USA > Maryland > Some old historic landmarks of Virginia and Maryland : described in a hand-book for the tourist over the Washington-Virginia railway > Part 5
USA > Virginia > Some old historic landmarks of Virginia and Maryland : described in a hand-book for the tourist over the Washington-Virginia railway > Part 5
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15
The Mansion is built of wood in imitation of cut stone, mainly after the style of a French Chatteau of the time of Louis fourteenth, is ninety-six fect in length by thirty- two in width, of two stories and a finished attic, with dormer windows surmounted by a graceful cupola which commands a fine view of the varied country surrounding it. Along the entire front, facing the river and Fort Washington is a wide veranda sup- ported by high square pillars and paved with a tesselated pavement of stones brought from White Haven, England, in 1785. The ground floor contains six rooms (there were originally but four) with the old spacious hall in the centre of the building, ex- tending through it from east to west, and the stairway. On the south side of the hall is the parlor, library and breakfast room, from which last a narrow staircase ascends to the private study on the second floor; on the north side a music room, parlor, and dancing-room, in which when there was much company the guests were sometimes en- tertained at table. The principal feature of this room is the large mantelpiece, wrought in Italy, of statuary and Sienite marbles, exquisitely carved in every part, bearing in relief, scenes in agricultural life. The interiors of the new rooms were finished to cor- respond with the old ones. At the same time were built, near the mansion on either side, a substantial kitchen and laundry, connected with it by collonades. These, with other outlying buildings then erected, all remain, with the exception of an extensive conservatory. Washington, thus occupied with the development of his estate, was meanwhile unconsciously exercising a powerful influence on national affairs. He was
41
OF VIRGINIA AND MARYLAND).
obliged to maintain an extensive correspondence, and the opinions and counsels given in his letters were widely effective. No longer the soldier, he was now becoming the statesman.
Exact plans and dimensions of the Mansion have been taken and will be preserved for use in case of destruction by fire.
M
MOUNT VERNON The Home of Washington.
GEORGE WASHINGTON AND HIS HOME.
Tell us again the story Our sires and grandsires told;
We love to hear it often, "Tis ever new, tho' old.
On the fourteenth day of December, 1799, George Washington, the successful soldier and leader, the true patriot, the wise statesman, the estimable private citizen, the public benefactor and friend of all mankind, passed peacefully from earth, in his quiet home at Mount Vernon, to the inheritance of the rich rewards awaiting a life of exceeding great usefulness and honor. Since the occurrence of that event which brought grief
L
42
SOME OLD HISTORIC LANDMARKS
and sorrow to the infant nation he had so faithfully labored to direct and establish, only one hundred years have elapsed, hardly five generations of his posterity; and a few of late were still remaining among us who were then children. Yet, such was the sublime character and great worth of the revered chief, and such have been the grand results to the world of his heroic deeds and unselfish sacrifices, that in our grateful remembrance and almost pious veneration of him, the vista of time through which we look back in contemplation of his life and public services seems to us more like one of long centuries than that of the few scores of solemn anniversaries which have been recorded. As this vista lengthens and grows dimmer with the passing away of cach succeeding year, we delight more and more to recount the story of his childhood and early training, of his military services and exploits, of his subsequent civil career, and, finally, of his retired life as a farmer on his broad Virginia estate, where, in the peace- ful tranquility of a mind untroubled by vain ambitions or harrassing regrets, he lived the happiest days of his eventful life.
Mount Vernon, the home and tomb, will ever continue the grand focal point to which the generations of our republic will fondly turn in their love and admiration for the great chief. Then, shall we not keep on telling the "old, old story?"-the story which, though so often repeated, will be forever new, and will forever charm and please,-the one which poets shall sing and orators proclaim-the one which sires and grandsires shall relate to the eager cars of little children on their knees, which shall cross every sea, and be heard in every land and in every clime. Let it be told, and again and again repeated, so that no event nor circumstances connected with the bril- liant career of the pater patric shall remain unknown or forgotten. His life and the precious memories of its well shaped and rounded works are the common patrimony of all liberty loving peoples and will be kept fresh and perennial.
LAWRENCE WASHINGTON-HALF BROTHER OF GEORGE.
