Thomson, Charles, 122–24
Thompson, Joseph, 177
Thompson, Mary V., 219n, 221n
Tilton, James, 104
tobacco, 43
Tom (slave, Caribbean), 177–78
Townsend, Robert, 80, 82, 229n
Townshend Acts, 46, 47
Treaty of Paris, 103, 117
Trenton, N.J., 83, 126–27
Battles of, 60, 75
Trinity Church, 140, 226n
Trumbull, Jonathan, Jr., 192
tuberculosis, xx, 11, 93, 153
Undeclared War, 191–92
Unger, Harlow Giles, xxxi, 213n
United States of America:
Articles of Confederation of, 103, 116–18
bank proposal for, 138–39
Congress of, see Congress
Constitution of, see Constitution, U.S.
Constitutional Convention of, 118–19, 141
debt of, 138–39, 147, 157, 164
Declaration of Independence of, 49, 91
dollars issued in, 114
French treaty of alliance with, 153–54
presidential elections in, see presidential elections
sovereignty of, 67
university, national, 245n
Valley Forge, 119, 228n
View of the Conduct of the Executive, in the Foreign Affairs of the United States, A (Monroe), 189–91
Vindication (Randolph), 166
Virginia, 139
Assembly, 194
Fredericksburg, 94–95
House of Burgesses, 36, 40, 42, 46–47, 49, 95
militia of, 13–14, 15–22, 23–25, 35, 39
Richmond, 94
slaves emancipated in, 79, 88, 178, 199
Walpole, Horace, 19
War of 1812, 244n
War of Jenkins’ Ear, 5
Warren, Mercy Otis, 140
Washington, Anne Steptoe (wife of Samuel), 90
Washington, Ann Fairfax (wife of Lawrence), 6, 13
Washington, Augustine (father), xxxiv, 3–4, 133
death of, 4, 6, 28, 228n
marriage of, 3–4
will of, 5, 8
Washington, Augustine, Jr. (half-brother), 4
Washington, Betty (sister), see Lewis, Betty Washington
Washington, Bushrod (nephew), 114, 127, 298, 204, 206, 249n
Washington, Charles (brother), 4, 30, 93, 232n
Washington, D.C., 139–40, 150, 171, 196, 202
Washington, Fanny Bassett, see Lear, Fanny Bassett Washington
Washington, Ferdinand (nephew), 232n
Washington, George:
accomplishments of, xiii, 150
Adams compared with, 121–22
Adams’s relationship with, 111
advice to step-granddaughters, 31–32
as aged by war, 101
animals of, xxi–xxii, 113–14
Arnold and, 84–86
Barbados trip of, 11–13
battle injuries avoided by, xxxii, 24
in Battle of Fort Necessity, 19, 35
in Battle of the Monongahela, 24–25, 35
battles of the Revolution, at a glance, 57–62
biographies of, xxv–xxviii, xxi–xxxix
birth of, 4
bloodletting treatment administered to, 194–95, 199
breakfast of, 183–85
British soldiers’ brutality and, 72–73
cabinet of, 144–45, 153, 162, 167
as celebrity, 104, 114, 116
cherry tree story about, xxx
childlessness of, xxxiii–xxxiv, 29
cold contracted by, 193–95
as Constitutional Convention president, 118–19
Continental Army commanded by, 49–54, 123
criticisms of, 146, 156–57, 164, 171–72, 174–75, 189–91
death of, 195, 198–200, 201, 248n
Delaware River crossing of, 60, 75–76, 225n
dentures of, xxviii–xxx
as diplomat and political strategist, 69
diseases and illnesses of, xix–xx, xxxii, xxxiii, 12, 27, 91, 131–32, 156, 193–95
early life of, 5, 228n
elected president, 110, 119–20, 121–22
executive privilege asserted by, 166
executive team assembled by, 137–38
farewell address as commander, 104–6, 128
father of, see Washington, Augustine
favorite writers of, xv
finances of, 20, 28, 30, 38, 42, 43, 51, 99, 117, 128–29, 178–79, 192, 196
food and drink favorites of, xv, xxix, 183–85
in French and Indian War, 19, 23–25, 30, 35–38
as French and Indian War instigator, 19
