…it was Washington’s custom to have prayers in the camp while he was at Fort Necessity.144
He regularly attends divine service in his tent every morning and evening, and seems very fervent in his prayers.145
Throughout the war, as it was understood in his military family, he gave a part of every day to private prayer and devotion.146
… the Reverend William Emerson, who was a minister at Concord at the time of the battle, and now a chaplain in the army, writes to a friend: There is great overturning in the camp as to order and regularity. New lords, new laws. The Generals Washington and Lee are upon the lines every day. New orders from his Excellency are read to the respective regiments every morning after prayers.147
Some short time before the death of General Porterfield, I made him a visit and spent a night at his house. He related many interesting facts that had occurred within his own observation in the war of the Revolution, particularly in the Jersey campaign and the encampment of the army at Valley Forge. He said that his official duty (being brigade-inspector) frequently brought him in contact with General Washington. Upon one occasion, some emergency (which he mentioned) induced him to dispense with the usual formality, and he went directly to General Washington’s apartment, where he found him on his knees, engaged in his morning devotions. He said that he mentioned the circumstance to General Hamilton, who replied that such was his constant habit.148
…when …Elizabeth Schuyler was a young girl, before her marriage to Alexander Hamilton, she was with her father, General Philip Schuyler, one of Washington’s aides, at Valley Forge, and saw the terrible sufferings of our men, and heard at that time Washington’s fervent prayer that all might be well.149
Third, Washington prayed in the winter following Valley Forge. Although Washington’s soldiers faced great sacrifice, in this instance provision came to meet the needs of the troops. And this prompted his “ardent” prayer. He wrote to Eldridge Gerry, from Morris Town on January 29, 1780,
With respect to provision; the situation of the army is comfortable at present on this head and I ardently pray that it may never be again as it has been of late. We were reduced to a most painful and delicate extremity; such as rendered the keeping of the Troops together a point of great doubt.150
Washington had not forgotten how difficult it was when the army’s needs had not been met. He prayed that the painful circumstances would not be repeated, though the need had been met. If he prayed in a time of provision, would it have been likely that he would not have prayed in the midst of great need in the first instance? Would we not expect him to have prayed, especially since the record of his consistency in prayer was written repeatedly in undeniable, historical records?
Finally, we can verify one time when Washington prayed at Valley Forge from his own writings. This is found in his General Orders for April 12, 1778, that called for prayer following the Congressional Proclamation.
The Honorable Congress having thought proper to recommend to The United States of America to set apart Wednesday the 22nd. instant to be observed as a day of Fasting, Humiliation and Prayer, that at one time and with one voice the righteous dispensations of Providence may be acknowledged and His Goodness and Mercy toward us and our Arms supplicated and implored; The General directs that this day also shall be religiously observed in the Army, that no work be done thereon and that the Chaplains prepare discourses suitable to the Occasion.151
CONCLUSION
The last time Washington wrote the phrase “sacred cause” was as his men were heading for Valley Forge. It was as if the sacred cause had been internalized, or become a reality. The next dramatic moment when he would return to this powerful image would be in his First Inaugural Address where his “sacred cause” had become the “sacred fire of liberty.” Not only had freedom’s holy light not gone out, but it was burning brightly ready to ignite other hearts and other nations.
So could a Quaker have found Washington on his knees in secret prayer, in the snow, at Valley Forge? If we could have asked the opinion of the colonial Lutheran minister Reverend Muhlenberg, he would have not have found the claim unbelievable about the one who was “graciously held” in God’s “hand as a chosen vessel.”
Thus, the question can no longer really be whether Washington prayed at Valley Forge and was seen by a pacifist Quaker who converted to the American cause. Those events may have happened, but they cannot ultimately be proven. The question instead must be whether Washington prayed at Valley Forge. The only possible answer consistent with all that we know is “yes.”
