The Commander in Chief far from endeavouring to stifle the feelings of Joy in his own bosom, offers his most cordial Congratulations on the occasion to all the Officers of every denomination, to all the Troops of the United States in General, and in particular to those gallant and persevering men who had resolved to defend the rights of their invaded country so long as the war should continue. For these are the men who ought to be considered as the pride and boast of the American Army; And, who crowned with well earned laurels, may soon withdraw from the field of Glory, to the more tranquil walks of civil life.

While the General recollects the almost infinite variety of Scenes thro which we have passed, with a mixture of pleasure, astonishment, and gratitude; While he contemplates the prospects before us with rapture; he can not help wishing that all the brave men (of whatever condition they may be) who have shared in the toils and dangers of effecting this glorious revolution, of rescuing Millions from the hand of oppression, and of laying the foundation of a great Empire, might be impressed with a proper idea of the [dignifyed] part they have been called to act (under the Smiles of providence) on the stage of human affairs: for, happy, thrice happy shall they be pronounced hereafter, who have contributed any thing, who have performed the meanest office in erecting this [steubendous] fabrick of Freedom and Empire on the broad basis of [Indipendency] who have assisted in protecting the rights of humane nature and establishing an Asylum for the poor and oppressed of all nations and religions. The glorius task for which we first fleu to Arms being thus accomplished, the liberties of our Country being fully acknowledged, and firmly secured by the smiles of heaven, on the purity of our cause, and the honest exertions of a feeble people (determined to be free) against a powerful Nation (disposed to oppress them) and the Character of those who have persevered, through every extremity of hardship; suffering and danger being immortalized by the illustrious appellation of the patriot Army: Nothing now remains but for the actors of this mighty Scene to preserve a perfect, unvarying, consistency of character through the very last act;⁵⁴

And so the very next day, April 19th, “At noon the proclamation of Congress for a cessation of hostilities was proclaimed at the door of the New Building, followed by three huzzas; after which a prayer was made by the Reverend Mr. Ganno, and an anthem (Independence, from Billings,) was performed by vocal and instrumental music.”⁵⁵

Because Washington understood the power of human passions he could write: “We must take the passions of men as nature has given them, and those principles as a guide, which are generally the rule of action.”⁵⁶ He ably answered the passions of his distressed and weary officers as they wrestled with the emotions of a military confrontation with Congress.⁵⁷

HIS EFFORTS TO CONTROL HIS POWERFUL ANGER⁵⁸

To put the word “rapture” and George Washington in the same sentence seems nearly impossible. But still waters run deep, and sometimes they burst forth with tsunami-like force. Washington biographer, John Ferling noted, “Gilbert Stuart, an artist whose livelihood depended in part on his ability to capture the true essence of his subjects, believed Washington’s ‘features were indicative of the strongest and most ungovernable passions. Had he been born in the forests,’ Stuart added, ‘he would have been the fiercest man among the savages.’”⁵⁹ Zall writes,

His dignity and self-esteem were such that to a superficial observer he appeared to be cold. Actually he was emotional, tender, and capable of outbursts of violence. An iron discipline, which he imposed upon himself all his life, kept a leash on his passions. “All the muscles of his face,” Captain George Mercer, a fellow-soldier, wrote of him “[are] under perfect control, though flexible and expressive of deep feeling when moved by emotion.” His infrequent outburst of anger were legendary. On the occasions when his rigid self-control broke under stress, he was, according to a contemporary, “most tremendous in his wrath.”⁶⁰

The explosion of joy at the ending of hostilities mentioned above, near the end of the war, reveals Washington’s powerful inner passions as well as his ongoing efforts to control them. But so do his infrequent explosions of anger. The fact that George Washington was “tremendous in his wrath” was confirmed by various associates. Lafayette’s recollection of Washington’s response to General Lee’s violation of his orders at the Battle of Monmouth is a case in point.⁶¹ A fellow Virginian, General Lee, disobeyed orders and called for a retreat, for which he was court-martialed. Lee remained a bitter critic of Washington to his death.⁶²

Washington’s signature evolved through the years.

