Young Washington
by Theresa DeCicco

Education & Public Programs Associate Theresa DeCicco paints a picture of young George Washington and details the events that would lead him to become the Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army.

History remembers George Washington as the man who led patriot forces to victory against the British Empire during the American Revolution. However, Washington’s first taste of military life wasn’t with Continental Army. He endured the ravages of war two decades before start of the Revolutionary War: first as a young soldier sent by the British Army on a diplomatic mission into the Ohio Territory, then as a colonel during the French and Indian War. These experiences not only played an important role in shaping Washington’s attitudes in handling future political and military conflicts, but they also fueled his growing disdain for the British Crown.

“Rule No. 56: Associate yourself with Men of good Quality if you Esteem your own Reputation... ”

On February 22, 1732, George Washington was born at Pope Creek’s Plantation, Virginia, to Augustine and Mary Ball Washington. A Bible belonging to Mary Ball Washington records the event, noting “George Washington, son to Augustine Washington and Mary, his wife, was born ye 11th day of February 1731/32.”[1] The date of his birth was later changed to February 22 when Great Britain and its colonies switching from the Julian calendar to the Georgian in 1752.[2]

In 1738, Augustine and Mary moved their family to Ferry Farm, near Fredericksburg, Virginia. Washington spent most of his childhood at the farm, and contrary to popular belief, was never reported to have chopped down a cherry tree.

Augustine Washington passed away in 1743, leaving eleven-year-old Washington in lawful possession of Ferry Farm and ten enslaved people. Washington’s mother oversaw his inheritance until he turned twenty-one. The bulk of Augustine’s estate was passed on to his eldest sons from his first marriage.

Unlike his half-brothers, Washington never received a traditional, Latin-based education in England.[3] Instead, a local school in Fredericksburg and books such as The Compleat Surveyor by William Leybourn, and Rules of Civility and Decent Behavior in Company and Conversation, supplemented Washington’s education.[4] While studying and practicing penmanship, Washington copied all 110 genteel lessons of the Rules of Civility, including:

“ Rule No. 1

Every Action done in Company, ought to be with Some Sign of Respect, to those that are Present.”

And

“Rule No. 7

Put not off your Cloths in the presence of Others, nor go out your Chambers half drest.”[5]

Washington considered his nontraditional education, as it was considered at the time, a personal flaw. Years later he admitted in a letter, “I am conscious of a defective education.”[6]

After his father’s death, Washington developed a strong relationship with his eldest half-brother Lawrence. Washington frequently traveled over forty miles to visit his brother at the Little Hunting Creek property, which their father had left to Lawrence after his death. The estate located near Alexandria, Virginia was renamed Mount Vernon shortly after Lawrence inherited it. Lawrence had served in the War of Jenkins’ Ear (1739-1748) and had renamed the land after Admiral Edward Vernon, his former commander.

Portrait of Lawrence Washington (1743). Courtesy of Mount Vernon.

It was Lawrence who first introduced Washington to the Virginian planting gentry, and he became closely acquainted with Lawrence's in-laws: the influential Fairfax family. Both Lawrence and the Fairfax family wished to guide Washington into a stable career. They initially planned for Washington to join the Royal Navy, but his mother refuted the idea, citing the harsh reality of a sailor’s life. Instead, the Fairfax family invited Washington to accompany them on a surveying expedition to the Shenandoah Valley in 1748.[7] With his father’s surveying tools gifted to him by his mother, Washington set off with George William Fairfax on the extensive, multi-month trip.

Upon his return, Washington briefly attended the College of William and Mary to obtain a surveying license. At the recommendation of the Fairfax family, Washington became the surveyor of Culpepper County, Virginia, in 1749.[8] Washington’s connections to the Virginia gentry and his career as a surveyor led him to believe he was on his way becoming a gentleman farmer. However, his new position would ultimately lead him down a different path and straight into the center of a brewing global conflict.

First Encounters

In 1749, the British Crown issued a charter to the Ohio Land Company, granting them 200,000 acres of land surrounding the Ohio Valley, situated in present-day western Pennsylvania. [9] The Company was formed by a group of Virginian investors looking to trade with Native Americans and investigate the particulars of the land within the charter’s boundaries. Two of Washington’s elder brothers, Lawrence and Augustine, and Lord Thomas Fairfax were among the noted investors. The French Empire, which at the time bordered the British Colonies in present-day Canada, was angered by the Company’s claims to the Ohio Territory. In 1753, French soldiers, under the Marquis de Duquesne, entered the disputed lands and began building various forts throughout the region.

