithful services,
coeval with nearly the whole war ; I will only plead my rank."
He accordingly repaired to Headquarters. The General received
his former and favorite aid-de-camp with great cordiality and
kindness, listened patiently to his representations, and finally
granted his claims ; and Lieutenant Colonel Hamilton, in pre
sence of three armies, led the assault of the redoubt on the night
of the memorable 14th of October, with a brilliancy of courage
and success that could not be surpassed.
As the Americans mounted the works, the cry of the soldiers
was, "Remember New London!" alluding to the cruel massacre
of the American troops at Fort Griswold the year before. When
the redoubt was carried, the vanquished Britons fell on their
knees, momently expecting the exterminating bayonet ; not a
man was injured, when no longer resisting. For Hamilton, who
commanded, and Lieutenant Colonel Laurens, who participated
as a volunteer on this brilliant occasion, courage and mercy
have entwined a wreath of laurel that time or circumstance can
never fade.
Shortly after the surrender of Yorktown, Colonel Hamilton
retired from the army, preserving his rank, but declining all pay
or emolument. Pie commenced the study of the law, and was
elected to the New York legislature, and afterwards to the old
Congress. While a member of the latter body, he wrote a series
of essays of great ability, .showing the defects of the old system
of governmeut, and recommending a convention, with a view to
an entirely new constitution. Government and laws. He was
elected a member of the Convention of 1787, and was one of the
brightest stars in that constellation of patriots and statesmen that
formed the present happy Constitution of the United States.
Hamilton's labors by no means ended with the Convention of
1787 ; it required all his zeal and eloquence to stem the torrent of

OP WASHINGTON. 55
opposition from Governor Clinton and others, up to the time of
the final adoption of the Constitution by the State of New York.
In 1789, when the first President was on his way to the seat of
the new Government, he stopped in Philadelphia at the house of
Robert Morris, and while consulting with that eminent patriot and
benefactor of America as to the members of the first Cabinet, Wash
ington observed, " The Treasury, Morris, will, of course, be your
birth. After your invaluable services as financier of the Revolu
tion, no one can pretend to contest the office of Secretary of the
Treasury with you." Robert Morris respectfully but firmly de
clined the appointment, on the ground of his private affairs, when
he replied, "But, my dear General, you will be no loser by my
declining the Secretaryship of the Treasury, for I can recommend
to you a far cleverer fellow than I am for your Minister of Finance,
in the person of your former aid-de-camp. Colonel Hamilton." The
President was amazed, and continued, "I always knew Colonel
Hamilton to be a man of superior talents, but never supposed
that he had any knowledge of finance;" to which Morris replied,
" He knows every thing, sir ; to a mind like his nothing comes
amiss." Robert Morris, indeed, had had ample proofs of Ham
ilton's talents in financial matters, the financier having received
from the soldier many and important suggestions, plans, and
estimates touching the organization and establishment of the
Bank of North America in 1780.
Thus did Alexander Hamilton, from amid the stirring duties
of a camp, devote the vast and varied powers of his mind to the
organization of a system of finance, as connected with banking
operations, that proved of inestimable service to the cause of the
Revolution. Washington hesitated not a moment in making the appoint
ment of Secretary of the Treasury, agreeably to the recommenda
tion of Morris; for assuredly there was none, no, not one of the
many worthies of the Revolution who stood higher in the esteem
or approached nearer to the heart of the Chief than Robert Morris,
the noble and generous benefactor of America in the darkest
hours of her destiny.
On the very day of the interesting event we have just related,
Mr. Dallas met Hamilton in the street and addressed him with,
" Well, Colonel, can you tell me who will be the members of the

56 CUSTIS'S RECOLLECTIONS
Cabinet?" "Really, my dear, sir," replied the Colonel, "I can
not tell you who will, but I can very readily tell you of one who
will not be of the number, and that one is your humble servant."
He had not at this moment the remotest idea that Washington
had again in peace, as in war, "marked him for his own."
The very best eulogium that can be pronounced upon the Fiscal
Department of the United States, . as organized by Alexander
Hamilton, is in the remarks of the Hon. Albert Gallatin, a politi
cal rival, and the most distinguished financier of the successors
of the first Secretary of the Treasurj'. Mr. Gallatin has mag
nanimously declared that all Secretaries of the Treasury of the
United States, since the first, enjoyed a sinecure, the genius and
labors of Hamilton having created and arranged every thing that
was requisite and necessary for the successful operation of the
Department. In Januaiy, 1795, Hamilton resigned his seat in the Cabinet
and retired to private life. It was our good fortune to be almost
domesticated in the family of this great man, and to see and
know much of him in the olden time. Among the many and
imposing recollections of the great age of the Republic that are
graven upon our memory, and mellowed by time, cheer by the
venerable and benign influences our evening of life, we call up
with peculiar pleasure a reminiscence of the days of the first Presi
dency, embracing the resignation of Alexander Hamilton.
It was at the Presidential mansion that the ex-Secretary of the
Treasury came into the room where Mr. Lear, Major Jackson,
and the other gentlemen of the President's family were sitting.
With the usual smile upon his countenance, he observed : "Con
gratulate me, my good friends, for I am no longer a public man ;
the President has at length consented to accept my resignation,
and I am once more a private citizen." The gentlemen replied
that they could perceive no cause for rejoicing in an event that
would deprive the Government and the country of the late Secre
tary's valuable services. Hamilton continued : "I am not worth
exceeding five hundred dollars in the world ; my slender fortune and
the best years of my life have been devoted to the service of my adopted
country ; a rising family hath its claims." Glancing his eye upon
a small book that lay on the table, he took it up and observed :
" Ah, this is the Constitution. Now, mark my words : So long as

OP WASHINGTON. 57
we are a young and virtuous people, this instrument will bind us
together in mutual interests, mutual welfare, and mutual happiness,
but when we become old and corrupt it will bind us no longer."
Such were the prophetic words of Alexander Hamilton, uttered
half a century ago, and in the very dawn of our existence as a
nation. Let the Americans wi-ite them in their books and treasure
them in their hearts. Another half century, and they will be
regarded as truths.
What a spectacle does this touching reminiscence present to
the Americans and their posterity! A great man of the R,evolu-
tion, the native of a foreign isle, who had employed his pen and
drawn his sword in the cause of liberty before a beard had grown
upon his chin; renowned alike in Senates and in the field, in
the halls of legislation and the "ranks of death," proudly ac
knowledging his honorable poverty, the fesult of his many and
glorious services, and resigning one of the highest and most dig
nified offices in the Government, to retire as a private citizen to
labor for the support of a rising family.
Of a truth, upon the Roman model, ay, and that of the purest
and palmiest days of the mistress of the ancient world, were
formed the patriots, statesmen, and warriors of the American
Revolution. Worthy, indeed, are they to be ranked with the
purest and noblest models of ancient virtue and hcToism, whom
generations yet unborn will hail as the fathers of liberty and
founders of an empire.
With these reminiscences, endeared to us by many venerable
associations of our other days, and which we offer as an humble
tribute to the fame and memory of him who was a master-spirit
among the great and renewed that adorned the age of Washington,
we close our brief memoir.
8

58 CUSTIS'S RECOLLECTIONS^

COMMENCEMENT OF THE CONSTITUTIONAL GOVERN
MENT OF THE UNITED STATES.— WASHINGTON'S
RESIDENCE IN AND FINAL DEPARTURE FROM NEW
YORK.On the 30th of April, 1789, the Constitutional Government of
the United States began, by the inauguration of George Wash
ington ^s President of the United States, in the city of New York.
In the then limited extent and improvement of the city, there
was some difficulty iu -Belecting' a mansion for the residence of
the Chief Magistrate and a household suitable to bis rank and
station. Osgood's house, a mansion of very moderate extent, was
at length fixed upon, situated iu Cherry street. There the Presi
dent became domiciled. His domestic family consisted of Mrs.
Washington, the two adopted children, Mr. Lear, as principal
secretary, Colonel Humphreys, with Messrs. Lewis and Nelson,
secretaries, and Major Wm. Jackson, aid-de-camp.
Persons visiting the house in Cherry street at this time of day
will wonder how a building so sinall could contain the many and
mighty spirits that thronged its halls in olden days. Congress,
cabinet, all public functionaries in the commencement of the
Government, were selected from the very elite of the nation.
Pure patriotism, commanding talent, eminent services, were the
proud and indispensable requisites for official station in the first
days of the Republic. The first Congress was a most enlightened
and dignified body. In the Senate were several of the members
of the Congress of 1776 and signers of the Declaration of Inde
pendence — Richard Henry Lee, who moved the Declaration, John
Adams, who seconded it, with Sherman, Morris, Carroll, &c.
The levees of the first President were attended by these illus
trious patriots and statesmen, and by many others of the patriots,
statesmen, and soldiers, who could say of the Revolution ^'^ magna
parsfui;" while numbers of foreigners and strangers of distinc
tion crowded to the seat of the General Government, all anxious
to witness the grand experiment that was to determine how much
rational liberty mankind is capable of enjoying, without said
liberty degenerating into licentiousness.

OF WASHINGTON. 50
Mrs. Washington's drawing-rooms, on Friday nights, were at
tended by the grace and beauty of New York. On one of these
occasions an incident occurred which might have been attended
by serious consequences. Owing to the lowness of the ceiling in
the drawing-room, the ostrich feathers in the head-dress of Miss
Melver, a belle of New York, took fire from the chandelier, to
the no small alarm of the company. Major Jackson, aid-de-camp
to the President, with great presence of mind, and equal gallantry,
flew to the, rescue of the lady, and, by clapping the burning
plumes between his hands, extinguished the flame, and the draw
ing-room went on as usual.
Washington preserved the habit, as well in public as in private
life, of rising at four o'clock and retiring to bed at nine. On
Saturdays he rested somewhat from his labors, by either riding
into the country, attended by a groom, or with his family in his
coach drawn hy six horses.
Fond of horses, the stables of the President were always in the
finest order, and his equipage excellent, both in taste and quality.
Indeed, so long ago as the days of the vice regal court of Lord
Botetourt, at Williamsburg, in Virginia, we find that there existed
a rivalry between the equipages of Col. Byrd, a magnate of the old
regime, and Col. Washington, the grays against the bays. Bishop,
the celebrated body servant of Braddock, was the master of Wash
ington's stables; and there were what was termed mwsZm horses in
those old days. At cock-crow the stable-boys were at work; at
sunrise Bishop stalked into the stables, a muslin handkerchief in
his hand, which he applied to the coats of the animals, and, if the
slightest stain was perceptible upon the muslin, up went the luck
less wights of the stable boys, and punishment was administered
instanter ; for to the veteran Bishop, bred amid the iron discipline
of European armies, mercy for anything like a breach of duty was
altogether out of the question.
The President's stables in Philadelphia were under the direc
tion of German John, and the grooming of the white chargers
will rather surprise the moderns. The night before the horses
were expected to be rode they were covered entirely over with a
paste, of which whiting was the principal component part ; then
the animals were swathed in body-cloths, and left to sleep upon
clean straw. In the morning the composition had become hard,

