George Washington
George Washington was commander of the Continental Army and first president of the United States. Williamsburg played a key role in his rise as a military and political leader.
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Earning a Reputation
George Washington (1732–1799) claimed his surveyor's license from the College of William & Mary when he was 17 and became the official surveyor for Culpeper County. This work fed his lifelong interest in investing in western lands.
When Washington was 21, Virginia’s Lieutenant Governor Robert Dinwiddie dispatched him on a mission to the Ohio Country. He was to deliver a letter demanding that the French evacuate territory claimed by the British, although much of the land was still occupied by Native Americans. Washington reported their refusal to the governor at the Palace in Williamsburg. The next year, in his first military command, Washington’s contingent got into a skirmish in Jumonville Glen that prompted the French and Indian War. After serving with General Braddock, Washington finally received a coveted commission as colonel in charge of all of Virginia’s forces.
Williamsburg Welcomes Washington
Washington resigned his commission in 1758, trading his sword for life as a member of the House of Burgesses and tobacco farmer at his Mount Vernon plantation. As a burgess, he traveled frequently to Williamsburg, where he dined at the taverns, patronized local merchants, worshiped at Bruton Parish Church, and enjoyed performances at the theater.
In 1759 he married Martha Parke Custis, spending their honeymoon in Williamsburg. Martha was a widow with two surviving children. George and Martha did not have children of their own.
Every post is honorable in which a man can serve his country.
— GEORGE WASHINGTON
Our First President
After the war, Washington retired to Mount Vernon, but returned to the national stage to serve as president of the Constitutional Convention in 1787, lending it the stature it needed to have legitimacy. He served two terms as president, where he established many of the office’s enduring norms.
Washington died from a throat infection at Mount Vernon on December 14, 1799.
Revolutionary Commander
George Washington served as a delegate in the Continental Congress until he was unanimously elected “general and commander in chief” of the army when the Revolutionary War began. His leadership and skill in evading any devastating defeats on the battlefield made it possible for the revolutionaries to emerge victorious once the French joined the fight. Washington used George Wythe's home on Palace Green as his headquarters to prepare for the climactic battle at Yorktown in 1781.
Five Facts about George Washington
Keep going to learn the answers to some commonly asked questions regarding George Washington.
Did Washington really cut down the Cherry Tree?
History proves that incorrect. On many occasions throughout two wars, Washington proved quite capable of lying to provide military advantage. Even before the French and Indian war he told his Indian allies that the French were coming to “Kill that Half-King” which he did not, by his own admission, believe. Later, in the American Revolution, he frequently used deception to purposely mislead the enemy.
Washington did consider honesty a valuable and necessary virtue which was recognized even by his opponents.
Did George Washington Throw a Dollar over the Potomac?
The American silver dollar of course did not exist in Washington’s youth.
Washington did have a strong throwing arm and, in his youth, practiced the common gentlemen’s pastime of throwing weights for distance. Even in his early forties he was still outdistancing younger men. Still, one wonders if this feat could this have been possible? In 1936 baseball hall of famer Walter Johnson, in celebration of Washington’s 204th birthday managed to throw a specially milled silver dollar over the 270-foot expanse of the river.
Did Washington Have Wooden Teeth?
Again, this is a myth. Truth is no one seems to know where it comes from.
Washington did have endless trouble with both his teeth and his dentures. By the time he became President only one of his natural teeth survived (and that one didn’t survive his two terms), but by all accounts, and by the example of his surviving dentures, they were made of human and animal teeth, or in one case carved from a calf’s jawbone.
Did Washington Run for President Unopposed?
In the original process laid out in the Constitution, all members of the electoral college received 2 votes, one that must be used for a candidate from a different state then their own. The candidate who received the most votes became the President and the second highest became Vice-President.
George Washington, John Adams, John Jay, John Rutledge, John Hancock, Samuel Huntington, and Henry Knox were all candidates. Washington had a unanimous vote — all 69 electors cast one vote for him. Adams was second with 34.
What about George Washington’s Wig?
George Washington never actually wore a wig. Commonly he simply pulled his hair back into a queue or ponytail which he would let hang freely or sometime place into a hair bag. He would on occasion powder his hair to give it the more formal white look, though eventually his natural red or light brown colored hair whitened on its own.
Resources
- Custis, George Washington Parke, Recollections and Memoirs of Washington. Bridgewater: American Foundation Publications, 1999.
- Homren, Wayne Ed. "Article 22: Throwing Your Money Away.” The E-Sylum: Volume 8, Number 11. March 13, 2005. https://www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v08n11a22.html
- Rediscovering George Washington, Directed by Michael Pack. Chevy Chase: Manifold Productions, 2002.
- Weems, Mason Locke. A History of the Life and Death, Virtues and Exploits of General George Washington. 5th Edition. Boston: Harvard University Press: 1962
