Chapter II: Part 2

Colonel Fry died at Wills Creek on the 31st of May. By his death, the command of the expedition devolved on Washington. Reinforcements were soon forwarded, so that the whole number composing the Virginia regiment under his immediate command, was three hundred men. There was also with him an independent company from South Carolina, consisting of about one hundred men. With this force Colonel Washington advanced slowly and cautiously beyond the Great Meadows, employing his soldiers in repairing the road, and sending out scouting parties to watch the motions of the enemy. He also sent a party forward to clear a passage towards the mouth of Red Stone Creek, the place of the intended fort. He also held councils with several Indian chiefs who came to him for that purpose, heard and delivered speeches, exchanged belts of wampum, and went through the usual ceremonies on such occasions. But all this was to little purpose; for some of the Indians were spies from the French, and the only motive of others was to obtain presents of goods and provisions. In this mode of gaining friends, the French were more successful than the English, as they were better supplied with such articles as the Indians wanted.

While these operations were going on, reports were continually brought in by French deserters and Indians that reinforcements had arrived at Fort Du Quesne, and that a large force would soon come out to attack the English. These accounts came from many different sources, some of which were so authentic that a council of war was held, in which it was unanimously resolved that the army should return to the Great Meadows, there fortify themselves in the best manner they could, and wait for a supply of provisions and reinforcements. The retreat immediately commenced. They had so few horses that the Colonel loaded his own horse with ammunition and other public stores, marched on foot himself, and paid the soldiers from his own purse for carrying his private baggage. Other officers followed his example. The troops were short of provisions, and having to carry their baggage on their backs and draw nine swivels over a very broken road, they did not reach the Great Meadows till the 1st of July. The Colonel immediately sent off an express to hasten on the expected supplies and reinforcements, but they did not arrive. He set his men to felling trees, preparing and drawing together logs, and raising and strengthening the breastworks. This entrenchment was called _Fort Necessity_, on account of the circumstances attending the erection and original use of it.

On the third of July, early in the morning, an alarm was given by a sentinel who had been wounded by the enemy. At nine o’clock, intelligence was received that the whole body of the French, amounting to nine hundred men, was only four miles distant. They were commanded by M. De Villiers, brother of Jumonville. At eleven o’clock they approached the fort, and began to fire, at the distance of six hundred yards, but without effect. Colonel Washington had drawn up his men on the open and level ground outside of the trenches, awaiting the attack, which he supposed would be made immediately, having ordered his men to reserve their fire till the enemy were so near that it would certainly do execution. But the French kept up a distant firing from the woods. Washington considered this as a stratagem to draw his men into the woods and there take them at a disadvantage. He therefore maintained his position till he found that the French did not incline to leave the woods and attack the fort by assault, as he had thought they would, considering their superiority of numbers. He then drew his men back within the trenches, and gave them orders to fire as they found favorable opportunities of doing so with effect. The French and Indians remained on the side of a piece of rising ground near the fort, and sheltered by the trees, kept up a brisk fire of musketry upon it, but never appeared upon the open plain below.

In this way, the battle continued till eight o’clock in the evening, when the French called out and proposed a parley. Suspecting this to be a mere feint in order to procure the admission of a French officer into the fort to spy out his condition, the Colonel at first declined the proposal; but when the call was repeated, with the request that an officer might be sent to them, and with the pledge of their parol of honor for his safety, he sent out Captain Van Braam, the only person under his command who could speak French, excepting the Chevalier De Payrouny, an ensign in the Virginia regiment, who was dangerously wounded and disabled. Van Braam returned, and brought with him M. De Villiers and the proposed articles of capitulation. These he read and interpreted. After making some alterations in the articles, by mutual agreement, both parties signed them about midnight.