60 CUSTIS'S RECOLLECTIONS
was well rubbed in, and curried and brushed, which process gave
to the coats a beautiful, glossy, and satin-like appearance. The
hoofs were then blacked and polished, the mouths washed, teeth
picked and cleaned ; and, the leopard-skin housings being pro
perly adjusted, the white chargers were led out for service. Such
was the grooming of ancient times.
There was but one theatre in New York in 1789, (in John
street,) and so small were its dimensions that the whole fabric
might easily be placed on the stage of one of our modern theatres.
Yet, humble as was the ediflce, it possessed an excellent company
of actors and actresses, including old Morris, who was the asso
ciate of Garrick in the very outset of that great actor's career at
Goodmansfields. The stage boxes were appropriated to the Presi
dent and Vice President, and were each of them decorated with
emblems, trophies, &c. At the foot of the playbills were always
the words " Vivat Respublica." Washington often visited this
theatre, being particularly gratified by Wignell's performance of
Darby, in the Poor Soldier.
It was in the theatre in John street that the now national air
of "Hail Columbia," then called the President's March, was first
played. It was composed by a German musician, named Fyles,
the leader of the orchestra, in compliment to the President. The
national air will last as long as the nation lasts, while the meri
torious composer has been long since forgotten.
It was while residing in Cherry street that the President was
attacked by a severe illness, that required a surgical operation.
He was attended by the. elder and younger Drs. Bard. The elder
being somewhat doubtful of his nerves, gave the knife to his son,
bidding him cut away — deeper, deeper still ; don't be afraid ; you
_ see how well he bears it. Great anxiety was felt in New York at
this time, as the President's case was considered extremely dan
gerous. Happily, the operation proved successful, and the patient's
recovery removed all cause of alarm. During the illness a chain
was stretched across the street, and the sidewalks laid with straw.
Soon after his recovery, the President set out on his intended
tour through the New England States.
The President's mansion was so limited in accommodation that
three of the Secretaries were compelled to occupy one room —
Humphreys, Lewis, and Nelson. Humphrey's, aid-de-camp to

OF WASHINGTON. 61
the Commander-in-Chief at Yorktown, was a most estimable man,
and at the same time a poet. About this period he was compo
sing his " Widow of Malabar." Lewis and Nelson, both young
men, were content, after the labors of the day, to enjoy a good
night's repose. But this was often denied them ; for Humphreys,
when in the vein, would rise from his bed at any hour, and, with
stentorian voice, recite his verses. The young men, rotised from
their slumbers, and rubbing their eyes, beheld a great burly figure
" en chemise," striding across the floor, reciting mth great emphasis
particular passages from his poem, and calling on his room-mates
for their approbation. Having in this way for a considerable
time "murdered the sleep" of his associates, Humphreys at
length, wearied by his exertions, would sink upon his pillow in
a kind of dreamy languor. So sadly were the young secretaries
annoyed by the frequent outbursts of the poet's imagination, that
it was remarked of them by their friends, that from 1789 to the
end of their lives, neither Robert Lewis nor Thomas Nelson were
ever known to evince the slightest taste for poetry.
The mansion in Cherry street proving so very inconvenient, in
duced the French Ambassador to give up his establishment —
McComb's new house in Broadway — for the accommodation of
the President. It was from this house in 1790 that Washiugton
took his final departure from New York. It was always his habit
to endeavor, as much as possible, to avoid the manifestations of
affection and gratitude that met him everywhere. He strove in
vain ; he was closely watched, and the people would have their
way. He wished to have slipped off unobserved from New York,
and thus steal a march upon his old companions in arms. But
there were too many of the dear glorious old veterans of the
Revolution at that time of day in and near New York to render
such an escape even possible.
The baggage had all been packed up ; the horses, carriages,
and servants ordered to be over the Ferry to Paulus Hook bj'
daybreak, and nothing was wanting for departure but the dawn.
The lights were yet burning, when the President came into the
room where his family were assembled, evidently much pleased
in the belief that all was right, when, immediately under the
windows, the band of the artillery struck up*Washington's March.
"There," he exclaimed, "it's all over; we are found out. Well,

62 CUSTIS'S RECOLLECTIONS
• well, they must have their owu way." New York soon after ap
peared as if taken by storm; troops and persons of all descrip
tions hurrying down Broadway toward the place of embarkation,
all anxious to take a last look on him whom so many could never
expect to see again.
The embarkation was delayed until all the complimentary ar
rangements were completed. The President, after taking leave
of many dear and cherished friends, and many an old companion
in arms, stepped iirto the barge that was to convey him from New
York forever. The coxswain gave the word "let fall; the spray
fi-om the oars sparkled in the morning sunbeams ; the bowman
shoved oft" from the pier, and, as the barge swung round to the
tide, Washington rose, uncovered, in the stern, to bid adieu to
the masses assembled on the shore : he waived his hat, and in a
voice tremulous from emotion, pronounced farewell. It may be
supposed that Major Bauman, who commanded the artillery on
this interesting occasion, who was first Captain of Lamb's regi
ment, and a favorite officer of the war of the Revolution, would,
when about to pay his last respects to his beloved commander,
load his pieces with something more than mere blank cartridges.
But ah ! the thunders of the cannon were completely hushed when
the iQighty shout of the people arose that responded to the fare
well of Washington. Pure from the heart it came ; right up to
Heaven it went, to call down a blessing upon the Father of his
Country. The barge had scarcely gained the middle of the Hudson, when
the trumpets were heard at Paulus Hook, where the Governor
and the chivalry of Jersey were in waiting to welcome the chief
to those well-remembered shores. Escorts of cavalrj' relieved
each other throughout the whole route, up to the Pennsylvania
line ; every village, and even hamlet, turned out its population to
greet with cordial welcome the man upon whom all e^'cs were
fixed, and in whom all hearts rejoiced.
What must have been the recollections that crowded on the
mind of Washington during this triumphant progress ? Newark,
Brunswick, Princeton, Trenton ! What a contrast between the
glorious burst of sunshine that now illumined and made glad
everything around these memorable spots, with the gloomy and
desolate remembrances of '76 ! Then his country's champion,

OP WASHINGTON. 63
with the wreck of a shattered host, was flying before a victorious
and well-appointed foe, while all around him was shrouded in the
darkness of despair; now, in his glorious progress over the self
same route, his firm footstep presses upon the soil of an infant
empire, reposing in the joys of peace, independence, and happiness.
Among the many who swelled his triumph, the most endeared
to the heart of the Chief were the old associates of -his toils, his
fortunes, and his fame. Many of the Revolutionary veterans were
living in 1790, and, by their presence, gave a dignified tone and
character to all public assemblages ; and, when you saw a pecu
liarly fine looking soldier in those old days, and would ask, " to
what corps of the American army did you belong?" — drawing
himself up to his full height, with a martial air, and back of the
hand thrown up to his forehead, the veteran would reply, " Life
Guard, your honor."
¦ And proud and happy were these veterans in again beholding
their own good Lady Washington. Greatly was she beloved in
the army-^her many intercessions with the Chief for the pardon
of offenders ; her kindness to the sick and wounded — all of which
caused her an-nual arrival in camp to be hailed as a;n event that
would serve to dissipate the gloom of the winter quarters.
Arrived at the line, the Jersey escort was relieved by the cav
alry of Pennsylva:nia, and when near to Philadelphia, the Presi
dent was met by Governor Miffiin and a brilliant cortege of offi
cers, and escorted by a squadron of horse to the city. Conspicu
ous among the Governor's suite, as well for his martial bearing
as for the manly beauty of his person, was General Walter Stewart,
a son of Erin, and a gallant and distinguished officer of the Penn
sylvania line. To Stewart, as to Cadwallader, Washington was
most warmly attached; indeed, those officers were among the
very choicest of the contributions of Pennsylvania to the army
and cause of independence. Mifflin, small in stature, was active,
alert, " every inch a soldier." He was a patriot of great influence
in Pennsylvania in the "times that tried men's souls," and nobly
did he exert that influence in raising troops, with which to rein
force the wreck of the grand army at the close of the campaign
of '76. •
Arrived within the city, the crowd became intense ; the Presi
dent left his carriage and mounted the white charger ; and, with

64 CUSTIS'S RECOLLECTIONS
the Governor on his right, proceeded to the City Tavern in Third
street, where quarters were prepared for him, the light infantry,
after some time, having opened a passage for the carriages. At
the City Tavern the President was received by the authorities of
Philadelphia, who welcomed the Chief Magistrate to their citj'as
to his home for the remainder of his Presidential term. A group
of old and long-tried friends were also in waiting. Foremost
among these, and first to grasp the hand of Washington, was one
who was always nearest to his heart, a patriot and public bene
factor, Robert Morris.
After remaining a short time in Philadelphia, the President
speeded on his journey to that home where he ever found rest
from his mighty labors, and enjoyed the sweets of rural and do
mestic happiness amid his farms aud at his fireside of Mount
Vernon. Onward, still onward, whirls the tide of time. The few who
yet survive that remember the Father of his Country are fast
fading away. A little while, and their gray heads will all have
dropped into the grave. May the reminiscences of one whom
Washington adopted in infancy, cherished in youth, and who
grew up to manhood under his parental care, continue to find
favor with the American people !

OF WASHINGTON. 65

ANNIVERSARY OF THE BIRTHDAY OF GENERAL
WASHINGTON, FEB. 22, 1848.
WASHINGTON'S RETIREMENT AFTER THE PEACE OP 1783.
BISHOP, THE OLD BODY SERVANT.
After the sublime and touching event of the " Resignation of
the Commission," at Annapolis, on the 23d of December, 1783,
Washington hastened to his beloved retirement, hung up his
sword, and prepared to enjoy the delights of rural and do
mestic life.
The same exact and economical distribution of time, the same
methodical and active habits of business, that had so triumph
antly borne the Commander of Armies through the mighty labors
of an eight years' war, were now destined in the works of peace
alike to distinguish the illustrious farmer of Mount Vernon.
After so long an absence, the retired General, on returning to
his home, found that there was much to create. Previous to the
war,, the establishment of Mount Vernon was upon a very lim
ited scale. The Mansion house was small, having but four rooms
on a floor, and there was wanting nearly all of the present out
buildings and offices.
Washington was his own architect and builder, laying off every
thing himself — the buildings, gardens, and grounds all arose to
ornament and usefulness under his fostering hand.
His lauded estate, comprising eight thousand acres, underwent
manj' and important changes and improvements. It was divided
into farms, with suitable enclosures ; hedges were planted, and
excellent farm-buildings were erected, from European models.
Devoting much time and attention to these various objects, Wash
ington accomplished the most important of his improvements in
the very short space, of from four to five years.
Nor was his time exclusively allotted to business ; he had a
9

dQ CUSTIS'S RECOLLECTIONS
"time for all things." He enjoyed the pleasures of the chase,
visited his friends, and received and entertained the numerous
guests who crowded to his hospitable mansion. Indeed, in the
retirement at Mount Vernon, from '83 to '89, were probably
passed the very happiest days of this great man's life. Glorying
in the emancipation of his country from foreign thraldom ; sur
rounded by many aud dear friends ; hailed with love and grati
tude by his countrymen wherever he appeared among them ; re
ceiving tokens of esteem and admiration from the good, the gifted,
and the great of the most enlightened nations of the civilized
world ; engaged iu the pursuits of agriculture — pursuits that were
always most congenial to his tastes and wishes — amid so many
blessings, we maj- well believe that in the retirement at Mount
Vernon Washington was happy.
On leaving Annapolis the General was accompanied by two
of the officers of his former staff", Colonels Pumphreys and Smith,
who remained for several years at Mount Vernon, engaged in
arranging the vast mass of papers and documents that had accu
mulated during the war of Independence. Humphreys was a
man of letters aud a poet, and, together with Colonel Smith,
served in the staff of the Commander-in-Chief on some of the
most' important occasions of the Revolutionary War.
At a short distance from the Mansion house, in a pleasant and
sheltered situation, rose the homestead of Bishop, the old body
servant. Thomas Bishop, born in England, attended General
Braddock to the continent during the Seven Years' War, and after-
.wards embarked with that brave and unfortunate Commander
for America in 1755.
On the morning of the 9th of July — the day of the memorable
battle of the Monongahela — Bishop was present when Colonel
Washington urged upon the English General for the last time
the propriety of permitting him (the Colonel) to advance with
the Virginia woodsmen and a band of friendly Indians, and open
the way to Fort du Quesne. Braddock treated the proposal with
scorn; but, turning to his faithful follower, observed : "Bishop,
this young man is determined to go into action to-day, although
he is really too much weakened by illness for any such purpose.
Have an eye to him, and render him any assistance that may be
necessary." Bishop had only time to reply, " Your honor's orders

