                          STB-NO98.HTM
                                
                       GEORGE WASHINGTON
                      SOME PERSONAL FACTS
                                
                        By James C. Rees

Bro. James Rees is the resident director of George Washington's Mount Vernon, In  addition to
this STB, Bro. Rees also authored the 2-91 and 3-91 STB's titled George Washington, A Truly
Remarkable Man-part 1 and 2. He is a member of Alexandria- Washington   Lodge  #22,
Alexandria, Virginia.

Please see the boxed note on page 8.  MSA is very proud to participate in the outstanding work
being done by both Mount Vernon and the George Washington Masonic National memorial in 
helping to commemorate George Washington's inspiring  Leadership.
            
            Editor


 George Washington's face is remarkably familiar, in part because we see his: portrait each time
we use a dollar bill. Yet very Few Americans possess much knowledge about the man behind the
image. As we approach a special anniversary year the bicentennial of Washington's death it is
particularly  distressing that Washington is losing his well-deserved place in the classroom. His
portrait disappeared from most classrooms walls decades ago, but now Washington is also
becoming less and less prominent in history textbooks.

 The fourth-grade textbook I used in. the public school system in Richmond, Virginia, in 1962
includes almost ten times more coverage of Washington than the history textbook used in the very
Same school today.  Obviously. today's book must cover almost four additional decades of
historic events. Yet Washington and the other Founding fathers have clearly been short-changed.

      What  makes this situation especially disturbing is this simple fact: we need the example
set by George Washington now more than ever. People today long for men and women who
possess old fashioned qualities such as honesty, strong morals, good judgment. patriotism,
courage and, most of all, character. In 1999, our challenge is not simply to relate the tried-and-
true stories of Washington's leadership in both war and peace. We also need to communicate the
true personality and character of this great man. so that younger generations will once again be
attracted to Washington as a role model in their own lives. So the next tine you gather together
with Family and friends, turn the conversation to George Washington, and ask your friends if they
are aware of these fascinating aspects of Washington's life.

1. Washington was one early  America's foremost businessman.  Not only was he successful  at
harvesting several cash crops. but he also operated a successful gristmill and a distillery  that
produced  more than 11,000 gallons of liquor over a period of a year. He organized a fishing
operation  that netted some one million shad and herring in a short six-week season. He invested
in real estate in a major way expanding his Mount Vernon estate from 2,000 to 8,000 acres. He
purchased more than 60,000 additional acres of land in what would today be seven different states
and the District of Columbia. Among his holdings were 2,000 acres near Berkeley Springs, West
Virginia, 4,000 acres of the Dismal Swamp, and lots in both the City of Alexandria and the new
nation's capital. He also owned more than 33,000 acres in the Ohio Valley, more than a thousand
acres in Maryland. 5,000 acres in Kentucky, and 3,000 acres near the site of present-day
Cincinnati. Despite the fact that he was constantly distracted from his own business ventures by
the call of his country. Washington was a successful entrepreneur who believed wholeheartedly in
investing in the future of America.

2.Washington was in command of the entire Virginia Regiment in the French and Indian War,
when he was just 23 years old.  At the onset of the French and Indian War. Washington joined
General Edward Braddock's ill-fated mission to the Monongahela in 1755 as an aide-de-camp.
This was by no means a shining moment in Washington's career. Washington warned Braddock
that the guerrilla-style tactics used by the enemy would require a different approach to warfare.
but Braddock ignored Washington's counsel, and his forces were severely defeated. The General
himself was mortally wounded, When Genera! Braddock fell. the men around him naturally turned
to Washington, who organized the retreat and kept the army from disbanding.. By the end of the
battle, a large percentage of the English soldiers had fallen, and Washington himself had four
bullet holes in his coat and was on his third horse. Yet the young Virginian was an unquestionable
hero even in defeat, He was almost immediately appointed a colonel and given complete
command of the Virginia Regiment Washington was just 23 years old, and off to an auspicious
start in his military career.

3.Washington never  went to college, but he was one of the most well-read and accomplished
writers of all American Presidents.  Washington's father died when  he was eleven years old. As
the oldest son of a second wife, Washington discovered there was little money or time for him to
attend a university. Instead, he became a surveyor at age 16 to help support his Family. Still,
Washington was a voracious reader, and he eventually assembled a personal library of some 900
books of all descriptions. He was also a prolific writer. At the age of 14, he copied down 110
rules of civility. Five decades later. he was still writing lengthy letters to governors, congressional
leaders and inf1uencial friends in support of our new government. Scholars at the University of
Virginia are currently assembling the papers of George Washington and. before the project is
over, the editors expect to issue about 90 separate volumes. In an age before typewriters and
word processors. Washington recognized the power of an old-fashioned quill pin.