friends and estranged friendships of, xv, 110–11, 171
funeral and burial of, 201–3, 206
Genêt and, 156–57, 243n
girls’ theft from, xiii, xxxix
at a glance, xiii–xv
in House of Burgesses, 36, 40, 42, 46–47, 49
inaugural address of, 130
inauguration of, 127, 129–31
Indians and, 74–75, 135–38, 160
inheritance after mother’s death, 133
Jefferson’s relationship with, 111, 171
jobs of, xiii, 9–10
land owned by, 10, 39–40, 114, 128, 133, 196
Lee as manservant of, 92–93, 101, 103, 118, 194, 297–98
Lee’s forced retirement and, 125
legacy as concern of, 179
Life Guards of, 66, 67
likes and dislikes of, xiv
Madison’s relationship with, 111
mail received by, 115, 164, 239n
masculinity of, xxxii–xxxiv
as Mason, 130, 201, 238n
as military leader, 57, 69
misinformation campaigns of, 82, 227n
Monroe’s published critique of, 189–91
Monroe’s relationship with, 111
moral propriety of, xxxiii–xxxiv
mother of, see Washington, Mary Ball
Mount Vernon estate of, see Mount Vernon
mules and, xxii, 113–14
myths and lies about, xvii, xxviii–xxx
navy enlistment and, xxxvi, 7–9, 216n
Neutrality Proclamation of, 153–55, 163
office-seekers and, 127–28
Paine’s relationship with, 111, 171–72
paintings of, xxviii, xxxi–xxxii, 39, 225n
political opposition to, 110–11
and presidential election of 1800, 192
in presidential mansion in New York, 127–28
presidential role and, 129, 138, 150
presidential title of, 122
Randolph scandal and, 165–66
reelected president, 151
religious views of, xiv, 130, 132–33
resignation as commander, 103–7
resignation as president considered by, 149–51
retirement following American Revolution, 102, 113–20, 150
retirement following presidency, 172–73, 187–92
retirement schedule of, 188
Sally Fairfax and, 29–30, 32–33, 36–37
schooling of, 5
second inauguration of, 153
self-control of, xxxi, 161, 190
on “Self created Societies,” 161
sex and, 29
slaves and, xxvi, xxix, 12, 29, 43–45, 50, 74, 88, 89, 92–93, 115, 118–19, 124, 125, 141–43, 169–71, 175–79
slaves’ cemetery and, 206
slaves freed in will of, 196–99, 203–4
slaves pursued by, xxvi, 170–71, 175–76, 196
slaves sold by, 177–78
smallpox contracted by, xx, 12, 91
spying and, 69, 77–78, 81–86, 226n
stepchildren of, see Custis, John “Jacky”; Custis, Patsy
as stepfather, 38, 40–42
as surveyor, 9–10
teeth of, xxviii–xxx, 101, 117
temper of, 190–91
timeline for, xxiii
unity as goal of, 141, 146, 147, 206
university idea of, 245n
valedictory address of, 173
at Valley Forge, 119, 228n
Virginia militia career of, 13–14, 15–22, 23–25, 35, 38, 39
Weems’s biography of, xxx
in Wheatley’s poem, 74, 225n
Whiskey Rebellion and, 157–61
wills of, 195–99, 203–4
Washington, George Augustine (nephew), 113, 201
death of, 153
Washington, George Steptoe (nephew), 232n
Washington, Harriot (niece), 232n
Washington, John (great-grandfather), 15–16
Washington, John Augustine, II (nephew of Bushrod), 206
Washington, John Augustine (brother), xxxv, 4, 17, 20, 90, 93, 232n
Washington, Lawrence (half-brother), 4–10, 11–13, 29, 216n
death of, 13
tuberculosis of, 11
Washington, Lawrence Augustine (nephew), 187, 232n
Washington, Lund (cousin), xxix, 87–90, 93, 95, 99, 179
Washington, Martha (wife), 27–28, 40–42, 47, 90, 92, 97, 98, 101, 113, 116, 118, 123, 124, 128, 130–32, 140, 143, 169, 170, 179, 188, 189, 202–4, 221n
burial vault for, 206
Carter and, 28