As the territorial dispute festered between the French and British Empires, Washington and Lawrence traveled to Barbados in 1751. The purpose of the trip was for the warm climate to help improve Lawrence’s declining health, but both men contracted smallpox while in the Caribbean. Washington recovered quickly, but the disease worsened his brother’s condition. Lawrence passed away at Mount Vernon in July 1752. In his letters, Washington never discussed the emotional impact of his brother’s death, writing only of Lawrence's estate and inheritance.[10]

Before his death, Lawrence served as Adjutant General and was later promoted to a Major in the Virginia Militia.[11] Inspired by his brother’s successful military career, Washington sought a commission with the same militia as tensions continued to rise in the Ohio territory. Eventually, the Ohio Company’s land governance fell under the command of the Virginia Colony.[12] Virginia’s Lieutenant-Governor Robert Dinwiddie needed to send an emissary to relay the message to French authorities, thereby asserting the British claim to the disputed territory. Washington volunteered for the mission and was quickly selected due to his social connections and surveying experience.[13] In October 1753, the newly commissioned Major George Washington ventured into the contested territory with virtually no diplomatic or military experience.

Washington was accompanied by Christopher Gist, an experienced frontiersman, who served as his guide and translator. When Washington’s party arrived at a Pennsylvania trading village in November 1753, they were met by a delegation of Native American Sachems seeking to secure an alliance with the British Crown. During their meeting, Seneca Chief Tanacharison (Half-King) recalled the violent actions of Washington’s great-grandfather, John Washington. Nearly a century earlier, in 1676, John had participated in negotiations on behalf of the Virginia colony with Native Americans that had turned violent.[14] The incident resulted in the death of five Chiefs who had come to the negotiations under a flag of truce. In retaliation for the brutal affair, John was dubbed Conotocaurius, or Town-Destroyer. John’s violent reputation persisted through several generations and earned Washington the same title.

On December 11, 1753, escorted by Tanacharison and three other prominent Chiefs, Washington arrived at the Fort Le Boeuf in Western Pennsylvania.[15] Under Dinwiddie’s orders, Washington delivered a letter from the Governor which requested that the French vacate the territory. Two days later the French Commander responded with a polite but adamant refusal to leave. Washington returned to Williamsburg, Virginia, after a month of traveling through harsh winter conditions, and handed Dinwiddie the French Commander’s response.

This mission into the Ohio Valley introduced Washington to the inner workings of European frontier diplomacy and politics. In the following years, his reputation as a reliable soldier and skilled surveyor would continue to grow because, not only did Washington facilitate an important diplomatic interaction, but he also used his experience to write an invaluable account of his eventful journey.

“Those Things which came under the Notice of my own Observation.”

The title page for The Journal of Major George Washington (1754). Courtesy of Mount Vernon. — The title page for *The Journal of Major George Washington (1754).* Courtesy of Mount Vernon.

After his return to Williamsburg, Virginia in January 1754, Governor Dinwiddie asked Washington to provide a written chronicle of his mission for the House of Burgesses, the elected assembly of the Virginia colony’s governing body.[16] The report, known today as The Journal of Major George Washington, details Washington’s encounters with Native communities, the French, and the Ohio Valley's jarring environment throughout his 1753 journey. In a detailed account of his journey crossing the Allegheny River, Washington wrote, “I put out my setting Pole to try to stop the Raft, that the Ice might pass by, when the Rapidity of the Stream threw it with so much Violence against the Pole, that it [jerked] me out into ten Feet Water, but I fortunately saved myself by catching hold of one of the Raft Logs.”[17]

Dinwiddie wished to immediately circulate Washington’s account in an effort to highlight the urgency of the French encroachment on British claims.[18] The report was printed in several newspapers in the North American colonies, with an edition also published in London. As a result, Washington’s name grew to be widely recognized throughout the colonies and among prominent social groups in Great Britain.[19]