By the terms of the capitulation, the whole garrison was to march out of the fort the next morning, with the honors of war, their drums beating and their colors flying; and to return home with every thing in their possession, excepting their artillery, unmolested by the French or the savages. As the French had killed all the horses and cattle, Colonel Washington had no means of carrying away his heavy baggage and stores; and the French agreed that a guard might be left to protect them, till horses could be sent to take them away. It was agreed that the prisoners taken at the skirmish with Jumonville should be returned; and to secure the performance of this article, Captain Van Braam and Captain Stobo were delivered up to the French to be retained by them as hostages. Early the next morning, Colonel Washington began his march from the fort in good order; but he had not proceeded far, when a body of one hundred Indians came upon him and could hardly be restrained from attacking his men. They pilfered the baggage and did other mischief. He proceeded on, however, with as much speed as possible, till he arrived at Wells Creek settlement, now Cumberland, in the State of Maryland. Thence he proceeded to Williamsburg, and communicated to the Governor in person the events of the campaign. Much dissatisfaction was expressed with some of the articles of capitulation, when they were made public. The legislature of Virginia, however, after maturely considering them, passed a vote of thanks to Colonel Washington and his officers for their brave defence of the country. Indeed, all the proceedings of the campaign, though not finally successful, were generally approved and applauded.

The exact number engaged in the action at the Great Meadows, cannot be ascertained. According to a return made by Colonel Washington himself, the Virginia regiment, including officers, consisted of three hundred and five men, of which twelve were killed and forty-three wounded. The company of South Carolinians was said to contain about one hundred; but the number of them killed and wounded is not known. The French force was probably not far from nine hundred. M. De Villiers says he left Fort Du Quesne with five hundred Frenchmen and eleven Indians. The number of French is probably correct; but the Indians were much more numerous when they arrived at the scene of action.

Although there was at this time a disagreement between the Governor and the Legislature of Virginia, which prevented the appropriation of money for the service, the Governor and his counsel resolved to renew the contest with the French without delay. When Washington was informed of this, he expostulated so warmly against attempting such an enterprise, without money, men, or provisions, that it was abandoned.

The Assembly met in October, 1754, and granted £20,000. The Governor received from England £10,000 in specie, with the promise of as much more, and two thousand fire arms. The Governor and his counsel then resolved that the army should be divided into ten independent companies, of one hundred men each, and should contain no officer above the rank of Captain. Washington, disapproving of this singular arrangement as unfavorable to the interest of the service, retired from the army to his farm.

CHAPTER SEVENTH.

Is invited by General Braddock to join his expedition as a volunteer――accepts the invitation――Battle of Monongahela――Washington conducts the retreat with ability, and retains the confidence of the public.

On the 20th of February, 1755, General Braddock arrived in Virginia, from England, as Commander in Chief of all the military forces in North-America. He brought with him two Regiments of the British Army, consisting of five hundred men each. One of them was commanded by Sir Peter Halket, and the other by Colonel Dunbar. These were accompanied by a proper train of artillery and sufficient military supplies and provisions. The General made his first head quarters at Alexandria. He addressed, through his Aid-de-Camp, a polite letter to Colonel Washington, inviting him, as he had declined any military command under the Virginia regulations, to join his family as a volunteer, and accompany him upon his intended expedition against Fort Du Quesne, as one of his aids, and desiring him to consult his own pleasure and convenience, as to the particular time of joining the army. Colonel Washington accepted this invitation. General Braddock marched from Alexandria for Fort Cumberland at the mouth of Wills Creek on the 20th of April. Colonel Washington left Mount Vernon on the 23d, and overtook the army in a few days at Fredericktown, in Virginia. The army arrived at Fort Cumberland about the middle of May. It then consisted of more than two thousand men. About one thousand of them were colonial troops. The army was detained at this post three weeks; nor could it then have moved on, but for the personal exertions of Benjamin Franklin, and his influence among the Pennsylvanian farmers, in procuring horses and wagons, to transport the artillery, provisions, and baggage. During the detention of the army at Fort Cumberland, Colonel Washington was dispatched to Williamsburg, in the eastern part of Virginia, to obtain £4000 in money, for the use of the army, and to bring it on to the camp. He promptly and successfully executed this commission, taking with him at Winchester, on his return, a sufficient guard of militia through the most unfrequented and dangerous part of the route.

