george washington biography bottle

Antique George Washington Bottles: What to Look For

Megan's contributed both writing and research to a myriad of associations including academic publications, cultural institutions, non-fiction works, and experimental collaborative projects.

Learn about our Editorial Policy .

Antique George Washington bottles are highly sought after by bottle collectors, particularly those of two distinct styles - figural and flask. Originally created as an artistic spin on a practical product, George Washington bottles are valuable for both seasoned collectors and casual ones thanks to their many styles, colors, and sizes. Even if you're not interested in antique bottles as a collectible item, there are so many unique ways you can convert them into decorative pieces that everyone can find a place and a purpose for a George Washington bottle somewhere in their home.

Figural George Washington Bottles

In 1875, Bernard Simon designed a figural bottle to represent an officer of the Continental Army. The military figure that was portrayed on Simon's bottle closely resembled several of Gilbert Stuart's famous portraits of George Washington. Because of this resemblance, when the bottle was introduced for sale in 1876, it was named The Bust of Washington Bottle .

• Pictures of Antique Hand Tools and Their Usage
• 25 Most Valuable Jefferson Nickels Worth Over 10K
• 10 Most Valuable Old Pennies and What They're Worth

First Used as Bitters Bottles

These figural antique George Washington bottles are known as bitters bottles, holding specialized liquid mixtures called bitters. The concept of bitters had spread from Europe and was very popular in America from 1862 to 1906. In order to avoid the revenue tax on liquor, herbs were added to gin, and retailers often sold the mixture as medicine. It was later combined with other ingredients to make mixed drinks. Salesmen would advertise the bitters by telling people they would feel better with every sip of their medicine.

In order for a collector to qualify a bottle as a bitters bottle, the word "bitters" must be embossed onto the bottle or a paper label with the word must be affixed to the bottle. On Simon's George Washington figural bottles, the word "bitters" is clearly embossed on the pedestal. The inscription on the front reads, "Simon's Centennial Bitters," and the back reads, "Trade Mark." Although these George Washington bottles began as bitters bottles, the style developed to include other liquids, meaning that not all of these antiques have bitters labeled across them.

George Washington Bottle Design

Original George Washington figural bottles were produced in several colors. The most common color is a light aqua blue, and there are also bottles in various shades of amber. The collars of the bottles, also known as lips, were produced in two styles: single collars and double collars.

Serious Washington bottle collectors look for variations in the maximum 1/16th inch thickness of single collar bottles and differences in the thicknesses and merging patterns of two collar bottles. Regardless of color or collar, each of the original George Washington figural bottles had a cork stopper. However, as manufacturing processes advanced, these bottles began to be blown with custom glass lids. For example, an elongated figural bottle from the 19th century had a lid is designed to be cleverly disguised as George Washington's tricorn hat.

Bottle Characteristics

Although the original bottles do have a few minor differences, Washington bottle collectors believe that all of the 1876 originals were produced from several molds that were very similar. These figural bottles stand 10 1/4 inches high, and the measurement across George Washington's chest is 5 1/4 inches. They weigh approximately 22 ounces empty and hold 30 ounces of liquid. The base of the bottles each vary slightly, with some being perfectly round while others are slightly oval. Although the embossed letters on the bottle are very clear and crisp, George Washington's features are not sharp at all. The bottles have distinct two part mold marks and no pontil mark.

George Washington Flask Bottles

Dr. Thomas W. Doytt, a self-proclaimed doctor, set up a boot blackening and patent medicine business in the early 1800s. Doytt also became a part owner of the Olive Glass Works of New Jersey and affiliated with the Kensington Glass Works, which is famous for producing most of the historical flasks collected today.

In 1824, Doytt created a one pint flask with a bust of George Washington on the front. Washington is dressed in military uniform, and embossed above him are the words, "General Washington" in a semi circle. On the back of the bottle is an American eagle. The flasks were produced in an aquamarine or light aquamarine color. The flasks were very popular, and a year later, Doytt advertised that there were 3,000 dozen of the flasks for sale in an ad he published in the Philadelphia Gazette.

Although Doytt was the first to create these stylized flasks, his company wasn't the only to jump on the bandwagon. Production wasn't even limited to the 19th century, with some commemorative flasks still being produced in the early 20th century. For instance, this George Washington vinegar flask currently on display at the Brooklyn Museum was created by an unknown American maker and has been dated to circa the 1930s.

Doytt's Firecracker Flask Bottle

On July 4, 1826, as the United States was celebrating its 50th anniversary since the signing of the Declaration of Independence , two of its greatest political figures of the times, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, would die within hours of each other. Dr. Thomas Doytt used the events of that day to his advantage. Doytt immediately sent the mold for his General Washington flask to his glass mold maker for modification. With a few changes, the new flask, which is known by collectors as The Firecracker Flask, was created. General George Washington's likeness remained unchanged on the front of the flask, and on the back, the phrase "E Pluribus Unum " was embossed above the eagle's head. Doytt also replaced the vertical ribs along the edges of the flask with the embossed phrases "Adams and Jefferson July 4 A.D. 1776" and "Kensington Glass Works Philadelphia." Doytt had these flasks blown in a true rainbow of colors, including the following:

• Clear emerald green
• Deep sapphire blue
• Golden yellow
• Light aquamarine

These beautifully colored flasks are in high demand by collectors today. There is not any written record telling the number of flasks Doytt actually produced. It's known that the General Washington flask was produced for two years from 1824 until 1826, but it's unknown how many years the altered flask was produced.

How to Tell a Reproduction

One of the main ways to identify an antique reproduction of a George Washington figural bottle is to look at the embossing of the words. On reproductions, the words are not clear, and in some cases it is almost impossible to read them. Another way to identify a reproduction piece is a pontil mark. Many times an inexperienced collector will see a pontil mark on a bottle and think it must be very old, making it an original. Always check the collar of the bottle to see if it has distinguishable rings. Many of the reproduction bottles have a blob top. It is also important to consider the color of the bottle. Reproductions usually are deeper and richer in color than the original bottles.

Raise a Toast

In today's collector's market, Firecracker Flasks, which are of great historical significance, are generally the most highly sought after antique George Washington bottles. This doesn't mean that all pieces of George Washington glassware can't find a place in some collector's hoard. While not all of these antiques are valuable enough to fund your long list of home renovations, they'll be able to bring a little sparkle to your cozy abode. Next, learn more about old bottle identification to see if there are other kinds of bottles you might find worth collecting.

Antiques: George Washington's likeness a popular bottle

Figural bottles were being made by the ancient Egyptians by 1546 B.C. That's more than 5,000 years ago.

But collectors couldn't find many figural bottles to collect until the early 1800s, when manufacturers started using them to sell whiskey or bitters medicine to an individual customer. Before that, most whiskey was ladled out of a barrel into your pottery container during a visit to the distillery.

When bitters medicine was created from herbs, roots, bark, alcohol, drugs and other ingredients, it was sold in bottles to encourage sales to individuals. It made people feel better, but it was mainly because of the alcohol and drugs. Traveling medicine shows sold the bitters, which often was the only "medicine" available in a town with no doctor.

Many likenesses of George Washington, the "Father of our Country," were made to sell in 1876 because of bicentennial celebrations of the founding of the United States.

Simon's Centennial Bitters were sold in a bottle shaped like a bust of Gen. George Washington on a pedestal. His name was molded on the bottle around the bottom of the bust. It was made by Bernard Simon of Scranton, Pennsylvania, and created using clear, aqua or amber glass. Later reproductions were made in amethyst and other colors.

Many were made in the 1930s, probably because of renewed interest caused by the bicentennial celebration of Washington's birthday. A recent auction of a clear example brought $748.

Q: I have an ironstone washbasin and pitcher with a wheat design on them. They have a circular blue mark, with the words "red cliff" around the top and "ironstone" around the bottom. In the center is the number 4 (washbasin) and the number 10 (pitcher). I cannot find this mark listed anywhere. I would love to have any information available.

A: Red Cliff Pottery was a decorating and distributing company in business in Chicago, Illinois, from 1950 to 1980. It was owned by Fred Clifford. Pieces were made in old shapes by Hall China Co. and decorated at Red Cliff with designs copying old ironstone patterns, giving customers a chance to buy something that looks "vintage" without paying vintage prices. This semicircular mark was used on table and ovenware beginning in February 1950. The pitcher might be worth about $10-$20.

Q: I bought two Mexican Feathercraft pictures of birds in Mexico City in 1952 and am wondering if you can give me an idea of their worth. The bodies and tails of the birds are made from brightly colored feathers and their beaks and legs are painted. The trees in the background are also painted.

A: Featherwork pictures, jewelry and items of clothing were made in Mexico as early as the 1500s. Spanish conquerors took Mexican featherwork back to Europe, where it was popular until the 17th century. Early indigenous artists used the brightly colored feathers of tropical birds. Some more recent featherwork pictures are made from feathers that have been dyed to achieve the bright colors. Twentieth-century featherwork pictures, which are about 13 by 28 inches, have sold for $100-$150.

Q: I have a double-drawer NCR Register No. 3967906 with serial number FR843814-ZZ, and it's missing a key for lock number E97116. I've searched a lot of websites and can't find information on this model. Also, I'm trying to get a key and have found them on several sites, but I'm not sure how to compare lock numbers to find the right key.

A: The serial number beginning "FR" indicates your cash register has been "factory rebuilt." The number "843814" indicates that it was rebuilt in 1953, and "ZZ" shows that it originally was made in 1948. The letter "E" on the lock indicates it's the control lock. There are businesses that make replacement keys. One source for keys and other replacement parts is www.brasscashregister.net/keys. You can find information about collecting and dating cash registers at the website for the Cash Register Collectors Club, www.crcci.org.

Tip: An auction staff member examined a blanket chest that might be in a coming sale. He found a hidden compartment filled with valuable historical documents. That's another reminder to search for secret compartments in antiques.

