Part 10

Lawrence Washington after his father’s death inherited the estate of Washington and changed its name to Mount Vernon, in honor of an English admiral under whom he had served. Lawrence Washington, who was a fine, manly fellow, married a Miss Fairfax whose home was near Mount Vernon. She was a cousin of Thomas, Lord Fairfax, an English gentleman who came to America to look after land which he had inherited from his grandfather. This was a royal grant of all the land between the Rappahannock and Potomac Rivers. Lord Fairfax did not even know how many thousands of acres were in this great estate. So he employed young George Washington to explore and survey his lands.

George Washington was sixteen years old when he set out, March, 1748, with one companion, to explore and survey Lord Fairfax’s land. He had a good horse and a gun as well as his surveyor’s instruments, and the two youths spent several weeks on the trip. Sometimes they met Indians and sat beside their camp fires and watched their war dances. Sometimes they slept outdoors, sometimes they spent the night in the rude huts of the settlers. “I have not slept above three or four nights in a bed,” George Washington wrote, “but after walking a good deal all the day, I have lain down before the fire on a little straw, or fodder, or a bearskin, whichever was to be had, with man, wife, and children, like dogs and cats; and happy is he who gets the berth nearest the fire.”

On his return Washington gave such a glowing description of the beautiful and fertile country he had visited, that Lord Fairfax determined to move there and make his home at Greenway Court. He employed young Washington to make a careful survey of his lands and got him appointed public surveyor. During the next three years when Washington was not at work in the field he stayed at Greenway Court with Lord Fairfax. This gentleman was a scholar and a courtier and from intercourse with him the young surveyor gained breadth of mind and polished manners, while his outdoor life was making him strong and robust.

At twenty he was a picture of stalwart manhood--over six feet in height, straight as an Indian, and with dignified manners. About this time his brother Lawrence died, leaving Mount Vernon to his little daughter; George, his favorite brother, was to manage the estate and in case of the child’s death was to inherit it.

He went home to take charge of the fine old estate, but he did not long remain there. France and England were beginning their contest for supremacy in the country along the Ohio. When only twenty-one, George Washington was appointed to bear a protest to the French against their occupancy of the land. He set out the very day that he received his appointment, accompanied by some white woodsmen and Indian hunters. His was a long, difficult journey through the untraveled forest to a fort hundreds of miles away near Lake Erie, and it was a vain one. He was received courteously by the commander but was informed that the French were ordered to hold the country and would do so. The return journey was even more difficult than the journey to the fort. It was the depth of winter; the ground was covered with snow and the streams blocked with ice. Leaving the remainder of the party to follow later on horseback, Washington set out on foot with a woodsman named Gist. The two men made their way through the country inhabited by hostile Indians and fierce beasts. Once an Indian shot at young Washington, once he fell into an ice-blocked stream and came near losing his life; he accomplished the dangerous journey in safety and hurried to Williamsburg to inform the governor of the result of his expedition.

It was resolved to defend the frontiers, and some men were sent out to build a fort at the Forks of the Ohio River near Pittsburg. But these men were attacked and defeated by the French who finished and occupied the fort. This they called Fort Du Quesne. The French soldiers marched forth in the spring of 1754 to meet the little band commanded by Washington. Washington, having defeated a small body of the French, stopped at a place called Great Meadows, and defended his troops by an earthwork which he called Fort Necessity. Here he and his soldiers fought bravely against a French force of far superior numbers to which they had to yield at last.

The next year, Washington, in charge of the Virginia troops, went with General Braddock, commanding the English forces, to attack the French and take Fort Du Quesne. Braddock was brave but stubborn and ignorant of the methods of Indian warfare. Washington wished the Virginia rangers to march in front in order to guard the army against surprise.

“What!” said Braddock, “a Virginia colonel teach a British general how to fight!”

Off he marched with flags flying, drums beating, and men in close ranks. Before they reached Fort Du Quesne, the French and Indians attacked them and inflicted a terrible defeat. Braddock paid the penalty of his folly with his life. Washington made a gallant effort to redeem the day. He said, “I had four bullets through my coat and two horses shot under me, yet escaped unhurt, altho’ death was levelling my companions on every side of me.” On him devolved the difficult task of leading the shattered remnant of the army back home, protecting it against the unfriendly Indians and the hostile French.

After this campaign he was tendered a vote of thanks in the House of Burgesses. When he rose to reply, he blushed and faltered so that the Speaker said, “Sit down, Colonel Washington, sit down. Your modesty equals your valor, and that surpasses the power of any language I possess.”