About the first of June, a detachment was sent forward to open the roads as far as a place called Little Meadows, about twenty miles beyond Fort Cumberland, and there to erect a small Fort. The main body soon followed this detachment, and when they came up with it, the whole army was divided into two divisions. The advanced division under General Braddock, consisted of about twelve hundred men. The other division, consisting of about eight hundred men under Colonel Dunbar, was left in the rear to proceed with the baggage by slow marches. Washington says in a letter to his brother John Augustine, (the father of Judge Lund Washington,) written on the march, that the advance of the first division of the army, though retarded by many real obstacles and difficulties, was yet unnecessarily slow, in consequence of halting to level too many mole hills, and to build bridges over too many brooks. Colonel Washington accompanied the advanced division until a fever with which he was taken on the march became so violent, that he was obliged to fall in the rear, into Colonel Dunbar’s division.

General Braddock arrived with his division, all in fine health and spirits, at the junction of the Monongahela and Youghiogany rivers on the 8th of July. On the same day Colonel Washington, though but partially recovered from his fever, reached that place in a covered wagon, and joined the advanced division. Owing to a bend in the Monongahela, it was necessary for the army in approaching Fort Du Quesne, now about fifteen miles distant, to ford the river twice. The remarkable dryness of the season rendered this practicable. Early in the morning of the 9th of July, all things were in readiness, and the whole train, a little below the mouth of the Youghiogany, passed through the river Monongahela, and proceeded in perfect order along the southern margin of it. Colonel Washington, though feeble, attended the General on horseback. He was often heard to say, in the course of his after life, that one of the most beautiful spectacles he had ever seen, was the display of the British troops on this eventful morning. Every man was neatly dressed in full uniform. The soldiers were arranged in columns and marched in exact order. The sun gleamed upon their burnished arms. The river flowed tranquilly on their right, and the deep forest often overshadowed them on their left. When they had marched about five miles, they arrived to the second crossing place, ten miles from Fort Du Quesne. They halted a little, and then began to ford the river and gain its northern bank. As soon as they had crossed, they came to a level plain, nearly half a mile in extent. At the end of the plain was a piece of gently rising ground, covered with trees, bushes and long grass. The road to Fort Du Quesne led across this plain. It then led up the rising ground, between two ravines from eight to ten feet deep, and of sufficient extent to contain five hundred men each. Owing to the trees, bushes and high grass, these ravines could not be seen from the road, nor without coming within a few feet of them. By the order of march, a body of three hundred men under Lieutenant Colonel Gage, afterwards commander of the British forces in Boston at the beginning of the revolution, formed the advanced party. This was followed by about two hundred. Next came General Braddock with the main body, the artillery and baggage. He sent out no scouts nor guards in advance and on the wings of the army to make discoveries and prevent a surprise. Washington advised him to proceed more cautiously, but he was self-confident and disregarded the advice.