In response to the French refusal to withdraw from the Ohio Territory, Dinwiddie ordered the Virginia Regiment to defend the disputed territory and assert land claims in the frontier. Having gained distinction for his 1753 mission and report, Washington was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and second-in-command of the regiment.[20]

In April 1754, Washington set out with a contingent of men to Forks of the Ohio, where the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers meet. The French had constructed Fort Duquesne at the Forks, and Washington received word of French movement at the position from Native scouts aligned with the British. On May 28th, Washington, with aid from Tanacharison, took an offensive measure and ambushed a French detachment of between thirty to fifty men. The event, known as the Jumonville Glen skirmish or the “Jumonville affair,” resulted in the death of French commander Joseph Coulon de Jumonville.

At the time, Jumonville was carrying a message for the British asserting French claims to the territory.[21] Accounts of the event vary, but the diplomatic mishap certainly did ignite the French and Indian War, the North American theatre of the larger Seven Years’ War.

A month after the skirmish Washington and his troops remained cornered by the French, and they hastily built the aptly named Fort Necessity in Great Meadows, PA. On July 3, 1754, led by Jumonville’s half-brother, Louis Coulon de Villers, French forces and their Native American allies launched an attack on Fort Necessity.[22] The battle lasted several hours and ultimately Washington decided to surrender.

On July 4th, Washington signed a statement, perhaps unknowingly, laying claim to his role in Jumonville’s death. Despite this political blunder and military failure, Washington nevertheless returned to Virginia as a hero. Though his first command ended in defeat, Washington cheerfully remarked to his brother John Augustine, “I have heard the bullets whistle; and, believe me, there is something charming in the sound.”[23]

Upon Washington’s return, Dinwiddie reorganized the Virginia Regiment. The shift in command left Washington at a lower rank, which he refused to accept. In December, the young Washington ended an eventful year by resigning his commission in the Virginia Regiment. His first foray into battle left an impression on him, for only a year later, Washington would prove he had learned from his mistakes.

The Battle of Monongahela

Following the British loss at Fort Duquesne, in 1754, General Edward Braddock was sent to the colonies as the new Commander-in-Chief of the British Forces. Braddock was tasked with capturing the fort and removing the French from the Forks of the Ohio. The new Commander adhered to classical European war tactics, such as line formation and open-field combat, and made little effort to adapt to the North American frontier.[24] Braddock was under the assumption his opponents would fight in the same manner; instead, the French used Braddock’s rigid principles to their advantage.

Upon hearing about Braddock’s expedition, Washington volunteered to serve as an aide-de-camp. The campaign set out to the Forks in May 1755.

As an aide-de-camp, Washington attended councils of war under Braddock. The councils were strategic meetings intended to determine the best course of action for a successful campaign. Two decades later, Washington would hold his own councils as Commander in Chief of the Continental Army basing his method on his experience on Braddock’s expedition.[25]

Braddock's plan for getting to Fort Duquesne was to have his men create a road, which was also intended to aid future British expeditions into the Ohio Valley. On July 9, 1755, while militia soldiers labored on the road, the French and their Native allies launched an attack from the tree line.[26] The French had adopted their allies’ guerrilla warfare tactics, utterly surprising Braddock and his men.

Washington, on horseback, assuming command of Braddock’s retreat. Washington the Soldier (1834). Library of Congress. — Washington, on horseback, assuming command of Braddock’s retreat. *Washington the Soldier* (1834). Library of Congress.

This attack, known as the Battle of Monongahela, lasted for several hours. Once Braddock made the call to retreat, he was struck by a bullet that pierced his lung. The injury left the British Commander unable to direct the retreat, leaving Washington, his young aide-de-camp, to assume control. Washington delivered Braddock to safety and rallied troops under the Commander’s orders. Washington was given the assignment to seek out Colonel Thomas Dunbar, who Braddock would relinquish his command to. After he located Dunbar seven miles away, Washington wished to return to his fallen commander but was exhausted, having been on horseback for over twelve hours.[27] Washington would write to his mother, “I luckily escaped without a wound, though I had four bullets through my coat, and two horses shot under me.”[28]

On July 13th, four days after the initial French attack, Braddock died from his injuries. For the remainder of the retreat from the Ohio Valley, Washington would watch over fellow military staff and officers, including Roger Morris. Morris’ New York estate, the Morris-Jumel Mansion, would later serve as one of Washington’s headquarters during the New York/New Jersey Campaign of 1776-77. The battle took a massive toll on British forces; of the 1,459 men, 977 were wounded or killed.[29] Washington was instrumental in leading the retreat, which foreshadowed the leadership he would display during the American Revolution.