Two years later, as commander of the troops raised in Virginia to defend the frontier he marched against Fort Du Quesne. The French, unable to hold it, set fire to it and retreated; on the spot, the English built a new fort which they called Fort Pitt in honor of an English statesman, and on the site of this fort stands now the city of Pittsburg. The English were victors now and as most of the fighting was in New York and Canada instead of the Ohio country, Washington resigned his commission and went home to Virginia.

In January, 1759, he married Mrs. Martha Custis, a widow with a fine estate and two children. Washington had no children of his own and his step-children, John Parke Custis and Martha Parke Custis, were like his own children. In the lists of goods he ordered from England we find such items as “One fashionable dress Doll to cost a guinea” and “A box of Gingerbread Toys and Sugar Images or Comfits.” “Patsy,” as the little girl was called, died in early girlhood, but the boy lived to become a man and married, leaving at his death four children of whom two, George Washington Parke Custis and Eleanor Parke Custis, made their home at Mount Vernon as Washington’s adopted children.

Probably the happiest and most carefree years of Washington’s life were those after his marriage which were spent at Mount Vernon which he had inherited at the death of his niece. Farming was his “most favorite pursuit,” and he devoted himself with characteristic energy to improving his land by manures and rotation of crops, and his stock of sheep, cattle, and horses by selection and breeding. He was a member of the House of Burgesses, took an interest in public affairs, and was regarded as one of the leading men in the colony.

Not long after the French and Indian War, trouble arose between the colonies and England about taxation without representation. As you know, the trouble in Boston finally led to the passage of the Boston Port Bill. Virginia and the other colonies sympathized with Massachusetts. In a speech in the House of Burgesses Washington said, “I will raise a thousand men, subsist them at my own expense, and march with them, at their head, for the relief of Boston.”

George Washington was one of the six Virginia delegates to the first continental congress in September, 1774. It was decided to raise a colonial army, and, June 15, 1775, Washington was appointed its commander-in-chief. In his speech accepting the office he refused to receive pay for his services, saying that only his expenses in the service should be repaid him at the end of the war. June 21 he left Philadelphia and rode to Massachusetts to take charge of the troops. On the third of July, at Cambridge under a great elm-tree still known as “Washington’s elm,” he assumed command of the army. He was an imposing figure, a tall handsome man dressed in a blue coat with buff facings and buff small clothes or knee trousers. The army of which he took command, was, he said, “a mixed multitude of people, under very little discipline, order, or government.” These troops, about sixteen thousand in number, had most of them been enlisted for but a short time and they lacked provisions and supplies,--above all, ammunition. Throughout the war there was scarcity of ammunition and the enemy’s stores of powder and ball and firearms were the most welcome part of an American victory. During the first months, however, the Americans had more experience of defeat than of victory.

In the spring of 1776 the Americans took possession of Dorchester Heights and the British evacuated Boston a few days later. When their fleet put to sea, Washington marched across the country, hoping to keep them from landing in New York. But the enemy were too strong for him and they took possession of the city.

Up to this time the patriots had been fighting for their rights as British colonists. July 4, 1776, the Declaration of Independence was adopted and the fight was now for freedom. Of this Washington said, “When I first took command of the army I abhorred the idea of independence, but I am fully convinced that nothing else will save us.”

At Cambridge Washington had used a flag with thirteen stripes of red and white, and the red and white cross of the British flag in the corner; in 1777 Congress adopted as the national flag one with the stripes but having, instead of the British cross, thirteen stars to represent the thirteen colonies.

As we said, the Americans were unable to prevent the British from landing in New York. Then the patriots were defeated in the battle of Long Island and Washington was forced to retreat. Pursued through New Jersey, he crossed the river into Pennsylvania, with about three thousand ragged, hungry, discouraged soldiers. It was now winter and it was supposed that the troops would go into winter quarters. But Washington did not wish to give up the year’s campaign without striking one successful blow. By a sudden march the day after Christmas, he surprised and captured a force of one thousand Hessians at Trenton and then he defeated an English force at Princeton. These victories inspired hope and the patriots began the campaign of 1777 with renewed courage.

But it was a year of reverses. The patriots were defeated at Brandywine in September and at Germantown in October and went into winter quarters at Valley Forge in December in a pitiable condition. They lacked clothing, food, military stores. The campaign in the north was more successful. At Saratoga General Gates won a signal victory and Burgoyne was forced to surrender his army. It was this victory which led the French to declare in favor of the colonists.

There was formed a conspiracy to depose Washington and to put at the head of the army General Gates who had won the victory of the campaign. Congress, however, supported Washington and collected men and supplies for a new campaign. The army was drilled in the winter of 1778 by Baron von Steuben, a Prussian officer who had served under Frederic the Great.