Lawrence Washington deserves more than the incidental notices which have been accorded to him in other chapters of this Hand-book. In our regard for the merits and career of his distinguished brother, on whom too much praise cannot be bestowed, we are apt to lose sight of the noble and magnanimous spirit which was so instrumental in moulding and shaping that character which shines with such transcendant lustre in the galaxy of our Revolutionary heroes. Fifteen years older than his brother George, he at once in his orphanage filled the place of the correct fraternal exemplar and pa- ternal adviser. When Lawrence came up from the lower Potomac to the occupancy of the domains of twenty-five hundred acres "lying- along and south of Little Hunting Creek," George accompanied him to his new home, established by his father Augustine a short time previously, and named in honor of his old commander, Mount Vernon, until Thomas, sixthi Lord Fairfax needed him to assist his cousin Geo. William Fairfax in establishing with compass and chain the butts and bounds of his possessions in the Shenandoah Valley.
Major Lawrence Washington was the second child and only surviving son of Augus- tine Washington, and his first wife Jane (Butler) Washington, and was born in West- moreland county, Virginia, 1718. He was among the organizers of the "Ohio Com- pany" to explore the western country, encourage settlements, and conduct trade with the Indians. It was in his relations with this company that he won an enviable dis- tinction, as did his brother George after him, by avowing himself an advocate of re- ligious toleration at a time when the statutes of Virginia recognized but one religious faith. Never very strong physically, with the continued and increasing pressure of his public duties in the state council and the land company, his health gave way, and in 1751, accompanied by his brother George, he went for healing to the Island of Barbadoes, but receiving no relief he returned to die at his Mount Vernon home, July, 1752. His marriage with Annie Fairfax had been blessed by four children, three of whom had died. His surviving child, Sarah, was still an infant, at the time of her father's death. After providing in his will for his wife, he left Mount Vernon to his daughter, but in
.
43
OF VIRGINIA AND MARYLAND.
your most humble Jew. Law Washington Nov : 7. 17ty
From an original painting in possession of Mr. Lawrence Washington. By courtesy.
44
SOME OLD HISTORIC LANDMARKS
the event of her death without heirs, it was to go to his "beloved brother George." This daughter died within a year, and George inherited the "Home" before he was twenty-one years of age.
COL. JOHN WASHINGTON, OF CAVE CASTLE, ENGLAND.
The political dissensions which convulsed the English people in the beginning of the seventeenth century, finally brought violent death to their king, Charles the First, and established in the place of their monarchical government, the protectorate of Oliver Cromwell. As a result of the revolution, the prominent adherents of royalty found themselves without occupation or favor under the new rule, and many of them left the country and sought asylum in the newly-opened land "beyond the seas." Among these were Col. John Washington, the great grandfather of the Revolutionary General and first president of the United States, and his brother Lawrence who migrated from South Cave in the east riding of Yorkshire on the banks of the Humber river. They settled first in 1659 in the county of Westmoreland at Bridge's Creek. They had pas- sage over in a ship owned by Edward Prescott of which John Green was Captain. During the voyage a woman of the name of Elizabeth Richardson, a fanatical zealot in- curred the displeasure of some of the passengers on account of her insane rantings and singular behavior, and was hanged by them to the yard arm, under the accusation of practicing the art of witchcraft. In her misfortune she appealed to the commiseration of Col. John who vainly interposed to save her. The wanton and lawless act was so revolting to his intelligence and kinder feelings that upon landing in the Chesa- peake, he reported the case to the au- thorities and had the owner and Captain of the vessel held in bonds to appear for trial before the provincial court of St. Mary's. The trial, owing to the uncer- tainties and delays of those early times never took place.
John Washington seems to have been a man of means as well as influence. He patented a large tract of land between the Potomac and the Rappahannock, raised tobacco extensively and was elect- ed a member of the House of Bur- gesses. His marriage to Ann Pope oc- CAVE CASTLE, ENGLAND. By courtesy of Mr. Henry Dudley Teeter. curred soon after his arrival in the col- ony. Having a military inclination, he was appointed a colonel of the militia. In this capacity he became a conspicuous actor in many of the tragic events of the Bacon rebellion during the year of 1665-6 which followed the harrassing retaliations of the Indians on the colonists for their depredations upon their domains of forest and stream.
