George Washington

When "Wakefield" was destroyed, the family lived for a time in a home, later called Mount Vernon, in Fairfax County. But the real boyhood home of George Washington was a farm overlooking the Rappahannock River, where his parents went when he was about eight years old. His father, Augustine Washington, was a prosperous Virginia planter, and owned several fine estates.

His mother's name was Mary Ball. She was a beautiful and sensible woman, and a wise, firm and loving mother. She was his father's second wife and there were two little lads already in the home, Lawrence and Augustine, when she came to take the place of their mother who had died. Besides these two half-brothers, George had two sisters and three brothers. The two older sons were sent to England to school.

When George was eight years old, Lawrence returned home, having finished his studies. A great affection at once sprang up between them. George was a fine, manly little fellow whom any big brother could love, and he looked up to Lawrence as a model. Before long, Lawrence went away to the wars, serving under Admiral Vernon in the West Indies. His letters filled George with admiration and he at once became commander-in-chief of all the boys at school; they had parades and battles in imitation of those Lawrence wrote about.

George's father died when he was twelve years old, but, fortunately, he had a wise and careful mother. She taught him respect and obedience to authority; justice and courtesy to others; loyalty to God and his country. He had a high temper and a spirit of command, which she taught him to control. A few times only in his life, when greatly provoked, did his anger get beyond bounds. He loved and honored his mother deeply and never forgot her teachings.

George and his younger brothers were educated in the country schools of Virginia. George soon showed that he had a practical mind, caring little for poetry and literature. He liked mathematics and wanted to know about business and keeping accounts. He spent hours copying into a book the exact forms of legal papers of all kinds. He was very neat and accurate in his school work and learned the value of system and order. He never began a thing without finishing it. He never did anything without knowing the reason why. When he grew up, these fine principles and this skill and accuracy, fitted him to take a great part in the history of America.

All boys in those early days knew how to handle guns and manage horses. George was an expert rider and loved the life of the woods. Being exceptionally tall and strong, he was the champion athlete at school. It is said he could throw a stone farther than any man in Virginia. Besides, he was so fair-minded that the boys always let him settle their disputes and quarrels, knowing he would give every one a square deal. He was the admired and trusted leader of them all.

In addition to his mother's care, George soon had the loving advice and devoted friendship of his brother Lawrence. The war was over and that splendid young gentleman had come home, and had married the charming Anne Fairfax. His house, willed to him by his father, stood upon a hill overlooking the beautiful Potomac River. To this lovely home, surrounded by lawns and stately trees, Lawrence gave the name Mount Vernon, in honor of the Admiral under whom he had served. George spent as much time as possible here, where he met many persons of education and refinement.

While he was still a young boy, he wrote out for himself a long list of rules of politeness and good behavior. He had observed that older people do not like careless children, who forget the comforts and rights of others. As a result, he was well liked by his brother's friends. Among them were often military and naval officers, who told him stories of war and adventure in foreign lands. When he was fourteen, one of these officers would have appointed him midshipman in the British navy. He was eager to go, but his mother needed his help in the management of their property. So he continued two years more at school, studying mathematics, engineering and surveying.

The country was then new and wild and there was much work for land surveyors, whose business it was to measure off boundaries and describe the positions of rivers, mountains and forests in a piece of land. George learned to do this so well that by the time he was sixteen, he was appointed public surveyor of his county. His chief work for the next three years was on the vast tracts of land owned by Lord Fairfax, the uncle of Lawrence Washington's wife. Though very young, George was a great favorite with his lordship, who often took him fox hunting. George was a bold and skillful horseman and rode well after the hounds.

The estate of Lord Fairfax, lying between the Potomac and Rappahannock rivers and extending to the Alleghany Mountains, had been given to his grandfather by King Charles II. These lands had never been settled nor surveyed. People known as squatters were now moving in and taking possession of the best places without permission. It became necessary to have the land surveyed, and these settlers either driven out or made to pay for certain definite parts. Lord Fairfax knew no one who could do this so well as George Washington, for he was strong and fair enough to deal wisely with the rough settlers. It was just what George wanted to do, and he gladly accepted the offer.

