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|None who take an interest in the history of Washington can fail to
desire some knowledge of her who shared his thoughts and plans, and was
associated with him in the great events of his life. Few women have been
called to move, in the drama of existence, amid scenes so varied and
imposing; and few have sustained their part with so much dignity and
discretion. In the shades of retirement, or the splendor of eminent
station, she was the same unostentatious, magnanimous woman; through the
gloom of adverse fortune she walked by the side of the Chief, ascending
with him the difficult path Heaven had opened before him; and when
standing with him on the summit, in the full light of his power and
renown, the eyes of her spirit looked still upward, seeking in the smile
of the Supreme a reward which earthly honors could not bestow.
Though the life of Mrs. Washington was a changeful one, and had its
full measure of sorrow and joy, it affords little material for the
biographer. She moved in woman's domestic sphere, to which pertain not
actions that strike the public eye, but uncomplaining endurance, and
continual, unnoted self-sacrifice. The best account of her is the memoir
prepared for the National Portrait Gallery, by her grandson, George
Washington Parke Custis, of Arlington, D. C. According to this, Martha
Dandridge was descended from an ancient family that migrated to the
colony of Virginia and was born in the county of New Kent, in May, 1732.
Her education was only a domestic one, such as was given to females in
those days, when there were few seminaries of instruction, and private
teachers were generally employed. Her beauty and fascinating manners,
with her amiable qualities of character, gained her distinction among
the ladies who were accustomed to resort to Williamsburg, at that time
the seat of government.
When but seventeen, Miss Dandridge was married to Colonel Daniel
Parke Custis, of the same county. Their residence--called the "White
House,"--was on the banks of the Pamunkey River, where Colonel Custis
became a highly successful planter. None of the children of this
marriage survived the mother; Martha, who arrived at womanhood, died at
Mount Vernon, in 1770; and John perished eleven years later, at the age
of twenty-seven.
Mrs. Custis was early left a widow, in the full bloom of beauty and
"splendidly endowed with worldly benefits." As sole executrix, she
managed with great ability the extensive landed and pecuniary business
of the estate. Surrounded by the advantages of fortune and position, and
possessing such charms of person, it may well be believed that suitors
for her hand and heart were many and pressing.
"It was in 1758," says her biographer, "that an officer, attired in a
military undress, and attended by a body servant, tall and militaire as
his Chief, crossed the ferry called Williams's, over the Pamun-key, a
branch of the York River. On the boat touching the southern, or New Kent
side, the soldier's progress was arrested by one of those personages
who give the beau ideal of the Virginia gentleman of the old regime--the
very soul of kindness and hospitality." He would hear of no excuse on
the officer's part for declining the invitation to stop at his house.
In vain the Colonel pleaded important business at Williamsburg; Mr.
Chamberlayne insisted that his friend must dine with him at the very
least. He promised, as a temptation, to introduce him to a young and
charming widow, who chanced then to be an inmate of his dwelling. At
last the soldier surrendered at discretion, resolving, however, to
pursue his journey the same evening. They proceeded to the mansion. Mr.
Chamberlayne presented Colonel Washington to his various guests, among
whom was the beautiful Mrs. Custis. Tradition says that the two were
favorably impressed with each other at the first interview. It may be
supposed that the conversation turned upon scenes in which the whole
community had a deep interest--scenes which the young hero, fresh from
his early fields, could eloquently describe; and we may fancy with
what earnest and rapt interest the fair listener "to hear did seriously
incline;" or how "the heavenly rhetoric of her eyes" beamed unconscious
admiration upon the manly speaker. The morning passed; the sun sank
low in the horizon. The hospitable host smiled as he saw the Colonel's
faithful attendant, Bishop, true to his orders, holding his master's
spirited steed at the gate. The veteran waited, and marvelled at the
delay. "Ah, Bishop," says a fair writer describing the occurrence,
"there was an urchin in the drawing-room more powerful than King George
and all his governors! Subtle as a sphynx, he had hidden the important
despatches from the soldier's sight, shut up his ears from the summons
of the tell-tale clock, and was playing such mad pranks with the bravest
heart in Christendom, that it fluttered with the excess of a new-found
happiness!"
Mr. Chamberlayne insisted that no guest ever left his house after
sunset; and his visitor was persuaded, without much difficulty, to
remain. The next day was far advanced when the enamored soldier was
on the road to Williamsburg. His business there being despatched, he
hastened to the presence of the captivating widow.
A short time after the marriage, which took place about 1759, Colonel
and Mrs. Washington fixed their residence at Mount Vernon. The mansion
was at that period a very small building compared with its present
extent. It did not receive many additions before Washington left it to
repair to the first Congress, and thence to the command-in-chief of
the armies of his country. He was accompanied to Cambridge by Mrs.
Washington, who remained some time with him, and witnessed the siege and
evacuation of Boston. She then returned to Virginia.
So prevalent at one time was the disaffection, as Mrs. Washington
herself remarked, that on a visit to Philadelphia, upon her way to camp
one season, few of the ladies of the city called upon her. A passage
from Christopher Marshall's manuscript diary for the year 1775, *
curiously illustrates the state of popular feeling at the breaking out
of the war.
* This passage may be found, quoted from the MS., in a note in the Life
and Correspondence of President Reed. Vol. II., p. 24.
