•   Reward of good and faithful servant⁴⁶

•   Separation of wheat and tares⁴⁷

•   Blessings of a gracious God upon the righteous⁴⁸

•   Wise man counts the cost⁴⁹

•   The millennial state⁵⁰

•   Last trump⁵¹

•   Until the globe itself is dissolved⁵²

Given all of this, did Washington have a belief in an afterlife in heaven? It seems to us he did. Consider, for example, Washington’s remark about the usefulness of conscience:

Conscience again seldom comes to a Mans aid while he is in the zenith of health, and revelling in pomp and luxury upon ill gotten spoils; it is generally the last act of his life and comes too late to be of much service to others here, or to himself hereafter.⁵³

In light of Washington’s extensive commitment to Christian eschatology, it does not seem inconsistent to understand him to be committed to immortality and eternal life when he speaks of this concept.

WASHINGTON ON IMMORTALITY

Given the Christian understanding of heaven that is at the heart of Washington’s perspective, we must take his claims for belief in immortality seriously. He speaks of immortality from a philosophical standpoint: “You see how selfish I am, and that I am too much delighted with the result to perplex my head much in seeking for the cause. But, with Cicero in speaking respecting his belief of the immortality of the Soul, I will say, if I am in a grateful delusion, it is an innocent one, and I am willing to remain under its influence.”⁵⁴ But he also speaks of immortality with a Christian vocabulary as well: “May the felicity of the Magistracy and Inhabitants of this Corporation, be only limited by the duration of time, and exceeded by the fruition of a glorious immortality.”⁵⁵ Consistent with this, Washington also uses phrases such as “the other world,”⁵⁶ “eternal happiness,”⁵⁷ “the Sweet Innocent Girl [his step-daughter Patsy] Entered into a more happy and peaceful abode than she has met with in the afflicted Path she hitherto has trod,”⁵⁸ “happier clime,”⁵⁹ “happier place,”⁶⁰ “happiness here and hereafter,”⁶¹ “heaven’s favours here and hereafter,”⁶² and “must be happy.”⁶³ Also, in Washington’s reciprocal prayers, he affirms the ideas of a heavenly rest,⁶⁴ the salvation through the Lamb of God.⁶⁵ We have also encountered his use of the concepts of the hope of religion,⁶⁶ the hope of the approbation of heaven,⁶⁷ the reward of good and faithful servants,⁶⁸ the throne of grace,⁶⁹ “the gates of eternity,”⁷⁰ and “life eternal,” and “eternal happiness.”⁷¹ To these can be added his phrases “land of spirits,”⁷² “world of spirits,”⁷³ and the classical name “Elysium,”⁷⁴ the abode of the honored dead.

“When the summons comes I shall endeavor to obey it with good grace.”

Given Washington’s extensive use of the term “heaven,” and the doctrinal ideas that he coupled with it, these multiple phrases are clearly intended to be taken in the sense that a Christian would have normally used them. Simply put, when Washington’s writings are taken in his own context, not in the context of secular doubt, then it is completely evident that he was an advocate of immortality. As we have already seen, even the Deists of Washington’s day believed as much. Certainly the Christian Masons did as well. It is simply time to dismiss the evasions that have been put forward on this topic by many contemporary historians of Washington.

WASHINGTON’S PREPARATION FOR DEATH

Washington’s preparation for death was not only somber, there was even a bit of good-natured humor that was shared by Washington and founding father Robert Morris. (Morris was a signer of the Declaration of Independence. He was known as the financier of the American Revolution. Furthermore, Washington stayed with him during the summer of 1787, when the Constitution was written). Apparently the two made a pact not to die before 1800. Washington only missed his lighthearted promise by a few weeks, since he died on December 14, 1799. (Morris died in 1806.)

On September 22, 1799, just eleven weeks before he died, we find Washington preparing for death as he writes to nephew Burgess Ball from Mount Vernon who had informed him of the death of George’s brother:

Your letter of the 16th inst. has been received, informing me of the death of my brother [Charles Washington]. The death of near relations always produces awful and affecting emotions, under whatsoever circumstances it may happen. That of my brother has been so long expected, and his latter days so uncomfortable to himself [that they] must have prepared all around him for the stroke though painful in the effect.