After the murder of the herdsman, Henn, in 1666, by the Dogue Indians, in Truro parish, near the Occoquan river, and the prompt pursuit of the murderers by the mounted rangers of the county of Stafford to their town of Assaomeck twenty miles up the Potomac, where they were overtaken and massacred at the doors of their wigwams, all the other tribes on both sides of the river, up and down, took refuge with the Piscat- aways, a powerful tribe dwelling on the heights now occupied by the battlements of Fort Washington; and here in alliance they proceeded to fortify themselves by embank- ments, ditches and palisades against the advance of the colonists. To dislodge this force of savages, two thousand troops of the Maryland and Virginia militia were speed- ily raised and placed under the command of Col. John Washington, who had under him Majors Mason, Brent and other military notables of the time. After a protracted siege of six weeks the small number of the besieged who had escaped bullets and starvation, capitulated to their assailants. The destruction was complete and vengeance was satisfied.
45
OF VIRGINIA AND MARYLAND.
Three years before this siege Col. Jolin as elsewhere related had been engaged with Nicholas Spencer in bringing into the province one hundred immigrants, for which. they obtained a royal patent for 5000 acres now included within the bounds of Mount Vernon.
At the time of this patent, Stafford was the uppermost county, stretching intermin- ably beyond the Alleghanies and to the Mississippi valley. Prince William and Fair- fax were not set off until nearly fifty years afterward. The town of "Assaomcck" was about four miles below Great Hunting Creek on that division of the Mount Vernon "river farm" now known as Andalusia. It was just opposite to Broad Creek in Mary- land.
Col. John died in 1677. He was first married in England. His wife and two children came with him to Virginia, but the three died soon after arriving. As else- where noted his second wife was Ann Pope of Pope's Creek, Westmoreland county. By this alliance he had children-first Lawrence, born 1661, who in 1690 was married to Mildred Warner, of Gloucester Co., Va. His child Augustine was born at Bridge's Creek 1694. He was twice married, first April 20, 1715, to Janc Butler, daughter of Caleb Butler of Westmoreland county, by whom he had four children of whom only Lawrence survived to manhood, born 1718 died in 1752 at his home at Mount Vernon. Augustine born 1720, died young. Their mother died in 1728 and was buried in the fam- ily vault. Augustine was again married to Mary Ball "the rose of Epping Forest" and daughter of Joseph Ball of Lancaster county, Va. By her he had six children, namely, George, born at Wakefield, February 22, 1732-died at Mount Vernon December 14, 1799; Betty born at Wakefield June 20, 1733-died March 1799; Samuel born at Wake- field, November 15, 1734-died 1781; John Augustine, born doubtless at Epsewasson, Fairfax county, Va., January 13, 1756-died 1762; Charles born doubtless at same place, May 2, 1738-died 1799; Mildred born at Wakefield, Junc 21, 1739-died 1740. Mary the mother died at Fredericksburg, August 25, 1789 at the age of 82. Betty Washing- ton was married to Col. Fielding Lewis. Their son Lawrence was married to Eleanor (Nellie) Parke Custis.
SUMMARY OF GEORGE WASHINGTON.
"What is a name; As we wreathe or build it; Stucco or granite, bastile or fane;
And the stern years crumble or freshly gild it As it grows in honor or reaps disdain.
And the birth dawns beacon adown the ages
With a lurid flash or a blaze sublime,
As to meaner goals or diviner stages,
It exemplars Man through the storms of time."
George Washington, whether as a private citizen mingling with his neighbors and friends in a social or business capacity, or whether as a dignified actor and director in the public and national affairs of his country, is one of the very few men in the records of history who have successfully and triumphantly withstood the test and scrutiny of the world's adverse criticism. Hc stands out on the shifting scenes of the world's annals as a grandly imposing and unique personage, meriting and commanding as well, the veneration of every observer, no matter of what country or nationality-and the citizens of the country he loved and defended, in their enthusiasm and gratitude for his brilliant public services, love to contemplate him as a personage divincly ordained and appointed to open the way, not only for civil and religious liberty in America, but everywhere among the oppressed of humanity.