Current prices

Prices are recorded from antiques shows, flea markets, sales and auctions throughout the United States.

• Hooked rug, wide-striped border, multicolor, grey center, black edge, c. 1900, 39 x 72 inches, $70

• Blenko vase, orbit, blown-smoke glass, 1950s, 7 inches, $150

• Tapestry, English hunt, needlepoint, petit point, 40 x 72 inches, $360

• Dresden group, porcelain, big skirt dresses, knickers, musicians, grand piano, 11 x 19 inches, $720

• Writing table, Empire, mahogany, leather-lined top, two dovetailed drawers, escutcheons, 28 x 39 inches, $1,080

• Weathervane, dog, long haired setter, walking, 32 x 15 inches, $3,510

• Bronze sculpture, Fernandez Armand, Venus off shore, nude female torso split by propellers, 15 1/2 inches, $4,690

• Brass gong, quarter circle, hole near arc, Harry Bertoia, c. 1950, 6 1/2 x 9 inches, $5,310

• Newcomb vase, landscape, trees, Spanish moss, moon, blue, Anna Simpson, 1924, 10 3/4 x 4 1/2 inches, $6,880

• Cut-glass punch bowl, stand, Arabian, Eggington, 12 1/8 x 14 1/2 inches, $10,200

Terry and Kim Kovel, authorities on collectibles, write for King Features Syndicate. Visit www.kovels.com.

Washington, D.C.

A Smithsonian magazine special report

Long Before Jack Daniels, George Washington Was a Whiskey Tycoon

The Founding Father spent his post-presidency years presiding over a booming alcohol business

Natasha Geiling

When George Washington left the presidency in 1797, he was looking forward to some relaxation—returning to Mount Vernon and the pastoral life that had been distant during his time as president. But Washington was a man of innovation, who rarely let an opportunity slip by—and when he hired a Scottish plantation manager in 1797, Washington added another line to his resume: whiskey seller. The planation manager, James Anderson, had immigrated to Virginia in the early 1790s—noticed a missed opportunity at the estate: the abundance of crops, combined with Washington's state-of-the-art gristmill and abundant water supply could be used to make whiskey. And it wasn't just the abundance of crops, but the type. Washington, to help foster healthy soil, planted a lot of rye as a cover crop . Rye wasn't high on the list of delicious, edible grains, but Anderson didn't think it should go to waste—instead, he wanted to turn it into whiskey.

Washington was, at first, hesitant to jump into a new business venture—after all, at 65 years old, he had wanted to spend his retired years in relative peace, but after hearing Anderson's proposal, as well as corresponding with a friend who was involved in the rum business, Washington acquiesced. That winter, Anderson began distilling in the estate's cooperage, using just two stills (pots used for distillation). The first distilling was so successful that Washington approved plans for construction of a full-fledged distillery, complete with five stills. The distillery finished construction in 1798, and by 1799, it was the largest whiskey distillery in the country. That year, the distillery produced 11,000 gallons of clear, un-aged whiskey, which Washington sold for a total of $1,800 ($120,000 by today's standards). 

So why isn't "whiskey businessman" a moniker more readily associated with Washington? Partly because, for nearly two centuries, the distillery was reduced to little more than a foundation. When Washington died in 1799, he left the distillery to his nephew Lawrence Lewis, who lacked the shrewd business mind of Washington. Lewis wasn't nearly as successful in the distilling business, and when a fire burned the distillery to the ground in 1814, it wasn't rebuilt. The state of Virginia purchased the site in the early 1930s, and planned to reconstruct the distillery, but only managed to rebuild the gristmill and miller's cottage—mostly because the pressures of Prohibition and the Depression didn't encourage the rebuilding of the distillery.

In 1997, archaeologists surveying the area discovered the foundation of the original distillery, and set out to reconstruct the building based on its original design. After securing key funding from the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States (DISCUS) in 2001, a group of archaeologists, historians and distillers looked deeper into the distillery's past: What role did it play on the estate? What role did it play in 18th-century America? They carefully searched records for hints about how the distillery functioned on an industrial level, making note of the number of stills used by Anderson, for example, to make the whiskey. Esther White , director of archaeology with the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association, helped lead the reconstruction. By 2007, the distillery was open to the public.

But the reconstructed distillery is more than a static homage to Washington's business-savvy: it's a fully-functioning distillery in its own right. Each year, Steve Bashore, manager of historic trades at Mount Vernon, leads a small team in distilling whiskey exactly as Anderson and others did in the original distillery. They've been doing distillations twice a year (once in March, another roughly around November) since 2009, and have been selling the whiskey to visitors (the first rye whiskey sold from the distillery sold out in two hours ).

Like Washington's original recipe, the whiskey they are making is predominately rye, with 65 percent of the mash composed of rye grain, 35 percent corn, and 5 percent malted barley. The grains are ground in the gristmill, then added to barrels in the distillery along with 110 gallons of boiling water. On the second day of the process, the barley is added, which converts the grains' starches into sugars. On the third day of the process, yeast is added, which eats the sugars and turns them into alcohol. Then, the mash is poured into the copper stills (which we recreated from a surviving 18th-century still displayed in the distillery's museum, on the building's second floor), where it is heated by a wood fire. As the mash mixture heats, alcohol vapor rises to the top and is funneled into a coiled pipe, which is cooled by water from a nearby creek. As the alcohol vapor cools, it condenses back to liquid, which flows out of the barrel into a container. To see how whiskey is made at Mount Vernon, check out the video below.

In Washington's day, this whiskey would be sold clear and unaged—but today (because there's a market for it), Bashore and Mount Vernon will age some of the whiskey that they distill. This year, for the first time, the distillery was also used to make Washington's peach brandy.

The distillery or gristmill (another example of Washington's penchant for innovation, with its state-of-the-art automated technology) are located 2.7 miles from the estate’s main entrance on Mount Vernon Memorial Highway/Route 235, and are open to visitors each year from April to October. 1,000 bottles of unaged rye will go on sale at Mount Vernon on May 16 at 10 a.m.

Get the latest History stories in your inbox?

Click to visit our Privacy Statement .

Natasha Geiling | | READ MORE

Natasha Geiling is an online reporter for Smithsonian magazine.

George Washington

George Washington, a Founding Father of the United States, led the Continental Army to victory in the Revolutionary War and was America’s first president.

(1732-1799)

Who Was George Washington?

George Washington was a Virginia plantation owner who served as a general and commander-in-chief of the colonial armies during the American Revolutionary War, and later became the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797.

Early Life and Family

Washington was born on February 22, 1732, in Westmoreland County, Virginia. He was the eldest of Augustine and Mary’s six children, all of whom survived into adulthood.

The family lived on Pope's Creek in Westmoreland County, Virginia. They were moderately prosperous members of Virginia's "middling class."

But much of the family’s wealth in England was lost under the Puritan government of Oliver Cromwell . In 1657 Washington’s grandfather, Lawrence Washington, migrated to Virginia. Little information is available about the family in North America until Washington’s father, Augustine, was born in 1694.

Augustine Washington was an ambitious man who acquired land and enslaved people, built mills, and grew tobacco. For a time, he had an interest in opening iron mines. He married his first wife, Jane Butler, and they had three children. Jane died in 1729 and Augustine married Mary Ball in 1731.

Mount Vernon

In 1735, Augustine moved the family up the Potomac River to another Washington family home, Little Hunting Creek Plantation — later renamed Mount Vernon .

They moved again in 1738 to Ferry Farm on the Rappahannock River, opposite Fredericksburg, Virginia, where Washington spent much of his youth.

Childhood and Education

Little is known about Washington's childhood, which fostered many of the fables later biographers manufactured to fill in the gap. Among these are the stories that Washington threw a silver dollar across the Potomac and after chopping down his father's prize cherry tree, he openly confessed to the crime.

It is known that from age seven to 15, Washington was home-schooled and studied with the local church sexton and later a schoolmaster in practical math, geography, Latin and the English classics.

But much of the knowledge he would use the rest of his life was through his acquaintance with woodsmen and the plantation foreman. By his early teens, he had mastered growing tobacco, stock raising and surveying.

Washington’s father died when he was 11 and he became the ward of his half-brother, Lawrence, who gave him a good upbringing. Lawrence had inherited the family's Little Hunting Creek Plantation and married Anne Fairfax, the daughter of Colonel William Fairfax, patriarch of the well-to-do Fairfax family. Under her tutelage, Washington was schooled in the finer aspects of colonial culture.

In 1748, when he was 16, Washington traveled with a surveying party plotting land in Virginia’s western territory. The following year, aided by Lord Fairfax, Washington received an appointment as the official surveyor of Culpeper County.

For two years he was very busy surveying the land in Culpeper, Frederick and Augusta counties. The experience made him resourceful and toughened his body and mind. It also piqued his interest in western land holdings, an interest that endured throughout his life with speculative land purchases and a belief that the future of the nation lay in colonizing the West.

In July 1752, Washington's brother, Lawrence, died of tuberculosis, making him the heir apparent of the Washington lands. Lawrence’s only child, Sarah, died two months later and Washington became the head of one of Virginia's most prominent estates, Mount Vernon. He was 20 years old.

Throughout his life, he would hold farming as one of the most honorable professions and he was most proud of Mount Vernon. Washington would gradually increase his landholdings there to about 8,000 acres

Pre-Revolutionary Military Career

In the early 1750s, France and Britain were at peace. However, the French military had begun occupying much of the Ohio Valley, protecting the King's land interests, particularly fur trappers and French settlers. But the borderlands of this area were unclear and prone to dispute between the two countries.

Washington showed early signs of natural leadership and shortly after Lawrence's death, Virginia's Lieutenant Governor, Robert Dinwiddie, appointed Washington adjutant with a rank of major in the Virginia militia.

French and Indian War

On October 31, 1753, Dinwiddie sent Washington to Fort LeBoeuf, at what is now Waterford, Pennsylvania, to warn the French to remove themselves from land claimed by Britain. The French politely refused and Washington made a hasty ride back to Williamsburg, Virginia's colonial capital.