At 1 o’clock P. M. the whole army had crossed the river; and almost at the same moment a sharp firing was heard upon the advanced parties, who were now ascending the rising ground. A heavy discharge of musketry poured in upon their front, gave them the first notice that an enemy was near. This was suddenly followed by another discharge upon their right flank.――These were followed by others in continual and rapid succession. They were filled with the greater consternation because no enemy was in sight, and the fire seemed to come from an invisible foe. They fired, however, in their turn, but at random and without effect. The General speedily advanced to the relief of the detachments; but before he could reach them, they gave way and fell back upon the artillery and other columns, causing extreme confusion, and striking the whole mass with such a panic that no order could afterwards be restored. The yell of the savages with which the woods resounded, struck terror into the hearts of the British soldiers, and added to the consternation. The General and his officers behaved with the utmost courage. They made every effort to rally the men and bring them to order, but all in vain.――In this state they continued nearly three hours, huddling together in confused bodies, firing irregularly, shooting down their own officers and comrades, and doing little or no harm to the enemy. The Virginians were the only troops who seemed to retain their senses. They behaved with bravery and resolution. They adopted the Indian mode, and fought each man for himself behind a tree. This was forbidden by the General, who endeavored to form the men into platoons and columns, as if he were manœvering them upon the plains of Flanders.――During all this time, the French and Indians concealed in the ravines and behind trees, kept up a continual and deadly discharge of musketry, singling out their objects, taking deliberate aim, and producing a carnage almost unparalleled in the annals of modern warfare. More than half of that whole army which had crossed the river in such proud array only three hours before, were either killed or wounded. General Braddock, after having five horses shot under him, had received a mortal wound, and many of his best officers had fallen by his side. Sir Peter Halket was killed upon the spot. Colonel Washington had two horses shot under him, and his clothes were shot through in several places. The bodies left on the field were stripped and scalped by the Indians. All the artillery, ammunition, provisions, baggage, everything in the train of the army fell into the enemy’s hands, and were given up to be pillaged by the savages.

When the battle was over, and the remnant of the army had gained in their flight the opposite bank of the river, Colonel Washington was dispatched by the General to meet Colonel Dunbar, and order forward wagons for the wounded with all possible speed; but they could not be procured till after the wounded had suffered much from pain, fatigue and hunger. The General was at first brought off the field in a cart.――He was then set on horseback, but being unable to ride, was carried by the soldiers. They reached Dunbar’s camp, near the Great Meadows, to which the panic had already extended. A day was passed there in great confusion. General Braddock died on the 13th, and was buried in the road, for the purpose of concealing his body from the Indians. The spot is still pointed out within a few yards of the present national road, about a mile west of the site of Fort Necessity, at the Great Meadows, in Pennsylvania. On the 17th, the sick and wounded arrived at Fort Cumberland on Wills Creek, and were soon after joined by Colonel Dunbar with the remnant of the army. The French sent out a party as far as Dunbar’s camp and destroyed every thing that had been left behind.

As to the numbers engaged in the battle of Monongahela, on the side of the French, Washington conjectured, as appears by his letters, that they amounted to no more than three hundred. Doctor Franklin, in his account of the battle, considers them as not exceeding four hundred at most.

It appears by the French narratives of this battle, that while the commandant of Fort Du Quesne, considering his force too small to encounter his approaching enemy, was hesitating what measures to adopt, M. De Beaujeu, a Captain in the French service, obtained from his commandant a detachment of French troops, with leave to advance with them and meet the enemy on their march. After much persuasion, Beaujeu induced a considerable party of Indians to join him. He began his march at an early hour on the morning of the 9th of July, intending to make a stand at the second fording place, there to annoy the English while passing the river, and then to retreat and make another stand at the rising ground where the whole contest actually took place. Captain Beaujeu and his party did not, however, arrive quite in time to make a stand at the ford, and thus failed to carry the first part of their plan into execution. They however immediately placed themselves in ambush, partly in front and partly concealed in the ravines flanking the road up the rising ground, and there waited till Braddock’s advanced columns came up. The French gave the first fire in front.――This was repelled by so heavy a discharge from the British, that the Indians thought it came from artillery, and showed symptoms of wavering and retreat. At this moment M. De Beaujeu was killed. M. Dumas immediately took the command, rallied the Indians with great presence of mind, ordered his officers to lead them to the wings, while, with the French troops, he maintained the position in front. This order was promptly obeyed; the attack became general, and the English columns got into confusion.

As to the French accounts of their numbers, the highest states them at two hundred and fifty French and Canadians and six hundred and forty Indians, and the lowest at two hundred and thirty French and Canadians and six hundred Indians. A medium between the two will make the whole number under De Beaujeu eight hundred and sixty. The French admit, including Indians, thirty-three killed and thirty-four wounded.