He left the quietude and enjoyments of a rural life when great political emergencies nceded a capable advisor, actor and leader whose sentiments were known to be unre- servedly opposed to royal impositions and exactions and in favor of home rule and independence; and stepping forth on the scene of action was hailed with acclamation as the man eminently qualified for the momentous and responsible dutics before him. By his prompt and patriotic response to a common call he won the popular confidence and esteem, and by his wise and prudent counsels many discordant elements were harmonized and brought into subjection to the cause he had espoused. But his new sphere of action was to be amid perplexities and trials which might have discouraged many a brave commander. His mission was to hastily organize into armies, raw re-
.
46
SOME OLD HISTORIC LANDMARKS
cruits from the peaceful avocations of life and direct them against the veteran soldiers of his king, to dispute their invasion of colonial soil, and while performing this difficult service he was everywhere to move among and come into contact with stealthy foes among his own countrymen who were committed to the cause of royalty and the be- trayal of the colonists.
.
PORTRAIT OF WASHINGTON.
From a painting by Gilbert Stewart.
He was not a soldier because of his fondness for tinsel, parade or mere military glory, but because of the exigencies of the times in which he lived. After these exigencies had passed he gladly yielded up all investiture of military authority and dropped back to the enjoyments of the calm delights of peace and quietude in his rural retreat; not sighing, as many warriors had done before him, that there were no more victories to achieve,
47
OF VIRGINIA AND MARYLAND.
but rejoicing in the coming of the blessed reign of peace. His mission as a soldier had been grandly accomplished and he was well content to await its beneficent results.
As a victor he was magnanimous, lenient and forbearing-never vaunted of his mili- tary prowess; and of all the pictorial representations which adorned his rooms at Mount Vernon, not one of them represented any of the revolutionary scenes in which he had figured.
There have been soldiers who have achieved mightier victories in the field and made conquests more nearly corresponding to the boundlessness of selfish ambitions; states- men who have been connected with more startling upheavals of society; but it is the greatness of Washington that in public trusts he used power solely for the public good; that he was the life and moderator and stay of the most momentous revolution in human affairs; its moving impulse and its restraining power. Combining the centri- petal and centrifugal forces in their utmost strength, and in perfect relations, with crea- tive grandeur of instinct he held ruin in check and renewed and perfected the institu- tions of his country. Finding the colonies disconnected and dependent, he left them such a united and well ordered commonwealth as no visionary had believed to be possible. So that it has been truly said, "he was as fortunate as great and good." This also is the praise of Washington, that never in the tide of time has any man lived who had in so great a degree the almost divine faculty to command the confidence of his fellow men and influence all classes. Wherever he became known in his family, his neighborhood, his county, his native state, the continent, the camp, civil life, the United States, among the common people, in foreign courts, throughout the civilized world of the human race, and even among the savages, he, beyond all other men, had the confi- dence of his kind.
On the sixteenth of June, 1775, he appeared in his place in Congress, after his ap- pointment as commander-in-chief of the colonial armies, and after refusing all pay be- yond his expenses, he spoke with unfeigned modesty to his colleagues-"As the Con- gress desire it, I will enter upon the momentous duty, and exert every power I possess in their service and for the support of the glorious cause. But I beg it may be remem- bered 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."