Dinwiddie sent Washington back with troops and they set up a post at Great Meadows. Washington's small force attacked a French post at Fort Duquesne, killing the commander, Coulon de Jumonville, and nine others and taking the rest prisoners. The French and Indian War had begun.

The French counterattacked and drove Washington and his men back to his post at Great Meadows (later named "Fort Necessity.") After a full day siege, Washington surrendered and was soon released and returned to Williamsburg, promising not to build another fort on the Ohio River.

Though a little embarrassed at being captured, he was grateful to receive the thanks from the House of Burgesses and see his name mentioned in the London gazettes.

Washington was given the honorary rank of colonel and joined British General Edward Braddock's army in Virginia in 1755. The British had devised a plan for a three-prong assault on French forces attacking Fort Duquesne, Fort Niagara and Crown Point.

During the encounter, the French and their Indian allies ambushed Braddock, who was mortally wounded. Washington escaped injury with four bullet holes in his cloak and two horses shot out from under him. Though he fought bravely, he could do little to turn back the rout and led the defeated army back to safety.

Commander of Virginia Troops

In August 1755, Washington was made commander of all Virginia troops at age 23. He was sent to the frontier to patrol and protect nearly 400 miles of border with some 700 ill-disciplined colonial troops and a Virginia colonial legislature unwilling to support him.

It was a frustrating assignment. His health failed in the closing months of 1757 and he was sent home with dysentery.

In 1758, Washington returned to duty on another expedition to capture Fort Duquesne. A friendly-fire incident took place, killing 14 and wounding 26 of Washington's men. However, the British were able to score a major victory, capturing Fort Duquesne and control of the Ohio Valley.

Washington retired from his Virginia regiment in December 1758. His experience during the war was generally frustrating, with key decisions made slowly, poor support from the colonial legislature and poorly trained recruits.

Washington applied for a commission with the British army but was turned down. In 1758, he resigned his commission and returned to Mount Vernon disillusioned. The same year, he entered politics and was elected to Virginia's House of Burgesses.

Martha Washington

A month after leaving the army, Washington married Martha Dandridge Custis, a widow, who was only a few months older than he. Martha brought to the marriage a considerable fortune: an 18,000-acre estate, from which Washington personally acquired 6,000 acres.

With this and land he was granted for his military service, Washington became one of the more wealthy landowners in Virginia. The marriage also brought Martha's two young children, John (Jacky) and Martha (Patsy), ages six and four, respectively.

Washington lavished great affection on both of them, and was heartbroken when Patsy died just before the Revolution. Jacky died during the Revolution, and Washington adopted two of his children.

Enslaved People

During his retirement from the Virginia militia until the start of the Revolution, Washington devoted himself to the care and development of his land holdings, attending the rotation of crops, managing livestock and keeping up with the latest scientific advances.

By the 1790s, Washington kept over 300 enslaved people at Mount Vernon. He was said to dislike the institution of slavery , but accepted the fact that it was legal.

Washington, in his will, made his displeasure with slavery known, as he ordered that all his enslaved people be granted their freedom upon the death of his wife Martha. (This act of generosity, however, applied to fewer than half of Mount Vernon's enslaved people: Those enslaved people owned by the Custis family were given to Martha’s grandchildren after her death.)

Washington loved the landed gentry's life of horseback riding, fox hunts, fishing and cotillions. He worked six days a week, often taking off his coat and performing manual labor with his workers. He was an innovative and responsible landowner, breeding cattle and horses and tending to his fruit orchards.

Much has been made of the fact that Washington used false teeth or dentures for most of his adult life. Indeed, Washington's correspondence to friends and family makes frequent references to aching teeth, inflamed gums and various dental woes.

Washington had one tooth pulled when he was just 24 years old, and by the time of his inauguration in 1789 he had just one natural tooth left. But his false teeth weren't made of wood, as some legends suggest.

Instead, Washington's false teeth were fashioned from human teeth — including teeth from enslaved people and his own pulled teeth — ivory, animal teeth and assorted metals.

Washington's dental problems, according to some historians, probably impacted the shape of his face and may have contributed to his quiet, somber demeanor: During the Constitutional Convention, Washington addressed the gathered dignitaries only once.

American Revolution

Though the British Proclamation Act of 1763 — prohibiting settlement beyond the Alleghenies — irritated Washington and he opposed the Stamp Act of 1765, he did not take a leading role in the growing colonial resistance against the British until the widespread protest of the Townshend Acts in 1767.

His letters of this period indicate he was totally opposed to the colonies declaring independence. However, by 1767, he wasn't opposed to resisting what he believed were fundamental violations by the Crown of the rights of Englishmen.

In 1769, Washington introduced a resolution to the House of Burgesses calling for Virginia to boycott British goods until the Acts were repealed.

After the passage of the Coercive Acts in 1774, Washington chaired a meeting in which the Fairfax Resolves were adopted, calling for the convening of the Continental Congress and the use of armed resistance as a last resort. He was selected as a delegate to the First Continental Congress in March 1775.

Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army

After the battles of Lexington and Concord in April 1775, the political dispute between Great Britain and her North American colonies escalated into an armed conflict. In May, Washington traveled to the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia dressed in a military uniform, indicating that he was prepared for war.

On June 15th, he was appointed Major General and Commander-in-Chief of the colonial forces against Great Britain. As was his custom, he did not seek out the office of commander, but he faced no serious competition.

Washington was the best choice for a number of reasons: he had the prestige, military experience and charisma for the job and he had been advising Congress for months.

Another factor was political: The Revolution had started in New England and at the time, they were the only colonies that had directly felt the brunt of British tyranny. Virginia was the largest British colony and New England needed Southern colonial support.

Political considerations and force of personality aside, Washington was not necessarily qualified to wage war on the world's most powerful nation. Washington's training and experience were primarily in frontier warfare involving small numbers of soldiers. He wasn't trained in the open-field style of battle practiced by the commanding British generals.

He also had no practical experience maneuvering large formations of infantry, commanding cavalry or artillery, or maintaining the flow of supplies for thousands of men in the field. But he was courageous and determined and smart enough to keep one step ahead of the enemy.

Washington and his small army did taste victory early in March 1776 by placing artillery above Boston, on Dorchester Heights, forcing the British to withdraw. Washington then moved his troops into New York City. But in June, a new British commander, Sir William Howe , arrived in the Colonies with the largest expeditionary force Britain had ever deployed to date.

Crossing the Delaware

In August 1776, the British army launched an attack and quickly took New York City in the largest battle of the war. Washington's army was routed and suffered the surrender of 2,800 men.

He ordered the remains of his army to retreat into Pennsylvania across the Delaware River. Confident the war would be over in a few months, General Howe wintered his troops at Trenton and Princeton, leaving Washington free to attack at the time and place of his choosing.

On Christmas night, 1776, Washington and his men returned across the Delaware River and attacked unsuspecting Hessian mercenaries at Trenton, forcing their surrender. A few days later, evading a force that had been sent to destroy his army, Washington attacked the British again, this time at Princeton, dealing them a humiliating loss.

Victories and Losses

General Howe's strategy was to capture colonial cities and stop the rebellion at key economic and political centers. He never abandoned the belief that once the Americans were deprived of their major cities, the rebellion would wither.

In the summer of 1777, he mounted an offensive against Philadelphia. Washington moved in his army to defend the city but was defeated at the Battle of Brandywine . Philadelphia fell two weeks later.

In the late summer of 1777, the British army sent a major force, under the command of John Burgoyne, south from Quebec to Saratoga, New York, to split the rebellion between New England and the southern colonies. But the strategy backfired, as Burgoyne became trapped by the American armies led by Horatio Gates and Benedict Arnold at the Battle of Saratoga .

Without support from Howe, who couldn't reach him in time, Burgoyne was forced to surrender his entire 6,200 man army. The victory was a major turning point in the war as it encouraged France to openly ally itself with the American cause for independence.

Through all of this, Washington discovered an important lesson: The political nature of war was just as important as the military one. Washington began to understand that military victories were as important as keeping the resistance alive.

Americans began to believe that they could meet their objective of independence without defeating the British army. Meanwhile, British General Howe clung to the strategy of capturing colonial cities in hopes of smothering the rebellion.

Howe didn't realize that capturing cities like Philadelphia and New York would not unseat colonial power. The Congress would just pack up and meet elsewhere.

Valley Forge

The darkest time for Washington and the Continental Army was during the winter of 1777 at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. The 11,000-man force went into winter quarters and over the next six months suffered thousands of deaths, mostly from disease. But the army emerged from the winter still intact and in relatively good order.

Realizing their strategy of capturing colonial cities had failed, the British command replaced General Howe with Sir Henry Clinton. The British army evacuated Philadelphia to return to New York City. Washington and his men delivered several quick blows to the moving army, attacking the British flank near Monmouth Courthouse. Though a tactical standoff, the encounter proved Washington's army capable of open field battle.

For the remainder of the war, Washington was content to keep the British confined to New York, although he never totally abandoned the idea of retaking the city. The alliance with France had brought a large French army and a navy fleet.

Washington and his French counterparts decided to let Clinton be and attack British General Charles Cornwallis at Yorktown, Virginia. Facing the combined French and Colonial armies and the French fleet of 29 warships at his back, Cornwallis held out as long as he could, but on October 19, 1781, he surrendered his forces.

Revolutionary War Victory

Washington had no way of knowing the Yorktown victory would bring the war to a close.

The British still had 26,000 troops occupying New York City, Charleston and Savannah, plus a large fleet of warships in the Colonies. By 1782, the French army and navy had departed, the Continental treasury was depleted, and most of his soldiers hadn’t been paid for several years.

A near-mutiny was avoided when Washington convinced Congress to grant a five-year bonus for soldiers in March 1783. By November of that year, the British had evacuated New York City and other cities and the war was essentially over.