OF WASHINGTON. 67
shall be obeyed," when the troops were in motion and the action
soou after commenced.
Sixty-four British officers were killed and wounded, and Wash
ington was the only mounted officer on the field. His horse being
shot. Bishop was prompt!}' at hand to offer him a second; and so
exhausted was the youthful hero from his previous illness and his
great exertions in the battle, that he was with difficulty extricated
from his dying charger, and was actually lifted by the strong arms
of Bishop into the saddle of the second horse.
It was at this period of the combat that, in the glimpses of the
smoke, the gallant Colonel was seen bravely dashing amid the
ranks of death, and calling on the colonial woodsmen, who alone
maintained the fight, "Hold your ground, my brave fellows, and
draw your sights for the honor of old Virginia!" It was at this
period, too, of the battle that the famed Indian commander, point
ing to Washington, cried to his warriors: "Fire at him no more;
see ye not that the Great Spirit protects that Chief; he cannot
die in battle."
His second horse having fallen, the Provincial Colonel made
his waj' to the spot where the commanding general, though mor
tally stricken, raging like a wounded lion, and yet breathing de
fiance to the foe, was supported in the arms of Bishop. Braddock
grasped the hand of Washington, exclaiming, " Oh; *my dear
Colonel, had I been governed by your advice, we never should
have come to this!" When he found his last moments approach
ing, the British General called his faithful and long-tried follower
and friend to his side, and said, "Bishop, you are getting too old
for war; I advise you to remain in America and go into the ser
vice of Colonel Washington. Be but as faithful to him as you
have been to me, and rely upon it the remainder of your days
will be prosperous and happy."
Bishop took the advice of his old master, and at the close of
the campaign returned with the Colonel to Mount Vernon. As
body servant. Bishop attended Colonel Washington at the time
of his marriage, and was installed as chief of the stables and the
cquipagerin Williamsburg, in the bright and palmy days of that
ancient capital. Finally, the old body servant settled on the
banks of the Potomac, married, and was made overseer of one of
the farms of the Mount Vernon estate.

68 CUSTIS'S RECOLLECTIONS
At the commencement of the Revolutionary War, Bishop was
considered as too old for actual service, and was left in charge of
the home establishment, where the veteran soldier's rigid disci
pline and strict attention to every thing committed to his care
caused affairs immediately relating to the Mansion house to be
kept in first-rate order. Upon the General's return after the peace
of 1783, the ancient body servant had passed fourscore, had been
relieved from all active service, and having lost his wife, he, with
his daughter and only child, was settled down in a comfortable
homestead that had been built expressly as an asylum for his
old age.
Although very infirm, yet, when the bright skies and balmy
breath of spring renovated all Nature, the veteran soldier and
faithful follower of two masters, would grasp his staff and wend
his way to a spot by which he knew the General would pass in
taking his morning ride. As Washington approached, the vete
ran, by aid of his staff, would draw himself up to his full height,
and with a right soldierly air uncover. A few silver locks were
scattered about his temples, his visage was deeply furrowed by
the hand of time, while his bent and shrunken frame was but the
shadow of a form once so tall and manly. The General would
rein up his horse and kindly inquire, "How are you, old man,
I am glad to see you abroad; is there anything you want?" The
veteran would reply: "Good morning to your honor; I am proud
and happy to see your honor looking so brave and hearty. I
thank God I am as well as can be expected at my years. What
can I want while in your honor's service? Whenever the choicest
meats are killed for your honor's own table, the good lady will
send to old Bishop a part. God bless your honor, the madam,
and all your good family!" Washington would continue his
morning ride, while the old body servant, made happy by the
interview, grasped his staff" and strode manfully away to his com
fortable home.
Of the two former aids-de-camps, now secretaries, in their hours
of relaxation from business, Humphreys was in the habit of strol
ling to unfrequented places, there to recite his verses to the echoes.
Smith, too, would take the air after the labors of the writing-desk.
One evening Colonel Smith in his rambles came suddenly upon
the homestead of the old body servant, whose daughter was milk-

OP WASHINGTON. 69
ing at a short distance from the house. She was a slightly-built
girl, and, in endeavoring to raise the pail, found it too much for
her strength. Colonel Smith gallantly stepped forward, and offered
his services, saying, "Do, miss, permit my strong arms to assist
you." Now, the veteran's daughter had often heard from her
father the most awful tales of those sad fellows, the young, and
particularly the handsome British officers, and how their atten
tions to a maiden must inevitably result in her ruin. Filled with
these ideas. Miss Bishop did not draw any line of distinction be
tween British and American officers, and Smith, being a pecu
liarly fine handsome fellow, the milkmaid threw down her pail
and ran screaming to the house. The Colonel followed, making
every possible apology, when suddenly he was brought up all
standing by the appearance of the veteran, who stood, in all his
terrors, at the door of his domicil. The affrighted girl ran into
her father's arms, while the old body servant rated the Colonel
in no measured terms upon the. enormity of the attempt to insult
his child. Poor Smith, well bespattered by the contents of the
milk pail, in vain endeavored to excuse himself to the enraged
veteran, who declared that he Avould carry the affair up to his
houor, aye, and to the madam, too. At the mention of the latter
personage, the unfortunate Colonel felt something like, an ague
chill to pass over his frame. Smith iu vain essayed to propitiate
the old man by assuring him that the aff"air was one of the most
common gallantry; that his object was to assist, and not to insult
the damsel. Bishop replied, "Ah! Colonel Smith,. I know what
you dashing young officers are. I am an old soldier, and have
seeu some things in my long day. I am sure his houor, after my
services, will not permit my child to be insulted; and, as to the
madam, why the madam as good as brought up my girl." So
saying, the old body servant retired into his castle, and closed the
door. The unfortunate Colonel wended his way to the mansion house,
aware of the scrape he had got into, and pondering as to the mode
by which he might be able to get out of it. At length he bethought
himself of Billy, the celebrated servant of the Commander-in-Chief,
during the whole of the war of the Revolution, and well known
to all of the officers of the headquarters.
A counci.l of war was held, and Billy expressed great indigna-

70 CUSTIS'S RECOLLECTIONS
tion that Bishop should attempt to carry a complaint against his
friend. Colonel Smith, up to the General, and that it was per
fectly monstrous that such a tale should reach the ears of the
madam; but, continued Billy, that is a terrible old fellow, and
he has been much spoiled on account of his services to the General
in Braddock's war. He even says, that we of the Revolutionary
army are but half soldiers, compared with the soldiers that he
served with in the outlandish countries. Smith observed, it is
bad enough, Billy, for this story to get to the General's ears, but
to those of the lady will never do; and, then there's Humphreys,
he will be out upoii me in a d  d long poem that will spread
my misfortunes from Dan to Beersheba. At length the Colonel
determined, by the advice of his privy counsel, to dispatch Billj'
as a special ambassador, to endeavor to propitiate the veteran, or,
at any rate, to prevent his visit to the Mansion house.
Meantime the old body servant was not idle. He ransacked a
large worm-eaten trunk, and brought forth a coat that had not
seen the light for many long years ; it was of the cut and fashion
of the days of George II ; then a vest, and lastly a hat, Cumber
land cocked, with a huge riband., cockade, that had seen service
in the Seven Years' War; his shoes underwent a polish, and were
covered by large silver buckles. All these matters being care
fully dusted aud brushed, the veteran flourished his staff and took
up his line of march for the Mansion house.
Billy met the old soldier in full march, and a parlej' ensued.
Bill harangued with great force upon the impropriety of the vete
ran's conduct in not receiving the Colonel's apology ; for, con
tinued the ambassador, my friend Colonel Smith is both an offi
cer and a gentleman; and then, old man, you have no business
to have such a handsome daughter, (a grim smile passing over
the veteran's countenance at this compliment to the beauty of his
child,) for you know young fellows will be young fellows. He
continued by saying, it was not to be thought of that any such
matter should reach the madam's ears, and concluded by recom
mending to the veteran to drop the aff"air and return to his home.
The old body servant, fully accoutred for his expedition, had
cooled oft" a little during his march. A solclierly respect for an
officer of Colonel Smith's rank and standing, and a fear that he
might carry the matter a little too far, determined him to accept

OP WASHINGTON. • 71
the Colonel's assurance that there could be no harm where "no
harm was intended," came to the right-about, aud retraced his
steps to his home.
The ambassador returned to the anxious Colonel, and informed
him that he had met the old fellow, " en grand costume," and in full
march for the Mansion house, but that by a powerful display of
eloquence he had brought him to a halt, and induced him to listen
to reason, and drop the affair altogether. The ready guinea was
quickly in the ambassador's pouch, while the gallant Colonel,
happy in his escape from what might have resulted in a very un
pleasant affair, was careful to give the homestead of the old body
servant a good berth in all future rambles.
The pleasurable routine of Washington's life, in his retirement,
was a little varied by his call to the Convention of 1787. But in
1788, when the Constitution became ratified by the States, letters,
addresses, and memorials, from his compatriots and old com
panions in arms, poured in from all parts of the country, all pray
ing him who had been "first in war" to become "first in
peace" as the Chief Magistrate of the new Governmeut. These
testimonials of aff'ection made deep impression upon the retired
General, as they showed him that he stood "first in the hearts of
his countrymen."
In April, 1789, the doors of Mount Vernon opened to receive,
and Washington hastened to embrace, the venerable Charles
Thompson, the Secretary to the Revolutionary Congress, aud
signer of the Declaration of Independence. He came charged
with the honored duty of announcing to the retired General his
unanimous election to the office of President of the United States.
The tall attenuated form, the simple yet dignified mauners of
Secretary Thompson, made him a most favored guest at a board
where had been welcomed many of the wise, the good, the brave,
and renowned.
The unanimous election of Washington to the Chief Magis
tracy of a new Empire by a people who had hungered for an op
portunity of elevatitig the man of their hearts to the highest gift
in their power to bestow, called forth from the Chief acknowledg
ments of profound gratitude. Washington turned a last fond
lingering look upon his retired home, where he had passed so
many peaceful and happy days; upon his extensive circle of

72 . CUSTIS'S RECOLLECTIONS
friends, to whom he was attached by many and most endearing
associations; upon his improvements, which he had so much de
lighted to rear, and which had grown up to useful and ornamental
maturity under his fostering hand ; he bade adieu to them all,
and hastened to obey the call of his country.