Washington was not a bigot nor a zealot in religion, nor even a sectarian. "Pro- foundly impressed with confidence in God's providence, and exemplary in his respect for the forms of public worship, no philosopher of the eighteenth century was more firm in the support of freedom of religious opinion; but belief in God and trust in His overruling power formed the essence of his character. He believed that wisdom not only illumines the spirit, but inspires the will. He was a man of action and not of theory nor words. His creed appears in his life, not in his profession. His whole being was one continued act of faith in the eternal, intelligent, moral order of the universe. His broad and liberal conceptions of what constituted the basis of a common fatherhood and a common brotherhood would not allow of any narrowing or dwarfing of his natural convictions by the trammels of religious dogmas or formulas, and so he was tolerant of the fullest religious liberty and thought, believing that every man had the right im- planted in him by the God of nature to worship Him in whatever way seemed to him best, consequently the creed of no church ever held him exclusively within its narrow limits. His true and tried friends were confined to no religious denomination, but were chosen from the widest range of religious thought, and selected only for real worth and integrity of character. His published letters in reply to the personal ad- dresses of the various religious organizations of the United States in the early days of the republic, all breathe the most commendable spirit of Christian liberality and tolera- tion, and show him to have been devoid of any sectarian prejudices. As his diary bears witness, he was accustomed to attendance at all forms of worship, and doubtless he al- ways found something in each which his unprejudiced judgment could approve and ac- cept. In his neighborhood no churches existed but the Episcopal. These the laws of
48
SOME OLD HISTORIC LANDMARKS
the colony had established, to the prejudice of all others, and made respectable, and it was quite natural, from his reverential and orderly habits, that he should have been an habitual attendant at their services with his neighbors and while he was one of the vestry in the church of both Alexandria and Pohick, he doubtless busied himself very little about vestry matters, further than to fill the miscellaneous requirements of the church .*
Though a communicant of the established Church and a respecter of its forms and its clergy from early associations, yet was he in sympathy and perfect accord with Thomas Jefferson, George Mason and Patrick Henry in their efforts to repeal all laws which discrim- inated in favor of any one religious sect by giving to it tithes and glebes, and enabling it thereby to keep up its congregations and attendance upon its services.
He appears to have been so impressed with the im- portance of listening to the inward monitor, or, as the Quakers are wont to express it, "the still, small voice," that in his rules of civility and behavior, written out by him for his guidance at the age of thirteen he enjoined upon himself "to labor to keep alive in his breast that little spark of celestial fire called conscience." At that early age his code of rules show that he had determined to begin life right, and the story of all his subsequent years is evidence that he continued right. The germs of innate goodness and excellence had been implanted in his being and through wise parental solicitude and instruction and a strict obedience to duty; they steadily and beautifully unfolded to public observation and admiration with the passing of the years of his life. The pole-star of his impulses and the drift of his being were right and duty; to these everything was subordinate. He read correctly the motives of men and measured accurately their capabilities, and rarely erred in his estimate of character. He was frank in his intercourse-never dissembled, never stooped
*In those times the duties of the church vestry embraced not only religious matters but also many secular neighborhood affairs, re- quiring the judgment of just such a practical man as Washington. Under the direction of the vestry the tithe collector went forth to levy upon every land owner in the parish. Under their authority the "processioners" surveyed and established all land boundaries. To the Church Wardens it pertained to bind apprentices to their masters-record of the indentures being duly made in the vestry book. To them were paid the fines for the violation of Sunday penal statutes. Thus in 1775 wc find the following entry in the proceedings of the vestry of Christ Church of which Washington was a member. "By cash received of Mr. Wm. Adams for the several fines for deer killing out of season, delivered to him by Mr. Bryan Fairfax £2.10s." and in 1778 the following:
£ s. d.
By Lawrence Monroe for gaming 10 0
Thomas Lewis for hunting on Sabbath 5 0
John Lewis 5 0
money withinmentioned - Isay received by me Received February 26. 1765. From George Washington the
Sum of Twenty five pound Cury, being the consideration
of Germany
mark.
John
FAC SIMILIE-Receipt written by Washington on account of. quit claim.
.
Upon the vestry also devolved the relief of the poor, the medical care of the sick, the charge for the burial of the dead, maintenance of the blind, the lame, the mained and also of foundlings and vagrants.
49
OF VIRGINIA AND MARYLAND.
to mean devices nor subterfuges. While he was open and courtcous, fraternal and ap- proachable, he was never trivial, never forgot his dignity, but always, whatever the occasion, so demcaned himself as to inspire cvery onc with whom he came into con- tact, whether socially or in a business way, with the feeling that he was one of the very first of men among men. Washington was not an orator, and seldom attempted to ex- press himself at length on any public occasion, but as a writer he excelled. His style, as preserved in many volumes of miscellaneous letters and state papers, was plain, clear, and without unnecessary verbiage, and his expressions were rarely marred by instances of false syntax, though he had never had the advantages of more than a very limited common school education; but from his youth upward he had been a constant and at- tentive reader of the best literature of the times, and was very observant of the acknowl- edged models of the English language.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.