The Americans had won their independence. Washington formally bade his troops farewell and on December 23, 1783, he resigned his commission as commander-in-chief of the army and returned to Mount Vernon.

For four years, Washington attempted to fulfill his dream of resuming life as a gentleman farmer and to give his much-neglected Mount Vernon plantation the care and attention it deserved.

The war had been costly to the Washington family with lands neglected, no exports of goods, and the depreciation of paper money. But Washington was able to repair his fortunes with a generous land grant from Congress for his military service and become profitable once again.

Constitutional Convention

In 1787, Washington was again called to the duty of his country. Since independence, the young republic had been struggling under the Articles of Confederation , a structure of government that centered power with the states.

But the states were not unified. They fought among themselves over boundaries and navigation rights and refused to contribute to paying off the nation's war debt. In some instances, state legislatures imposed tyrannical tax policies on their own citizens.

Washington was intensely dismayed at the state of affairs, but only slowly came to the realization that something should be done about it. Perhaps he wasn't sure the time was right so soon after the Revolution to be making major adjustments to the democratic experiment. Or perhaps because he hoped he would not be called upon to serve, he remained noncommittal.

But when Shays' Rebellion erupted in Massachusetts, Washington knew something needed to be done to improve the nation’s government. In 1786, Congress approved a convention to be held in Philadelphia to amend the Articles of Confederation.

At the Constitutional Convention , Washington was unanimously chosen as president. Washington, James Madison and Alexander Hamilton had come to the conclusion that it wasn't amendments that were needed, but a new constitution that would give the national government more authority.

In the end, the Convention produced a plan for government that not only would address the country's current problems, but would endure through time. After the convention adjourned, Washington's reputation and support for the new government were indispensable to the ratification of the new U.S. Constitution .

The opposition was strident, if not organized, with many of America's leading political figures — including Patrick Henry and Sam Adams — condemning the proposed government as a grab for power. Even in Washington's native Virginia, the Constitution was ratified by only one vote.

DOWNLOAD BIOGRAPHY'S GEORGE WASHINGTON FACT CARD

George Washington: Presidency

Still hoping to retire to his beloved Mount Vernon, Washington was once again called upon to serve this country.

During the presidential election of 1789, he received a vote from every elector to the Electoral College, the only president in American history to be elected by unanimous approval. He took the oath of office at Federal Hall in New York City, the capital of the United States at the time.

As the first president, Washington was astutely aware that his presidency would set a precedent for all that would follow. He carefully attended to the responsibilities and duties of his office, remaining vigilant to not emulate any European royal court. To that end, he preferred the title "Mr. President," instead of more imposing names that were suggested.

At first he declined the $25,000 salary Congress offered the office of the presidency, for he was already wealthy and wanted to protect his image as a selfless public servant. However, Congress persuaded him to accept the compensation to avoid giving the impression that only wealthy men could serve as president.

Washington proved to be an able administrator. He surrounded himself with some of the most capable people in the country, appointing Hamilton as Secretary of the Treasury and Thomas Jefferson as Secretary of State. He delegated authority wisely and consulted regularly with his cabinet listening to their advice before making a decision.

Washington established broad-ranging presidential authority, but always with the highest integrity, exercising power with restraint and honesty. In doing so, he set a standard rarely met by his successors, but one that established an ideal by which all are judged.

READ MORE: How George Washington’s Personal and Physical Characteristics Helped Him Win the Presidency

Accomplishments

During his first term, Washington adopted a series of measures proposed by Treasury Secretary Hamilton to reduce the nation's debt and place its finances on sound footing.

His administration also established several peace treaties with Native American tribes and approved a bill establishing the nation's capital in a permanent district along the Potomac River.

Whiskey Rebellion

Then, in 1791, Washington signed a bill authorizing Congress to place a tax on distilled spirits, which stirred protests in rural areas of Pennsylvania.

Quickly, the protests turned into a full-scale defiance of federal law known as the Whiskey Rebellion . Washington invoked the Militia Act of 1792, summoning local militias from several states to put down the rebellion.

Washington personally took command, marching the troops into the areas of rebellion and demonstrating that the federal government would use force, when necessary, to enforce the law. This was also the only time a sitting U.S. president has led troops into battle.

In foreign affairs, Washington took a cautious approach, realizing that the weak young nation could not succumb to Europe's political intrigues. In 1793, France and Great Britain were once again at war.

At the urging of Hamilton, Washington disregarded the U.S. alliance with France and pursued a course of neutrality. In 1794, he sent John Jay to Britain to negotiate a treaty (known as the "Jay Treaty") to secure a peace with Britain and clear up some issues held over from the Revolutionary War.

The action infuriated Jefferson, who supported the French and felt that the U.S. needed to honor its treaty obligations. Washington was able to mobilize public support for the treaty, which proved decisive in securing ratification in the Senate.

Though controversial, the treaty proved beneficial to the United States by removing British forts along the western frontier, establishing a clear boundary between Canada and the United States, and most importantly, delaying a war with Britain and providing over a decade of prosperous trade and development the fledgling country so desperately needed.

Political Parties

All through his two terms as president, Washington was dismayed at the growing partisanship within the government and the nation. The power bestowed on the federal government by the Constitution made for important decisions, and people joined together to influence those decisions. The formation of political parties at first were influenced more by personality than by issues.

As Treasury secretary, Hamilton pushed for a strong national government and an economy built in industry. Secretary of State Jefferson desired to keep government small and center power more at the local level, where citizens' freedom could be better protected. He envisioned an economy based on farming.

Those who followed Hamilton's vision took the name Federalists and people who opposed those ideas and tended to lean toward Jefferson’s view began calling themselves Democratic-Republicans. Washington despised political partisanship, believing that ideological differences should never become institutionalized. He strongly felt that political leaders should be free to debate important issues without being bound by party loyalty.

However, Washington could do little to slow the development of political parties. The ideals promoted by Hamilton and Jefferson produced a two-party system that proved remarkably durable. These opposing viewpoints represented a continuation of the debate over the proper role of government, a debate that began with the conception of the Constitution and continues today.

Washington's administration was not without its critics who questioned what they saw as extravagant conventions in the office of the president. During his two terms, Washington rented the best houses available and was driven in a coach drawn by four horses, with outriders and lackeys in rich uniforms.

After being overwhelmed by callers, he announced that except for the scheduled weekly reception open to all, he would only see people by appointment. Washington entertained lavishly, but in private dinners and receptions at invitation only. He was, by some, accused of conducting himself like a king.

However, ever mindful his presidency would set the precedent for those to follow, he was careful to avoid the trappings of a monarchy. At public ceremonies, he did not appear in a military uniform or the monarchical robes. Instead, he dressed in a black velvet suit with gold buckles and powdered hair, as was the common custom. His reserved manner was more due to inherent reticence than any excessive sense of dignity.

Desiring to return to Mount Vernon and his farming, and feeling the decline of his physical powers with age, Washington refused to yield to the pressures to serve a third term, even though he would probably not have faced any opposition.

By doing this, he was again mindful of the precedent of being the "first president," and chose to establish a peaceful transition of government.

Farewell Address

In the last months of his presidency, Washington felt he needed to give his country one last measure of himself. With the help of Hamilton, he composed his Farewell Address to the American people, which urged his fellow citizens to cherish the Union and avoid partisanship and permanent foreign alliances.

In March 1797, he turned over the government to John Adams and returned to Mount Vernon, determined to live his last years as a simple gentleman farmer. His last official act was to pardon the participants in the Whiskey Rebellion.

Upon returning to Mount Vernon in the spring of 1797, Washington felt a reflective sense of relief and accomplishment. He had left the government in capable hands, at peace, its debts well-managed, and set on a course of prosperity.

He devoted much of his time to tending the farm's operations and management. Although he was perceived to be wealthy, his land holdings were only marginally profitable.

On a cold December day in 1799, Washington spent much of it inspecting the farm on horseback in a driving snowstorm. When he returned home, he hastily ate his supper in his wet clothes and then went to bed.

The next morning, on December 13, he awoke with a severe sore throat and became increasingly hoarse. He retired early, but awoke around 3 a.m. and told Martha that he felt very sick. The illness progressed until he died late in the evening of December 14, 1799.

The news of Washington's death at age 67 spread throughout the country, plunging the nation into a deep mourning. Many towns and cities held mock funerals and presented hundreds of eulogies to honor their fallen hero. When the news of this death reached Europe, the British fleet paid tribute to his memory, and Napoleon ordered ten days of mourning.

Washington could have been a king. Instead, he chose to be a citizen. He set many precedents for the national government and the presidency: The two-term limit in office, only broken once by Franklin D. Roosevelt , was later ensconced in the Constitution's 22nd Amendment.

He crystallized the power of the presidency as a part of the government’s three branches of government , able to exercise authority when necessary, but also accept the checks and balances of power inherent in the system.

He was not only considered a military and revolutionary hero, but a man of great personal integrity, with a deep sense of duty, honor and patriotism. For over 200 years, Washington has been acclaimed as indispensable to the success of the Revolution and the birth of the nation.

But his most important legacy may be that he insisted he was dispensable, asserting that the cause of liberty was larger than any single individual.

Watch "George Washington: Founding Father" on HISTORY Vault

QUICK FACTS

• Name: George Washington
• Birth Year: 1732
• Birth date: February 22, 1732
• Birth State: Virginia
• Birth City: Westmoreland County
• Birth Country: United States
• Gender: Male
• Best Known For: George Washington, a Founding Father of the United States, led the Continental Army to victory in the Revolutionary War and was America’s first president.
• U.S. Politics
• Astrological Sign: Pisces
• Death Year: 1799
• Death date: December 14, 1799
• Death State: Virginia
• Death City: Mount Vernon
• Death Country: United States

We strive for accuracy and fairness.If you see something that doesn't look right, contact us !

