Supplies Extremely Precarious (Day in the Life - February 18)

The misery and privation of the Valley Forge winter (1777-78) are well known: thousands of troops died of disease, provisions of clothing and food were in shockingly short supply, and morale plummeted to the point that General Washington worried about mutiny. But even as the encamped army foraged and scrabbled for food, its officers had to think ahead — to provisioning the army for its next campaign once the winter broke.

In early February 1778, Ephraim Blaine, the Pennsylvanian who was serving as the army's Deputy Commissary General of Purchases, suggested to General Washington and the Continental Congress that they encourage farmers to start bulking up some of their cattle for the purpose of giving them over to the army later in the year. Accordingly, on February 18, 1778, General Washington issued a "Proclamation on Cattle" addressed to "the Inhabitants of New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland & Virginia."

The proclamation began by noting that, during the previous three years, "the brave Subjects of these States have contended, not unsuccessfully, with one of the most powerful Kingdoms upon Earth." Now, Washington wrote, the Americans are "upon a level" with their opponents and might even "speedily" conclude the war if they can build an army strong enough to "strike some decisive blow."

But a bigger army would mean more mouths to feed:

In the prosecution of this object, it is to be feared, that so large an Army may suffer for the want of Provisions. The distance, between this and the Eastern States, from whence considerable supplies of Flesh [i.e., meat] have been hitherto drawn, will necessarily render those supplies extremely precarious. And unless the virtuous yeomanry of the States of New Jersey, Pensylvania, Delaware, Maryland and Virginia will exert themselves to prepare Cattle, for the use of the Army, during the Months of May, June and July next, great difficulties may arise in the course of the Campaign. It is therefore recommended to the Inhabitants of those States, to put up and feed, immediately, as many of their Stock Cattle, as they can spare, so as that they may be driven to this Army, within that Period.

To induce cooperation, Washington appealed to his readers' patriotism, their self-interest, and in the end, their desire for self-preservation:

A bountiful price will be given, and the Proprietors may assure themselves, that they will render a most essential service to the illustrious cause of their Country, and contribute in a great degree to shorten this bloody contest. But should there be any, so insensible to the common interest, as not to exert themselves, upon these generous principles; the private interest of those, whose situation makes them liable to become immediate subjects to the Enemies incursions, should prompt them, at least to a measure, which is calculated to save their property from plunder, their families from insult, and their persons from abuse, hopeless confinement—or perhaps a violent death.

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[Photo by Tony Austin (CC)]

The Mount Vernon Statement — and the Mount Vernon estate

Earlier today, several conservatives signed a document they dubbed the Mount Vernon Statement, loosely modeled on a previous statement of conservative principles. They named the new document after George Washington's estate to emphasize their belief that the nation's founding ideas and ideals are "under sustained attack" and that those ideas and ideals should have a direct bearing on today's policy questions.

The impresarios behind the Mount Vernon Statement were denied permission to hold their event on the grounds of Washington's Mount Vernon mansion; the caretaker, the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association of the Union, does not permit political events on the grounds. So today's signing event was instead held at the nearby Collingwood Library and Museum on Americanism.

Ben Frumin of TalkingPointsMemo ribbed the organizers of the Mount Vernon Statement for being rejected by "the actual Mount Vernon." But today's event was held on land that actually was part of Washington's broader Mount Vernon estate. Here's a quick gloss: Washington's brother Lawrence died in 1752; when Lawrence's widow died in 1761, Washington inherited the house at Mount Vernon and the land it was on. Even while Lawrence's widow was still alive, Washington lived on and rented the land from her, and he constantly sought opportunities to expand the estate. His largest single addition to the estate's acreage came in 1760, when, after some litigation, the full nastiness of which is barely hinted at here, he bought 1,806 nearby acres from William Clifton.

By the end of his life, Washington's Mount Vernon estate had grown to about 7,365 acres that he divided into several working farms. One of those farms, the "Mansion House Farm," is essentially the part that the Ladies' Association now preserves. More to the east, on the land he bought from Clifton in 1760, was what Washington called the "River Farm."

The Collingwood Library stands on the easternmost part of the River Farm. In the animation below, I've overlaid two images. First, a satellite picture from Google Maps has two purple pins marking the locations of the Mount Vernon mansion (on the left) and the Collingwood Library (on the right). And second, a detail from this map, based on Washington's 1793 map of the Mount Vernon estate. As you can see, the Collingwood Library is on a parcel of land Washington marked "E."

Describing the parcel marked "E," Washington noted on his 1793 map that "the use of this farm" was given over "to a Relation." For reasons succinctly summarized here, that tract ended up in the hands of Washington's friend and sometime secretary Tobias Lear after Washington died; what happened to it later is hinted at on the Collingwood website here.

The bottom line: today's signing ceremony wasn't held on the grounds of the Mount Vernon mansion, for understandable reasons. But, whatever the merits of the Mount Vernon Statement, it was indeed signed at a spot that was part of Washington's broader Mount Vernon estate.

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TO LEARN MORE: The Library of Congress has a collection of other maps of the Clifton land and the River Farm here.

Very Crowded (Day in the Life - February 17)

The final weeks of President Washington's administration were filled with congratulatory visits from prominent political and social figures. So, for instance, Claypoole's American Daily Advertiser records that on Friday, February 17, 1797, members of the Pennsylvania state legislature "waited on the President of the United States with an address." This was the first of three visits from members of the state legislature, thanking the president for his service and wishing him well.

