WASHINGTON'S RETIREMENT AND DEATH.
[The limitations of this volume render it necessary to condense the
remaining portions of Washington's biography into as few sentences as
possible.
Washington's official career being terminated, he set off for Mount
Vernon accompanied by Mrs. Washington, her grand-daughter, Miss Nelly
Custis, and George Washington Lafayette, with his preceptor. Once more
at Mount Vernon, that haven of repose to which he had so often turned
a wistful eye, he surrendered himself to those agricultural and rural
pursuits for which he had a fondness. He was beset with many visitors,
and as a relief from some of the duties of hospitality he persuaded
his nephew, Lawrence Lewis, to become an inmate of Mount Vernon. An
attachment grew up between young Lewis and Miss Nelly Custis, which
eventuated in their union.
The fate of Lafayette, who had been thrown into prison at Olmutz, had
awakened the earnest solicitude of Washington, but in the autumn of
this year (1797), letters were received by young Lafayette that his
father had been released and was on his way to Paris. George
Lafayette, anxious to join his father's family, immediately sailed
from New York with his tutor, on the 26th of October.
The differences between France and America were now assuming an
alarming aspect. The French government, in the recall of Mr. Monroe,
had refused to receive his successor. In view of this fact, and of the
capture of American vessels by French cruisers, President Adams
convened an extra session of Congress on the 15th of May. Three
special envoys to France were appointed by Mr. Adams, who, it was
hoped, would be able to adjust all differences by a treaty between the
two powers. Their mission was unsuccessful. The Directory now
believing that the PEOPLE of America would not sustain their
government in a war against France, enacted a law subjecting to
capture and condemnation neutral vessels and their cargoes, if any
portion of the latter was of British production, although the entire
property belonged to neutrals. As the United States were at this time
the great neutral carriers, this decree struck at a vital point in
their maritime power. When this act became known the spirit of the
nation was aroused, and war with France seemed inevitable. The
government resolved on vigorous measures; the President was authorized
to enlist ten thousand men, and the Senate nominated Washington
commander-in-chief of all the armies raised or to be raised. The
Secretary of War bore the commission to Washington in person, who
accepted the commission with great reluctance, with the condition that
he should not be called into the field until the army was in a
situation to require his presence. Hamilton, Pinckney, and Knox were
appointed major-generals. Knox, indignant at being placed below those
who were his juniors in the war of the Revolution, refused to serve.
These military measures soon had their effect on French policy.
President Adams received intimations that whatever plenipotentiary the
United States might send to France to put an end to the existing
differences between the two countries, would be received with the
respect due to the representative of a free, independent, and powerful
nation. Mr. Adams, glad to escape from his belligerent difficulties,
laid these facts before the Senate on the 18th of February, (1799),
and nominated Mr. Murray as envoy. Oliver Ellsworth and Mr. Davie were
ultimately associated with him in the mission. They sailed on the 3d
of the following November.]
Washington continued to superintend from a distance the concerns of
the army, as his ample and minute correspondence manifests; and he was
at the same time earnestly endeavoring to bring the affairs of his
rural domain into order. It was a period of incessant activity and
toil, therefore, both mental and bodily. He was for hours in his study
occupied with his pen, and for hours on horseback, riding the rounds
of his extensive estate, visiting the various farms, and
superintending the works in operation. All this he did with unfailing
vigor, though now in his sixty-seventh year.
Winter had now set in, with occasional wind and rain and frost, yet
Washington still kept up his active round of in-door and out-door
avocations, as his diary records. He was in full health and vigor,
dined out occasionally, and had frequent guests at Mount Vernon. For
some time past he had been occupied in digesting a complete system on
which his estate was to be managed for several succeeding years;
specifying the cultivation of the several farms, with tables
designating the rotations of the crops. It occupied thirty folio
pages, and was executed with that clearness and method which
characterized all his business papers. This was finished on the 10th
of December, and was accompanied by a letter of that date to his
manager or steward.
