george washington biography bottle

Antique George Washington Bottles: What to Look For

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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 .

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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.

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."

Washington could trace his family's presence in North America to his great-grandfather, John Washington, who migrated from England to Virginia. The family held some distinction in England and was granted land by Henry VIII .

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.

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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

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CITATION INFORMATION

• Article Title: George Washington Biography
• Author: Biography.com Editors
• Website Name: The Biography.com website
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• 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.

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Vinegar Flask (George Washington)

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

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GI-32 • “Washington” And Bust – “Jackson” And Bust Portrait Flask

Gi – 32, “washington” and bust – “jackson” and bust portrait flask, attributed to coventry glass works, coventry connecticut, aquamarine pint.

Provenance: Richard S. Ciralli Collection

We are looking at a beautiful GI-32 aquamarine “Washington and Bust – Jackson and Bust pint portrait flask.” The flask is one of only two known complete and undamaged examples blown in this aqua glass color. Both reside in prominent New England glass collections.

Our subject GI-32 flask was acquired at one of the Coventry, Connecticut tailgate bottle shows back in 2010. It was sitting on a sales table of an old-time dealer from Rhode Island. A respected dealer from Vermont saw the flask and put it back down possibly thinking it was the much more common mold from the Bridgeton Glass Works in Bridgeton, New Jersey.

At some point during the show, another respected dealer from New Hampshire saw the flask and acquired it. When our museum consignor found out about this particular flask he said, “I couldn’t think straight as I knew exactly what it was because I had studied and handled the example in the Vuono collection.” The consignor also consulted historical flask authority Jim Chebalo, who confirmed, based on records he kept, that there were about five examples known and that all had damage except the Vuono one, and this outstanding museum example. This now made six examples of the GI-32 aquamarine portrait flask. The consignor eventually did some old-fashioned horse-trading and acquired this rarity.

The aquamarine GI-32 is listed as an unknown glassmaker, but New England and specifically Connecticut glass authorities feel it is a product of Coventry Glass Works. The charted GI-31 (nicknamed the “Bozo nose”) is attributed to Keene Glass Works, in New Hampshire as the GI-33 and the only known half-pint of a GI-34 Washington-Jackson portrait flask mold is attributed to Coventry Glass Works in Coventry, Connecticut. According to the consignor, if you study the details of those molds, you can see the resemblance of the Washington bust to our subject aqua GI-32 mold. The rich aqua glass is an exact match to another rarity known to have been made at Coventry which is an aquamarine tumbler (pictured below) which is shown in New England Glass and Glassmaking by Kenneth M. Wilson, 1972.

See the museum example of a GI-34 “Washington” and Bust – “Jackson” and Bust portrait flask

GI -32 Portrait Flask

The obverse side of our museum aquamarine pint portrait flask has a prominent embossed profile of General George Washington facing left with a long queue. He is in uniform with an epaulet on his coat shoulder. He does not have any bars on the lapel of his coat as the GI-31 portrait flask depicts. The embossed copy ‘WASHINGTON’ in a serifed typestyle appears above the bust in a semicircle.

George Washington was immortalized in glass more than any other distinguished American. Flasks with his portrait contained hard liquor such as whiskey or bourbon. In many cases, the image depicts Washington as commander in chief of the Revolutionary Armies liberating our country. Many others depict him as a statesman and first president of the United States.

The reverse side of the flask has a prominent embossed profile of General Andrew Jackson facing left. He is in uniform with an epaulet on his shoulder. He does not have any bars on the lapel of his coat as the GI-31 portrait flask depicts. The embossed copy ‘JACKSON,’ in a serifed typestyle, appears above the bust in a semicircle. Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767–June 8, 1845) was an American soldier and statesman who served as the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before being elected to the presidency, Jackson gained fame as a general in the United States Army and served in both houses of the U.S. Congress.

The edge of our flask has three vertical ribs with a heavy medial rib. The flask is found with a plain lip and pontil mark and is attributed to Coventry Glass Works, Coventry Connecticut from 1830 to 1850. In this strong aquamarine glass, the flask is considered extremely rare.

The GI-32 portrait flask, in other glass colors, is comparatively scarce. These colors include amber, olive-amber, dark olive-green, yellow-olive, and olive green.