OP WASHINGTON, 73

THE LAST DAYS AT MOUNT VERNON.
On the 4th of March, 1797, Washington, as a private citizen,
attended the dignified ceremonial of the Inauguration, as it was
conducted in the ancient time, and was the first to pay his re
spects to. the second President of the United States.
During the preparations for his departure from the seat of Gov
ernment, the ex-President enjoyed an interchange of farew^ell
visits with those in Philadelphia whom he had known so long
and loved so well. Two new members were now added to the
domestic family of Washington, in the persons of George Wash
ington Lafayette, and his tutor and friend, M. Frestel. In 1796,
these interesting Frenchmen sought refuge in the United States
from the troubles of their native land. Presenting themselves to
the President in Philadelphia, he received the young Lafayette
with a warm embrace, saying to him, consider General Washing
ton as your father, protector, and friend while you remain in this
country ; reasons of State prevent me, as President, from receiv
ing you, gentlemen, at this time, as members of my domestic
family. Arrangements will be made for your comfortable sojourn
in New Jersey, for the short time that will intervene between
this and the termination of my official duties; then, upon my re
tirement from all public aff"airs, you will be domesticated among
the most cherished members of my family and fireside at Mount
Vernon. Several of the most distinguished of the French emigrants,
some of them bringing letters from French officers who had
served in the war of Independence, sought in vain to be received
by the first President : among these were the celebrated Talley
rand, the Due de Liancourt, Louis Philippe, then Due d'Orleans,
and his two brothers, Montpensier and Bojolais. The first Presi
dent adhered to his rule, that upon mature consideration he had
laid down for his government during the wars and troubles of
European nations, viz : Respect and consideration for our own af
fairs, with non-intervention in the affairs of others.
10

* CUSTIS'S RECOLLECTIONS

Louis Philippe and brothers visited the retired Chief during
the "Last Days at Mount Vernon." The amiable Due de Lian
court bore his reverse of fortune with great magnanimity. He
used to say: "In the days of my power and affluence, under the
ancient regime of France, I kept fifty servants, and yet my coat
was never as well brushed as it is now, when I brush it myself."
Many articles, both for useful and ornamental purposes, were
forwarded from Philadelphia ; and that the retired Chief was in
full employment upou his return to his ancient and beloved man
sion, may be gathered from, the following extract of a letter to
the author of the Recollections, dated April 3, 1797 : " We are
all in the midst of litter and dirt, occasioned hj joiners, masons,
painters, and upholsterers, working in the house, all parts of
which, as well as the out-buildings, are much out of repair."
Mount Vernon, it is known, resembles a village, from there being
some fourteen or fifteen buildings detached from each other; and,
being nearly all constructed of wood, it may well be supposed
that decay had made considerable progress, more especially when
the master's absence during the War of the Revolution and the
first Presidency amounted to sixteen years.
An event occurred on the 22d February, 1799, that, while it
created an unusual bustle in the ancient halls, shed a bright gleam
of sunshine on the "Last Days at Mount Vernon." It was the
marriage of Major Lewis, a favorite nephew, with the adopted
daughter of the Chief. It was the wish of the young bride that
the General of the Armies of the United States should appear in
the splendidly embroidered uniform (the costume assigned him
by the board of general officers) in honor of the bridal ; but alas,
even the idea of wearing a costume bedizzened with gold em
broidery, had never entered the mind of the Chief, he being con
tent with the old Continental blue and buff", while the magnificent
white plumes presented to him by Major General Pinckney he
gave to the young bride, preferring the old Continental cocked
hat, with the plain black riband cockade, a type of the brave old
days of '76.
The venerable master, on returning to his home, found, indeed,
many things to repair, with an ample field for improvement before
him. With a body and mind alike sound and vigorous in their
maturity, did he bend his energies to the task, while the appear-

OP WASHINGTON. 75
ance of every thing gave proofs of the taste and energy in the
improvements that marked the last days at Mount Vernon.
A portrait of the illustrious farmer, as he rode on his farm in
the last days, may not be unacceptable to our readers. Fancy to
yourself a fine, noble-looking old cavalier, well mounted, sitting
firm and erect in his saddle, the personification of power, mel
lowed yet not impaired by time, the equipments of his steed all
proper and in perfect order, his clothes plain and those of a gen
tleman, a broad-brimmed white hat, with a small gold buckle in
front, a riding switch cut from the forest, entirely unattended,
and thus you have Washington on his farm, in the last days at
Mount Vernon.
His rides on his extensive estates would be from eight to twelve
or fourteen miles ; he usually moved at a moderate pace, passing
through his fields and inspecting every thing ; but when behind
time, the most punctual of men would display the horsemanship
of his better days, and a hard gallop bring him up to time, so
that the sound of his horse's hoofs and the first dinner bell should
be heard together at a quarter to three o'clock.
During the maritime war with France, the armed merchantmen
that sailed from Alexandria would salute on passing Mount Ver
non. On the report of the first gun, the General would leave his
library, and, taking a position in the portico that fronts the river,
remain there uncovered till the firing ceased.
And yet another salute awakened the echoes around the shores
of Mount Vernon ; another act of homage was paid to the retired
chief, and this was an homage of the heart, for it was paid by an
old companion in arms, while its echoes called up the memones
of the past: A small vessel would be seen to skim along the
bosom of the Potomac; nearing the shore, the little craft furled
her sails, let go her anchor, and discharged a small piece of ord
nance, then a boat put off" and pulled to the shore, and soon a
messenger appeared, bearing a fine rock or drum fish, with the
compliments of Benjamin Grimes, who resided some fifty miles
down the river, and who was a gallant officer of the Life Guard
in the War of the Revolution.
His great employment, and a constant stream of company, gave
the General but little time to go abroad ; still he occasionally visi
ted his old and long-remembered friends in Alexandria. He

76 .CUSTIS'S RECOLLECTIONS
attended a martial exhibition, representing an invasion by the
French, which ended in an old-fashioned sham battle and the
capture of the invaders; it was handsomely gotten up, Alexandria
at that time possessing a numerous and well-appointed military,
and the whole went off with great eclat.
Among many interesting relics of the past to be found in the
Last Days at Mount Vernon, was old Billy, the famed body-ser
vant of the Commander-in-Chief during the whole of the War of
the Revolution. Of a stout athletic form, he had from an acci
dent become a cripple, and, having lost the power of motion, took
up the occupation of a shoemaker for sake of employment. Billy
carefully reconnoitered the visitors as they arrived, and when a
military title was announced, the old body-servant would send
his compliments to the soldier, requesting an interview at his
quarters ; it was never denied, and Billy, after receiving a warm
grasp of the hand, would say, "Ah, Colonel, glad to see you;
we of the army don't see one another often these peaceful times.
Glad to see your honor looking so well ; remember you at head
quarters. The new-time people don't know what we old soldiers
did and suffered for the country in the old war. Was it not cold
enough at Valley Forge ? Yes, was it ; and I am sure you re
member it was hot enough at Monmouth. Ah, Colonel, I am a
poor cripple; can't ride now, so I make shoes and think of the
old times ; the General often stops his horse here to inquire if I
want any thing. I want for nothing, thank God, but the use of
my limbs."
These interviews were frequent, as many veteran- officers called
to fay their respects to the retired chief", and all of them bestowed
a token of remembrance upon the old body-servant of the Revo
lution. It was in November of the last days that the General visited
Alexandria upon business, and dined with a few friends at the
City Hotel. Gadsby, the most accomplished of hosts, requested
the General's orders for dinner, premising that there was good
store of canvass-back ducks in the larder. Very good, sir, replied
the Chief, give us some of them, with a chafing-dish, some hom
iny, and a bottle of good Madeira, and we shall not complain.
No sooner was it known in town that the General would stay
to dinner, than the cry M'as for the parade of a new company.

OP WASHINGTON. 77
called the Independent Blues, commanded by Captain Piercy, an
officer of the Revolution ; the merchant closed his books, the me
chanic laid by. his tools, the drum and fife went merrily round,
and in the least possible time the Blues had fallen into their ranks,
and were in full march for the headquarters.
Meantime the General had dined, had given his only toast of
"All our Friends," and finished his last glass of wine, when an
officer of the Blues was'introduced, who requested, in the name
of Captain Peircy, that the Commander-in-Chief would do the
Blues the honor to witness a parade of the corps. The General
consented, and repaired to the door of the hotel, looking toward
the public square, accom-panied by Col. Fitzgerald, Dr. Craik,
Mr. Keith, Mr. Herbert, and several other gentlemen. The troops
went through manj' evolutions with great spirit, and concluded
by firing several volleys. When the parade was ended, the Gen
eral ordered the author of the Recollections to go to Capt. Piercy
and express to him the gratification which he, the General, expe
rienced in the very correct and soldierly evolutions, marchings,
and firing of the Independent Blues. Such commendation, from
such a source, it may well be supposed, was received with no
small delight by the young soldiers, who marched off" in fine
spirits, and were soon after dismissed. Thus the author of the
Recollections had the great honor of bearing the last military order
issued in person by the Father of his Country.
Although much retired from the busy world, the chief was by
no means inattentive to the progress of public affairs. When the
post-bag arrived, he would select the letters, and lay them by for
perusal in the seclusion of his library. The journals he would
peruse while taking his single cup of tea, (his only supper,) and
would read aloud passages of peculiar interest, making remarks
upon the same. These evenings with his family always ended
precisely at nine o'clock, when Washiugton bade every one good
night, and retired to rest to rise again at four, and to renew the
same routine of labor and enjoyment that distinguished his last
days at Mount Vernon.

78 CUSTIS'S RECOLLECTIONS
The Revolutionary Letter.
"Morristown, January 22, 1777.
" Dear Sir: Your letter of the 7th came to my hands a few
days ago, and brought with it the pleasing refiection of your still
holding me in remembrance.
"The misfortune of short enlistments and the unhappy depend
ence upon militia have shown their baneful influence almost upon
every occasion throughout the whole course of this war. At no
time nor upon no occasion were they ever more exemplifled than
since Christmas ; for, if we could have got in the militia in time,
or prevailed upon those troops whose times expired, as they gen
erally did, on the first of this instant, to have continued, (not
more than 1,000 or 1,200 agreeing to stay,) we might, I am per
suaded, have cleared the Jerseys entirely of the enemy. Instead
of this, all our movements have been made with inferior num
bers, and with a mixed motley crew, who were here to-day, gone
to-morrow, without assigning a reason or even apprizing you of
it. In a word, I believe I may with truth add, that I do not think
that any officer since the creation ever had such a variety of diffi
culties and perplexities to encounter as I have. How we shall be
able to rub along till the new army is raised I know not ; Provi
dence has heretofore saved us in a remarkable manner, and on
this we must principally rely.
"Every person in every State should exert himself in the raising
and marching of the new regiments to the army with all possible
expedition. Those who want faith to believe the accounts of the
shocking wastes committed by Howe's army, of their ravaging,
plundering, and abuse of women, may be convinced to their sor
row perhaps, if a check cannot be put to their progress. It is
painful to me to hear of .such illiberal reflections upon the East
ern troops as you say prevails in Virginia. I always have and
always shall say, that I do not believe that any of the States pro
duce better men or persons capable of making better soldiers,
and we have found that wherever regiments are well officered,. the
men behave well ; where the reverse, ill. Equal injustice is done
them in depriving them of merit in other respects, for no people
fly to arms readier, or come better equipped, or with more regu
larity into the fleld, than they.
"I refer you to my letter to Lund Washington, which gives the
late occurrences, and with love to Nelly and respects to Mr. Cal
vert's family, I am yours affectionately,
"G°. WASHINGTON.
"To John Parke Custis, Esq.,
"Mount Vernon."

