With what deep and earnest interest Washington watched the course of
these momentous events may be readily imagined, if we reflect how much
of his life had been already spent in the service of the public, and
how near he had ever kept the good and welfare of his native land at
heart.
He was not a mere looker-on, but one of those who had in the very
beginning shown themselves ready to enter, heart and hand and fortune,
into all just and lawful measures of resistance to oppression in every
shape and form; but, with his usual modesty, forbearing to push
himself forward, which served, no doubt, to add to his example still
greater weight and influence, and make it all the more illustrious. He
rigidly observed the non-importation agreement, and was, in fact, one
of the first to propose its adoption; and none of the articles therein
named were to be seen in his house until the odious burdens laid
thereon had been removed.
Little or no lasting good, however, could be expected from these, or
indeed any measures, unless the Colonies should come to a clearer and
fuller understanding, one with another, touching the troubles that
concerned all equally and alike. To bring this much-to-be-wished-for
end about, it was resolved that a general assembly of all the Colonies
should be called, wherein each province, through its representatives
chosen by the people thereof, should have a voice. As the first step
towards this object, conventions were summoned in the various
provinces, the members whereof had the authority to choose from among
their number those who were to be their representatives or
mouth-pieces in this great Colonial Assembly, since known in history
as the Old Continental Congress.
Patrick Henry (the great American orator), Mr. Pendleton, and
Washington were those appointed to represent Virginia. Accordingly,
about the middle of September, 1774, these three Congress-men set out
together on horseback for Philadelphia, the place of meeting. Arrived
here, Washington found assembled the first talent, wisdom, and virtue
of the land. It was to him a sublime spectacle indeed,--that of the
people of many widely separated provinces thus met together to give
voice and expression to what they felt to be their sacred rights as
freemen and free Englishmen. To add still greater solemnity to their
proceedings, and give their cause the stamp of the just and righteous
cause they felt it to be, it was resolved to open the business of each
day with prayer. Next morning, there came a report that Boston had
been cannonaded by the king's troops, who had been stationed there for
many weeks past. Although this afterwards turned out to be false, yet,
at the time, it had a most beneficial effect, in drawing still nearer
together those who but the day before had met as strangers, by
impressing their minds with a still deeper sense of the sacredness of
the trust imposed on them by their country, and by bringing more
directly home to them their common danger, and dependence one upon
another. The minister, before offering up his prayer, took up the
Bible to read a passage therefrom, and, as if providentially, opened
at the thirty-fifth Psalm, which seemed to have been written expressly
for this great occasion, and began thus: "Plead my cause, O Lord, with
them that strive with me; fight against them that fight against me."
What wonder, then, that, under circumstances like these, they should
feel their hearts joined together in stronger, holier bonds of union,
as they knelt side by side on that memorable morning, commending their
just cause to the Ruler of nations? For several minutes after they had
resumed their seats, a profound and solemn silence reigned throughout
the house; each looking the other in the face, as if uncertain how to
set about the great work that had brought them together, and no one
willing to open the Assembly. The silence was becoming painful and
embarrassing; when Patrick Henry at length arose, and began addressing
the House, at first in a faltering voice and hesitating manner, which
soon, however, as he warmed with his subject, gave place to a bolder,
higher strain, till, long before he had ended, the hearts of his
hearers were thrilled with a flow of eloquence, the like of which none
present had ever heard before; and, when it ceased, each felt that he
had just been listening to the greatest orator, not of Virginia only,
but of all America. The burden of his declamation was the oppressive
and unlawful system of taxation devised by Great Britain against her
American Colonies; the severe restriction laid on their commerce; the
abolition of the right of trial by jury, and of choosing their own
judges; the danger that must ever threaten their liberties, if they
suffered troops of war to be quartered upon them in times of peace;
and, above all, that they should be denied the right of taxing
themselves, of making their own laws, and of regulating their internal
concerns, as seemed to their judgment wise and proper, through
representatives of their own choosing. To get redress for these and
similar grievances, was the chief, and, I may say, the only object for
which this first Congress had been called; for at that time, and for a
long time after, no one harbored such a thought as that of breaking
with the mother-country, with a view of achieving their independence.
To this end, they now applied themselves with deep and sober
earnestness, and brought to their work all the resources that their
wisdom and experience could command.