According to his diary, the morning on which these voluminous
instructions to his steward were dated was clear and calm, but the
afternoon was lowering. The next day (11th), he notes that there was
wind and rain, and "at night _a large circle round the moon_." The
morning of the 12th was overcast. About ten o'clock he mounted his
horse, and rode out as usual to make the rounds of the estate. The
ominous ring round the moon, which he had observed on the preceding
night, proved a fatal portent. "About one o'clock," he notes, "it
began to snow, soon after to hail, and then turned to a settled cold
rain." Having on an overcoat, he continued his ride without regarding
the weather, and did not return to the house until after three. His
secretary approached him with letters to be franked, that they might
be taken to the post-office in the evening. Washington franked the
letters, but observed that the weather was too bad to send a servant
out with them. Mr. Lear perceived that snow was hanging from his hair,
and expressed fears that he had got wet; but he replied, "No, his
great coat had kept him dry." As dinner had been waiting for him he
sat down to table without changing his dress. "In the evening," writes
his secretary, "he appeared as well as usual."
On the following morning the snow was three inches deep and still
falling, which prevented him from taking his usual ride. He complained
of a sore throat, and had evidently taken cold the day before. In the
afternoon the weather cleared up, and he went out on the grounds
between the house and the river, to mark some trees which were to be
cut down. A hoarseness which had hung about him through the day grew
worse towards night, but he made light of it. He was very cheerful in
the evening, as he sat in the parlor with Mrs. Washington and Mr.
Lear, amusing himself with the papers which had been brought from the
post-office.
On retiring to bed, Mr. Lear suggested that he should take something
to relieve the cold. "No," replied he, "you know I never take anything
for a cold. Let it go as it came." In the night he was taken extremely
ill with ague and difficulty of breathing. Between two and three
o'clock in the morning he awoke Mrs. Washington, who would have risen
to call a servant; but he would not permit her, lest she should take
cold. At daybreak, when the servant woman entered to make a fire, she
was sent to call Mr. Lear. He found the general breathing with
difficulty, and hardly able to utter a word intelligibly. Washington
desired that Dr. Craik, who lived in Alexandria, should be sent for,
and that in the meantime, Rawlins, one of the overseers, should be
summoned to bleed him before the doctor could arrive.
A gargle was prepared for his throat, but whenever he attempted to
swallow any of it, he was convulsed and almost suffocated. Rawlins
made his appearance soon after sunrise, but when the general's arm was
ready for the operation became agitated. "Don't be afraid," said the
general, as well as he could speak. Rawlins made an incision. "The
orifice is not large enough," said Washington. The blood, however, ran
pretty freely, and Mrs. Washington, uncertain whether the treatment
was proper, and fearful that too much blood might be taken, begged Mr.
Lear to stop it. When he was about to untie the string the general put
up his hand to prevent him, and as soon as he could speak, murmured,
"more--more;" but Mrs. Washington's doubts prevailed, and the bleeding
was stopped, after about half a pint of blood had been taken. External
applications were now made to the throat, and his feet were bathed in
warm water, but without affording any relief. His old friend, Dr.
Craik, arrived between eight and nine, and two other physicians, Drs.
Dick and Brown, were called in. Various remedies were tried, and
additional bleeding, but all of no avail.
"About half-past four o'clock," writes Mr. Lear, "he desired me to
call Mrs. Washington to his bedside, when he requested her to go down
into his room and take from his desk two wills, which she would find
there, and bring them to him, which she did. Upon looking at them, he
gave her one, which he observed was useless, as being superseded by
the other, and desired her to burn it, which she did, and took the
other and put it into her closet."
In the course of the afternoon he appeared to be in great pain and
distress from the difficulty of breathing, and frequently changed his
posture in the bed. About five o'clock his old friend, Dr. Craik, came
again into the room, and approached the bedside. "Doctor," said the
general, "I die hard, but I am not afraid to go. I believed, from my
first attack, that I should not survive it--my breath cannot last
long." The doctor pressed his hand in silence, retired from the
bedside, and sat by the fire absorbed in grief.
Between five and six the other physicians came in, and he was assisted
to sit up in his bed. "I feel I am going," said he; "I thank you for
your attentions, but I pray you to take no more trouble about me; let
me go off quietly; I cannot last long." He lay down again; all retired
excepting Dr. Craik. The general continued uneasy and restless, but
without complaining, frequently asking what hour it was. Further
remedies were tried without avail in the evening. He took whatever was
offered him, did as he was desired by the physicians, and never
uttered sigh or complaint.