I was the first, and am, now, the last of my father’s children by the second marriage who remain. When I shall be called upon to follow them, is known only to the Giver of Life. When the summons comes I shall endeavor to obey it with good grace.⁷⁵ (emphasis in the original)

These words quietly reflect several Christian ideas. Death for Washington is not just a natural or unavoidable occurrence that is borne with a stoic or Deistic indifference of unyielding resolve. Rather, Washington believed that his death would occur when he was “called upon” by the “Giver of Life,” who issues a “summons” that he intended to “obey with good grace.” Each of these phrases reflects an element of Christian biblical teaching:

•   called” upon (Romans 8:28)

•   by the “Giver of Life” (Job 1:21)

•   who issues a “summons” (Luke 12:20)

•   that he intended to “obey with good grace” (Matthew 26:39)

Washington’s language is consistent with the lifelong education that he had from his religious tradition and the books he held in his library that addressed this topic. As mentioned before, the childhood family spiritual text read by Mary Washington to her family was Sir Matthew Hale’s Contemplations Moral and Divine addressed this topic. “Of Our Consideration Of Our Latter End,” the first study in Hale’s work, finishes with these words:

...we are to be thankful for our life, and not be desirous to leave our Post, our Station, our Business, our Life, till our Lord call us to himself in the ordinary way of his Providence; for he is the only Lord of our lives, and we are not the Lords of our own lives.⁷⁶

Washington’s words also seem to echo another book he had in his library entitled, The Sick Man Visited. It was published in London in 1745 by the Reverend Nathanael Spinkes, the Prebendary (that is, one who received a stipend from the Church) of Sarum. His prayer “For One of Middle Age” says,

Suffer me not to set my affections upon any thing here below, but upon the eternal enjoyment of thee, and thine inestimable rewards in Heaven; nor to reckon upon the wonted vigour of my age, but upon my present inability, and the nearness I am possibly in to death, and a future state. Teach me a perfect submission to thy holy Will, that I may account of life, only as an opportunity of doing thee farther services; and may use it whilst continued to me, to be in a great readiness for death, that whensover that comes, I may receive its summons without surprise, and may willingly quit all that I have here, to depart, and be with Christ, which is far better. My time at best is short; but if thou art pleased to make it shorter than might have been expected, by taking me away in the midst of my days, I commit myself into thy hands, to do with me as seemeth thee good. Only, I beseech thee, remove me not hence, til thou shalt have fitted me for a better and more lasting state, through Jesus Christ my only Saviour and Redeemer. Amen.⁷⁷

And Washington’s words above (about his readiness to die) also reflect the classic prayer of “The Order For The Visitation Of The Sick” in 1662 The Book of Common Prayer that says, “...give him grace so to take thy visitation, that, after this painful life ended, he may dwell with thee in life everlasting; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.”⁷⁸

WASHINGTON’S LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT: A WILL WITHOUT WITNESS?

We must now address the question of Washington’s last will and testament. Why did Washington write his will without any express witness to faith in Christ? It did begin with the traditional words of taking an oath: “In the name of God. Amen.” Yet we cannot answer the question of why Washington did not explicitly declare his faith in his will by any statement in Washington’s writings. It is possible that Washington felt that a witness in a will, such as the one he had copied as a youth as a writing exercise, was not the best way to express one’s faith.

Washington’s creed was deeds not words. So while we cannot give an explicit reason in Washington’s writings for why he chose not to mention his faith in his will, we would point out that such an act is not required by the Christian faith. Further, if the absence of such a witness is a proof of Deism, then, on the basis of this argument, Martha Washington was a Deist too, since her will makes no mention of her faith in Christ. But this would be clearly false. No one doubts Martha Washington’s Christian faith. Thus, the argument is a non sequitur. In fact, Washington uses the name of Jesus more often than Martha, since there seems to be no instance where Martha wrote the name of Jesus Christ.

As we saw in the chapter entitled, “Did Washington Avoid the Name of Jesus Christ?” there was a common practice to refrain from using the name of Jesus Christ to honor Christ’s name. This was not intended to be an expression of unbelief. Martha’s not writing the name of Jesus Christ could not be used as a testimony against her faith. It seems that the historic Trinitarian use of “God” as captured by the Anglican tradition of using the Athanasian Creed, along with the sincere Virginian Anglican desire not to profane the name of Christ, kept her, like her husband, from writing the name of Jesus Christ in common or ordinary correspondence.

The point here is clear. If this reticence to mention Jesus in writing proves Deism, then it proves that both George and Martha were Deists. But this is clearly absurd. Thus, the argument is specious and can carry no persuasive force. We believe that George was no more a Deist than Martha. Moreover, Washington’s will was not explicitly Christian, yet it was implicitly Christian, as one considers what he says he wanted done with regard to his slaves, a specially bequeathed Bible, his views of war, and his love expressed to his family.

THE DREAM BEFORE HIS DEATH

As we consider this important question, let us return to Joseph Ellis’ claims that we have already briefly considered. Above, we mentioned that Washington’s writing of his will seems to have been motivated by a premonition. This came in the form of a remarkable dream, which was preserved for history through a letter by Martha Washington. This clearly stands in tension with what Ellis wrote, “The historic evidence suggests that Washington did not think much about heaven or angels.” Ellis apparently was unaware of the letter that Martha Washington wrote relating her husband’s dream about his death that included an angel.