When these French statements, the nature of the ground, and the mismanagement of General Braddock are duly considered, the result of the action will not appear very surprising. That the English should say “they were fighting with an invisible foe,” and that “they could only tell where the enemy were by the smoke of their muskets,” is no mystery, for it was literally true. Had Braddock known the position of his enemy, and raked the ravines with his artillery, or charged through them with the bayonet, they would have been cleared immediately.

Colonel Washington lost no ground in the confidence of the public by Braddock’s defeat. It was the general opinion that if _he_ had been commander, the defeat would not have happened. By his firm conduct during the action, and his skilful management of the retreat, he gained additional reputation.

CHAPTER EIGHTH.

Anecdote――Washington is appointed to command the Virginia forces――his visit to Boston――commands the advance division at the taking of Fort Du Quesne――resigns his military commission――marries――devotes himself chiefly to agricultural pursuits till called to take command of the American armies in the war of Independence.

About fifteen years after Braddock’s defeat, as Washington was exploring wild lands near the Ohio river with a party of woodmen, a company of Indians came to them with an interpreter, headed by an aged and venerable chief. This chief told the party that, at the battle of Monongahela, he had singled out Colonel Washington as a conspicuous object, fired his rifle at him many times, and directed his young warriors to do the same, but to his utter astonishment, none of their balls took effect. He was then persuaded that the young man was under the special guardianship of the Great Spirit, and stopped firing at him any longer. He said he had come a great way to pay his respects to a man who was the peculiar favorite of Heaven, and could never die in battle.[7]

[7] J. Sparks.

About a fortnight after Washington returned home from Braddock’s defeat, he was appointed to the chief command of the Virginia forces, now increased to sixteen companies, with authority to appoint his own officers, together with an aid-de-camp and Secretary. In this command he continued three years, defending with energy and resolution three hundred and sixty miles of frontier against the continual incursions of a warlike and a savage foe, though furnished with very inadequate means for the arduous undertaking. His discipline was reasonable and steady, but rigid. Quarreling and fighting, drunkenness, card playing and profane swearing were promptly punished.

* * * * *

In March, 1756, Colonel Washington went with his aid to Boston on military business with General Shirley. He was treated with much politeness and attention at Boston. He attended with interest the proceedings of the Legislature of Massachusetts, and visited Castle William and other places worthy of a stranger’s notice. On his return home, he passed through Providence, Newport, New London, New York, and Philadelphia, and spent several days in each of the two last mentioned cities.

The design of the British to carry the war into Canada, being known to the French Governor of Canada, he recalled the greater part of the French troops from the Ohio river. Only about five hundred men were left for the defence of the French possessions.

In 1758, another expedition marched against Fort Du Quesne, under the command of General Forbes. Colonel Washington commanded the advanced division of this army, which was sent forward to clear and prepare the way for the main body.――The night before the expedition reached Fort Du Quesne, the French, amounting to about five hundred men, set the Fort on fire, embarked on board their boats by the light of it, and sailed down the Ohio; so that the army had nothing to do but to take possession of the spot where the Fort stood. This they did on the 25th of November, 1758. General Forbes called the place Pittsburg, in honor of Mr. Pitt.

Immediately after his return to Virginia from this expedition, Colonel Washington resigned his military commission. On the 6th of January, 1759, at the age of twenty-seven, he married Martha Custis, the widow of Daniel Parke Custis, and daughter of John Dandridge. Colonel Washington, though absent at the time, was elected a member of the Virginia Assembly by a large majority over three active rival candidates. He attended the session of the Assembly held in the month of February. The house had resolved, without the knowledge of Washington, to return their thanks to him in a public manner for the distinguished services he had rendered his country. This duty devolved on Mr. Robinson, the Speaker. As soon as Colonel Washington took his seat, the Speaker, following the impulse of his feelings, discharged the duty assigned him with dignity, but with such warmth and strength of expression as entirely confounded the young hero. He rose to express his acknowledgments for the honor done him, but such was his trepidation and confusion that he could not give distinct utterance to a single sentence. He blushed, stammered and trembled for a moment, when the Speaker relieved him by a stroke of address that would have done honor to Louis the Eighteenth in his proudest and happiest moment. “Sit down, Colonel Washington,” said he, with a conciliating smile, “your modesty is equal to your valor; and that surpasses the power of any language that I possess.”[8]

[8] Wirt’s Life of Patrick Henry, page 45.