In March, George set out for his first trip into the wilderness. He was just sixteen years old, and it was his first big undertaking. George Fairfax, Anne's brother, went with him. They crossed the mountains into the lovely valley of the Shenandoah River. George's letters home were full of the beauty of the country and the richness of the land. After the first night, they found it more comfortable to sleep out under the sky than in the poor, untidy lodgings of the settlers. They lived on wild turkey and other game. They did their own cooking, roasting the meat on sticks over the fire and eating it on broad, clean chips.

They met a party of war-painted Indians, and for the first time George saw an Indian war dance. He studied the Indians carefully, for he wanted to understand their ways so that he might know how to deal with them. All through his life, he was kind and just in his treatment of these people.

The work of surveying grants of land took them long distances among the mountains and through the valleys. They traveled on horseback over the woodland trails, for there were as yet no roads. Sometimes they found the rivers so high that they crossed in canoes, their horses swimming.

George returned in a month, well pleased with his adventures, and Lord Fairfax, delighted with his success, paid him well.

The cordial, friendly, free life of Virginia pleased Lord Fairfax more than did the life in England. When he heard the account of the fertility and beauty of the Shenandoah Valley, he decided to make his home there. George laid out for him a fine farm of ten thousand acres. The long stone farm-house, surrounded by servants' quarters, stables and kennels, was located on a charming hillside. The place was called "Greenway Court," and visitors always found a warm welcome, whether Indians, woodsmen, or friends from the cities. Here George stayed when on his surveying trips and during the hunting seasons.

Until he was nineteen, George spent his time at his work, or at home with his mother or at Mount Vernon with Lawrence. The society of his home and friends kept him from being spoiled by the roughness of the wilderness. He was now six feet, two inches in height, with a fresh, out-door complexion, blue eyes and brown hair. He had attractive manners, he was careful about his dress, and presented a pleasing appearance. Through all his life, George Washington was a true gentleman.

He was so well paid for his work that he was able to buy several pieces of fine land. His noble character gave him a high place among the leading men of his colony. When he was nineteen, he was appointed one of four military officers in the colonies, with the rank and pay of a major, $750 a year--a considerable sum at that time.

Troubles had now arisen between the French and the English about the ownership of lands west of the Alleghany Mountains. The Indians, regarding the lands as theirs, took part in the disturbance. To protect her frontiers, Virginia was divided into four districts, each under a leader, whose duty it was to organize and drill militia. George at once began to study military tactics and the arts of war. This was interrupted by a trip to the West Indies with his beloved brother Lawrence, who was ill of consumption.

They had hardly arrived there when George had a severe attack of smallpox; though he soon got well, his face was scarred for life. He wrote home about the beauty of the island, the wonderful trees and fruits, and his social pleasures--dinners, parties and drives. For the first time in his life, he attended a theater. He visited the courts of justice and the fortifications; studied the laws, the soil and the crops, learning all that could be learned about the island. The trip resulted in no lasting good for Lawrence, however, for he died the following summer, beloved and honored by the colonists.

George was only twenty, but Lawrence left Mount Vernon in his charge, and the care of his wife and little daughter. The farm on the Rappahannock had been given to George by their father. These two fine estates, with the property he had bought for himself, made George a large land owner when still a very young man. The care of all this property and his military duties kept him busy.

During this time, the trouble with the French had grown more serious. The English, having settled the eastern sea-coast, claimed the lands to the west for their settlers. The French claimed the same lands by reason of having explored them first. The rich country lying west of the Alleghany Mountains, between the Great Lakes and the Ohio River, was the region in question. The French were planning to hold it by a line of forts from the Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico, and near the eastern end of Lake Erie, they had built two forts.

Governor Robert Dinwiddie of Virginia decided to send a message to the French commandant, Saint Pierre, warning him to keep off English soil. He needed someone brave and strong enough to travel in the winter, through hundreds and hundreds of miles of forests and across mountains and swift rivers; who knew how to take care of himself in the woods; who could get along with the Indians, and meet the French officers with courtesy and wisdom.

Of all the men in Virginia, the Governor chose George Washington, only twenty-one years old, for this dangerous and important journey!

So, late in the autumn of 1753, Major Washington set out for the Ohio River, accompanied by Christopher Gist, a brave and daring frontiersman, and an Indian chief called Half King, as guides, together with interpreters and a small company of trusted men. They traveled on horseback, and took with them tents and supplies for the journey.