Picture Source: CIA

His father once told George that the greatest children were those children who told the truth, a truth that could be relied on. He told George that if he became a liar, as hard as it would be for him, he would put George in a coffin, nail it shut, and follow him to the grave. Harsh words indeed! I guess there isn't a child anywhere that wouldn't remember his father telling him this. But George's father knew that George, his son, wasn't a liar or teller of tall tales and even told him so. He thanked God that George always told the truth and said that he hoped he always would.

George Washington was born on February 22, 1732. His father was Augustine Washington and his mother was Mary Ball Washington. These were not poor folk but were the upper class of Virginia and of English descent. His family owned a large estate. After his father died in 1743, George moved in with his half brother, Lawrence at Mount Vernon. Mount Vernon was later to become historically associated with George Washington as his home. George's brother had married into a family that was very prominent in Virginia, they were the Fairfax family. George had desperately wanted to pursue a career as a naval officer but his mother had discouraged him. He became a surveyor.

When the French and Indian Wars began in 1754 and continued until 1763. George Washington saw this as an opportunity and was eventually appointed as an adjutant to one of the Virginia military districts. The governor decided that Washington was the man to send to Fort Le Boeuf to tell the French to stop their military activities on British territory. You can imagine what a dangerous mission this was. George gladly accepted this challenge. It is believed that when the French met this dashing young officer, they couldn't help but admire him and his courage. No harm came to him. For this deed he was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel. No only had his enemies respect for him but so did his superiors.

During the French and Indian Wars Washington did not win all his battles. He had been overwhelmed at a fortification he built named Fort Necessity and was forced to surrender.in 1754. Before this event he had beaten a superior French force and killed its commander. The French allowed him and his men to return to Williamsburg. I guess they felt it was better to do this than to continue to fight and lose more men even thought the outcome would have been in their favor. George was not happy about having to surrender and he was especially unhappy about the British army pay structure that gave British Officers higher pay, he resigned.

George went back to Mount Vernon which he inherited and performed rebuilding and maintenance. In 1759 he married Martha Dandridge Custis. She was a widow with two children. More and more George was getting disgusted with the policies of the British toward the colonies. The British had hindered western land expansion, something that he wanted. George wanted to do some land speculation, but couldn't because of these laws. He was still ticked off about the military pay issue. He became a delegate to the First and Second Continental Congress. In 1775 he was put in charge of the Continental forces.

The Continental was composed of about 15,000 rag tag members. You really couldn't call them soldiers because they were untrained. One of his jobs would be to see that the armed forces were properly trained. He managed to force the British Army out of Dorchester, but then he made a huge mistake. He thought that he could defend New York City from Brooklyn but he couldn't because his troops were not in a good position. He managed to save the army and retreated into Westchester. Benedict Arnold had soundly beaten the British at Saratoga, N.Y. Victories and defeats followed Washington. The French joined us in the war in 1780. The tide was turning and he defeated Charles Cornwallis at Yorktown on October 19, 1781.

During the war George Washington had gained skills in dealing with his own government and had also become a hero. When the war ended he again returned to Mount Vernon. He went to the Constitutional Convention in 1787 and was the head of the Virginia delegation. He was elected president in 1789. He made it a point to tour all the states to show he was treating them all equally. But all was not a bed of roses. The supporters of Thomas Jefferson attacked Washington because he supported the fiscal policies of Alexander Hamilton, which included a U.S. Bank, assumption of state debt and other tax measures. But this didn't stop him from getting reelected. Washington decided that this country should be neutral during the war between England and France. I don't think that this was caused by any ingratitude for the French help during the revolution but more by the horror with which he viewed the French Revolution. Never the less the Jeffersonians attacked him incessantly because of this.

George Washington left the office of the president in 1797. He died at Mount Vernon on December 14, 1799. As with all things, time heals. He is now remembered for all the great things he did and most of the things that he did that were not liked have been forgotten.