OP WASHINGTON. 79
The Paternal Letter.
"Philadelphia, November 28, 1796.
"Dear Washington: In a few hasty lines covering your sister's
letter on Saturday last, I promised to write more fully to you by
the post of this day; I am now in the act of performing that
promise. "The assurances you give me of applying diligently to your
studies, and fulfilling those obligations which are enjoined by
your Creator and due to his creatures, are highly pleasing and
satisfactory to me. I rejoice in it on two accounts: First, as it is
the sure means of laying the foundation of your own happiness,
and rendering you, if it should please God to spare your life, a
useful member of society hereafter; aud, secondly, that I may, if
I live to enjoy the pleasure, refiect that I have been in some de
gree instrumental in effecting these purposes.
"You are now entering into that stage of life when good or bad
habits are formed — when the mind will be turned to things use
ful and praiseworthy, or to dissipation and vice. Fix in which
ever it may, it will stick by you ; for you know it has been said,
and truly, "that as the twig is bent" so will it grow. This in a
strong point of view shows the propriety of letting your inexpe
rience be directed by maturer advice, and in placing guards upon
the avenues that lead to idleness and vice. The latter will ap
proach like a thief working upon your passions, encouraged per
haps by bad examples, the propensity to which will increase in
proportion to the practice of it, and your yieldings. This admo
nition proceeds from the purest affection for you, but I do not
mean by it that you are to become a stoic, or to deprive yourself
in the intervals of study of any recreation or manly exercise
which reason approves.
"It is well to be on good terms with all your fellow students,
and I am pleased to hear that you are so ; but while a courteous
behavior is due to all, select the most deserving only for your
friendship, and before this becomes intimate weigh their disposi
tions and characters well. True friendship is a plant of slow
growth ; to be sincere there must be a congeniality of temper and
pursuits. Virtue and vice cannot be allied, nor can industry and
idleness, of course. If you resolve to adhere to the two former
of these extremes, an intimacy with those who incline to the lat
ter of them would be extremely embarrassing to you ; it would
be a stumbling block in your way, and act like a millstone hung
to your neck ; for it is the nature of idleness and vice to obtain
as many votaries as they can.
" I would guard you, too, against imbibing hasty and unfavor
able impressions of any one ; let your judgment always balance
well before you decide, and even then, where there is no occasion

&

80 cusTis's recollections
for expressing an opinion, it is best to be silent; for there is noth
ing more certain than that it is at all times more easy to make
enemies than friends. Besides, to speak evil of any one, unless
there is unequivocal proofs of their deserving it, is an injury for
which there is no adequate reparation. Keep another thing also
in mind, that scarcely any change would be agreeable to j'ou at
first, from the sudden transition, and from never having been ac
customed to shift or to rough it, and, moreover, that if you meet
with collegiate fare, it will be unmanly to complain. My paper
reminds me that it is time to conclude, which I do, by subscrib
ing myself affectionately, your sincere friend,
"G°. WASHINGTON.
"Mr. Geo. Washington Parke Custts."

of WASHINGTON. 81

THE LAST DAYS AT MOUNT VERNON.
The year 1799 was in its last month ; Washington had nearly
completed his sixty-eighth year ; the century was fast drawing to
a close, and with it this great man's life. Yet the "winter " of his
age had shed its snows "so kindly" upon him as to mellow
without impairing his faculties, both physical and mental, and to
give fair promise of additional length of days.
Now was Washington unmindful of the sure progress of
time, and of his liability to be called at any moment tto " that
bourne from which no traveller returns." He had for years kept
a will by him, and after mature refiection had so disposed of his
large property as to be satisfactory to himself and to the many
who were so fortunate and happy as to share in his testamentary
remembrance. The last days, like tho^e that preceded them in the course of a
long and well-spent life, were devoted to constant and useful
employment. After the active exercise of the morning in atten
tion to agriculture and rural aff'airs, in the evening came the post
bag, loaded with letters, papers, and pamphlets. His correspond
ence, both at home and abroad, was immense; yet was it promptly
and fully replied to. No letter was unanswered. One of the
best bred men of his time, Washington deemed it a grave offence
against the rules of good manners and propriety to leave letters
unanswered. He wrote with great facility, and it would be a
difficult matter to find another who had written so much, who
has ^written so well. His epistolarj' writings will descend to
posterity as models of good taste, as well as developing superior
powers of mind. General Henry Lee once observed to the Chief,
" We are amazed, sir, at the vast amount of work that you accom
plish." Washington replied, "Sir, I rise at four o'clock, and
a great deal of my work is done while others are asleep."
So punctual a man delighted in always having about him a
good time-keeper. In Philadelphia the first President regularly
walked up to his watchmaker's (Clarke, in Second street) to com
pare hia watch with the regulator. At Mount Vernon the active
11

82 cusTis's recollections
yet always punctual farmer invariably consulted the dial when
returning from his morning ride and before entering his house.
The aff'airs of the household took order from the master's accu
rate and methodical arrangement of time. Even the fisherman
on the river watched for the cook's signal when to pull in shore,
so as to deliver his scaly products in time for dinner.
The establishment of Mount Vernon employed a perfect army
of servants ; yet to each one was assigned certain special duties,
and these were required to be strictly performed. Upon the ex
tensive estate there was rigid discipline, without severity. There
could be no confusion where all was order; and the affairs of
this vast concern, embracing thousands of acres and hundreds of
dependants were conducted with as much ease, method, and
regularity as the aff'airs of an ordinary homestead.
Mrs. Washington, an accomplished Virginia housewife of the
olden time, gave her constant attention to all matters of her
domestic household, and by her skill and superior management
greatly contributed to the comfortable reception and entertain
ment of the crowds of guests always to to found in the hospitable
Mansion of Mount Vernon.
Invariably neat and clean in his person, with clothes of the
old-fashioned cut, but made of the best materials, Washington
required less waiting upon than any man of his age and condition
in the world. A single body servant attended in his room to
brush his clothes, comb and tie his hair, (become very thin in his
last days, worn in the old-fashioned queue, and rarely with
powder,) and to arrange the materials of his toilet. This toilet
he made himself, in the simplest and most expeditious manner,
giving the least possible amount of his precious time to any thing-
relative to his person. When rising at four o'clock he lighted
his own candles, made up his fire, and went diligently to work,
without disturbing the slumbers of his numerous household.
In the last days at Mount Vernon, desirous of riding pleasantly
the General procured from the north two horses of the Narragan-
sett breed, celebrated as saddle horses. They were well to look
at, and were pleasantly gaited under the saddle, but were scary,
and therefore unfitted for the service of one who liked to ride
quietly on his farm, occasionally dismounting and walking in his
fields to inspect his improvements. From one of these horses

OP WASHINGTON. 83
the General sustained a heavy fall, probably the only fall he ever
had from a horse in his life. It was in November, late in the
evening. The General, accompanied by Major Lewis, Mr. Peake,
(a gentleman residing in the neighborhood,) the author of the
Recollections, and a groom, were returning from Alexandria to
Mount Vernon. Having halted for a few moments, the General
dismounted, and upon rising in his stirrup again the Narragan-
sett, alarmed at the glare from a fire near the road-side, sprang
from under his rider, who came heavily to the ground. Our
saddles were empty in an instant, and we rushed up to give our
assistance, fearing he was hurt; it was unnecessary. The vigo
rous old man was upon his feet again, brushing the dust from his
clothes ; and after thanldng us for our prompt assistance, observed
that he was not hurt, that he had had a very complete tumble, and
that it was owing to a cause that no horseman could well avoid
or control ; that he was only poised in his stirrup, and had not
yet gained his saddle when the scary animal sprang from under
him. Meantime all of our horses had gone off at full speed. It
was night, and over four miles were to be won ere we could reach
our destination. The Chief observed that, as our horses had dis
appeared, it only remained for us to take it on foot, and with
manly strides led the way. We had proceeded but a short dis
tance on our march, as dismounted cavaliers, when our horses
hove in sight. Happily for us some of the servants of Mr. Peake,
whose plantation was hard by, in returning home from their
labor, encountered our flying steeds, captured them, and brought
them to us. We were speedily remounted, and soon the lights
at Mount Vernon were seen glimmering in the distance.
Upon Washington's first retirement in 1783, he became con
vinced of the defective nature of the working animals employed
in the agriculture of the southern States, and set about remedying
the evil by the introduction of mules instead of horses, the mule
being found to live longer, be less liable to diseases, require less
food, and in every respect to be more serviceable and economical
than the horse' in the agricultural labor of the southern States.
Up to 1783, scarcely any mules were to be found iu the American
Confederation ; a few had been imported from the West Indies,
but they were of diminutive size, and of little value. So soon as
the views on this subject of the illustrious farmer of Mount

84 cusTis'fe recollections
Vernon were known abroad, he received a present from the
King of Spain of a jack and two jennies, selected from the royal
stud at Madrid. The jack, called the Royal Gift, was sixteen
hands high, of a grey color, heavily made, and of a sluggish dis
position. At the same time the Marquis de Lafayette sent out a
jack and jennies from the Island of Malta; this jack, called the
Knight of Malta, was a superb animal, black color, with the form
of a stag and the ferocity of a tiger. Washington availed himself
of the best qualities of the two jacks by crossing the breeds,
and hence obtained a favorite jack, called Compound, which
animal united the size and strength of the Gift with the high
courage and activity of the Knight. The jacks arrived at Mount
Vernon, if we mistake not, early in 1788. The General bred
some very superior mules from his coach mares, sending them
from Philadelphia for the purpose. In a few years the estate of
Mount Vernon became stocked with mules of a superior order,
rising to the height of sixteen hands, and of great power and use
fulness, one wagon team of four mules selling at the sale of the
General's effects for eight hundred dollars.
In no portion of Washington's various labors and improvements
in agriculture was he so particularly entitled to be hailed as a
public benefactor as in the introduction of mules in farming labor,
those animals being at this time almOst exclusively used for
farming purposes in the southern States.
The General of the armies of the United States was much
aided in the discharge of the duties of Commander-in-Chief by
Colonel Lear, his Military Secretary. After the organization of
his last army, in 1798, the General-in-Chief intrusted the details
of the service more especially to the known ability and long-tried
experience of Major General Hamilton and Pinckney; still reports
were made to and orders issued from Headquarters, Mount Ver
non. The last army of the Chief was composed of military
materials of the very first order. All of the general officers, and
nearly all the field were composed of Revolutionary, including the
illustrious names of Hamilton, Pinckney and William Washing-
ington ; while in the provisional or army of reserve were Howard,
Harry Lee, and others, the history of whose martial renown was
to be found on the brightest pages of our Revolutionary annals ;
so that, had the threatened invasion occurred, we may venture to

OF WASHINGTON. 85
say that the elite of Europe would have encountered in America
an army every way worthy of their swords, and prepared to
uphold and perpetuate the heroic fame of America's old battle day.
It pleased Providence to permit the beloved Washington to
live to witness the fruition of his mighty labors in the cause of
his country and mankind, while his success in the calm and
honored pursuits of agriculture and rural affairs was grateful to
his heart, and shed the most benign and happy influences upon
the last days at Mount Vernon.