When the session closed, the Colonel repaired, with Mrs. Washington, to his residence at Mount Vernon. Here he enjoyed the pleasures of domestic life and his favorite agricultural occupations for sixteen years, until called by the voice of his country to take command of the American armies at the commencement of the war of the Revolution. He cultivated and improved his lands with remarkable judgment. He conducted his business upon a regular system. Economy was observed through every department of it. His accounts were inspected weekly. The divisions of his farm were numbered, an exact account was kept of the produce of each lot together with the expense of cultivating it, so that the profit or loss of any crop as well as the relative advantages of different modes of husbandry might be seen at one view.

During Washington’s retreat from military life he was a magistrate of the county in which he resided, and frequently a member of the Virginia Legislature. He was hospitable and charitable; a friend to the church in the parish where he lived, and ever ready to do all in his power to promote the interests of morality and religion. He was indeed a friend of his country and a friend of mankind.

APPENDIX.

The first Congress of the United Colonies met at Philadelphia in 1774. Washington was a leading member of that body, and took an active part in opposition to the principles assumed by the then British administration and parliament in relation to the American colonies.

He was unanimously elected by Congress, General and Commander-in-chief of the United Colonies and of all their forces. When the President of Congress communicated this election, Washington thus addressed him:

“Mr. President――Although I am truly sensible of the high honor done me by this appointment, I feel a consciousness that my abilities and military experience may not be equal to the extensive trust. However, as the Congress desire it, I will enter upon the momentous duty and exert every power I possess in their service and in support of our glorious cause. I beg they will accept my most cordial thanks for this distinguished testimony of their approbation.

“But unless some unlucky event should happen unfavorable to my reputation, 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 with which I am honored. I beg leave, sir, to assure the Congress, that, as no pecuniary consideration could have tempted me to accept this arduous employment, at the expense of my domestic ease and happiness, I do not wish to make any profit from it. I will keep an exact account of my expenses. These, I doubt not, the Congress will discharge, and that is all I desire.”

Under what privations, difficulties and discouragements, Washington led our fathers through their revolutionary struggle, to victory and national independence, is well known. His agency in establishing that independence upon the basis of union in a national constitution, and his excellent administration of the government as the first President of the United States under that constitution, is equally well known.

* * * * *

Washington was exactly six feet high. His limbs were well formed and indicated strength. His eyes were greyish, and his hair of a brown color. His complexion was light, and his countenance serene and thoughtful.

His manners were graceful, manly and dignified. His general appearance never failed to engage the respect and esteem of all who approached him. He possessed the most perfect self-government, and in a remarkable degree the faculty of hiding the weaknesses inseparable from human nature. He ever bore his distinguished honors with meekness and equanimity. Reserved but not haughty in his disposition, he was accessible to all but he unbosomed himself only to his confidential friends.

He was not so much distinguished for brilliancy of intellect, as for industry of application, solidity of judgment and consummate prudence of conduct. He was not so eminent for any single quality as for a union of great, amiable, and good qualities, rarely combined in the same character.――_Bancroft’s Life of Washington._

* * * * *

Mr. Stewart, the eminent portrait painter, used to say there were features in the face of Washington, different from any he had ever observed in any other human being. The sockets for the eyes were larger than he had ever met with before, and the upper part of his nose broader.

He always spoke with great diffidence, and sometimes hesitated for a word; but it was always to find one well adapted to his meaning. His language was manly and expressive.