As the president's days in office dwindled, a rumor spread around Philadelphia that the night of February 17 would mark the final of Martha Washington's tea parties. Early in the administration, the Washingtons established a routine for meeting and mingling with society; this routine was carefully choreographed to balance republican responsibilities and social proprieties. On Tuesday afternoons, the president hosted a levee — somewhat like today's cocktail parties, except much stiffer, without alcohol, and limited to men. On Friday evenings, Mrs. Washington hosted receptions that were more relaxed and comfortable, encumbered with far fewer formalities. Both sexes were present, and the women of Philadelphia took great pains to look their best. Coffee and tea were served; alcohol, again, was not.

In his diary for February 17, Washington noted the weather, then remarked briefly on that night's reception:

A very crowded drawing Room.

Dozens had turned out for Martha's last social occasion. But as it happened, the rumor was wrong: February 17 wasn't Martha Washington's final party. That was on March 3, 1797, the day before the inauguration of John Adams.

This Wooden Country (Day in the Life - February 13)

Different climates and geographic regions pose their own difficulties for the farmer — challenges related to weather or soil, predators or plants. In much of the east coast of the United States, one of the great challenges facing farmers was the abundance of trees. Unlike the Great Plains, where trees are rare, the east coast was and remains home to many dense forests. For the farmer, trees were valuable for their lumber, of course, but the ornery stumps left behind were an impediment to the cultivation of fields.

As a farmer, George Washington was intimately familiar with the nuisance of stumps. He was also an agricultural innovator who paid close attention to the latest scientific theories and technological advances. So it is no surprise to find among his letters this note, sent from Mount Vernon on February 13, 1764 to Robert Cary & Co., his purchasing agents in London:

We have been curiously entertained of late with the description of an Engine lately constructed (I beleive in Switzerland, and undergone some Improvements since in England) for taking up Trees by the Roots—among other things it is related that Trees of considerable Diameter are forced up by this Engine—that Six hands in working one of them will raise two or three hundred Trees in the space of a day—and that an Acre of Ground may be eased of the Trees and laid fit for Plowing in the same time—How far these assertions have been amply reallized by repeated experiments it is impossible for me at this distance to determine but if the accounts are not greatly exaggerated such powerful assistance must be of vast utility in many parts of this wooden Country where it is impossible for our Force (and labourers are not to be hired here) between the finishing of one Crop and preparations for another to clear Grounds fast enough to afford the proper changes either in the Planting or Farming business—The chief purport of this Letter therefore is to beg the favour of you Gentlemen to make minute enquiries into the Tryals that have been made by order of the Society and if they have prooved satisfactory to send me one of these Engines by the first Ship bound to this River (Potomack)—If they are made of different sizes, I shoud prefer one of a middle Size, capable of raising a tree of 15 or 18 Inches Diameter—The Costs I am pretty much a stranger to 15, 20, & 25 Guineas have been spoké of but the Price (were it dble that) I shoud totally disregard provided the Engine is capable of performing what is related of it, and not of that complicated nature to be easily disordered, and rendered unfit for use, but constructed upon so plain, simple, and durable a Plan that the common Artificers of this Country may be able to set them to rights if any accidents shoud happen to them—If you shoud send one be so good as to let me have with it the most ample direction’s for the effectual using of it, together with a model of its manner of operating.

It isn't clear how Washington heard about the stump-removing machine; nor is it clear whether the machine actually existed. (A machine capable of removing "two or three hundred" trees in a single day would probably require tools, power, and portability that had not yet been invented in his day.) We have no record of his ever having received such a machine, nor any response from his agents.

The First Fugitive Slave Act (Day in the Life - February 12)

The congressional compromises over slavery in the decades before the Civil War included the notorious Fugitive Slave Act, passed into law in 1850. But this law had been preceded by another Fugitive Slave Act, passed in the final weeks of the 2nd U.S. Congress. It was signed by President Washington on February 12, 1793, less than a month before his second inauguration.

The act created a mechanism for doing something that was mandated by the U.S. Constitution. Article 4, section 2, clause 3 of the Constitution reads:

No Person held to Service or Labour in one State, under the Laws thereof, escaping into another, shall, in Consequence of any Law or Regulation therein, be discharged from such Service or Labour, but shall be delivered up on Claim of the Party to whom such Service or Labour may be due.

However, the Constitution did not specify how fugitive slaves would be returned. With the 1793 law, Congress established the legal process that slaveowners could pursue in recapturing escaped slaves. The law also established a penalty for anyone trying to stymie slaveowners hunting for a escaped slaves: anyone who "obstruct[ed] or hinder[ed]" a slaveowner, or who rescued or hid a slave, would have to pay $500.

The Celebration of My Birth Day (Day in the Life - February 11)

When is George Washington's birthday?

The federal holiday called "Washington's Birthday" this year falls on February 15. But that's just when we observe his birthday, which actually falls on February 22.

But if there were a calendar on the wall of the room where Washington was born, it would have read February 11. The American colonies, like Great Britain herself, remained on the Julian calendar until 1752.

After 1752, Washington, like many others of the era, marked his birthday on the "real" (that is, the astronomically correct) date of the 22nd. But some people continued to mark it on the 11th. During Washington's lifetime, the city of Alexandria celebrated his birthday on the 11th, and in the last year of his life, he noted in his diary on February 11 that he

Went up to Alexandria to the celebration of my birth day. Many Manœuvres were performed by the Uniform Corps and an elegant Ball & Supper at Night.

The ball was held at Gadsby's Tavern, which you can still visit and dine at today.