Q.David Bowers
When George was 11 his father died, and his elder half-brother Lawrence became his guardian and gave him affection and care. The properties of the senior Washington were inherited by Lawrence who developed them further. A mansion, Mt. Vernon, was built on a 2,500 acre parcel. Lawrence married Anne Fairfax, daughter of a Virginia gentleman and landholder. In the home of Lawrence and Anne Washington, George was introduced to a world of society, culture, and refinement.
George Washington's interest in mathematics and geography combined and led him to surveying, which was his first professional endeavor. At the age of 16 he was an assistant in a surveying party sent by Lord Fairfax, who owned more than 5,000,000 acres in Virginia, to inspect his property with the view in mind to assert the owner's right to the many squatters who were infiltrating the lands from Pennsylvania to the north. In 1749, a year later, he was appointed official surveyor of Culpeper County. Surveying demanded a rigorous discipline and often involved extended trips under primitive conditions away from home.
In July 1752 Lawrence died. George was named his executor and administrator of his estate, with the heir being Lawrence's daughter Sarah. Sarah died two months later, and George, named in the will as the residual heir assumed ownership of Mount Vernon and the vast surrounding properties. His interest in farming was developed further, and within a decade, Mount Vernon was a thriving farming community complete with agricultural lands, forests, livestock, and sporting facilities.
On January 6, 1759, he married Martha Custis, (formerly Dandridge), a widow and the mother of two children. Martha's holding of about 15,000 acres of land, including much valuable property near Williamsburg, was incorporated into the family holdings. Washington enjoyed plantation life. He became interested in all aspects. Fertilization of land, crop rotation, cross-breeding of livestock, and other concepts were tried. Tobacco and wheat were the main products of the Mount Vernon plantation, although other crops were planted as well. He endeavored to make the enterprise as self-sufficient as possible. Fishing facilities on the adjacent Potomac River supplied bass, shad, and other fish, some of which were preserved for future use. A stone mill for grinding flour, a still for producing rum, ovens for making charcoal, kilns for producing brick, a blacksmith shop, and livery facilities were part of the Mount Vernon establishment. At one time a buffalo was introduced to Mount Vernon to test its desirability as a source of meat.
When Washington assumed control of Mount Vernon in 1752 there were 18 slaves. By 1760 the number had climbed to 49. From all accounts Washington was a benevolent slave owner and, in fact, was fundamentally against the practice: "I am principled against this kind of traffic in the human species," he noted. The slaves returned his care and affection, and few desired to leave.
Washington's military and political career began in 1752 when Lieutenant Governor Robert Dinwiddie awarded him the post of adjutant for the Southern District of Virginia at a salary of 100 pounds per year. The next year his duties were expanded to include larger territory. In 1753 Dinwiddie sent Washington, accompanied by an interpreter, scout, and four others, to land areas in the Ohio Valley which were being encroached by the French, in contravention of the wishes of the British crown. Following a hazardous journey Washington's group met with the French general at Fort Le Beouf, about 20 miles south of Lake Erie. He was informed in no uncertain terms that the French intended to occupy the Ohio region. Washington left hurriedly to carry the news back toVirginia. On the return trip there were two close brushes with death, one from an Indian arrow which was dispatched at close range but missed, another when Washington fell off a raft into the Allegheny River which in that season was filled with ice floes.
Dinwiddie, eager to secure the British hold on the area, established a campaign to obtain the Ohio River area. Joshua Fry was appointed colonel of a Virginia regiment and Washington was named as lieutenant colonel. Men were recruited early in 1754. In April, Washington and about 160 men left Virginia and made the journey to Pennsylvania. He learned that the French had captured the fort of the Ohio Company located at the beginning of the Ohio River at the junction of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers, (site of the present day Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania). Enlisting the help of friendly local Indians, Washington on May 28, 1754, surprised a detachment of 30 French troops, killed the commander and nine others, and took the rest as prisoners. This marked the inception of the last French and Indian War.
Washington's troops were augmented by others from Virginia and North Carolina as well as by local Indians. However, his force of 350 troops was not a match for 700 French who, after a day-long fight on July 3, 1754, forced him to surrender. Washington's troops were disarmed and were allowed to return to Virginia after promising that the Virginia interests would not construct a fort on the Ohio River within the next year, and after Washington signed a paper acknowledging the responsibility for the death of Coulon de Jumonville, commander of the French detachment which Washington overwhelmed on May 8. Despite his defeat, Washington was welcomed with high regard upon his return to Virginia.
In 1755 Washington distinguished himself in service with Gen. Edward Braddock in his campaign to recapture the Ohio River properties. Washington was in the center of the battle on July 9, 1755, when Braddock's forces were ambushed and suffered defeat. The action was so intense that Braddock had four horses shot from under him and was killed while on his fifth horse. Washington had two horses shot from under him and had his clothes ripped by four bullets. Miraculously, he escaped serious harm. He rallied the troops in retreat and brought them back to Virginia. In the same year Washington, just 23 years of age, was appointed commander of the Virginia troops.
In 1758, following an illness from which he recovered by resting at Mount Vernon, Washington participated in the conquest of the French holdings at Fort Duquesne on the Ohio River. Fort Pitt was built on the same site.
Washington returned to Virginia, and was elected to the House of Burgesses. He resigned his military commission and looked forward to resuming his activities as a planter at Mount Vernon.
In the 1760s feelings arose against the British domination of the American colonies. By the end of the decade, following British taxation, restrictions on expansion, and other interference in American affairs, Washington was quite vocal on the proprietary rights of Virginians and others. In May 1774 he was one of the Virginia legislators who met and proposed a resolution for a Continental Congress. Learning of the troubles the citizens of Boston and surrounding communities were having with the British crown he made an eloquent speech in which he stated: "I will raise one thousand men, subsist them at my own expense and march myself at their head for the relief of Boston. "
The Virginia legislators responded by naming Washington as one of seven delegates to the First Continental Congress. On September 5, 1774, the Congress convened in Philadelphia with Washington in attendance.