CITATION INFORMATION

• Article Title: George Washington Biography
• Author: Biography.com Editors
• Website Name: The Biography.com website
• Url: https://www.biography.com/political-figures/george-washington
• Access Date:
• Publisher: A&E; Television Networks
• Last Updated: September 11, 2020
• Original Published Date: April 3, 2014
• Observe good faith and justice towards all nations; cultivate peace and harmony with all.
• When we assumed the soldier, we did not lay aside the citizen.
• Be courteous to all, but intimate with few.
• [T]he preservation of the sacred fire of liberty, and the destiny of the republican model of government, are justly considered as deeply, perhaps as finally staked, on the experiment entrusted to the hands of the American people.
• We should never despair, our situation before has been unpromising and has changed for the better, so I trust, it will again. If new difficulties arise, we must only put forth new exertions and proportion our efforts to the exigency of the times.
• There can be no greater error than to expect or calculate upon real favors from nation to nation.
• [M]y movements to the chair of government will be accompanied by feelings not unlike those of a culprit who is going to the place of his execution.
• True friendship is a plant of slow growth, and must undergo and withstand the shocks of adversity before it is entitled to the appellation.
• Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports.
• I heard the bullets whistle, and, believe me, there is something charming in the sound.
• Discipline is the soul of an army. It makes small numbers formidable; procures success to the weak, and esteem to all.
• The basis of our political Systems is the right of the people to make and to alter their Constitutions of Government. But the Constitution which at any time exists, 'till changed by an explicit and authentic act of the whole People, is sacredly obligatory upon all.
• I hold the maxim no less applicable to public than to private affairs, that honesty is the best policy.
• The bosom of America is open to receive not only the opulent and respectable stranger, but the oppressed and persecuted of all nations and religions.

U.S. Presidents

Oppenheimer and Truman Met Once. It Went Badly.

Who Killed JFK? You Won’t Believe Us Anyway

John F. Kennedy

Jimmy Carter

Inside Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter’s 77-Year Love

Abraham Lincoln

Who Is Walt Nauta, the Man Indicted with Trump?

Hunter Biden and Other Presidential Problem Kids

Controversial Judge Aileen Cannon Not Out Just Yet

Barack Obama

10 Celebrities the Same Age as President Joe Biden

• History Classics
• Your Profile
• Find History on Facebook (Opens in a new window)
• Find History on Twitter (Opens in a new window)
• Find History on YouTube (Opens in a new window)
• Find History on Instagram (Opens in a new window)
• Find History on TikTok (Opens in a new window)
• This Day In History
• History Podcasts
• History Vault

George Washington

By: History.com Editors

Updated: February 7, 2024 | Original: October 29, 2009

George Washington (1732-99) was commander in chief of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War (1775-83) and served two terms as the first U.S. president, from 1789 to 1797. The son of a prosperous planter, Washington was raised in colonial Virginia. As a young man, he worked as a surveyor then fought in the French and Indian War (1754-63). 

During the American Revolution, he led the colonial forces to victory over the British and became a national hero. In 1787, he was elected president of the convention that wrote the U.S. Constitution. Two years later, Washington became America’s first president. Realizing that the way he handled the job would impact how future presidents approached the position, he handed down a legacy of strength, integrity and national purpose. Less than three years after leaving office, he died at his Virginia plantation, Mount Vernon, at age 67.

George Washington's Early Years

George Washington was born on February 22, 1732 , at his family’s plantation on Pope’s Creek in Westmoreland County, in the British colony of Virginia , to Augustine Washington (1694-1743) and his second wife, Mary Ball Washington (1708-89). George, the eldest of Augustine and Mary Washington’s six children, spent much of his childhood at Ferry Farm, a plantation near Fredericksburg, Virginia. After Washington’s father died when he was 11, it’s likely he helped his mother manage the plantation.

Did you know? At the time of his death in 1799, George Washington owned some 300 enslaved people. However, before his passing, he had become opposed to slavery, and in his will, he ordered that his enslaved workers be freed after his wife's death.

Few details about Washington’s early education are known, although children of prosperous families like his typically were taught at home by private tutors or attended private schools. It’s believed he finished his formal schooling at around age 15.

As a teenager, Washington, who had shown an aptitude for mathematics, became a successful surveyor. His surveying expeditions into the Virginia wilderness earned him enough money to begin acquiring land of his own.

In 1751, Washington made his only trip outside of America, when he traveled to Barbados with his older half-brother Lawrence Washington (1718-52), who was suffering from tuberculosis and hoped the warm climate would help him recuperate. Shortly after their arrival, George contracted smallpox. He survived, although the illness left him with permanent facial scars. In 1752, Lawrence, who had been educated in England and served as Washington’s mentor, died. Washington eventually inherited Lawrence’s estate, Mount Vernon , on the Potomac River near Alexandria, Virginia.

An Officer and Gentleman Farmer

In December 1752, Washington, who had no previous military experience, was made a commander of the Virginia militia. He saw action in the French and Indian War and was eventually put in charge of all of Virginia’s militia forces. By 1759, Washington had resigned his commission, returned to Mount Vernon and was elected to the Virginia House of Burgesses, where he served until 1774. In January 1759, he married Martha Dandridge Custis (1731-1802), a wealthy widow with two children. Washington became a devoted stepfather to her children; he and Martha Washington never had any offspring of their own.

In the ensuing years, Washington expanded Mount Vernon from 2,000 acres into an 8,000-acre property with five farms. He grew a variety of crops, including wheat and corn, bred mules and maintained fruit orchards and a successful fishery. He was deeply interested in farming and continually experimented with new crops and methods of land conservation.

George Washington During the American Revolution

Washington proved to be a better general than military strategist. His strength lay not in his genius on the battlefield but in his ability to keep the struggling colonial army together. His troops were poorly trained and lacked food, ammunition and other supplies (soldiers sometimes even went without shoes in winter). However, Washington was able to give them direction and motivation. His leadership during the winter of 1777-1778 at Valley Forge was a testament to his power to inspire his men to keep going.

By the late 1760s, Washington had experienced firsthand the effects of rising taxes imposed on American colonists by the British and came to believe that it was in the best interests of the colonists to declare independence from England. Washington served as a delegate to the First Continental Congress in 1774 in Philadelphia. By the time the Second Continental Congress convened a year later, the American Revolution had begun in earnest, and Washington was named commander in chief of the Continental Army.

Over the course of the grueling eight-year war, the colonial forces won few battles but consistently held their own against the British. In October 1781, with the aid of the French (who allied themselves with the colonists over their rivals the British), the Continental forces were able to capture British troops under General Charles Cornwallis (1738-1805) in the Battle of Yorktown . This action effectively ended the Revolutionary War and Washington was declared a national hero.

America’s First President

In 1783, with the signing of the Treaty of Paris between Great Britain and the U.S., Washington, believing he had done his duty, gave up his command of the army and returned to Mount Vernon, intent on resuming his life as a gentleman farmer and family man. However, in 1787, he was asked to attend the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia and head the committee to draft the new constitution . His impressive leadership there convinced the delegates that he was by far the most qualified man to become the nation’s first president.

At first, Washington balked. He wanted to, at last, return to a quiet life at home and leave governing the new nation to others. But public opinion was so strong that eventually he gave in. The first presidential election was held on January 7, 1789, and Washington won handily. John Adams (1735-1826), who received the second-largest number of votes, became the nation’s first vice president. The 57-year-old Washington was inaugurated on April 30, 1789, in New York City. Because Washington, D.C. , America’s future capital city wasn’t yet built, he lived in New York and Philadelphia. While in office, he signed a bill establishing a future, permanent U.S. capital along the Potomac River—the city later named Washington, D.C., in his honor.

George Washington’s Accomplishments

The United States was a small nation when Washington took office, consisting of 11 states and approximately 4 million people, and there was no precedent for how the new president should conduct domestic or foreign business. Mindful that his actions would likely determine how future presidents were expected to govern, Washington worked hard to set an example of fairness, prudence and integrity. In foreign matters, he supported cordial relations with other countries but also favored a position of neutrality in foreign conflicts. Domestically, he nominated the first chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court , John Jay (1745-1829), signed a bill establishing the first national bank, the Bank of the United States , and set up his own presidential cabinet . 

His two most prominent cabinet appointees were Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) and Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton (1755-1804), two men who disagreed strongly on the role of the federal government. Hamilton favored a strong central government and was part of the Federalist Party , while Jefferson favored stronger states’ rights as part of the Democratic-Republican Party, the forerunner to the Democratic Party . Washington believed that divergent views were critical for the health of the new government, but he was distressed at what he saw as an emerging partisanship.

George Washington’s presidency was marked by a series of firsts. He signed the first United States copyright law, protecting the copyrights of authors. He also signed the first Thanksgiving proclamation, making November 26 a national day of Thanksgiving for the end of the war for American independence and the successful ratification of the Constitution.

During Washington’s presidency, Congress passed the first federal revenue law, a tax on distilled spirits. In July 1794, farmers in Western Pennsylvania rebelled over the so-called “whiskey tax.” Washington called in over 12,000 militiamen to Pennsylvania to dissolve the Whiskey Rebellion in one of the first major tests of the authority of the national government.

Under Washington’s leadership, the states ratified the Bill of Rights , and five new states entered the union: North Carolina (1789), Rhode Island (1790), Vermont (1791), Kentucky (1792) and Tennessee (1796).

In his second term, Washington issued the proclamation of neutrality to avoid entering the 1793 war between Great Britain and France. But when French minister to the United States Edmond Charles Genet—known to history as “Citizen Genet”—toured the United States, he boldly flaunted the proclamation, attempting to set up American ports as French military bases and gain support for his cause in the Western United States. His meddling caused a stir between Federalists and Democratic-Republicans, widening the rift between parties and making consensus-building more difficult.

In 1795, Washington signed the “Treaty of Amity Commerce and Navigation, between His Britannic Majesty; and The United States of America,” or Jay’s Treaty , so-named for John Jay , who had negotiated it with the government of King George III . It helped the U.S. avoid war with Great Britain, but also rankled certain members of Congress back home and was fiercely opposed by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison . Internationally, it caused a stir among the French, who believed it violated previous treaties between the United States and France.