and childlessness of marriage to George, xxxiv
children of, see Custis, John “Jacky”; Custis, Patsy
death of, 204
Fanny and, 113, 118, 120, 140
first husband of, 28, 33, 204
George’s correspondence with, 52–53
George’s courtship with, 30–33, 36
and George’s final illness and death, 193, 194, 200
George’s funeral and, 202
George’s marriage to, xxxiii–xxxiv, 38
George’s meeting of, 27, 28
and George’s will provision regarding slaves, 196–99, 203–4
Jefferson and, 202–3
kidnapping plot against, 87–88
slaves freed by, 204
smallpox and, 90–92
wealth of, 28, 39, 42
Washington, Mary Ball (mother), xxxiv–xl, 3–9, 28, 30, 93–95, 116, 120, 131
breast cancer of, xl, 124–26, 131, 132
burial of, 214n
characteristics passed on to George, xxxviii–xxxix
Chernow’s description of, xxxiv–xxxvii
death of, xl, 132–33
early life of, 3
education and literacy of, xxxvii, xxxviii
Ferry Farm and, 4–5
George’s letters to, 23, 24
marriage of, 3–4
and navy enlistment for George, xxxvi, 8–9, 216n
slaves of, 94, 133
will of, 133
Washington, Mildred (sister), 4
Washington, Samuel (brother), 4, 90, 93, 99, 232n
Washington, Sarah (daughter of Lawrence), 13
Washington: A Life (Chernow), xxvii, xxxii, xxxiv–xxxvii, 214n, 216n, 232n
Washington Crossing the Delaware (Leutze), 75–76
Washington Monument, 203
Wayne, “Mad Anthony,” 160
Webb, Samuel, 65
Weems, Mason L., xxx
West Indies, 5, 11, 44, 163, 177
West Point, 85
Wheatley, Phillis, 74, 225n
Whipple, Joseph, 175, 176
whiskey, tax on, 157–58, 243n
Whiskey Rebellion, 157–61, 165
White Marsh, Battle of, 61
White Plains, Battle of, 59
Whitting, Anthony, 44
widows, 5
Wiegel, Philip, 161
Wilson (slave), 201
Wilson, James, 159
Wolcott, Oliver, Jr., 162, 164–65, 176
women:
historians, xxvi–xxvii, 213n
remarried widows, 5
sexual assault of, 71–73
spies, 80, 83–84, 228n
Wood, Gordon, 214n
Woodhull, Abraham, 80–82
Wright, Joseph, 116
yellow fever, 239n, 242n
Yorktown, Siege of, 62, 66, 79, 90, 96–98, 227n
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About the Author
Alexis Coe is the award-winning author of Alice + Freda Forever: A Murder in Memphis (soon to be a major motion picture). Coe has frequently appeared on CNN and the History Channel, and has contributed to The New York Times, The New Yorker, and many other publications. She is a host of Audible's Presidents Are People Too! and No Man's Land. Coe holds a graduate degree in American history and was a research curator at the New York Public Library. She lives in Brooklyn, New York.
* A real “Do as I say, not as I did” moment
* Nelly Parke Custis and George Washington Custis quoted in Stephen A. McLeod ed., Dining with the Washingtons: Historic Recipes, Entertaining, and Hospitality from Mount Vernon (Chapel Hill, NC: UNC Press Books, 2011), 38. I adapted the recipe, with small changes, from the same book.
* Money, which could mean coins, minted from copper, silver, and gold, is described in eighteenth-century units. There was also “money of account,” which is what ledger sheets hold, and the back-and-forth between the tangible money and money described only on paper, in an account, introduces inconsistencies. Colonial currencies were especially fluid; when the Washingtons married in 1759, the Virginia pound fluctuated between 1.35 and 2.45 British Sterling.
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