But perhaps the more relevant question is why scholars are insistent on telling the truncated secular version of Washington’s encampment at Valley Forge? Why would they tell the story of Washington’s great triumph in the battle over doubt and despair without reference to his “sacred cause?” without reference to Washington’s faith in Jehovah? without reference to his call for his men to be Christians? Were not these the things that produced “the sacred fire of liberty” that kept his men united in spite of their extreme exposure to the frigid winter winds of Valley Forge? Why then would scholars censure the sermon of Chaplain Israel Evans made at Valley Forge when it had the full approval of Washington? We can no longer tell the story of the Valley Forge encampment without looking on “his excellency General Washington” as Israel Evans admonished,
... Look on him, and catch the genuine patriot fire of liberty and independence. Look on him, and learn to forget your own ease and comfort; like him resign the charms of domestic life, when the genius of America bids you grow great in her service, and liberty calls you to protect her. Look on your worthy general, and claim the happiness and honour of saying, he is ours. Like him love virtue, and like him, reverence the name of the great Jehovah. Be mindful of that public declaration which he has made, “That we cannot reasonably expect the blessing of God upon our arms, if we continue to prophane his holy name. Learn of him to endure watching, cold and hardships, for you have just heard that he assures you, he is ready and willing to endure whatever inconveniencies and hardships may attend this winter. Are any of you startled at the prospect of hard winter quarters? Think of liberty and Washington, and your hardships will be forgotten and banished.152
Perhaps the reason the secularists have forgotten the inseparable connection between Washington’s “sacred cause,” his “patriot fire of liberty,” and his “all wise and powerful Being” is because they have been so intent on finding a Deist Washington. As a result of their quest, they clearly have not shared “the first wish of his heart.” This wish was “to aid pious endeavours to inculcate a due sense of the dependance we ought to place in that all wise and powerful Being on whom alone our success depends.” General Washington was here referring to Jehovah, the God of the burning bush, and the inexhaustible energy of the “sacred fire of liberty.”
TWENTY
George Washington and Communion:
Did Washington Take Communion?
“
Such is our situation, and such are our prospects: but notwithstanding the cup of blessing is thus reached out to us, notwithstanding happiness is ours, if we have a disposition to seize the occasion and make it our own.
”
George Washington September 19, 1796
1
One of the most often repeated arguments against the thesis of George Washington the Christian is the fact that during a significant period in his later life he apparently did not participate in communion. This issue has been repeated so often and emphasized so much that we devote the next three chapters to consider the matter with care. We believe those who hold George Washington to have been a Deist have ignored some significant facts related to the communion argument. The claims of this argument against Washington’s Christianity cried out for a cross-examination.
DID WASHINGTON PARTICIPATE IN THE LORD’S SUPPER?
The claim that Washington allegedly did not participate in the Lord’s Supper has carried weight on both sides of the debate.
Some of the chief arguments for the debate of this question are:
1. Washington’s clergy said they did not see him partake of the Lord’s Supper.
2. For example, Reverend Abercrombie of Christ’s Church Philadelphia preached a sermon against not partaking of the Eucharist on a Communion Sunday when Washington was present. Washington never attended there on a Communion Sunday thereafter. Unlike modern Episcopal churches that have weekly Communion, Communion in Washington’s Virginia was practiced about three or four times per year, depending on the availability of a clergyman.
3. Washington’s granddaughter, Nelly Custis, said that he left with her after the worship service was over, (i.e., before Communion) and the carriage was sent back for Martha Washington.
4. The conclusion reached from this by those who hold that Washington was a Deist is that this proves that he was not a Christian who believed in the atonement of Christ. Since Washington was not a hypocrite, his non-communing fits this consistently held Deistic perspective.
In addition to the above, however, the following must be considered as well:
1. It was universally reported that Washington always communed before the Revolution.
2. Partaking of Communion would be consistent with his highly active and faithful role as a parishioner, vestryman, and church warden.
3. His personally selected most expensive pews in two different Virginia churches were close to the Communion Table in the churches he attended in Virginia (Pohick in Lorton and Christ Church in Alexandria).
4. Even his non-participation during and after the War is open to question:
a. A strongly held Presbyterian tradition argues that he communed at a Presbyterian Church in Morristown, New Jersey, during the Revolutionary War.
b. The German Reformed tradition claims that he communed on one occasion in their church in Germantown, outside of Philadelphia, during his presidency.
c. Reports from officers—Major Popham and General Porterfield—claim that they witnessed his communing in New York City when he was president.
d. Mrs. Alexander Hamilton told her family that she communed with President Washington on the day of his presidential Inauguration, April 30, 1789, in New York City.
e. Various testimonies reported by Bishop William Meade and Reverend E. C. M’Guire support Washington’s communing.
Nevertheless, all agree on this: There is indisputable evidence that Washington did not commune for a period of time. To put the question as pointedly as possible—does non-communing mean that one is not a Christian? A variation on the question is also important for our concerns here as well. Does cessation of Communion for a lengthy period of time imply that one has rejected Christianity? Are there other explanations that are historically consistent and also consistent with Christian faith and practice that provide an explanation?
As we seek to address this matter in relationship to Washington’s religion and to his Christianity, we have come to a point where written documentation directly from the lifetime of Washington is minimal. This means that we cannot appeal to church records, for these sorts of records, if they ever were kept, are no longer in existence (to our knowledge). In some cases, we cannot even prove who all of the pastors were in Washington’s home church of Pohick during his lifetime. Similarly, we cannot establish with absolute certainty who the clergyman was who baptized Washington.