Washington’s administration signed two other influential international treaties. Pinckney’s Treaty of 1795, also known as the Treaty of San Lorenzo, established friendly relations between the United States and Spain, firming up borders between the U.S. and Spanish territories in North America and opening up the Mississippi to American traders. The Treaty of Tripoli, signed the following year, gave American ships access to Mediterranean shipping lanes in exchange for a yearly tribute to the Pasha of Tripoli.

George Washington’s Retirement to Mount Vernon and Death

In 1796, after two terms as president and declining to serve a third term, Washington finally retired. In Washington’s farewell address , he urged the new nation to maintain the highest standards domestically and to keep involvement with foreign powers to a minimum. The address is still read each February in the U.S. Senate to commemorate Washington’s birthday.

Washington returned to Mount Vernon and devoted his attentions to making the plantation as productive as it had been before he became president. More than four decades of public service had aged him, but he was still a commanding figure. In December 1799, he caught a cold after inspecting his properties in the rain. The cold developed into a throat infection and Washington died on the night of December 14, 1799, at the age of 67. He was entombed at Mount Vernon, which in 1960 was designated a national historic landmark.

Washington left one of the most enduring legacies of any American in history. Known as the “Father of His Country,” his face appears on the U.S. dollar bill and quarter, and dozens of U.S. schools, towns and counties, as well as the state of Washington and the nation’s capital city, are named for him.

HISTORY Vault: Washington

Watch HISTORY's mini-series, 'Washington,' which brings to life the man whose name is known to all, but whose epic story is understood by few.

Sign up for Inside History

Get HISTORY’s most fascinating stories delivered to your inbox three times a week.

By submitting your information, you agree to receive emails from HISTORY and A+E Networks. You can opt out at any time. You must be 16 years or older and a resident of the United States.

More details : Privacy Notice | Terms of Use | Contact Us

You are using an outdated browser. Please upgrade your browser to improve your experience.

Collection Menu

Vinegar Flask (George Washington)

Decorative arts and design, on view: luce visible storage and study center, 5th floor.

RELATED OBJECTS

George Washington Made History by Deciding to Leave the Presidency. But That Didn’t Mean He Left Politics

T he time of year around Washington’s Birthday — the federal holiday better known as Presidents’ Day — is a popular time for new biographies take a fresh look at America’s first presidency. But Jonathan Horn’s Washington’s End: The Final Years and Forgotten Struggle zooms in on what came after: the less talked-about last two years of Washington’s life, from the time he left office on March 4, 1797, to his death on Dec. 14, 1799.

Horn spoke to TIME about how, far from removing himself from politics after his two terms were up, Washington was in the thick of it — and torn about his legacy, especially on slavery.

TIME: What was the most surprising thing you found in your research?

HORN: We have this idea that George Washington finished his presidency in March 1797, rode away from Philadelphia [the nation’s capital back then] and went back to [his plantation] Mount Vernon. This is where the myth begins. We think we lived out his days peacefully as a farmer , but that’s not at all what happened. That’s what he wanted to happen. A little bit more than a year later he would find himself drawn back to the public stage.

Why did the myth about his peaceful retirement come about?

I think a couple of reasons. Washington did so much earlier in life — the American Revolution, the Constitutional Convention, two terms as President — that biographers are running out of pages and space, so essentially these last few years get left out. It’s also a complicated understanding of Washington. We want to believe he left power as the American Cincinnatus , that he gave it up and died, completely at peace. It’s really difficult to leave power. Power is a fragile thing. When Washington did it, there really were no precedents for how it would go.

I was struck by how so much of Washington’s post-presidency deviates from the way we think former Presidents should act today. We have this idea that former Presidents should become less partisan when they leave office. And without doubt he became more partisan when he left office. We also have this idea that former presidents shouldn’t meddle in the affairs of successors, but George Washington majorly meddled in the affairs of his successor and part of that was because he was asked to retake the role of Commander in Chief of the Army during a crisis.

What was the crisis?

The French were essentially the mightiest military power in the world. The French had been unhappy with the Jay Treaty that George Washington had signed and ratified with the British, and their ships and privateers were preying upon American ships. When America sent envoys to France they were refused. In the XYZ affair , basically the French asked for a bribe in return for receiving America’s ministers before they began negotiating. At that point, the U.S. began preparing for war. It wouldn’t be a formal war, we’d call it a “quasi war.” George Washington was asked to be Commander in Chief of the Army with the idea there could be an invasion by the French.

We tend to talk about the Founding Fathers warning about political parties, but it sounds as if they were deeply partisan.

Absolutely. I think they all stumbled into political parties. They didn’t want them to happen and Washington didn’t want them to happen most of all. He held out for a very long time, but in the last year of his life he’s actually calling himself a Federalist. He’s playing a much more active role in recruiting candidates for congressional elections. He would never have done that as President.

Get your history fix in one place: sign up for the weekly TIME History newsletter

Are there parallels to modern politics in the last years of Washington’s life?

Washington and his fellow Federalists strongly believed that the Republican Party [which is what the Democratic-Republican Party was called at the time, and unrelated to the modern Republican Party] was encouraging France in some sense. The French actually interfered in the election of 1796 on behalf of the Republican party, on behalf of Jefferson, in the hopes of getting him elected president. So those warnings against letting a foreign power interfere in domestic politics in Washington’s farewell address were based on real events that were happening. In some sense the first contested election in U.S. history was an election where there was foreign interference, so there are real parallels to Russia today.

There was also, during that period, a real explosion of partisan newspapers, and there was a feeling that new forms of media were going to tear the country apart. Political parties really started to emerge. There was a feeling that the country couldn’t stay united, similar to the way Americans feel today with divided media and divided political parties.

Was there anything Washington messed up, failed at or miscalculated in his last years?

He supports the Alien and Sedition acts, which sent journalists to prison. I think that’s left out of a lot of accounts of his life. He considered a lot of those journalists to be dangerous figures, and he was bitter about the way their colleagues attacked him personally.

In the last years, working on his will, he is still grappling with the issue of slavery, and the contradictions of slavery. At Mount Vernon, he can’t find a way to set free the slaves who came to Mount Vernon because of his marriage to Martha Custis, the so-called “ dower slaves .” Many of his own slaves have married the dower slaves, and those marriages will be broken up. But even as he’s grappling with those issues and realizes those issues are painful, he’s looking for new ways to keep his slaves busy at Mount Vernon. He’s trying to pursue runaway slaves . You have many contradictions. He’s going to try to correct his stance on slavery with his will, but at the same time he’s still pursuing runaway slaves.

What would Washington think of Presidents’ Day?

Washington’s birthday was celebrated during his presidency and during the end of his life, and it was a bigger deal then than it is now. There would be cannon fire in the morning. During his presidency, people would line up outside his house and pay their respects to him, and at night there would be balls.

Washington would be surprised we call it Presidents Day and that he’d share his birthday with men he wasn’t getting along with. When he dies, he’s no longer on speaking terms with Thomas Jefferson, James Madison or James Monroe. So there’s some irony that Washington’s birthday is celebrated as Presidents Day.

More Must-Reads From TIME

• Dua Lipa Manifested All of This
• Exclusive: Google Workers Revolt Over $1.2 Billion Contract With Israel
• Stop Looking for Your Forever Home
• The Sympathizer Counters 50 Years of Hollywood Vietnam War Narratives
• The Bliss of Seeing the Eclipse From Cleveland
• Hormonal Birth Control Doesn’t Deserve Its Bad Reputation
• The Best TV Shows to Watch on Peacock
• Want Weekly Recs on What to Watch, Read, and More? Sign Up for Worth Your Time

Write to Olivia B. Waxman at [email protected]

Premium Content

• HISTORY MAGAZINE

President George Washington: Calm, Cool, and Collected Commander in Chief

Patient, modest, and deliberate: George Washington gave the United States the steady hand necessary to guide it through a revolutionary birth and its tumultuous early years.

"First in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen.” That famous description of George Washington by his friend and fellow patriot Henry “Light Horse Harry” Lee is probably still the best summation of the man who, over a hard but resolute lifetime, became the savior of a war and the father of a country. Washington’s earliest ambitions, though, aimed more at the prosaic than the glorious. He probably imagined nothing better than following in the footsteps of his father, Augustine, who had been an ambitious Virginia planter and merchant. Augustine was hardly a major player in the hierarchical world of the aristocracy, but he was nonetheless a bona fide member of the gentry. George was the eldest son of Augustine’s second wife, Mary, who was not, and at no point aspired to be gentry.

Washington's War for Independence

When George was just 11, Augustine died, leaving his younger children in the hands of Mary, a domineering, pious, possibly pipe-smoking woman who ran her farm with a firm hand and read daily to her children from Contemplations Moral and Divine . Though George’s two older stepbrothers, then grown, had been sent to the fine schools required of the Virginia gentry, George had no resources for that, and Mary, in any case, had no interest in investing in her eldest son’s education. Indeed the two clashed their entire lives, and some biographers speculate that George modeled himself after everything that his mother was not.

Devoted to the Nation

Feb. 22, 1732 George Washington is born in a modest house at Popes Creek, Westmoreland County, Virginia. His father, Augustine, is a plantation owner who dies when George is 11.

June 15, 1775 Having served with distinction in the French and Indian War, Washington is appointed as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army that was created the day before.

Dec. 23, 1783 Washington resigns his commission as commander-in-chief, having transformed the Continental Army into an effective fighting force and led the troops to victory over the British.

Apr. 30, 1789 Despite not actively seeking the candidacy, Washington is unanimously elected as the first president of the United States under the Constitution. He serves two terms but refuses a third.

Dec. 14, 1799 Washington dies suddenly after contracting an acute infection while touring his estates in the winter. The nation goes into mourning. Foreign governments, including Britain, pay homage.