Other occasions are worthy of note. Zall writes of an incident where President Washington had been criticized in several newspapers hostile to the cause. Thomas Jefferson related, “The presdt . . . got into one of those passions when he cannot command himself, ran on much on the personal abuse which had been bestowed on him, defied any man on earth to produce one single act of his since he had been in the govmt which was not done in the purest motives, that he had never repented but once the having slipped the moment of resigning his office, and that was every moment since, that by god he had rather be on his farm than be made emperor of the world, and yet they were charging him with wanting to be a king.”⁶³ Further, the criticism of an old friend, Edmund Randolph, in print, tested Washington’s temper: “The president entered the parlor, his face ‘dark and lowering.’ Someone asked if he had read Randolph’s pamphlet, Vindication (1795). ‘I have,’ said Washington, ‘and, by the eternal God, he is the damnedest liar on the face of the earth!’ he exclaimed as he slammed his fist down upon the table.”⁶⁴

A similar passionate outburst of exasperation and anger occurred when Washington was president in 1791, and quietly received word at dinner of St. Clair’s defeat by the Indians. According to Tobias Lear, Washington’s personal assistant, the emotionally intense episode happened after all the guests, as well as Mrs. Washington, had left the room. He relates,

The General now walked backward and forward slowly for some minutes without speaking. Then he sat down on a sofa by the fire, telling Mr. Lear to sit down. To this moment there had been no change in his manner since his interruption at table. Mr. Lear now perceived emotion. This rising in him, he broke out suddenly: “It’s all over—St. Clair’s defeated, routed; the officers nearly all killed, the men by wholesale; the rout complete—too shocking to think of— and a surprise into the bargain!” He uttered all this with great vehemence, then he paused, got up from the sofa and walked about the room several times, agitated, but saying nothing. Near the door he stopped short and stood still for a few seconds, when his wrath became terrible. “Yes,” he burst forth, “Here, on this very spot, I took leave of him: I wished him success and honor. ‘You have your instruction,’ I said, ‘from the Secretary of War; I had a strict eye to them, and will add but one word—BEWARE OF A SURPRISE! I repeat it, BEWARE OF A SURPRISE; you know how the Indians fight us.’ He went off with that as my last solemn warning thrown into his ears. And yet! To suffer that army to be cut to pieces, hacked, butchered, tomahawked, by a surprise—the very thing I guarded him against! O God, O God, he’s worse than a murderer! How can he answer it to his country? The blood of the slain is upon him—the curse of the widows and orphans—the curse of Heaven!”⁶⁵

A TENDER-HEARTED FRIEND

As a young man, George Washington expressed his joy in friendship and admitted to the power of passion. Both of these occurred in an early letter describing a teenage romance, and his “chaste” struggles to control his “passion.” Writing to “dear friend Robin” between 1749-1750 he divulges:

As it’s the greatest mark of friendship and esteem Absent Friends can shew each other in Writing and often communicating their thoughts to his fellow Companions makes me endeavor to signalize myself in acquainting you from time to time and at all times my situation and employments of Life and could wish you would take half the Pains of contriving me a letter by any opportunity as you may be well assured of its meeting with a very welcome reception. My place of Residence is at present at His Lordship’s [Fairfax]

This painting by John Ward Dunsmore illustrates good friends Washington and Lafayette reviewing the encampment at Valley Forge

where I might, was my heart disengaged, pass my time very pleasantly as there’s a very agreeable Young Lady Lives in the same house [Mary Cary]. But as that’s only adding Fuel to fire, it makes me the more uneasy, for by often, and unavoidably, being in Company with her revives my former Passion for your Low Land Beauty; whereas, was I to live more retired from young Women, I might in some measure alleviate my sorrows, by burying that chaste and troublesome passion in the grave of oblivion or eternal forgetfulness, for as I am very well assured, that’s the only antidote or remedy that I shall be relieved by or only recess that can administer any cure or help to me, as I am well convinced, was I ever to attempt anything, I should only get a denial which would be only adding grief to uneasiness.⁶⁶

Friendships mattered to Washington. His inner self was reserved for those who were closest to him. These individuals sometimes received very striking personal revelations in his letters. Moreover, to be his friend was to experience sincere affection, a warm welcome and a hearty embrace. But to become Washington’s friend was no easy matter. This seems to reflect his classic “Rules of Civility” number fifty-six that speaks of exercising great care in choosing friends: “Associate yourself with men of good quality, if you esteem your own reputation; for it is better to be alone than in bad company.” How to choose a friend was one of the matters of wisdom he sought to impart to his young namesake and adopted grandson, George Washington Parke Custis. Writing from Philadelphia on November 28, 1796, he counseled,

...select the most deserving only for your friendships, and before this becomes intimate, weigh their dispositions and character well. True friendship is a plant of slow growth; to be sincere, there must be a congeniality of temper and pursuits. Virtue and vice can not be allied; nor can idleness and industry....⁶⁷