The first session of the Old Continental Congress lasted fifty-one
days. Such was the decorum with which they conducted their
proceedings, such the eloquence, force, and precision with which they
set forth their grievances, such the temperate and dignified tone that
marked their petitions to the king, and such the manliness, firmness,
and unwavering constancy with which they persisted in battling for
their right as freemen to be represented in the councils of the
nation, that thousands of their brothers across the Atlantic were
filled with wonder and admiration. And here, for once and for all, be
it known to you, my dear children, and, in justice to the British
nation as a people, never fail hereafter to bear it in mind, that
there were many, very many, perhaps a large majority, of our English
uncles, who deeply sympathized with our fathers in their troubles, and
heartily condemned the oppressive burdens heaped upon them by the king
and his ministers. Even in the House of Parliament itself were there
many of the greatest spirits of that age, who had all along opposed
these harsh and unjust measures of the government towards the
Colonies, and were now so impressed with all that marked the
proceedings of this first Colonial Congress, that they exerted
themselves in behalf of their oppressed brothers in America with more
zeal than ever before, and pleaded their cause in strains of eloquence
that shall ring in our ears, and dwell in our hearts, till history
shall tell us we have ceased to be a nation.
And well indeed they might admire and praise; for what with the
eloquence of such men as Henry and Rutledge, the learning of such men
as Hancock and Adams, the wisdom of such men as Washington, and the
pure and exalted character of them all, it was a body of men, the like
of which had never before assembled together in any age or country.
Patrick Henry, upon being asked who was the greatest man in the
Congress, replied, "If you speak of eloquence, Mr. Rutledge, of South
Carolina, is by far the greatest orator; but, if you speak of solid
information and sound judgment, Col. Washington is, beyond all
question, the greatest man on that floor." Had Mr. Rutledge been asked
the same question, he would as readily have pronounced Patrick Henry
the greatest orator, as indeed he was.
Bent on one common object, encompassed by dangers that threatened all
alike, and glowing with the same ardent and heroic spirit, they seemed
for the time to have quite forgotten that they were the natives and
representatives of many different and widely separated provinces, and
to think that they were, as Patrick Henry happily expressed it, not
Carolinians, not Pennsylvanians, not Virginians, so much as that they
were Americans; and had been sent there, not so much to represent the
will and wishes of the people of their respective provinces, as of
those of the whole American people. Thus Union became the watchword
throughout the Colonies. And by union alone were they able to make a
stand against tyranny; by it alone came off victorious in the end; by
it alone won for themselves a place among the nations; and by it alone
can their posterity hope to hold that place as a powerful, free, and
happy people.
Having done all that could be done for the present, the Congress was
adjourned, and the members returned to their homes to await the result
of the petitions and remonstrances they had sent on to the king and
parliament. Although these were couched in moderate and respectful
terms, expressing their unaltered attachment to the king and his
family, deploring that there should be aught but peace and good-will
between them, and entreating him not to drive his children to the
dreadful alternative of taking up arms in their defence, yet, like
those that had gone before them, they were received with contempt or
indifference, and failed to awaken in the king's mind any sentiment of
mercy, or desire on the part of the parliament for reconciliation with
their younger brothers in America. Here was the last, the golden
opportunity, wherein, by an act of simple justice, by an expression of
Christian kindness, they might have won back to obedience and love
this much-injured people; but under the mistaken and fatal belief
that they were all-powerful, and that, if they yielded up these
pretended rights, the colonists would never rest until they had thrown
off and trampled under foot all authority, they suffered it to pass
unheeded, lost for ever.
A short time after the adjournment of Congress, at a second Virginia
Convention, held at Richmond, Patrick Henry, in closing one of the
grandest efforts he ever made, thus boldly declared his mind: "The
time of reconciliation is past; the time for action is at hand. It is
useless to send further petitions to the government, or to await the
result of those already addressed to the throne. We must fight, Mr.
Speaker: I repeat it, sir, we must fight! An appeal to arms and to the
God of hosts is all that is left us!" The great orator did but give
voice to the feelings and sentiments of thousands of pure patriots,
among whom was Washington, who represented his district in this
convention also. No one regretted more sincerely than he that they
were thus compelled to take up the sword as the only remedy of their
wrongs and grievances. In his own mind, he had fully resolved, if
needful, to devote his life and fortune to the cause; and was willing,
he told his brother, to arm and equip a thousand men at his own
expense, and lead them to the succor of Boston, at that time blockaded
by the British fleet. Grave and thoughtful, and pondering deeply all
these things, he went to his home; and, in this frame of mind, the
winter months passed slowly by.
It was now apparent to all, that open hostilities between the Colonies
and the mother-country were no longer avoidable; and on the nineteenth
of April, 1775, the battle of Lexington announced to the world that
the first blood of a desperate struggle had been shed, and that civil
war, with all its train of horrors, had begun.
