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.

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.

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.

On Wednesday, February 10, 1790, President Washington wrote in his diary that he

Sat from 9 until 11 Oclock for Mr. Trumbull to draw my picture in his Historical pieces.

This was the first of a series of sittings by the president for the painter John Trumbull. Washington sat for Trumbull at least seven other mornings in February and March 1790 (including at least once on horseback), and then again the following summer. Trumbull — who had briefly served as a personal aide to Washington during the Revolution, and who had completed a full-length portrait of the general a decade earlier  — used these new sketches of Washington in several paintings, including some of those hanging in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol. (The picture at the top of this post, showing Washington resigning his commission, is a detail from one of Trumbull's Rotunda paintings. It is also the image this blog's logo is based on. You can see a high-resolution version here.)

The fact that Washington, who had no shortage of obligations to occupy his time, was willing to spend so many hours sitting for Trumbull suggests not just that he respected his friend's craft, but also that he understood how important it was for the new nation to have a shared founding story.