In 1778 the British evacuated Philadelphia and Washington attacked them at Monmouth. Here he had a clash with General Charles Lee; his temper, usually under control, rose at what he considered General Lee’s failure to perform his duty.

The little army marched north and encamped near White Plains. In this vicinity it remained during the year. During the campaign of 1779 also, Washington remained in the Highlands of the Hudson on the defensive. The next year came French aid. That same year the plot of General Arnold to surrender West Point to the English was discovered from papers in the possession of a captured spy. This spy, the brave young General André, paid the penalty with his life; the traitor Arnold escaped to the British.

In 1781 brilliant victories were won at the south by General Greene, General Morgan and by Marion, called “the Swamp Fox.” That same year Washington, aided by the French troops, invested Lord Cornwallis’s men at Yorktown, and forced them to surrender.

A treaty of peace, made in September, 1783, ended the war which, as Pitt said, “was conceived in injustice, nurtured in folly, and whose footsteps were marked with blood and devastation.” In November the British evacuated New York and on December the fourth Washington read his farewell address to the army. He resigned his commission to Congress, thinking that his remaining days were to be spent in private life at the home he loved.

But his country needed him still. Victory had been won indeed, but the debt and burden of war remained. Congress with its limited delegated power was unable to settle matters, and there seemed danger that the colonies, united in their struggle against British oppression, would drift apart. Washington had won public confidence; it was he who could best advance the work of peace. He presided over the Convention of 1787 which framed a Constitution for the newly-established United States. This was adopted by the required number of states and Washington was unanimously chosen President of the United States. On April 30, 1789, he assumed the duties of the office in New York, which was the first seat of national government. He entered upon the performance of his work as president with the conscientious attention which he gave to all matters. He aided to organize the different departments of the government and appointed as their heads the ablest men in the country--Hamilton, Jefferson, and others. He never openly allied himself with either the Federalist party led by Hamilton or the Democratic-Republican party led by Jefferson, but strove for union and peace.

After serving eight years, he declined to be a candidate a third time--thus establishing a precedent that no President shall serve a third term. In 1796 Washington delivered a farewell address to the people he had led and served. He retired to private life, but did not live long to enjoy his well-earned rest. December 14, 1799, he died and was buried at his home at Mount Vernon. The eulogy pronounced on him by “Light Horse Harry” Lee well said that he was “First in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen, he was second to none in the humble and endearing scenes of private life.”

Philip Schuyler

Philip Schuyler was a member of an old Dutch family in New York, which had extensive possessions on the river Hudson. Under a French tutor, he received a better education than was usual in colonial days. He was an energetic manly lad, and early learned to ride and skate, to shoot and manage a boat. He grew up an intelligent man and a good woodsman, trained in the learning of the frontiers.

His father died when he was eight years old; Philip was the eldest son and when he attained his majority, according to the English custom he became master of his father’s wealth. This did not accord with Schuyler’s Dutch ideas of justice nor with his native generosity; he divided the property equally with his brothers and sisters.

In the French and Indian war Schuyler, like Washington and others, gained the military experience which was later to be so valuable to his country. In his subordinate position there came no opportunity for him to distinguish himself especially, but he served with credit and honor. A characteristic story is told of him on this campaign. The troops were crossing the Oswego river and as the boats were crowded a wounded prisoner was about to be left behind. Schuyler quietly put his gun and coat in a boat, took the prisoner on his back, swam across the stream, and put the wounded man in charge of a surgeon before he rejoined his company.

It was largely through Schuyler’s influence that New York joined Virginia and Massachusetts first in protesting and then in fighting against the oppressions of England. He was a delegate to the Continental Congress and was appointed by Congress a major-general--a place to which he was entitled by his position and services and by his experience in the French and Indian War. He was, however, unpopular from the first with Samuel Adams and the leaders of the New England party. They could not forget that he was of Dutch descent, and a native of the colony which had quarreled with New England about boundary lines.

On the morning of June 21, 1775, George Washington, Philip Schuyler, and Charles Lee rode out of Philadelphia, going northward to the seat of war. Washington was to assume command of the army at Cambridge and Schuyler was to take charge of the troops in New York and lead an expedition against Canada. The three horsemen had gone about twenty miles when they met a courier bringing Congress tidings of the battle of Bunker Hill.

“Did the militia stand fire?” asked Washington eagerly. When informed that they did, he exclaimed, “The Liberties of the country are safe!”

During the ride to New York, Washington and Schuyler learned to know and esteem each other and the friendship begun then was never broken.