4.In all likelihood, Washington could have been America's first king, but he turned down a
crown. . Scholars seem to agree that the most critical moment of Washington's military career
came not during the war itself; but at the close of' the Revolutionary War. Many of Washington's
officers were furious that they had not been properly paid or appreciated for their efforts in the
Revolution. So they started to plan a second revolt this time against Congress. There was talk of
placing Washington as King of a new nation. But Washington was not about to become a
monarch like the one he had worked so hard to defeat, so he used his powers of persuasion to
stop the revolt before it really started, Unlike successful leaders of past revolutions, Washington
willfully and  unconditionally surrendered his power just when it reached its apex. When many
world leaders expected Washington to assume his rightful place as the leader of a new nation, he
laid down his sword and took up his plow. Today  we take our freedom so much for granted and
accept democracy as so natural and so right that it is hard to imagine the importance of
Washington's voluntary retirement. But in 1783 it was an earth-shattering event, The highly
skeptical King George III. perhaps confident that Washington's retirement was some sort of
scam. predicted that if the commander in chief gives up all his power and returns to his farm he
will be the ''greatest man in the world.'' Just a few years later when Napoleon lay on his deathbed
defeated and forlorn his last words were "they expected me to be another Washington." It was as
if the people of France had expected the impossible  how could anyone live up to Washington's
standards?

5. Washington was one the wealthiest men in Virginia, but also one of the most frugal. After his
father died when he was just eleven years old, Washington, his mother and his siblings 
had to struggle to make ends meet. At the age of 16, Washington started work as a surveyor to
help his mother cover the family expenses Washington's fortunes changed after he inherited
Mount Vernon farm his older half-brother and he married the wealthy widow Martha Dandridge
Custis. But throughout his life. he remembered the value of a dollar. When he needed a much
larger home, he continued to add to a simple frame house instead of tearing down a perfectly
good  structure and starting from scratch, The staircase in the small original house was recycled
when the house was expanded, to serve as the access to the garret. When the Revolutionary War
started, he purchased a used traveling trunk-much like you or I would at a yard sale today-and
placed his family brass nameplate directly on top of the last owner's initials. He was always
pressing his farm managers and slaves to recycle old materials, and to use fallen wood from the
forests rather that cut down trees, A stickler for detail, Washington once calculated that a bushel
of timothy seeds would include on average 13,410,00 kernels. Washington died a wealthy man
because he believed in his friend Benjamin Franklin's edict, 'a penny saved is a penny earned'.

6.Washington owned slaves, but at the end of his life he was against slavery. Washington became
a slave owner at the age of 11. When he inherited about 10 slaves at the death of his father. By
the time he died, Washington and his wife owned more than 300, Yet over the course 50 years
Washington's opinions about the institution of slavery changed dramatically . His travels north
taught him that agriculture could be carried out successfully without slave labor, and he witnessed
young African Americans fighting fiercely for the colonists' cause in the Revolution. Unlike most
of the founding fathers who owned slaves, Washington freed his slaves in his last will and
testament and set aside funds to help them begin a new life. He wrote on several occasions that he
was opposed to slavery noting that "there is not a man living who wishes more than I do, to see a
plan adopted for the abolition of it."

7.Washington's teeth were not made from wood. but they were definitely false. Lots of people
were "dentally challenged" in the 18th century and because there were far fewer methods to
prevent decay than we have today. few- adults possessed a full set of pearly whites It seems that
Washington tried to crack walnuts with his teeth when he was a teenager. and not long after they
began to loosen and fall out. Washington's dental problems were clearly evident by the time he
reached his late twenties, when a fellow soldier noted chat Washington's "mouth is large and
generally firmly closed, but . . . from time to time disclosed some defective teeth." Although
Washington followed the advice of contemporary dentists, he used dental powders and a
toothbrush remarkably similar to our own-his dental dilemma persisted. In the 1750s, a French
dentist tried unsuccessfully to transplant teeth to Washington's mouth, and some evidence exists
that several enterprising slaves at Mount Vernon sold their teeth for this experiment. By the time
he took the oath of office as president. Washington was in full dentures, which produced a
noticeable change in the appearance of his face. as well as a somewhat hollow- and flat voice.
Despite legends to the contrary, Washington's false teeth were not constructed from wood. The
teeth were carved from the larger teeth of animals such as cows or in some cases, from ivory
tusks. They were then attached to a metal frame, tied with tiny springs. Washington tried several
different pairs of dentures, but always complained that they were ill-fitting  

8.Washington was in the midst of many savage battles but he was never hit by a bullet or touched
by a sword.  Washington's life was full of "near-misses." Although he was often in the forefront 
of chaotic battles where many men fell dead and wounded, Washington was never injured. He also
survived bouts of malaria, a severe case of smallpox, typhoid fever a slight case of tuberculosis,
two near-fatal encounters with the flue, and a serious ease of pneumonia. An infection in his leg
nearly took his life. Fortunately, Washington faced each of these trials with courage and
determination. It may simply be luck or coincidence that thc Father of Our Country came so close
to death, both on the battlefield and from illness on so many different occasions but a better
explanation may be inscribed opposite George Washington's- portrait on the dollar bill. The words 
"In God we Trust" were exceedingly meaningful to George Washington.



How Freemasons can
Honor Washington in 1999


Mount Vernon is working with the leaders of the George Washington National Masonic
Memorial to encourage all lodges to actively participate in the George Washington Bicentennial
1999. A Free booklet outlining ways to commemorate Washington' s leadership is being sent to all
lodges under separate cover. Now is the perfect time to plan a special event to honor George
Washington and to help create new- educational programs for local scholars.

For more information, please call the George Washington Bicentennial toll-free hotline at l-877-
GWB- 1999, or check Mount Vernon's two websites at http://www.mountvernon.org and
http://www.gwashington1999.org