But when an intimate friendship was established, Washington allowed his closest friends to experience his deep emotions through open and generous expressions of love. Lifelong friendships were made by Washington with neighbors such as Scotch-Irish Presbyterian Dr. James Craik⁶⁸ and the Anglican/Episcopalian clergyman, the Reverend Lord Bryan Fairfax.⁶⁹ In Washington’s adult life, close friendships formed within the circle of his fellow military officers Marquis de Lafayette,⁷⁰ Comte Rochambeau,⁷¹ Marquis de Chastellux,⁷² Baron Von Steuben,⁷³ Comte DeGrasse,⁷⁴ military aide David Humphreys,⁷⁵ Colonel Alexander Hamilton,⁷⁶ and General Henry Knox.⁷⁷ There was, however, an especially tender place in Washington’s heart for the Marquis de Lafayette. Consider these endearing words of affirmation in his letters to his twenty-five-year-younger, surrogate son:

...the sincere and heartfelt pleasure that you had not only regained your liberty; but were in the enjoyment of better health than could have been expected from your long and rigorous confinement; and that madame La Fayette and the young ladies were able to Survive ...amongst your numerous friends none can offer his congratulations with more warmth, or who prays more sincerely for the perfect restoration of your ladies health, than I do.⁷⁸

Washington’s cool yet gracious countenance was the necessary firewall to contain and to protect his passionate heart.

CONCLUSION: THE LANGUAGE OF WASHINGTON’S HEART

Just as there are largely unknown statements of faith etched on the stairway walls of the Washington Monument as one mounts the stairs to the pinnacle, so inside the marble-like exterior of Washington there was a largely unknown heart of deep feelings, strong emotions, and a reverent personal faith. As he wrote from New York, just at the end of the War to the freeholders and inhabitants of Kings County on December 1, 1783, “...you speak the language of my heart, in acknowledging the magnitude of our obligations to the Supreme Director of all human events.”⁷⁹ Just as access to the stairs of the monument is restricted, precluding the average American from reading the marvelous testimonials to the faith etched there, so too, many modern historians have cut off access to the real Washington. This book will reopen the stairs, so to speak, to Washington’s soul and we will once again read the language of his heart etched throughout his life, which was the language of a deep faith, expressed by a devout Christian in the eighteenth century Anglican tradition. Indeed, the language of Washington’s heart was warmed by his passionate soul and the “sacred fire of liberty.”

NINE

George Washington the Soldier

“The General hopes and trusts, that every officer and man, will endeavour so to live, and act, as becomes a Christian Soldier defending the dearest Rights and Liberties of his country.”

George Washington, General Orders, July 9, 1776

¹

George Washington first secured his place in history as a military leader. From childhood, he had set his sights on a military career. He entered into the Virginia militia as a young adult, and in the midst of struggles over promotion and rank, he affirmed that his “inclinations” were “strongly bent to arms.”²

His superb leadership, honed from his earliest years in the French and Indian War and perfected when he assumed command in the Revolutionary War, enabled him to ultimately win. But victory was not usually in sight, since he was greatly undersupplied, usually outmanned or outgunned and sometimes outmaneuvered. But Washington had his moments of triumph as well.³ In this chapter that focuses on George Washington’s military career, we discover the early development of his deep lifelong faith in God’s powerful Providence, as we find him on duty in the backwoods of Pennsylvania.

WASHINGTON ON DUTY IN THE WILDERNESS OF PENNSYLVANIA

Washington had traveled the Virginian wilderness into the Allegheny Mountains in his work as a sixteen-year-old surveyor for Lord Fairfax. Given his experience, as well as his keen interest in military service, in 1753, Virginia Gov. Dinwiddie gave the then twenty-one-year-old Washington the extraordinary task of trekking across the vast unopened mountainous reaches of what is today the state of Pennsylvania.⁴ His mission was to travel to Fort Le Boeuf near modern-day Erie, Pennsylvania, to tell the French military stationed there that they were trespassing on British land, and that they would need to leave. Some have speculated that young George was also willing to go because he was running from a broken heart.⁵

Washington arrived at the Fort on December 11th, having left on October 31st. He soon learned that the French commander St. Pierre had no intention of leaving. He said, “I am here by virtue of the orders of my general, and I entreat you, sir, not to doubt one moment that I am determined to conform myself to them with all the exactness and resolution which can be expected from the best officers.”⁶ Washington left to carry that news back to Dinwiddie. His return journey however, encountered many dire circumstances, which he narrowly escaped. These included being spared death from an Indian who fired his gun and missed at only fifteen paces away; surviving a near drowning in an ice-swollen river when he was thrown off a makeshift raft; and hiking his way back on foot, since his horse had nearly starved to death on the long, hungry ride, even before facing the cold winter return trip.