The Revolutionary Letter.
"Camp near White Plains, 1778.
"Dear Custis: I thank you for your cordial and affectionate
congratulations upon our late success at Monmouth and the
arrival of the French fleet at the Hook. The first, I think, might
have been a glorious day if matters had begun well in the
morning; but as the court martial, which has been sitting up
wards of a month for the trial of General Lee, is not yet over, I
do not choose to say any thing on the subject further than that
there evidently appeared a capital blunder or something else
somewhere. The truth, it is to be hoped, will come out after so
long an investigation of it.
"If it had not been for the long passage, of the French fleet,
which prevented their arrival till after the evacuation of Phila
delphia, or the shallowness of the water at the entrance of the
harbor at New York, which prevented their getting in there, one
of the greatest strokes might have been aimed that ever was, and
if successful, which I think would have been reduced to a moral
certainty, the ruin of Great Britain must have followed, as both
arm.y and the fleet must undoubtedly have fallen.
"Count d'Estain, with his squadron, are now at Rhode Island,
to which place I have detached troops, and hope soon to hear of
some favorable adventure there, as an attempt will be made upon
the enemy at that place.
"After the battle at Monmouth, I marched for this place, where
I have been encamped more than a fortnight. We ciit off by
the present position of the army all land supplies to the city of
New York. I had the best reasons to believe that the troops
there were suffering greatly for want of provisions, but the French

86 cusTis's recollections
fleet leaving the Hook opens a door to the sea, through which
no doubt they will endeavor to avail themselves.
"Give my love to Nelly, Colonel Bassett and friends, and be
assured I am, with sincere regard and affection, yours,
"G°. WASHINGTON.
"To John Parke Custis, Esq.,
" New Kent County, Virginia."

The Paternal Letter.
"Philadelphia, January 11, 1797.
¦'Dear Washington: I hasten to acknowledge the receipt of
your letter of the 7th instant, but which did not get 'to my hand
till yesterday, and to express to you the sincere pleasure I feel
in finding that I had interpreted some parts of your letters
erroneously. "As you have the best and most unequivocal evidence the case
is susceptibleof that I have no other object in view by extending
my cares and advice to you than what will redound to your future
respectability, honor, and future happiness in life, so be assured
that while you give me reason to expect a ready submission to
my counsels, and while I hear that you are diligent in pursuing
the means that are to acquire these advantages, it will afford me
infinite gratification.
"Your last letter, replete with assurances of this nature, I place
entire confidence in ; they have removed all the doubts expressed
in my last letter to you, and let me repeat it again, have conveyed
very pleasing sensations to my mind.
"It was not my wish to check your correspondence — very far
from it ; for with proper characters — and none surely can be more
desirable than Dr. Stuart and Mr. Lear — and on proper subjects,
it will give you a habit of expressing your ideas upon all occasions
vi'lth facility and correctness.
"I meant no niore by telling you we should be contented with
hearing from you once a week than that these correspondences
were not to be considered as an injunctiou or an imposition,
thereby interfering with your studies or concerns of a more im
portant nature. So far am I from discountenancing writing of
any kind, except on the principle above mentioned, that I should
be pleased to hear, and you yourself might derive advantages
from a short diary recorded in a book of the occurrences which
happen to you, or within your sphere. Trifling as this may ap
pear at flrst view, it may become an introduction to more inter
esting matters. At any rate, by carefully preserving these, it

OF AVASHINGTON. 87
would give you more satisfaction in a retrospective view than
what you may conceive at present.
" Another thing I would recommend to you — not that I want to
know how you spend your money — and that is, to keep an account
book, and enter therein every farthing of your receipts and ex
penditures, the doing of which will initiate you into a habit from
which considerable advantages would result. Where no account
of this sort is kept there can be no investigation, no correction of
errors, no discovery, from a recurrence thereto, where too much
or too little has been appropriated to particular uses. From an
early attention to these matters important and lasting benefits
may follow.
"We are all well, and all unite in best wishes for you, and with
sincere aff'ection, I am always yours,
"G°. WASHINGTON.
"Mr. G. Washington P. Custis."

88 CUSTIS'S RECOLLECTIONS

Arlington House, February 21, 1854.
My Dear Sirs: I enclose you a Recollection for the twenty-
second, which I propose shall be the last published in the journals.
I commend it to your excellent press, which has published for me
so long and so well, and to which I shall ever owe great obligation.
The story of the Lost Letters of the Rawlins' Book I have put
off" to the last. It is a painful subject to me, but it was a bounden
duty upon me, as Washington's Biographer and the last of his
domestic family, to place this matter in the only light in which
it can ever appear to the world. * * * *
Faithfully yours,
GEORGE W. P. CUSTIS.
Messrs. Gales & Seaton.

THE LAST DAYS AT MOUNT VERNON.
On Washington's resignation of the Presidency, in 1797, one
of the first employments of his retirement as a private citizen was
to arrangCgcertain letters and papers for posthumous publication.
With this view he wrote to Gen. Spotswood, in Virginia, to select
a young man of respectable family, good moral habits, and supe
rior clerkly skill to copy into a large book certain letters and
papers that would be prepared for such purpose.
Now, these letters and papers were by no means of an official
character ; neither did they come within the range of Recollec
tions of the Revolution or Constitutional Government; they were
more especially private, and could with propriety be termed Pas
sages, Personal and Explanatory, in the Life and Correspondence of
Greorge Washington.
Gen. Spotswood selected a young man named Albin Rawlins,
of a respectable family in the county of Caroline, and well quali
fied for the duties he was to perform. He soon after arrived at
Mount Vernon, and entered upon his employment.
The letters were delivered to Rawlins by the Chief in person,

OF WASHINGTON. 89
were carefully returned to him when copied, and others delivered
out for copying. As the duties of the clerk lasted for a consid
erable time, very many of the most interesting aud valuable let
ters that Washington ever wrote or received were copied into the
Rawlins' Book. While we repeat that these letters were not of
an official character, we must observe that they were written to
and received from some of the most illustrious public men who
flourished in the age of Washington, and shed more light upon the
true character of the men and things of that distinguished period
than any letters or papers that ever were written and published.
Washington postponed the arrangement for publication of his
private memoirs to the last; all such matters lay dormant during
the long and meritorious career of his public services. It only
was when retired amid the shades of Mount Vernon that he
thought of self, and determined in his latter days that nothing
should be left undone to give to his country and the world a fair
and just estimate of his life and actions.
A portion of the letters of the Rawlins' Book were of a delicate
character, seeing that they involved the reputation of the writers
as consistent patriots and men of honor. These letters are no where
to be found. But, although the veil of mystery has been drawn
over the Lost Letters of the Rawlins' Book that time or circum
stance can never remove, our readers may rest assured that there
is not a line, nay, a word, in the lost letters that Washington
wrote, that, were he living, he would wish to revoke or blot out,
but would readily, fearlessly submit to the perusal and decision
of his countrymen and the world.
During the agitation of the public mind that grew out of the
subject of the lost letters more than fifty years ago, it was con
tended that the rumors were groundless; that there were no such
letters. Faithful to our purpose at the close of our labors, as at
the commencement of our humble work more than a quarter of
a century ago, to give in the Recollections and Private Memoirs
of the Life and Character of the Pater Patrise only of what we
were, only of what we saw, and only of what we derived from the
undoubted authority of others, we do not hesitate to declare, and
from an authority that cannot be questioned, that there were such
letters as those described as the Lost Letters of the Rawlins' Book.
The ancient family vault having fallen into a state of decay, the
12

90 CUSTIS'S RECOLLECTIONS
Chief surveyed and marked out a spot for a family burial place
during the last days at Mount Vernon. The new situation is pe
culiarly unfavorable and ill chosen, being a most uncomfortable
location for either the living or the dead. The executors, con
ceiving themselves bound by the provisions of the Will to erect
a burial vault on the spot marked out, proceeded to do so to the
best advantage ; but all their endeavors, together with the labors
of skillful mechanics, have resulted in the tomb of Washington
being universally condemned as unfit for and unworthy of the
purpose for which it was intended, while it serves as a matter of
reproach to the crowds of pilgrims who resort thither to pay
homage to the fame and memory of the Father of his Country.
It is certain that Washington never gave even a hint of his
views or wishes in regard to the disposition of his remains. He
no doubt believed that his ashes would be claimed as national
property, and be entombed with national honors ; hence his silence
on a subject that has agitated the American public for more than
half a century. On the decease of the Chief, the high authorities
of the nation begged his remains for public interment at the seat
of the National Government. They were granted by the venera
ble relict, conditioned that her own remains should be interred
by the side of her husband in the national tomb. This memora
ble compact, so solemn in itself, is still in full force and binding
on the nation, inasmuch as no subsequent authority could alter
or annul it.
On the faith of this compact. Col. Monroe, when President of
the United States, ordered two crypts or vaults to be formed in
the basement story of the centre of the Capitol for the reception
of the remains of the Chief and his consort, agreeably to the ar
rangement of 1799, which vaults are untenanted to this day.
Surely it cannot be denied that Mrs. Washington had the right,
the only right, to the disposal of the remains of the Chief, and by
virtue of this right she granted them to the prayer of the nation
as expressed by its highest authority.
On her death-bed the venerable Lady called the author of the
Recollections, her grandson and executor, to her side, and said :
" Remember, Washington, to have my remains placed in a leaden
coffin, that they may be removed with those of the General at the
command of the Government."

OF WASHINGTON. 91
And yet we hear of the right of a State ! No one State can
appropriate to itself that which belongs to the whole. Of the
glorious Old Thirteen, little Delaware has as much right to the
remains of the beloved Washington as either of her larger sisters;
for, though small in size, she was great in value in the "times
that tried men's souls," and in proportion to her resources fur
nished as much courage, privation, and blood to the combats of
liberty as those that were far larger than she. From Long Island
to Eutaw, from the first to the last of the War of Independence,
her banner was ever in the field, and ever floated mid the "bravest
of the brave."
It is high time the subject of the remains and the remains them
selves were at rest. Presuming that Governmeut should purchase
Mount Vernon, and determine that the ashes of the Chief should
there find lasting repose, we would respectfully suggest that a
sepulchre be erected on the site of the ancient family vault, a mag
nificent location, having an extensive view of the surrounding-
country and of the noble Potomac that washes its base ; the mas
sive structure to be formed of white American marble, in blocks
each of a ton weight, a dome of copper, surmounted by an eagle
in bronze, a bronze door, and for inscription two words only, that
will speak volumes to all time — Pater Patrise — the key of the
receptacle to be always in custody of the President of the United
States for the time being. This done, and if done, "'tis well it
were done quickly," the tomb of Washington would cease to be
a reproach among- nations. The pilgrim from distant lands, as
he journeys through a mighty Empire with his heart filled with
veneration of the fame and memory of America's illustrious son,
when he arrives at the National Sepulchre, that casts its broad
shadow o'er the Potomac's wave, will become awed by the solemn
grandeur of the spot. The American of generations yet to come
will behold, will filial reverence, the "time honored receptacle
that contains the ashes of the Father of his Country;" the en
during marble mellowed by age, the inscription freshly preserved
in never-dying bronze; when, proud of such a monument erected
by the piety of his ancestors, the future American may exclaim,
in the words of the immortal Bard:
" Such honors Ilion to her Hero paid,
And peaceful sleeps the mighty Hector's shade."