Primary Image:   The GI-32 Washington” and Bust – “Jackson” and Bust portrait flask imaged on location by Alan DeMaison, FOHBC Virtual Museum Midwest Studio

Support:  Reference to American Bottles and Flasks and Their Ancestry by Helen McKearin and Kenneth M. Wilson, Crown Publishers Inc., New York, 1978.

Support Image: Auction Lot 121: “Washington” and Bust – “Jackson” and Bust Portrait Flask, New England, 1830-1850. Medium yellow olive, sheared mouth – pontil scar, pint; (light exterior high point wear). GI-32. A crude flask with an attractive and unusual “orange peel” exterior surface. Fine condition. – Norman Heckler Jr. & Sr., Norman C. Heckler & Company, Auction #132

Support Image: Auction Lot 213: “Washington” and Bust – “Jackson” and Bust Portrait Flask, probably New England, 1830-1850. Bright yellow-olive, sheared mouth – pontil scar, pint; (light exterior high point wear). GI-32 A comparatively scarce flask in a good bright color. Fine condition. – Norman Heckler Jr. & Sr., Norman C. Heckler & Company, Auction #157

Support Image: Auction Lot 159: WASHINGTON/JACKSON GI-32. Pint. Sheared lip and open pontil. A brilliant amber leaning a bit toward golden in the pint-size. The strike is important on this flask and this one is about average. It’s certainly easy enough to tell the difference between the other variant. There is quite a bit of crudity and overall is a busy flask. Upon closer inspection, after the catalog was printed we found a tiny nick that looks like someone tried to buff out. Very tiny but we’ll show you up close and personal in the video. Some wear on the portrait’s highpoints. Grades an 8.4. – Jeff Wichmann, American Bottle Auctions, August 2012

Support Image: Auction Lot 142: WASHINGTON / JACKSON. GI-32. Sheared Lip. Open Pontil. Pint. Here is a beautiful olive with a touch of yellow example. With a strong strike and just a smidgen of wear, this is a very appealing flask. We’ve seen these with very poor strikes. No discernable wear, a nice one. Lots of bubbles and did we mention the strike? Grades a 9.7. – Jeff Wichmann, American Bottle Auctions, March 2013

Support Image: Image of subject GI-32 “Washington” and bust – “Jackson” and bust portrait flask sitting on an indoor table provided by Rick Ciralli.

Support Image: Image of subject GI-32 “Washington” and bust – “Jackson” and bust portrait flask and related tumbler provided by Rick Ciralli.

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Beer was a favorite drink of George Washington , as it was for many people living in eighteenth-century America. According to visitor Joshua Brooks, both beer and porter were among the beverage choices offered during a Mount Vernon  dinner in 1799. A clergyman who knew Washington during the presidency recorded that he habitually "had a silver pint cup or mug of beer, placed by his plate, which he drank while dining." 1 Many years later, Martha Washington 's grandson noted that Washington generally "drank a home-made beverage" at dinner, which was probably a reference to beer brewed on the estate. 2

Washington not only drank beer himself and had it served it to his guests, but it was also one of the items provided for voters when he was a candidate for political office. Washington's 1758 election to the House of Burgesses cost him 39 pounds, 6 shillings, a sum, which bought him "a hogshead and a barrel of punch, thirty-five gallons of wine, forty-three gallons of strong beer, cider, and dinner for his friends." 3

In fact, virtually everybody, of all ages and social classes at Mount Vernon drank beer as a matter of course during this time period. George Washington noted in a letter to one of his farm managers that his white servants customarily received a bottle of beer a day, with each bottle containing one quart of liquid. 4

Throughout George Washington's life, beer was both made at Mount Vernon by enslaved workers and purchased for use at his table. On the last page of a manuscript notebook kept by Washington in the late 1750s is a recipe for small beer, which was a weak beer consumed by servants, enslaved people, and children, because of its lower alcohol content. 5

Strong beer was probably also produced at Mount Vernon during this early period as well. In 1761, about two years after his marriage, George Washington purchased a cask for holding strong beer, which presumably had been made on the estate by enslaved workers. 6 A popular English cookbook owned by Martha Washington contained detailed instructions for brewing, as well as recipes for reclaiming beer that had spoiled. 7 Lund Washington, who was George Washington's cousin and estate manager during the American Revolution, once wrote about using persimmons to make beer, explaining that "I find from experience there is a fine spirit to be made from persimmons, but neglected to gather the item for that purpose; only got some for the purpose of making beer, but next fall if I live, every one on the land shall be gathered." 8