Few persons ever found themselves for the first time in the presence of Washington, without being impressed with a degree of veneration and awe; nor did those emotions subside on a closer acquaintance; on the contrary, his person and deportment were such as tended rather to augment them. The whole range of history does not present to our view a character upon which we can dwell with such entire and unmixed admiration. The long life of Washington is unstained by a single blot. He was indeed a man of such rare endowments, and such a fortunate temperament, that every action he performed was equally exempted from the charge of vice or weakness. Whatever he said or did, or wrote, was stamped with a striking and peculiar propriety. His qualities were so happily blended and so nicely harmonized, that the result was a great and perfect whole. The passions of his mind and the dispositions of his heart were admirably suited to each other. His views, though liberal, were never extravagant. His virtues, though comprehensive and beneficent, were discriminating, judicious and practical.

Yet his character, though regular and uniform, possessed none of the littleness which may sometimes belong to these descriptions of men. It formed a majestic pile, the effect of which was not impaired, but improved by order and symmetry. There was nothing in it to dazzle by wildness, and surprise by eccentricity. It was of a higher species of moral beauty. It contained every thing great and elevated, but it had no false and tinsel ornament. It was not the model cried up by fashion and circumstance: its excellence was adapted to the true and just moral taste, incapable of change from the varying accidents of manners, of opinions and times. General Washington is not the idol of a day, but the hero of ages!

Placed in circumstances of the most trying difficulty at the commencement of the American contest, he accepted that situation which was pre-eminent in danger and responsibility. His perseverance overcame every obstacle; his moderation conciliated every opposition; his genius supplied every resource; his enlarged views could plan, revise, and improve every branch of civil and military operation. He had the superior courage which can act or can forbear to act, as policy dictates, careless of the reproaches of ignorance either in power or out of power. He knew how to conquer by waiting, in spite of obloquy, for the moment of victory; and he merited true praise by despising undeserved censure. In the most arduous moments of the contest, his prudent firmness proved the salvation of the cause which he supported.

His conduct was, on all occasions, guided by the most pure disinterestedness. Far superior to low and grovelling motives, he seemed even to be uninfluenced by that ambition which has justly been called the instinct of great souls. He acted ever as if his country’s welfare, and that alone, was the moving spring. His excellent mind needed not even the stimulus of ambition, or the prospect of fame. Glory was a secondary consideration. He performed great actions; he persevered in a course of laborious utility, with an equanimity that neither sought distinction, nor was flattered by it. His reward was in the consciousness of his own rectitude, and in the success of his patriotic efforts.

As his elevation to the chief power was the unbiassed choice of his countrymen, his exercise of it was agreeable to the purity of its origin. As he had neither solicited nor usurped dominion, he had neither to contend with the opposition of rivals, nor the revenge of enemies. As his authority was undisputed, so it required no jealous precautions, no rigorous severity. His government was mild and gentle; it was beneficent and liberal; it was wise and just. His prudent administration consolidated and enlarged the dominion of an infant republic. In voluntarily resigning the magistracy which he had filled with such distinguished honor, he enjoyed the unequalled satisfaction of leaving to the state he had contributed to establish, the fruits of his wisdom and the example of his virtues.

It is some consolation, amidst the violence of ambition and the criminal thirst of power, of which so many instances occur around us, to find a character whom it is honorable to admire, and virtuous to imitate. A conqueror, for the freedom of his country! a legislator, for its security! a magistrate, for its happiness! His glories were never sullied by those excesses into which the highest qualities are apt to degenerate. With the greatest virtues, he was exempt from the corresponding vices. He was a man in whom the elements were so mixed that “Nature might have stood up to all the world” and owned him as her work. His fame, bounded by no country, will be confined to no age. The character of Washington, which his contemporaries admire, will be transmitted to posterity; and the memory of his virtues, will remain while patriotism and virtue are esteemed among men.――_From an English publication._

* * * * *

Transcriber’s Notes:

――Text in italics is enclosed by underscores (_italics_).

――Punctuation and spelling inaccuracies were silently corrected.

――Archaic and variable spelling has been preserved.

――Variations in hyphenation and compound words have been preserved.

End of Project Gutenberg's The Early Life of Washington, by Anonymous