The position of the state of New York made its control a matter of great importance. The little settlement--it was seventh in population of the sparsely-settled colonies--was midway between the northern and the southern colonies. If it were under British control, it would be a wedge to separate them. Philip Schuyler was stationed in the northern part of the province. His illness made it necessary for Montgomery to take charge of the army sent against Quebec. As soon as Schuyler was able to move, he set to work to raise men and supplies, advancing his own funds for the purpose when those furnished by Congress proved pitifully inadequate. To the impatient and sometimes irritated letters of the young patriot, Washington sent words of encouragement and counsel, saying, “In a little time we shall work up these raw materials into a good manufacture. I must recommend to you, what I endeavor to practice myself, patience and perseverance.”

In the campaign of 1777 the British, now largely reinforced, planned to occupy New York and so to separate the northern and the southern colonies. General Burgoyne was to lead eight thousand men down Lake Champlain; Colonel St. Leger was to go down the valley of the Mohawk from Oswego; and General Howe was to come up the Hudson. This force of thirty-three thousand men was to take possession of New York.

At first it seemed as if the British were to succeed. They marched on Ticonderoga, “the door to Canada,” which Ethan Allen and Benedict Arnold had captured in May, 1775. The British general determined to place his cannon on a rocky height commanding the fort. He was told that the height was inaccessible for cannon. “Where a goat can go, a man can go,” he said; “where a man can go, he can haul up a gun.” The cannon was put in place and commanded the fort. St. Clair, seeing that it was useless to resist, abandoned the fort and withdrew through the woods to join Schuyler. At the news that Ticonderoga was taken King George rushed into the queen’s room, exclaiming, “I have beat them; I have beat all the Americans!”

It was impossible for the American forces to meet Burgoyne’s large, well-equipped army in open fight. They fell back, destroying bridges, felling trees across the roads through the ravines and swamps; the way was so obstructed that Burgoyne’s army could march only about a mile a day. Each day’s march took it further from its base of supplies and weakened its forces, while each day added numbers and strength to the patriots. An act of atrocity on the British side caused many to join the colonial army who had hesitated before. Some Indians from Burgoyne’s army killed and scalped Jane McCrea, a beautiful young girl for whom they had been appointed guides. The colonists were indignant with the English for making common cause against their own countrymen with the savages.

At Bennington a detachment of Burgoyne’s army was attacked by General Starke. “Before night we must conquer or Molly Starke is a widow,” he cried, as he led his men to victory. An English force of about two thousand men marched up the Mohawk and attacked Fort Stanwix, or Schuyler, at the head of the river. The men in the fort prepared to resist to the last. They cut up their shirts and cloaks to make a flag, the Stars and Stripes, which they raised with cheers. General Herkimer gathered the militia and went to their rescue. On the way the militia was attacked and General Herkimer’s leg was shattered by a bullet. Refusing to be borne from the field, he sat puffing at his pipe and calmly directing his troops. In this battle of Oriskany both sides sustained severe losses. The British advance was checked but they continued to besiege Fort Schuyler.

General Schuyler called a council of war and suggested the sending of reinforcements to the fort but the officers objected to thus weakening the army which would have to oppose Burgoyne. Schuyler was unwilling to leave the brave men to their fate. “Gentlemen,” he said, “I shall take the responsibility upon myself. Where is the brigadier that will take command of the relief? I shall beat up for volunteers to-morrow.”

Arnold, ever ready for a daring deed, offered to take charge of the expedition. On the way he seized two Tories and sent them to the British army to announce that large patriot forces were advancing. The Indian allies were already discontented. At this tidings they deserted, and the British force broke up and retreated without striking a blow.

As affairs were in this favorable condition, General Schuyler was superseded in command. He had been blamed for the surrender of Ticonderoga and the New England delegates, disliking him from the first, lent a ready ear to the charges against him. Congress asked Washington to appoint his successor, but the commander-in-chief refused to countenance the act of injustice, and Congress appointed Gates. Schuyler had borne the heat and burden of the campaign; now he had to look on while the rewards of victory went to Gates.

Schuyler accepted the situation in a noble and patriotic spirit. “I am far from insensible of the indignity of being ordered from the command of the army at a time when an engagement must soon take place,” he wrote to President Hancock. “It, however, gives me great consolation that I shall have an opportunity of evincing that my conduct has been such as deserved the thanks of my country.”

After the two battles of Saratoga the British were forced to retreat. They were hemmed in by the American troops and, October 17, 1777, Burgoyne and his army of five or six thousand men surrendered to Gates. It was this victory, you remember, which led France to declare for the colonists.

After the battle of Saratoga, Schuyler treated the prisoners with great consideration, especially the women and children. He courteously entertained General Burgoyne, who had had his house burned and his estate laid waste.

“Is it to me who have done you so much injury that you show so much kindness?” asked Burgoyne.

“That is the fate of war; let us say no more about it,” was the answer.