A theological book that George Washington owned and signed as a young adult

Washington was sent back to the Fort with troops in 1754, and the first fire under Washington’s military command occurred, as well as the first casualties of what was to become the French and Indian War. A surprise attack on a hidden French encampment resulted in ten killed, including Monsieur De Jumonville (the commanding officer), one wounded, and twenty-one prisoners. Ever after this event, the French claimed that Washington was guilty of assassinating an ambassador, while the British claimed that Washington’s troops were simply protecting English land against the French intruders and spies. Regardless, Washington’s small band retreated, expecting a much larger assault from troops garrisoned at Fort Duquesne, the site of modern day Pittsburgh. The retreat also gave Washington’s men time to build Fort Necessity at Great Meadows. Here Washington’s soldiers gave a hearty defense until they surrendered before a much larger French force. The surrender was necessitated, in part, due to their rain-soaked weapons and dampened gunpowder. But they negotiated surrender with what Washington believed to be terms of honor. However, when Washington signed the capitulation, due to his limited knowledge of French, he unwittingly signed a paper that declared he had assassinated Jumonville.⁷ A painful lesson indeed for the young Washington.

WASHINGTON’S LESSON ON PROVIDENCE: SURVIVING A MASSACRE

Today, it is a little known fact that when George Washington was twenty-three, he very easily could have died in a bloody battle that was more of a massacre than a battle. It took place on July 9, 1755, just a year after his surrender at Fort Necessity.

When Jumonville was killed, Washington had, in essence, fired the first shot in what became the French and Indian War. The British continued their defense of their claim on the land north of Florida and south of Canada, from the Atlantic coast to the Mississippi River. From their perspective, the French troops in western Pennsylvania were encroaching on that claim. The Indians were caught in the middle. Some sided with the French, and some with the British. The French and Indian War, pitting England against France, eventually raged over two continents. By the end, Great Britain had won, and France had to withdraw some of its claims in North America. After the War, Great Britain decided to saddle the American colonists with the bill for what they viewed as their defense of America. In 1765, the British Ministry imposed the infamous Stamp Act on America, which Washington criticized as a foolish decision.⁸ This and other subsequent new taxes had not been voted on by the colonies. By such taxation without representation,⁹ the British put in motion the events that would eventually ignite the American Revolution and result in the loss of their American colonies.¹⁰

Nineteenth century British author William Thackeray noted Washington’s unique role and the irony of all these events:

It was strange that in a savage forest of Pennsylvania, a young Virginian officer should fire a shot, and waken a war which was to last for 60 years, which was to cover his own country and pass into Europe, to cost France her American colonies, to sever ours from us, and create the great western republic; to rage over the old world when extinguished in the new; and, of all the myriads engaged in the vast contest, to leave the prize of the greatest fame to him who struck the first blow.¹¹

SPARED BY PROVIDENCE

George Washington’s life was especially in danger in a couple of instances during the French and Indian War. For example, Washington wrote to his friend and biographer, David Humphreys, of an incident where he was almost killed by “friendly fire”:

.... during the time the Army lay at Loyal Hanning, a circumstance occurred which involved the life of George Washington in as much jeopardy as it had ever been before or since. The enemy sent out a large detachment to Reconnoiter our Camp, and to ascertain our strength; in consequence of Intelligence that they were within 2 miles of the Camp a party commanded by a Lieutenant Colonel Mercer of Virginia line (a Gallant & good Officer) was sent to dislodge them between whom a severe conflict & hot firing ensued which lasting some time & appearing to approach the Camp it was conceived that our party was yielding the ground upon which George Washington with permission of the General called (per dispatch) for Volunteers and immediately marched at their head to sustain, as was conjectured the retiring troops. Led on by the firing till he came within less than half a mile, & it ceasing, he detached Scouts to investigate the cause & to communicate his approach to his friend Colonel Mercer advancing slowly in the meantime – But it being near dusk and the intelligence not having been fully disseminated among Colonel Mercers Corps. And they taking us for the enemy who had retreated approaching in another directions commenced a heave fire upon the relieving party which drew fire in return in spite of all the exertions of the Officers one of whom & several privates were killed and many wounded before a stop could be put to it. To accomplish which George Washington never was in more imminent danger by being between two fires, knocking up with his sword the presented pieces.¹²

In other words, Washington was directly between two lines of soldiers firing at each other. Because they were the same army, Washington tried to stop them from shooting by riding in front of his men on his side of the battlefield and using his sword to push the soldiers’ rifles to the sky so no one would be killed. As a result, the person most in danger was Washington himself!