Apparently determined to better himself from a young age, George found mentors among the gentry and emulated their ways. He also copied by hand the Rules of Civility & Decent Behavior in Company and Conversation . These 110 rules had been conceived by French Jesuits as a teaching tool almost a century and a half before, dealing with everything from table manners to posture to facial expressions to gossip. Despite their stuffy formality, George seems to have internalized them because they echoed through his behavior for the rest of his life. As a young man, George impressed the colonial power-brokers of British Virginia, who made him a surveyor of western lands and an officer with the British during the French and Indian War. He first saw battle in his very early twenties, and he learned that he liked it. As far away as Britain, the young colonel’s calm and courage under fire was appreciated, with a London gazette running a line from one of his letters: “I have heard the bullets whistle; and believe me, there is something charming in the sound.”

Mount Vernon

But Washington had also experienced other aspects of war—the meddling of politicians and the disdain of the British for the American officers. By 1758 he was tired of it all. Resigning his commission, he enthusiastically took up the life of a Virginia planter.

Washington had been renting a family farm in Northern Virginia from the widow of his older half-brother Lawrence, who died in 1752. Following the death of his sister-in-law, Washington officially inherited Mount Vernon in 1761. Situated on the broad Potomac, Mount Vernon was one of the great loves of Washington’s life.

As he began ambitious improvements to the plantation, he became involved with a wealthy young widow, Martha Dandridge Custis. The two were soon married. Washington had been infatuated before, but Martha proved a perfect life partner and comfort to the reserved, driven, and often overburdened Washington.

Along with the wealth and social standing that Martha brought to the marriage, she also came with two young children, who Washington cherished as his own. He settled easily into the life of a respected planter and enjoyed days spent with his family, improving the farm, fishing, hunting (particularly fox hunting), riding, feasting, dancing, and generally reveling in the style of the Virginia aristocracy. He no doubt assumed he would end his days at Mount Vernon as a British citizen.

The Coming Revolution

That, of course, was not to be. Like his fellow Virginians in the House of Burgesses, Washington became increasingly disillusioned with George III and his colonial minions. At this time British America was composed of 13 disparate colonies ruled by 13 legislatures, each committed to its own culture, economy, and often religion.“Fire and water are not more heterogeneous than the different colonies of North America,” one British traveler had pronounced. Together, they were home to a million and a half people, the population doubling roughly every 20 years. They were Britons at heart, but of many varieties: long-established colonial families, recent immigrants, and indentured servants. Enslaved African-Americans lived throughout the colonies with large concentrations in the Chesapeake region and the South, where an aristocracy evolved because of their labor. Washington frankly aspired to become part of the elite and had speculated on wild land to the west. He saw his investment fade with the royal Proclamation of 1763, which banned westward migration in an attempt to fend off more Indian wars and control the cost of America to the Crown.

British War Debt

Washington fought in the French and Indian war which was part of the larger Seven Years’ War that raged across Europe from 1756-1763. Britain emerged from it with an empire greater than any the West had known since Rome. Its holdings in the New World, shown above, had more than doubled, but managing them proved an expensive business. To try and cover the costs, the British began to levy a series of taxes on the colonists that only added to the distress caused by a post-war bust in the economy. As the decade progressed, the loyal Britons of America, Washington among them, began to question their commitment to the motherland.

Yet through the 1760s, as he supported protests against British taxes, Washington also dined with the royal governor and assumed, as did most of his landed countrymen, that the British would be reasonable. By 1774 he had changed his mind.“The measures which [the British] administration hath for sometime been, and now are, most violently pursuing are repugnant to every principle of natural justice,” he wrote to a friend. In the course of a decade, Washington had become a full-throated patriot and one of Virginia’s seven elected delegates to the First Continental Congress. In August 1774, he left Mount Vernon for Philadelphia with fellow delegates Patrick Henry and Edmund Pendleton. Martha saw them off. “I hope you will stand firm,” she told Henry and Pendleton, adding, “I know George will.”

The six-foot-two-inch Washington had a way of affecting other men simply by his bearing, and the other delegates to Congress were duly impressed, seeing in him the reassuring promise of a true military commander. And that was clearly what Washington wanted them to see. He was not a fiery or inspired speaker nor was he an intellect, but he was confident that he could command men.

He got his chance a year later, when the Second Continental Congress appointed him commander-in-chief of the Continental Army. John Adams championed him for the position, and Abigail Adams described him in this way: “Dignity with ease and complacency—the gentleman and soldier look agreeably blended in him. Modesty marks every line and feature of his face.”

Pen Inspires the Sword

Thomas Paine was an admirer of Washington and spent the desperate autumn of 1776 as an aide-de-camp in the field. Though brave, Paine was no soldier. But his brief time with the army and Washington no doubt inspired him as he wrote the opening to his American Crisis—“These are the times that try men’s souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country.” In late December 1776, with the revolution on the verge of collapse, enlistments about to expire, and “summer soldiers” waiting to depart, Washington ordered Paine’s essay read to his men. Two days later, their surprise attack on Trenton, New Jersey, revived the American taste for war and the commitment to fight on.

Certainly, Washington exuded modesty when he addressed Congress with what sounded like a protestation at his appointment, “I beg it may be remembered by every gentleman in the room, that I this day declare with the utmost sincerity, I do not think myself equal to the command I am honored with.” He may have been overwhelmed by the appointment, but he had also wanted it. And now, for better or worse, he had it.

Washington at War

In early July he arrived in Cambridge to meet his “army,” finding an obstreperous, disorganized gaggle of New England militiamen, most hardscrabble farmers and small-time merchants, holding the British army at bay in Boston. Washington was determined to impose the discipline of a true army on these “exceedingly dirty and nasty people.” He also sought to protect them from themselves, putting in place hygiene practices to ward against the diseases that plagued military camps. Despite his initial private disdain, he moved tirelessly and confidently among them, understanding, even if they did not, how precarious the American military was.

If that summer tested Washington, it was only a small taste of what was to come. By 1776 he and his men were in a struggle for survival, yielding battle after battle to the British in New York. By year’s end, Washington had lost more than half of what had been, at best, an army cobbled together. Congress had essentially turned its back on him, and his closest confidantes and officers had intrigued against him, complaining of his inability to lead.

In fact, he had been indecisive and overly deferential, and now his army was in danger of collapse, as enlistment periods ended and desertion grew. “No man, I believe, ever had a greater choice of difficulties and less means to extricate himself from them,” he wrote to his brother Jack in late autumn. Yet, in spite of his own despondency, Washington rallied, understanding that if he did not turn the tide somehow, the Revolution would be a short-lived disaster. And so on a bitter cold Christmas night, Washington famously led his broken, barefoot army from their winter camp at Valley Forge, crossing the Delaware River to attack Trenton, New Jersey. The American victory there was small but profound, reinvigorating Washington, his forces, and the patriotic cause—at least for a few months.

For the next four years, Washington battled on, carping at Congress to feed and supply his men, fending off attacks on his own leadership, and all the while keeping an eye firmly on the enemy. Gradually, he learned to fight the British more strategically, using local militia to harass them and avoiding “a general action” that would “put anything at Risque [sic].”

His men came to revere him for his courage, calm, determination, and, above all, for being at their side battle after battle, march after march, year after grueling year. The Philadelphia patriot Benjamin Rush once declared that Washington had “so much martial dignity in his deportment that you would distinguish him to be a general and a soldier from among 10,000 people. There is not a king in Europe that would not look like a valet de chambre by his side.”

You May Also Like

The incredible details 'Masters of the Air' gets right about WWII

What was Leonard Bernstein and JFK's friendship really like?

Two tragedies: Why Jackie Kennedy was already mourning before JFK's fatal visit to Dallas

Peace at last.

By 1781 Washington’s resolve had triumphed over the British, and two years later America could officially claim her hard-won independence. By then Washington was more icon than man to most of the world. One Dutch merchant who caught sight of him as he rode through Philadelphia with a contingent of light cavalry, wrote to his wife, “I saw the greatest man who has ever appeared on the surface of this earth... I don’t know if, in our delight at seeing the hero, we were more surprised by his simple but grand air or by the kindness of the greatest and best of heroes.”

But the war had taken its toll. At 51 Washington was no longer the vigorous athletic man he had been. He wore crude, ill-fitting dentures of human teeth and ivory that hooked onto his one remaining tooth and made his gums ache. His great consolation was that he could at last settle down at Mount Vernon with his family and live out his days with his “mind... unbent,” gliding “down the stream of life till I come to that abyss from whence no traveler is permitted to return.”

And for just a few years Washington was indeed allowed the life of an unbent mind, reveling in his daily routine as a planter, coming up with strategies to improve the operations and production of Mount Vernon and his other nearby farms, neglected over the nine years of his absence. He and Martha also entertained an endless stream of visitors, many of them strangers who came to pay homage to America’s hero.

Washington and the Constitution

Having led the colonies to independence, Washington found himself again on the battlefront as the new nation began to form itself. It became obvious in the post-war years that the Articles of Confederation were no more than a toothless agreement between the states as conflicts erupted over trade, territory, waterways, and mutual protection. Washington tried to resolve one such dispute himself—over navigation rights to the Potomac. His talks, held at Mount Vernon in 1785, were a success and encouraged further cooperation among states. Four years later, Washington became the steadfast anchor around which endless arguments swirled about the nature and need for a new constitution (above). Though a Federalist with an eye to industry and infrastructure for a united country, Washington sat sphinxlike during the Philadelphia talks. These resulted in a constitution and a new role for Washington—not king, but president of the still fractious and embryonic United States.

Return to the Limelight

But Washington’s destiny was entwined with the new nation’s too completely to allow him escape. He watched its growing pains with the cautious eye of a concerned parent and, at the same time, he unobtrusively tended his own image, guarding it for posterity and holding himself in abeyance, in case he should be needed again. By 1787 he was back on the public stage and again on his way to Philadelphia, as he had been 40 years before, this time as a delegate to the Constitutional Convention. He was quickly elected its president and within two years president of the new nation. He expected “that at a convenient and an early period my services might be dispensed with and that I might be permitted once more to retire.” But the “early period” dragged into eight years, as the former patriots argued and debated among themselves over America’s character and future.