This incident occurred just a few months before Washington’s death. It was this dream that prompted Washington to write his last will and testament, the very document he asked to review on his deathbed as he slipped away in his brief battle for life. Martha wrote:

At midsummer the General had a dream so deeply impressed on his mind that he could not shake it off for several days. He dreamed that he and I were sitting in the summer-house, conversing upon the happy life we had spent, and looking forward to many more years on the earth, when suddenly there was a great light all around us, and then an almost invisible figure of a sweet angel stood by my side and whispered in my ear. I suddenly turned pale and then began to vanish from his sight and he was left alone. I had just risen from the bed when he awoke and told me his dream saying, “You know a contrary result indicated by dreams may be expected. I may soon leave you.” I tried to drive from his mind the sadness that had taken possession of it, by laughing at the absurdity of being disturbed by an idle dream, which, at the worst, indicated that I would not be taken from him; but I could not, and it was not until after dinner that he recovered any cheerfulness. I found in the library, a few days afterwards, some scraps of paper which showed that he had been writing a Will, and had copied it.⁷⁹ When I was so very sick, lately, I thought of this dream, and concluded my time had come, and that I should be taken first.⁸⁰ (emphasis in the original)

Clearly this dream had a direct impact on Washington, since it caused him to write his last will and testament.

Washington enjoyed good health for the remaining months before his death—so much so that at the middle of November, Martha and he were invited to attend the dancing assemblies in that town, as they had frequently done. Washington replied:

Mount Vernon, 12th November, 1799.

Gentlemen: Mrs. Washington and myself have been honored by your polite invitation to the Assemblies at Alexandria this winter, and thank you for this mark of attention. But, alas! Our dancing days are no more. We wish, however, all those who have relish for so agreeable and innocent amusement all the pleasure the season will afford them.⁸¹

WAS THERE NO CHRISTIAN WITNESS AT WASHINGTON’S DEATH?

The two arguments raised against Washington’s Christian faith that emerge from his family context are that his last will and testament was written without any express witness to faith in Christ, and that when he died, he did not call for a clergyman, and thus did not receive the Sacrament.⁸² While we have already considered these objections, we now address the second in more detail.

On December 13th, just a month from the date of his note declining the opportunity to attend the dance, Washington rode over his farm on horseback for several hours in a storm of sleet. He sat down to dinner without removing his damp clothing, and during the succeeding night he experienced a severe throat infection that nearly prevented both his swallowing and his breathing. Physicians came, and soon so reduced his strength from blood-letting that he did not have enough strength left to fight the disease. He died near midnight on December 14, 1799. His death was marked by an extraordinary peace and confidence in the face of an unexpected illness and sudden death. This was in itself an expression of an ideal of the Christian faith. (See John 14:27.)

CONFIDENCE IN THE FACE OF DEATH

Throughout his life, Washington was constantly reminded that he needed to be ready for death.⁸³ He was often afflicted with life-threatening illnesses;⁸⁴ he had been in danger continually as an officer in combat.⁸⁵ From childhood on, he saw several members of his family and several of his own friends die. Whether in spite of these struggles or because of them, his last spoken words were filled with confidence, gratitude, and peace. Tobias Lear, Washington’s personal secretary recorded the events as they unfolded, and kept track of many of his statements.⁸⁶ They include: (as the now-rejected medical procedure of blood letting commenced), he said, “Don’t be afraid. The orifice is not large enough. More, more.” Concerning his swollen throat, he said, “Tis very sore.” He then called for Mrs. Washington and selected one of two existing wills and had one burned. He remarked, “I find I am going, my breath can not last long. I believed from the first that the disorder would prove fatal.”

To Tobias Lear, his secretary, the dying Washington said, “Do you arrange and record all my late military letters and papers. Arrange my accounts and settle my books, as you know more about them than any one else, and let Mr. Rawlins finish recording my other letters which he has begun.” He then asked if Lear recollected anything which was essential for him to do, as he had but a very short time to continue among them. Lear said he recollected nothing, but that he hoped he was not so near his end; Washington observed smiling, that he certainly was, and that it [death] was a debt, the debt that all must pay. He looked to the event with perfect resignation.

As Lear assisted him, he said to him, “I am afraid I shall fatigue you too much.” When Lear said that it was his wish to give him ease, Washington responded, “Well it is a debt we must pay to each other, and I hope when you want aid of this kind, you will find it.” He asked when Mr. Lewis, his nephew, and Washington Custis, his grandson, would return, since they were in New Kent, Virginia. Lear said on the twentieth. At five o’clock Dr. James Craik came again to check on his lifelong friend. Washington said to him, “Doctor, I die hard; but I am not afraid to go; I believed from my first attack that I should not survive; my breath can not last long.”