When the tidings reached Mount Vernon, the impressions made on
Washington's mind were solemn and profound, if we may judge from a
letter written at the time, in which he says, "Unhappy it is to
reflect, that a brother's sword has been sheathed in a brother's
breast, and that the once-peaceful plains of America are to be
drenched with blood, or inhabited by slaves. Sad alternative! But can
a virtuous man hesitate in his choice?" Early in May, as he was just
on the eve of setting out for Philadelphia to take his seat in the
second session of the Congress, news reached him of the capture of
Ticonderoga by Col. Ethan Allen. It was a brilliant little exploit
enough, and the very kind to raise undue expectations in the many, who
looked no further into the future than to-night, when it is yet
evening; but it could have no other effect than to deepen the
thoughtfulness of a mind like Washington's, that could look through
the glare of these accidental hits of war, and behold the untried
perils still further beyond.
As the war had now begun in earnest, so dreaded and deeply deplored by
all the good men, as the only remedy left to their distress, the
deliberations of the second Congress turned chiefly on the devising of
means for their defence and safety. Towards this object, nothing
effectual could be done till some person was fixed upon to be the
leader of the army, which they had yet, in large measure, to raise,
arm, and equip.
There were not a few, who, for age, talent, experience, fortune, and
social position, as well as for the sacrifices they had already made
to the cause, were, in the opinion of their friends, and perhaps in
that of their own, justly entitled to this high distinction. After
some time spent in viewing the matter in all its bearings, and
carefully weighing the claims of each, without being able to fix upon
a choice, John Adams decided the question by addressing the House to
the following effect: That the person intrusted with a place of such
importance to Americans must be a native-born American; a man of large
fortune, in order to give him a strong personal interest in the issue
of the contest, and the means of carrying it on; he should be a man of
military experience, and accustomed to the government of large bodies
of men; he should be of tried integrity and patriotism, of great
courage and bodily endurance, and known ability; and a resident of
some central province, that in him might be blended the extreme
interests of North and South, which would tend to lessen the
jealousies of the two sections, and harmonize them, as it were, into
one. Such a province was Virginia, and such a man was Col. Washington;
whom, therefore, he commended to the favor and consideration of the
Honorable House.
Before this address was ended, Washington, perceiving that he was the
person on the point of being singled out, rose from his seat, much
agitated and embarrassed, and hastily quitted the House.
Next morning, Mr. Adams's recommendation was acted upon; and the
House, without a single dissenting voice, chose GEORGE WASHINGTON to
be _Commander-in-chief_ of all the army of the United Colonies, with
the salary of six thousand dollars a year. In his reply, Washington
expressed his grateful sense of so signal a proof of the confidence
reposed in him by his countrymen, and added,--
"But lest some unfortunate event should happen, unfavorable to
my reputation, I beg that it may be remembered by every
gentleman in this room, that I this day declare, with the
utmost sincerity, that I do not think myself equal to the
command I am honored with. As to pay, I beg leave to assure the
Congress, that, as no pecuniary consideration could have
tempted me to accept of this employment at the expense of my
domestic ease and happiness, I do not wish to make any profit
of it. I will keep an exact account of my expenses: these, I
doubt not, they will discharge; and that is all I desire."
In a letter to Mrs. Washington, informing her of the great change thus
made in his destiny, he deplores the hard necessity that makes it his
duty to give up the sweet pleasures of home and her society; and
exhorts her, in affectionate language, to bear up under their
separation with cheerfulness and fortitude; at the same time giving
her the gratifying assurance, that with her he could have more
happiness at Mount Vernon in one month, than he could hope to find
without her, were he to remain abroad seven times seven years. From
the tone of this letter, she must readily have guessed that the place
was not one of his own seeking.
Accordingly, on the 21st of June, General Washington,--for so we must
now call him,--having received his commission, set out to take command
of the American army, then lying before Boston, which, being occupied
by the king's troops, was in a state of siege. A company of
Pennsylvania light-horse escorted him from Philadelphia to New York,
where he was received with all the honor due, not only to the high
station he had been called to fill, but also to his exalted character
and distinguished abilities. Here he heard further particulars of the
battle of Bunker's Hill, fought near Boston a few days before. From
New York, the general-in-chief proceeded to Boston, and was greeted
everywhere on the way with the greatest enthusiasm by the people, who
came streaming in from all quarters to behold the man into whose
keeping had been intrusted the destinies of America.
Thus, my dear children, I have brought you, step by step, up to that
great event in Washington's life when his character and actions were
to be subjected to the gaze and scrutiny, not only of his own age and
country, but of all ages to come, and of all the nations of
Christendom.