The Commander in Chief of the Virginia Regiment

For his service during the Battle of Monongahela, Washington was promoted to the Commander in Chief of the Virginia Regiment. The Virginia Regiment was the first full-time American military unit in the colonies, as opposed to other part-time colonial militias and British Regular (foot soldiers) Units. Colonial militias were independent bodies of soldiers who fought under a certain colony or state. These militias were not incorporated into the larger scheme of the British Regular Army from Great Britain. Thus, as a colonial unit, the Virginia Regiment ranked under the British Regulars. Washington sought more control and recognition than he was granted, and his relationship with the Crown began to falter. Weak leadership from Crown officials and disagreements between colonial militias and regular (British) forces plagued Washington’s tenure as Commander-in-Chief.

In 1756, Washington sought a meeting with the new Commander-in-Chief of the British Royal Army, Massachusetts Governor William Shirley. Washington wanted to incorporate the Virginia Regiment into the British Army and achieve equal commission for himself as part of the British Army. Washington sought to be recognized more than a colonial militia leader, he wanted the same acknowledgment as a British commander from England.

The print above would have been the New-York City Washington visited in 1756. The South Prospect of the City of New York, (1746). Fraunces Tavern Museum Collection. — The print above would have been the New-York City Washington visited in 1756. *The South Prospect of the City of New York,* (1746). Fraunces Tavern Museum Collection.

On his way to Massachusetts, Washington made a brief stop in New York City. He first arrived in the city in February 1756, dressed in his Virginia Regimental Uniform and accompanied by officers and attendants. Washington created a sensation in New York upon his arrival, and he welcomed the fanfare, hoping to be perceived as a British officer. Washington indulged in the luxury New York’s mercantile community had to offer; account books mention pounds spent on horses, “Taylors Bill” or tailor’s bills, servants, and “Treating the ladies.”[30] Invited by the city’s elite, he attended balls and the theatre during his six-day stay. The New York-based newspaper Mercury reported, “Friday last Colonel Washington set out from this city to Boston [February 23, 1756].”[31]

Washington’s first trip to New York was brief, as was his trip to Boston. Shirley denied his request and the Commander returned to Virginia. After this trip, Washington would begin to rethink the relationship between the North American colonies and their British rulers. Shirley’s refusal to incorporate the Virginia Regiment into the British Royal Army was not based on the militia’s capabilities, but their rank.[32]

Despite this setback, Washington and his regiment would continue to defend the Ohio frontier against French troops. In 1758, Washington joined forces with British Brigadier General John Forbes in another attempt to capture Fort Duquesne. The campaign proved to be a success: the French abandoned the post, and the British seized the land and rebuilt the structure as Fort Pitt (present day Pittsburgh, PA).

Because he never received an equal commission as part of the British Army, Washington resigned his commission in 1758. He returned to Mount Vernon and began a political career as an elected representative of the House of Burgesses. The following year, in 1759, Washington married one of the wealthiest widows in Virginia: Martha Dandridge Custis. Through her wealth, Washington once again embarked on the path to becoming a gentleman farmer.

In 1775, George Washington donned his Virginia Regimental Uniform once again in front of the Continental Congress in Philadelphia, PA. Seeking the command that the British Crown never offered him, the Congress appointed Washington the Commander-in-Chief of the newly formed Continental Army. His former military experience as Commander of the Virginia Regiment, his leadership at the Battle of Monongahela, and his political maneuvering as Dinwiddie’s emissary, may have inspired Congress to elect Washington. John Adams stated, “This Appointment will have a great Effect, in cementing and securing the Union of these Colonies.”[33]

Nevertheless, the French and Indian War, which officially ended in 1763, shaped Washington’s approach to the American Revolution. From leadership, military command, and his growing political notoriety, Washington, throughout his management of the American Revolution, drew upon his first wartime experience two decades earlier.

Footnotes

Young Washington