Finally, in 1796, Washington refused to continue into a third term. This granted him barely three years of his own happiness at Mount Vernon. In mid-December 1799, after spending a cold, wet day touring his farms on horseback, he began to suffer a sore throat but he kept to his routines. Two days later he was gone. In his farewell address to the nation, he had assured his fellow citizens that “I shall carry... with me to my grave... unceasing vows that heaven may continue to you the choicest tokens of its beneficence; that your union and brotherly affection may be perpetual; that the free Constitution, which is the work of your hands, may be sacredly maintained; that its administration in every department may be stamped with wisdom and virtue; that, in fine, the happiness of the people of these States, under the auspices of liberty, may be made complete.”

Related Topics

• PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES
• HISTORY AND CIVILIZATION
• MODERN HISTORY
• AMERICAN REVOLUTION

The Devil went down to … New Jersey?

Why the Washington Monument was once a national embarrassment

The story of Turtle, one of the world's first submersibles

General Grant's surprising rise from cadet to commander

MLK and Malcolm X only met once. Here’s the story behind an iconic image.

• Perpetual Planet
• Environment
• Paid Content

History & Culture

• History & Culture
• History Magazine
• Mind, Body, Wonder
• Gory Details
• 2023 in Review
• Terms of Use
• Privacy Policy
• Your US State Privacy Rights
• Children's Online Privacy Policy
• Interest-Based Ads
• About Nielsen Measurement
• Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information
• Nat Geo Home
• Attend a Live Event
• Book a Trip
• Inspire Your Kids
• Shop Nat Geo
• Visit the D.C. Museum
• Learn About Our Impact
• Support Our Mission
• Advertise With Us
• Customer Service
• Renew Subscription
• Manage Your Subscription
• Work at Nat Geo
• Sign Up for Our Newsletters
• Contribute to Protect the Planet

Copyright © 1996-2015 National Geographic Society Copyright © 2015-2024 National Geographic Partners, LLC. All rights reserved

US Presidents | Biography Bottle Person Project | Social Studies | 3rd Grade

What educators are saying

Description.

Meet the US Presidents is a project-based learning activity about the United States of America's presidents.

• This teaching resource includes guidelines and handouts for the teacher to create a significant Social Studies project.
• This project includes reading a biography about a US President and then writing a research report on that President.

Included in this resource :

• Letter Home to explain the project
• Graphic Organizers to help with the writing assignment
• Directions on how to create a bottle president
• Examples of Bottle Presidents to see the idea
• Graphic Organizers to help with essential facts, sequence in the research, highlighting important information
• Flash Cards of 46 US Presidents for pocket display and discussion
• Drawing a portrait of the President
• Graphic Organizer for listeners to take notes when reports are presented
• Teacher Guidelines and other notable information
• Book recommendations for this project
• This biography project includes reading, writing, speaking, listening, and thinking . Most of the work is assigned for homework.
• Students LOVE creating these bottle presidents!

You will LOVE the excitement and quick engagement you will readily see from your students. It's a great way to share information. This project will also allow students to research on the computer to find facts and details for their president's report. You can be flexible with how much time you would like to allot at school for this project, from 0% - 100%. I have had much success with 100% of this report/project done at home. Children show ownership as they will be presenting their research to the class.

US Presidents Biography Project –

Your Comprehensive February Resource for Social Studies!

Engage your students in enriching American history exploration with this engaging US President's Biography Project!

This resource is perfect for educators seeking an immersive and educational experience for their students during February.

Key Features:

In-Depth Biographies: Dive deep into the lives of US Presidents, unraveling the stories that shaped the nation.

Interactive Learning: Foster critical thinking and research skills as students actively uncover historical facts and events.

Creative Projects: Encourage creativity with project-based assessments, allowing students to showcase their understanding through various mediums.

Timeline Exploration: Explore the chronological order of presidencies, fostering an understanding of American history.

February Focus: Tailored for educators planning engaging lessons for February, aligning with key historical events and Presidents' Day.

Elevate your social studies curriculum and captivate your students' curiosity with this dynamic and informative US President's Biography Project . Perfect for 3rd and 4th-grade students, this resource is designed to make history exciting and leave a lasting impact on your student's learning journey.

Download and embark on an educational adventure transcending textbooks, making history a captivating experience for your students!

#PresidentsProject #SocialStudies #Biography #FebruaryResource #EducationInnovation

Thank you for previewing this teaching resource.

Would you like to know when I post new teaching resources? Follow ME on TPT

Teaching Resources for February:

Meet the Presidents - Biography -Bottle Person Project

Abraham Lincoln - One Page Graphic Organizer

Presidents' Day - Writing Prompts

Rosa Parks - Read and Write - Black History

George Washington Carver - Black History - Writing Prompts

Ruby Bridges - Black History - Writing Prompts

******************************************************************************************

50% off all new teaching resource listings for the first 24 hours .

Follow to receive notifications for new listings, sales, and updates.

Thank you, Followers.

Questions & Answers

Mrsquimbyreads.

• We're hiring
• Help & FAQ
• Privacy policy
• Student privacy
• Terms of service
• Tell us what you think

Open 365 days a year, Mount Vernon is located just 15 miles south of Washington DC.

From the mansion to lush gardens and grounds, intriguing museum galleries, immersive programs, and the distillery and gristmill. Spend the day with us!

Discover what made Washington "first in war, first in peace and first in the hearts of his countrymen".

The Mount Vernon Ladies Association has been maintaining the Mount Vernon Estate since they acquired it from the Washington family in 1858.

Need primary and secondary sources, videos, or interactives? Explore our Education Pages!

The Washington Library is open to all researchers and scholars, by appointment only.

Recipe for Small Beer

Food Culture

Foaming Father

Learn more about George Washington's love for a good beer.

In the late 1750s, George Washington inscribed a recipe “To make Small Beer” in the notebook he carried as colonel of the Virginia militia during the French and Indian War. The manuscript , now in the New York Public Library's collections, suggests that Washington wrote down the recipe around 1757, when he was 25 years old and stationed at Fort Loudon in central Pennsylvania. 1

“Small beer,” as opposed to typical beer , is notable for its low alcohol content. The recipe’s inclusion in Washington’s wartime notebook suggests that it was consumed as a regular beverage - and even perhaps an occasional substitute for water - among troops. At Mount Vernon , beer was a favorite, but the Washington family rarely would have consumed small beer or served it to guests. Instead, it was given to paid servants, enslaved people , and children, while its finer, more alcoholic counterpart was reserved for those who could afford it.

The recipe is succinct, requires very few ingredients, and has a remarkably short preparation time of little more than a day (three hours of boiling bran hops, time to stand, then twenty-four hours to “Work in the Cooler”). It also takes into account the environmental factors of making the beer outside of a brewery, and details specifically that “if the Weather is very Cold cover it [the beer] over with a Blanket.” 3 The recipe also calls for three gallons of molasses in the thirty-gallon brew, making the beer unusually sweet. The amount of molasses called for in the recipe was likely to mask the unsavory taste of the basic and hastily made brew.

Washington took up alcohol production  as an official business  in the last years of his life. There is no evidence, however, that he considered brewing beer for commercial purposes. Rather, in 1797, Washington started a whiskey distillery at Mount Vernon thanks to convincing from his plantation manager, James Anderson , who claimed that it would make good use of Washington’s extant grain plantation and produce considerable profit. Indeed, with Anderson’s expertise, Washington’s whiskey production reached an annual rate of 11,000 gallons by 1799. Today, the distillery at Mount Vernon has been reconstructed and is once again producing small quantities of whiskey for sale to the public. 

Meanwhile, since its recent rediscovery, Washington’s small beer recipe has been recreated by multiple historical beer connoisseurs. In 2011, the New York Public Library and Brooklyn-based Coney Island Brewing Company partnered to brew a porter similar to the recipe, but amended slightly to appeal to a contemporary drinker’s palate. 4

Transcription

To make Small Beer Take a large Siffer full of Bran Hops to your taste - Boil these 3 hours. Then strain out 30 Gall[ons] into a Cooler[.] put in 3 Gall[ons] molasses while the Beer is scalding hot or rather draw the molasses into the Cooler & strain the Beer on it while boiling Hot[.] let this stand till it is little more than Blood warm then put in  a quart of Ye[a]st[.] if the Weather is very Cold cover it over with a Blank[et] & let it Work in the Cooler 24 hours then put it into the Cask - leave the Bung open till it is almost done working - Bottle it that day week it was Brewed[.]

Jay Fondin The George Washington University

Revised and updated with recipe transcription by Jim Ambuske, 2 April 2020

1. George Washington notebook as a Virginia colonel (1757), The New York Public Library, Manuscripts and Archives Division, MssCol 23122,  http://archives.nypl.org/mss/23122 , accessed April 2, 2020; Washington, Memoranda, 7 June 1757,  Founders Online,  National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/02-04-02-0108 . 

3. George Washington notebook as a Virginia colonel (1757).

4. “The New York Public Library And Coney Island Brewing Company Partner to Brew George Washington’s Personal Beer Recipe,” New York Public Library, 2011, https://www.nypl.org/press/press-release/2011/05/04/new-york-public-library-and-coney-island-brewing-company-partner-brew , accessed April 5, 2015. 

Bibliography:

DeWitt, Dave. The Founding Foodies: How Washington, Jefferson, and Franklin Revolutionized American Cuisine . Naperville: Sourcebooks, Inc., 2010.

Pogue, Dennis J. Founding Spirits: George Washington and the Beginnings of the American Whiskey Industry. London: Harbour Books, 2011.

Quick Links

9 a.m. to 5 p.m.