"About ten minutes before he expired (which was between ten and eleven
o'clock)," Mr. Lear further writes, "his breathing became easier. He
lay quietly; he withdrew his hand from mine and felt his own pulse. I
saw his countenance change. I spoke to Dr. Craik, who sat by the fire.
He came to the bedside. The general's hand fell from his wrist. I took
it in mine and pressed it to my bosom. Dr. Craik put his hands over
his eyes, and he expired without a struggle or a sigh."
We add from Mr. Lear's account a few particulars concerning the
funeral. The old family vault on the estate had been opened, the
rubbish cleared away, and a door made to close the entrance, which
before had been closed with brick. The funeral took place on the 18th
of December. About eleven o'clock the people of the neighborhood began
to assemble. The corporation of Alexandria, with the militia and
Freemasons of the place, and eleven pieces of cannon, arrived at a
later hour. A schooner was stationed off Mount Vernon to fire minute
guns. About three o'clock the procession began to move, passing out
through the gate at the left wing of the house, proceeding round in
front of the lawn and down to the vault, on the right wing of the
house; minute guns being fired at the time. The troops, horse and
foot, formed the escort; then came four of the clergy; then the
general's horse, with his saddle, holsters, and pistols, led by two
grooms in black. The body was borne by the Freemasons and officers;
several members of the family and old friends, among the number Dr.
Craik, and some of the Fairfaxes, followed as chief mourners. The
corporation of Alexandria and numerous private persons closed the
procession. The Rev. Mr. Davis read the funeral service at the vault,
and pronounced a short address; after which the Masons performed their
ceremonies, and the body was deposited in the vault.
On opening the will which he had handed to Mrs. Washington shortly
before his death, it was found to have been carefully drawn up by
himself in the preceding July; and by an act in conformity with his
whole career, one of its first provisions directed the emancipation of
his slaves on the decease of his wife. It had long been his earnest
wish that the slaves held by him _in his own right_ should receive
their freedom during his life, but he had found that it would be
attended with insuperable difficulties on account of their
intermixture by marriage with the "dower negroes," whom it was not in
his power to manumit under the tenure by which they were held. With
provident benignity he also made provision in his will for such as
were to receive their freedom under this devise, but who, from age,
bodily infirmities, or infancy, might be unable to support themselves,
and he expressly forbade, under any pretence whatsoever, the sale or
transportation out of Virginia of any slave of whom he might die
possessed.
A deep sorrow spread over the nation on hearing that Washington was no
more. Congress, which was in session, immediately adjourned for the
day. The next morning it was resolved that the Speaker's chair be
shrouded with black: that the members and officers of the House wear
black during the session, and that a joint committee of both Houses be
appointed to consider on the most suitable manner of doing honor to
the memory of the man, "first in war, first in peace, and first in the
hearts of his fellow-citizens."
Public testimonials of grief and reverence were displayed in every
part of the Union. Nor were these sentiments confined to the United
States. When the news of Washington's death reached England, Lord
Bridport, who had command of a British fleet of nearly sixty sail of
the line, lying at Torbay, lowered his flag half-mast, every ship
following the example; and Bonaparte, First Consul of France, on
announcing his death to the army, ordered that black crape should be
suspended from all the standards and flags throughout the public
service for ten days.
The character of Washington may want some of those poetical elements
which dazzle and delight the multitude, but it possessed fewer
inequalities, and a rarer union of virtues than perhaps ever fell to
the lot of one man. Prudence, firmness, sagacity, moderation, an
overruling judgment, an immovable justice, courage that never
faltered, patience that never wearied, truth that disdained all
artifice, magnanimity without alloy. It seems as if Providence had
endowed him in a preëminent degree with the qualities requisite to fit
him for the high destiny he was called upon to fulfil--to conduct a
momentous revolution which was to form an era in the history of the
world, and to inaugurate a new and untried government, which, to use
his own words, was to lay the foundation "for the enjoyment of much
purer civil liberty, and greater public happiness, than have hitherto
been the portion of mankind."
The fame of Washington stands apart from every other in history;
shining with a truer lustre and a more benignant glory. With us his
memory remains a national property, where all sympathies throughout
our widely-extended and diversified empire meet in unison. Under all
dissensions and amid all the storms of party, his precepts and example
speak to us from the grave with a paternal appeal; and his name--by
all revered--forms a universal tie of brotherhood--a watchword of our
Union.
THE END.