92 CDSTIS'S RECOLLECTIONS
Another object claimed the attention of the Chief during the
Last Days at Mount Vernon — the complete survey and remodel
ing of his farms, with a view to their improvement. These sur
veys he made in person, the calculations and estimates drawn out
by his own hand; and indeed it was a rare spectacle to behold
this venerable man, who had attained the very topmost height of
human greatness, carrying his own compass, the emblem of the
employment of his early days.
His correspondence with Sir John Sinclair and other eminent
characters in Europe gave a great deal of information touching
the improvements in agriculture and domestic economy in the
Old World. This valuable information was carefully digested by
the Farmer of Mount Vernon, with a view to its adaptation to
the climate and resources of the United States. Nothing that
tended to public benefit was too vast to be undertaken by this
man of mighty labors. The whole of his public as well as pri
vate career was marked by usefulness. His aim was good to his
country and mankind, and to effect this desirable end untiring
were his energies and onward his course as a public benefactor.
Washington ceased to be a sportsman after 1787, when he gave
up the hunting establishment. True, he bred the blood horse,
and a favorite colt of his, named Magnolia, was entered and ran
for a purse ; but this was more to encourage the breeding of fine
horses than from any attachment to the sports of the turf. All
the time that he could spare for active exercise in his latter days
was devoted to riding about his farm and inspecting his improve
ments. In this he was ably assisted by several of his stewards
and managers, who were Europeans, and who had brought from
their own countries habits of industry and a knowledge of im
proved agriculture and rural affairs ; so that, had the Farmer of
Mount Vernon been spared but a few years longer, his estate
would have exhibited a series of model farms, examples to neigh
boring improvers and to the country at large.
Mount Vernon, in the olden time, was celebrated for the luxu
ries of the table. The fields, the forest, and the river, each in
their respective seasons, furnished the. most abundant resources
for good living. Among the picturesque objects on the Potomac
to be seen from the eastern portico of the Mansion house, was
the light canoe of Father .Jack, the fisherman to the establish-

OF WASHINGTON. 93
ment. Father Jack was an African negro, an hundred years of
age, and, although greatly enfeebled in body by such a vast weight
of years, his mind possessed uncommon vigor. And he would
tell of days long past, of Afric's clime, and of Afric's wars, in
which he (of course the son of a king) was made captive, and of
the terrible battle in which his royal sire was slain, the village
consigned to the flames, and he to the slave ship.
Father Jack possessed in an eminent degree the leading quality
of all his race, somnolency. By looking through a spy-glass you
would see the canoe fastened to a stake, with the old fisherman,
bent nearly double, enjoying a nap, which was only disturbed by
the hard jerking of the white perch that became entangled by his
hook. But the slumbers of Father Jack were occasionally attended by
some inconvenience. The domestic duties at Mount Vernon were
governed by clock time. Now, the cook required that the fish
should be forthcoming at a certain period, so that they might be
served smoking on the board precisely at three o'clock. .He
would repair to the river bank and make the accustomed signals;
but, alas, there would be no response ; the old fisherman was
seen quietly reposing in his canoe, rocked by the gentle undula
tions of the stream, and dreaming no doubt of events "longtime
ago." The unfortunate artiste of the culinary department, grown
furious by delay, would now rush down to the water's edge, and
by dint of loud shouting, at length the canoe would be seen to
turn its prow to the shore. Father Jack, indignant at its being-
even supposed that he was asleep on his post, would rate those
present on his landing with "What you all meek such a debil of
a noise for, hey ; I want sleep, only noddiu."
Poor Father Jack ! No more at early dawn will he be seen, as
with withered arms he paddled his light canoe on the broad sur
face of the Potomac, to return with the finny spoils and boast of
famous fish taken " on his own hook." His canoe has long since
rotted on the shore, his paddle hangs idly in his cabin, his " oc
cupation's gone," and Father Jack, the old fisherman of Mount
Vernon, " sleeps the sleep that knows no waking."
A hunter too was- attached to the household establishment.
Tom Davis and his great Newfoundland dog. Gunner, were as
important characters in the department for furnishing game and

94 CUSTIS'S RECOLLECTIONS
wild fowl as Father Jack in that of fish. So vast were the num
bers of the canvass-back duck on the Potomac in the ancient
time that a single discharge of Tom Davis's old British musket
would procure as many of those delicious birds as would supply
the larder for a week.
George Washington Lafayette, and his tutor and friend, M.
Frestel, became members of the Mount Vernon family during the
last days. These estimable Frenchmen, driven by persecution
from their native country, found refuge in America.
While reasons of State prevented Washington as President from
receiving emigrSs, so soon as he became the private citizen he
warmly, joyfully welcomed to his heart and his home the son of
his old companion in arms, bidding the young Lafayette consider
George Washington as a friend and father. The French gentle
men, from their superior intelligence, together with their highly
accomplished and amiable manners, endeared themselves to all
who knew them during their sojourn in the United States. They
remained members of the family of Mount Vernon until a change
in European affairs enabled them to embark for their native land.
The sentinel placed on the watch-tower by Fate to guard the
destinies of Washington might have cried all's well during the
last days at Mount Vernon. All was well. All things glided
gently and prosperously down the stream of time, and all was
progressive. Two blades of grass had been made to " grow where
but one grew before," and a garden "bloomed where flowers had
once grown wild."
The best charities of life were gathered around the Pater Patriee
in the last days at Mount Vernon. The love and veneration of
a whole people for his illustrious services; his generous and un
tiring labors in the cause of public utility ; his kindly demeanor
to his family circle, his friends, and numerous dependents; his
courteous and cordial hospitality to his guests, many of them
strangers from far distant lands ; these charities, all of which
sprung from the heart, were the ornament of his declining years,
and gave benignant radiance to his setting sun ; and that scene,
the most sublime in nature, where human greatness reposes on
the bosom of human happiness, was to be admired on the banks
of the Potomac in the Last Days at Mount Vernon.

OF WASHINGTON. 95
Extracts from the Revolutionary Letters.
"Fredericksburg, (N. Y.,) October 26, 1778.
"Dear Jack: The enemy still continues to keep us in suspense
and baffle all conjecture. They have five or six thousand men
actually on board transports lying in New York, and a fleet of
more than one hundred sail left the Hook on the 20th instant for
England, said to contain invalids, officers of reduced corps, &c.
This fleet comprehended empty provision ships, merchant ships,
and private adventurers taking the benefit of convoy. Admiral
Byron, with fourteen or fifteen sail of the line and some frigates,
sailed from the Hook, it is supposed, with design to look at the
French squadron at Boston, and keep them shut in there till the
transports can get well advanced to their respective places of des
tination. "It remains a matter of great uncertainty whether the enemy
mean to evacuate New York or not. I do not think myself that
they will, but can give no better reason for their staying than
that they ought to go. Their uniform practice is to run counter
to all expectation. I am therefore justified in my conclusion in
the present instance.
" Sincerely and affectionately, yours,
"G°. WASHINGTON.
"John Parke Custis, Esq.
" P. S. When you come or send to Mount Vernon let my mare
be brought."

" Camp near Dobb's Ferry, July 25, 1781.
"Dear Custis: That so few of our countrymen have joined
the enemy is a circumstance as pleasing to me as it must be mor-
tifyingly evincive to them of the fallacy of their assertion that
two-thirds of the people were in their interest and ready to join
them when opportunity offered. Had this been the case the
Marquis's force and the other third must have abandoned the
country. "I am much pleased with your choice of a Governor. He is
an honest man, active, spirited, and decided, and will, I am per
suaded, suit the times as well as any person in the State. You
were lucky, considering the route by which the enemy retreated
to Williamsburg, to sustain so little damage. I am of opinion
that Lord Cornwalljs will establish a strong post at Portsmouth,
detach a part of his force to New York, and go with the residue
to South Carolina.
"I returned yesterday from reconnoitering (with Count Ro-
chambeau and the engineers of both armies) the enemy's works

96 CUSTIS'S RECOLLECTIONS
near King's bridge. We lay close to them two days and a night
without any attempt on their part to prevent it; they begun and
continued a random, kind of cannonado, but to very little effect.
I am waiting impatiently for the men the States (this way) have
been called upon for, that I may determine on my plans and com
mence my operations.
' "My best wishes attend Nelly, who I hope is perfectly recov
ered. My love to the little girls, compliments to friends.
"Sincerely and affectionately, yours,
' "G°. WASHINGTON.
"John Parke Custis, Esq."

"PowLEs' Hook, West Point, August 24, 1779.
"Dear Custis: Our affairs at present put on a pleasing aspect,
especially in Europe and the West Indies, and bid us, I think,
hope for the final accomplishment of our independence. But as
peace depends upon our allies as well as ourselves, and Great
Britain has refused the mediation of Spain, it will puzzle, I con
ceive, the best politicians to point out with certainty the limita
tion of our warfare.
"We have given the enemy another little stroke in the surprise
of Powles' Hook, (within cannon shot of New York,) and bring
ing off seven officers and one hundred and fifty-one men. This
was a brilliant transaction, and performed by a detachment of
Virginians and Marylanders, under the command of Major Henry
Lee^* of the light dragoons, with the loss of not more than ten
or a dozen men. The colors of the garrison were also brought off.
"Remember me affectionately to Nelly and the children, and
be assured that, with the truest regard, I am yours,
"G°. WASHINGTON.
"John Parke Custis, Esq."

* Afterwards commanded the celebrated Partisan Legion in the campaigns of the
Carolinae.

OF WASHINGTON. 97

THE MYSTERIES OF THE REVOLUTION.
THE WARNING.
It was Saturday night, the 27th of June, 1778, when the Ameri
can army, after a toilsome march in a tropical heat, halted for
rest and refreshment in the county of Monmouth, State of New
Jersey. The weary soldiers were gathered in groups, some
preparing the evening meal, while others, exhausted by their
march, threw themselves on the' ground to seek repose. The
short night of June was waning away, the watch-fires burned
dimly, and silence reigned around. Not so at Headquarters.
There lights were seen, while the Chief, seated at a table, wrote
or dictated dispatches, which were folded and directed by aid-de
camp and secretaries, while near at hand were expresses, seated
like statues upon their drowsy horses, awaiting orders, and ever
and anon an officer would approach them with the words, " This
for Major General  ; ride with speed, aud spare not the
spilr;" and in a moment the horseman would disappear in the
surrounding gloom. Suddenly a stranger appeared on the scene.
He wore no martial costume, neither had he the measured tread
of the soldier ; in truth his appearance was any thing but military.
On being challenged by the sentinel, he answered: "Dr. Griffith,
chaplain and surgeon in the Virginia line, on business highly
important with the Commander-in-Chief." The cry of "officer
of the guard" brought forth that functionary, so necessary a per
sonage in a night camp. The officer shook his head, and waiving
his hand said, "No, sir, no; impossible; intensely engaged; my
orders positive ; can't be seen on any account." The reverend
gentleman quailed not, but said to the officer who barred his
passage, "Present, sir, by humble duty to his Excellency, and
say that Dr. Griffith waits upon him with secret and import
ant intelligence, and craves an audience of only five minutes'
duration." The high respect in which the clergy- of the American army
was held by Washington was known to every officer and soldier
13