Beer was made at Mount Vernon for the Washingtons' table, but it may have been made by hired servants and enslaved people for their own use, as well. In the employment contract between George Washington and one of his farm managers, James Bloxham , Washington agreed that after Bloxham's family arrived from England, they would be given "as much Bran as is sufficient to brew Beer for his family, use." 9 There is also some evidence that the enslaved workers at Mount Vernon may have brewed their own beer. In the fall of 1798, George Washington paid Boatswain, a ditcher at the Mansion House Farm, in exchange for six pounds of hops, a primary ingredient in the production of beer. 10

Washington continued to buy comparable amounts of American porter after the Revolution, but appears to have made only two purchases of beer for that period—one in 1792 for an unspecified amount from R. Haines & Son, of Philadelphia, and another in 1793 on behalf of his nephew George Steptoe Washington and his brother. 12 Given his fondness for beer, the paucity of beer purchases after the war, and the fact that hops were grown on the estate after 1785, it is probable that beer was being made at Mount Vernon in sizable quantities for "home use" after the Revolution. In a letter written by Washington to his farm manager in December 1793, Washington noted that the beer produced at Mount Vernon would no longer be bottled, "though it may be brewed as usual as the occasion requires." 13

Washington received twelve "beer glasses, Mugs &ca" from England in 1757, which were augmented with a dozen beer and cider glasses ordered in 1760. Two sizes of white enameled beer glasses arrived in 1763, while another six were ordered in 1765, with the injunction that they be "handsome." Three years before the Revolution, Washington placed an order for six more "Neat and fash[ionabl]e Cut Beer Glasses," which he specified were to match a set of decanters. Still more were purchased on April 6, 1795 and December 19, 1796, presumably for the table in the executive mansion. 14

Mary V. Thompson Research Historian George Washington's Mount Vernon

1. "A Dinner at Mount Vernon: From the Unpublished Journal of Joshua Brookes (1773-1859)," ed. R.W.G. Vail The New-York Historical Society Quarterly (April 1947), 75; George Washington Parke Custis, Recollections and Private Memoirs of Washington (New York: Derby & Jackson, 1860), 169.

2. Custis, 169.

3. Ibid., 153n.

4. "George Washington to William Pearce, 22 December 1793" The Writings of George Washington from the Original Manuscript Sources, 1745-1799 , Vol. 33 (Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office, 1931), 201.

5. George Washington, "To Make Small Beer" (typescript, Mount Vernon Ladies' Association).

6. "Ledger A, 20 August 1761" (photostat, Mount Vernon Ladies' Association), 141.

7. Hannah Glasse, First Catch Your Hare: The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy , reprint (Totnes, Devon, England: Prospect Books, 1995), 149-50.

8. "Lund Washington to George Washington, 4 March 1778," (manuscript, A-283, Mount Vernon Ladies' Association).

9. "Agreement Between George Washington and James Bloxham, 31 May 1786," The Writings of George Washington , Vol. 28: 446.

10. "Cash, 9 October, 1798" Mount Vernon Farm Ledger, 1797-1798 (photostat, Mount Vernon Ladies' Association), 188.

11. "Ledger A, 12 May 1757" (bound photostat, Mount Vernon Ladies' Association): 34a; "Orders and Invoices, March 1759" (photostat, Mount Vernon Ladies Association); "Orders and Invoices, March 1760" (photostat, Mount Vernon Ladies' Association).

12. "11 April 1793, Philadelphia Household Account Book" The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography 29, No. 4 (1905), 392; "17 July 1793, Philadelphia Household Account Book" The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography 30, No. 1 (1906), 33.

13. "George Washington to William Pearce, 22 December 1793" The Writings of George Washington Vol. 33: 201.

14. "1 February 1755, Ledger A," 19a; "August 1757, Orders and Invoices"; "September 1760, Orders and Invoices"; "April 1763, Orders and Invoices"; "September 1765, Orders and Invoices"; "George Washington to Robert Cary and Company, 15 July 1772," The Writings of George Washington, Vol. 3: 92.

Food Culture

Foaming Father

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