Happy Birthday George Washington
Most school children today have absolutely no idea when George Washington’s actual birthday day is anymore because we’ve conjured up the President’s Day holiday to encompass both Abraham Lincoln and Washington’s birthdays together.
Because it is mandated to fall on the third Monday of February, the closest we can ever get to the actual date of the 22nd is the 21st.
Washington was born 279 years ago today in the Virginia colony. He was the third son of Augustine Washington, whose own grandfather left his native England in 1657 to settle in Bridges Creek, Virginia.
George was actually born on February 11, 1732, but in 1752, the dates of the calendar were changed to align with the rest of Europe (we were still part of Great Britain at the time) and his birthday then fell on the 22nd.
According to “Life of Washington,” a book written in 1842 by Anna C. Reed, the niece of a signer of the Declaration of Independence, George was known to be incredibly honest and always told the truth. The story of chopping down one of his father’s favorite fruit trees and confessing immediately is always a favorite story. Reed also relays that George was known so well for his strong character, his school mates often called upon him to help them settle disputes.
His father died when George was 10 years old. At age 15, he applied to join the Navy as a midshipman but thought better of it when he realized he needed to care for his widowed mother. At 19, he did join the army as a major to help fight the French who had decided they needed to join the settlements in Canada with those in Louisiana through a series of forts. One of these forts was to be built in Virginia. Washington took it upon himself to take word to the French that the governor of Virginia did not wish to have this fort built in their territory and thus, George’s involvement in the French-Indian War began.
It was during these battles that the Native Americans called George “The Spirit-protected man, who would be a chief of nations, for he could not die in battle.” During one particular battle on July 8, 1755, George had two different horses killed while he was mounted on them and a third wounded. He was hit by 4 different bullets but they went right through his clothes, not harming him. All the other officers were killed or injured and he was left untouched. Many believe it was the hand of God that protected him so he could go on to become the father of our country.
When the Revolutionary War began, the colonists only wanted relief from the oppressive taxation the British had imposed on them. They didn’t think about become an independent country until it became clear the British meant to eliminate them by employing both foreign soldiers as well as Native Americans. That’s why the Declaration of Independence was such a big deal and it gave the colonists something new to fight for – independence and freedom.
The armies were not equal. The British outnumbered the Americans almost 2-1 in the beginning and as the war wore on, that ratio grew. The British were well-supplied and financed; the Americans were not.
Because of Washington’s incredible reputation as an honorable, honest man, the troops stuck with him. Had he not been held in such high regard, it’s possible we would have lost the war.
Washington was away from home for years and years both due to the war and then while serving as president. After serving in the war, he helped write the Constitution and in 1789, became our country’s first president.
The citizens requested he serve a third term but he refused. He believed the country was becoming too partisan! He returned home and later died there on December 14, 1799, two years after serving 8 years as president.
In Washington’s farewell address, he spoke these words: “The name of American, which belongs to you in your national capacity, must always exalt the just pride of patriotism…” Without Washington, we might not have this beloved country of which to be patriots. Thank you President Washington.
To read his farewell address and many other important documents about this great country, please read Jackie Gingrich Cushman’s new book “The Essential American: A Patriot’s Resource” (Regnery Publishing, November 2010, $21.95, ISBN 978-1-59698-643-5).