98 CUSTIS'S RECOLLECTIONS
in its ranks. This, together with the imposing nature of the
chaplain's visit, induced the officer of the guard to enter the
Headquarters, and report the circumstances to the General. He,
quickly returning, ushered the chaplain into the presence of the
Commander-in-Chief. Washington, still with pen in hand, received his midnight
visitor courteously, when Griffith observed: "The nature of the
communication I am about to make to your Excellency must be
my apologj' for disturbing you at this hour of the night. While
I am not permitted to indulge the names of the authorities from
whom I have obtained'my information, I can assure you they are
of the very first order, whether in the point of character or
attachment to the cause of American Independence. I have
sought this interview to warn your Excellency against the con
duct of Major General Lee in to-morrow's battle. My duty is
fulfilled, and I go now to pray to the God of Battles for success to
our arms, aud that he may always have your Excellency in his
holy keeping." The chaplain retired, the officer of the guard (by
signal from the Chief) accompanying the reverend gentleman to
the line of the sentinels.
When the warning became known in the army, it created many
conjectures as to the sources from whence the chaplain acquired
his information. Nothing ever transpired, and the secret died,
while the mystery remains to the present time.
; The conduct of General Lee in the battle of Monmouth very
fairly justified the warning of the chaplain. It is certain that the
brave and skillful Commander had no leaning toward the enemy,
but it is thought that he expected by throwing things into con
fusion, to lessen the merits of Washington in the public estima
tion, and thus himself aspire to the command of the army.
The interview between the Generals has been but imperfectly
narrated by the chroniclers of the events of the heroic age. We
have our relation from the venerable James Craik, who, as phy
sician-general to the staff, was always in the suite of the Com
mander-in-Chief in the moment of battle. He said: "The meeting
waa abrupt: when Washington, with warmth, demanded of the
Major General why the advanced guard of the army was in
retreat before the enemy, having made little or no resistance ;
Lee replied in language explanatory, but decorous and officer-

OF WASHINGTON. 99
like. The Chief then said, 'Will you, sir, command on this
ground ?' To which Lee replied, 'Your Excellency's orders shall
be obeyed, and I will be among the last to leave the field.' "
But the poetry of this memorable interview was in the chivalric
ardor of Alexander Hamilton. He sprung from his horse, and
leaving the animal to itself", drew his sword, and addressing the
Chief, said, "General, we are betrayed, and the moment has
arrived when every true friend of this country should be prepared
to die in her defence." Washington, though inwardly pleased
with the heroic devotion of his favorite aid, yet deeming it inap
propriate to the battle-field, in the then uncertain fortunes of the
fight, camly observed to the youthful enthusiast, " Colonel Ham
ilton, you will take your horse" — the animal quietly cropping
the herbage hard by, unconscious of the scene that was enacted
so near it, in which such great spirits were the actors. Dr.
Griffith survived the war, and became rector of a parish in which
Washington worshiped: He was elected first bishop of Virginia
under the new regime, and v^en about to embark for Europe for
consecration, sickened and died in Philadelphia. He was a ripe
scholar, a pious minister, and an ardent enthusiast in the cause
of American Independence.

Rivington, the King's Printer, and the Secret Service of the Ameri
can G-eneral.
Of all the mysteries that occurred in the American Revolution
the employment of Rivington, editor of the Royal Gazette,^ in
the secret service of the American Commander, is the most
astounding. The time that this remarkable connection took place is, of course,
unknown. There is much probability that it may have com
menced as early as the closing of the campaign of 1776, as it is
known that about that period Robert Morris borrowed^ of a
Quaker five hundred guineas in gold for the secret service of
Washington's army, and that intelligence of vital and vast im
portance was obtained from the disbursement of the Quaker loan.
The worthy Quaker said to Morris : " How can I, friend Robert,
who am a man of peace, lend thee money for the purposes of
war? Friend George is, I believe, a good man and fighting in

100 CUSTIS'S RECOLLECTIONS
a good cause ; but I am opposed to fighting of any sort." Morris,
however, soon managed to quiet old Broadbrim's scruples ; the
gold was dug up from his garden, and handed over to the Com
mander-in-Chief, whose application of it to the secret service
produced the happiest effects upon the cause of the Revolution
in that critical period of our destiny.
Rivington proved faithful to his bargain, and often would intel
ligence of great importance, gleaned in convivial moments at Sir
William's or Sir Henry's table, be in the American camp before
the convivialists had slept off the effects of their wine.
The business of the secret service was so well managed that
even a suspicion never arose as to the medium through which
intelligence of vast importance was continually being received in
the American camp from the very Headquarters of the British
army ; and had suspicion arose, the King's printer would probably
have been the last man suspected, for during the whole of his
connection with the secret service, his Royal Gazette literally piled
abuse of every sort upon the Amerfcan General and the cause of
America.. In 1783 this remarkable mystery was solved. When Wash
ington entered New York a conqueror, on the evacuation by the
British forces, he said one morning to two of his officers : " Sup
pose, gentlemen, we walk down to Rivington's bookstore ; he is
said to be a very pleasant kind of fellow." Amazed, as the
officers were, at the idea of visiting such a man, they of course
prepared to accompany the Chief. When arrived at the book
store, Rivington received his visitors with great politeness ; for
he was indeed one of the most elegant gentlemen and best bred
men of the age. Escorting the party into a parlor, he begged
the officers to be seated, and then said to the Chief, '• Will your
Excellency do me the honor to step into the adjoining room for
a moment, that I may show you a list of the agricultural works
I am about to order out from London for your special use?"
They retired. The locks on the doors of the houses in New
York more than three-score years ago were not so good as now.
The door of Rivington's private room closed very imperfectly,
and soon became ajar, when the officers distinctly heard the
chincking of two heavy purses of gold as they were successively
placed on the table.

OP WASHINGTON. 101
The party soon returned from the inner-room, when Rivington
pressed upon his guests a glass of Madeira, which he assured
them was a prime article, having imported it himself, and it
having received the approbation of Sir Henry, and the most dis
tinguished bon vivants of the British army.
The visitors now rose to depart. Rivington, on takiiig leave of
the Chief, whom he escorted to the door, said: "Your Excel
lency may rely upon my especial attention being given to the
agricultural works, which, on their arrival, will be immediately
forwarded to Mount Vernon, where I trust they will contribute
to your gratification amid the shades of domestic retirement."
Rivington remained for several years in New York after the
peace of 1783, then returned to England, and there died. He
was never called to account by his Government for the affair of
the secret service. It was the general opinion at that time that
if Rivington had been closely pressed on the delicate subject
of the secret service, characters of greater calibre might have
appeared on the tapis than the King's Printer.
When the famous Rivington espionage became known there
were many speculations as to the amount paid for the secret
service. Some went so far as to calculate how many guineas the
capacious pockets of an officer's coat, made in the old fashion,
would contain. The general result was that, including the
Quaker's loan, and payments made up to the final payment in
full, made by the Chief in person, from a thousand to fifteen
hundred guineas would be a pretty fair estimate.
It was a cheap, a dog cheap bargain ; for, although gold was
precious in the days of the Continental currency, yet the gold
paid for the secret service was of inestimable value, when it is
remembered how much" it contributed to the safety and success
of the army of Independence.
Note by the Author of the " Recollections." —W e are prepared at
all times to give the authorities from which we have gathered the
many Recollections, Memoirs, and Mysteries touching the life and
character of Washington and the History of the Revolution, and
which we have published to the American people and the world
for half a century. The incident of the Warning we obtained
from the late Colonel Nicholas, an officer of the life-guard— a
corps attached to the person of the Commander-in-Chief, more
especially on the eve of battle. The stoiy of the secret service

102 CUSTIs'S RECOLLECTIONS
was related to us by the late General Henry Lee, who had it from
one of the officers that accompanied the Chief in the visit to
Rivington's bookstore in 1783. The story of the worthy Quaker,
who, although a man of peace, and opposed to all fighting, yet
loaned his gold to Friend George, believing that the man of war
was fighting in a good cause — this story was no mystery in Phila
delphia sixty-five years ago, when the man of peace was then
living, perfectly well known, and deservedly esteemed, and en
joying the peace, liberty, and happiness his gold had contributed
to accomplish for his native land.

viT Vt AoHii^CrjlON. 103

RETROSPECTION.
A Pilgrim to the Approaching Inauguration on the Fourth
of March, 1867.
On the 4th of March, and on Pennsylvania avenue, apart from
the crowd, might have been seen an aged man plodding his way
to the Capitol Hill, a pilgrim to the Inauguration.
Since the Inaugurations have occurred at the city of Wash
ington, this individual has made pilgrimages to them, by visiting
a certain spot near the Capitol, where once was a large stone, on
which that pilgrim would sit during the performance of the cere
monies in the building, and when the first gun announced that
the ceremonies were complete the pilgrim would rise, and, pro
nouncing the name of the new President, and the date in the
order of succession of the Chief Magistrates, the old man would
remark, "What next?" and theu take up his line of march for
his home in Virginia.
This pilgrim has had the rare honor of personally knowing,
taking by the hand, and breaking bread with all the Presidents
of the United States. Brought up in his youth at the then seat
of the National Government, he enjoyed the most distinguished
opportunities of seeing and knowing much of the great men and
great things that illustrated and adorned the early age of the Re
public, dignified to all time as the age of Washington, storing
his mind at that auspicious period of his life with recollections
^he most imposing of the olden time and the glorious memories
of the past.
On the Inauguration of Mr. Madison, in 1809, the pilgrim de
parted from his usual habit of being merely a " looker-on in
Vienna," and took a somewhat remarkable part in the events of
the day. When the President retired from the Capitol, on rushed
the crowd to the worship of the rising sun. The avenue was
nearly deserted, while the hum of the multitude faded in the dis
tance ; then appeared on horseback, and entirely alone, Thomas
Jefferson. The old pilgrim pointed out this spectacle to two
Revolutionary officers, Col. Thomas Parker and Major Butler,

104 CUSTIS'S RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON.
(who were lookers-on,) saying, " See, gentlemen, how soon a
great man becomes neglected and his services forgotten in
America when he ceases to be the fountain of patronage and
power ! Whatever may be the Revolutionary patriot and states
man's politics now, they were of the right sort in 1776, and led
to the Independence of his country. Honor to whom honor is
due." The Revolutionary veterans now begged to be introduced,
and the small party falling into line, the retired Chief Magistrate
was escorted on his route, down the avenue, by a trio of his politi
cal opponents.
The pilgrim's stone has been removed for some years, to make
way for the improvements of the grounds about the palace of the
National Legislature, but the pilgrim will be somewhere near the
ancient spot, and while the sounds of artillery still linger about
the echoes of the Capitol, the old man will say, " James Buchanan,
fifteenth President of the United States ! What next ?" And then
having in all probability performed his last pilgrimage to an In
auguration, the old fellow will take up his line of march for his
home in Virginia.

INDEX.

Pajr*-.
Gen. Washington, his Life, Habits and Manners  5
The Last Hours of Washington. — IS'28  17
The Birthniglit  -.jO
Applicants for Office  2 '2
The Battle of Monmouth  24
The Battle of Germantown. and death of General Nash  31
Washington, his person and personal appearance. — Anecdotes of his great Physical
prowess  39
The Headquarters  43
Alexander Hamilton  50
Commencement of the Constitutional Governmeut of the United States. — WashJ
ington's residence in and final departure from New York  58
Annirersary of the Birthday of Gen. Washington, Feb. :i2, 1848  C5
The Last Days at Mount Vernon  73
Do  do  81
Do  do  88
The Mysteries of the Revolution  07
Retrospection. — ^A Pilgrim to the approaching Inauguration on the 4th of March,
1857  103

WiWA