Mrs. Washington arrived in the city on the twenty-first of November, on
her journey to Cambridge. A ball was in preparation, to be given on the
twenty-fourth; and it was expected that both she and the wife of Colonel
Hancock would grace the entertainment with their presence. But from some
threats thrown out, it was feared that a commotion would be made,
which might result in disturbance of the peace of the city. A large
and respectable committee was held at the Philosophical Hall, called
together for the purpose of considering the propriety of allowing the
ball to be given that evening; and after mature consideration, it was
concluded that no such entertainment should take place, either then,
or during the continuance of those melancholy times. A committee was
appointed to inform the managers that they must proceed no further in
the preparations; and also to wait upon "Lady Washington," and request
her not to attend at the assembly to which she had been invited.
The committee acted agreeably to directions; and reported that Lady
Washington had received them with great politeness, thanked the
committee for their kind care and regard in giving her timely notice,
and assured them that their sentiments on this occasion were perfectly
agreeable to her own.
It was not often that the interest taken by Mrs. Washington in political
affairs was evinced by any public expression. The address already
mentioned, which was read in the churches of Virginia, and published in
the Philadelphia papers, June, 1780, as "The Sentiments of an American
Woman"--was attributed--it cannot be ascertained with what truth--to her
pen. * She passed the winters with her husband. Mr. Custis states that
it was the habit of the Commander-in-chief to despatch an aid-decamp, at
the close of each campaign, to escort Mrs. Washington to head-quarters.
* Remembrancer, Vol. VIII.
Her arrival at camp was an event much anticipated; the plain chariot,
with the neat postillions in their scarlet and white liveries, was
always welcomed with great joy by the army, and brought a cheering
influence, which relieved the general gloom in seasons of disaster
and despair. Her example was followed by the wives of other general
officers.
It happened at one time while the ladies remained later than usual in
the camp on the Hudson, that an alarm was given of the approach of the
enemy from New York. The aids-de-camp proposed that the ladies should
be sent away under an escort. To this Washington would not consent.
"The presence of our wives," said he, "will the better encourage us to
a brave defence." The night was dark; and the words of command from the
officers, the marching of the troops, the dragging of artillery into
the yard, and the noise of removing the windows of the house--the
house itself being filled with soldiers--all gave "dreadful note of
preparation." The enemy, however, finding themselves mistaken in their
hopes of a surprise, withdrew without coming to blows.
Lady Washington, as she was always called in the army, usually remained
at head-quarters till the opening of the succeeding campaign, when she
returned to Mount Vernon. She was accustomed afterwards to say that it
had been her fortune to hear the first cannon at the opening, and the
last at the closing, of all the campaigns of the Revolutionary war. How
admirably her equanimity and cheerfulness were preserved, through the
sternest periods of the struggle--and how inspiriting was the influence
she diffused, is testified in many of the military journals. She was
at Valley Forge in that dreadful winter of 1777-8; her presence and
submission to privation strengthening the fortitude of those who might
have complained, and giving hope and confidence to the desponding.
She soothed the distresses of many sufferers, seeking out the poor and
afflicted with benevolent kindness, extending relief wherever it was in
her power, and with graceful deportment presiding in the Chiefs humble
dwelling. *
* Thacher's Journal and other authorities.
In a letter to Mrs. Warren she says, "The General's apartment is very
small; he has had a log cabin built to dine in, which has made our
quarters much more tolerable than they were at first." Their table was
but scantily furnished; but the soldiers fared still worse, sitting down
at a board of rough planks, set with horn spoons and a few tumblers; the
food being often salt herrings and potatoes, without other vegetables,
or tea, coffee, or sugar. Their continental money was no temptation to
the farmers to sell them produce. The stone jug passed round was filled
with water from the nearest spring; and rare was the privilege of toddy
in which to drink the health of the nation. Yet here, forgetful of
herself, the patriot wife anxiously watched the aspect of affairs, and
was happy when the political horizon brightened. She writes to Mrs.
Warren--"It has given me unspeakable pleasure to hear that General
Burgoyne and his army are in safe quarters in your State. Would
bountiful Providence aim a like stroke at General Howe, the measure of
my happiness would be complete." *
* MS. letter, March 7th, 1778.
The Marquis de Chastellux says of Mrs. Washington, whom he met at the
house of General Reed in Philadelphia,--"'She had just arrived from
Virginia, and was going to stay with her husband, as she does at the end
of every campaign. She is about forty, or five-and-forty, rather plump,
but fresh, and of an agreeable countenance." In another passage, he
notices the camp life shared by her: "The head-quarters at Newburgh
consist of a single house, built in the Dutch fashion, and neither large
nor commodious. The largest room in it, which General Washington has
converted into his diningroom, is tolerably spacious, but it has seven
doors and only one window. The chimney is against the wall; so that
there is, in fact, but one vent for the smoke, and the fire is in the
room itself. I found the company assembled in a small room which served
as a parlor. At nine, supper was served, and when bedtime came, I found
that the chamber to which the General conducted me was the very parlor
spoken of, wherein he had made them place a camp-bed. We assembled at
breakfast the next morning at ten, during which interval my bed
was folded up; and my chamber became the sitting room for the whole
afternoon; for American manners do not admit of a bed in the room
in which company is received, especially where there are women. The
smallness of the house, and the inconvenience to which I saw that
General and Mrs. Washington had put themselves to receive me, made me
apprehensive lest M. Rochambeau might arrive on the same day. The day I
remained at headquarters was passed either at table or in conversation."
The recollections of a veteran still living at Manchester,
Massachusetts, at the age of ninety-two, bear testimony to the kindness
of Mrs. Washington towards those in the humblest sphere. One little
incident occurred when she came to spend the cold season with her
husband in winter-quarters. There were but two frame-houses in the
settlement, and neither had a finished upper story. The General was
contented with his rough dwelling, but wished to prepare for his wife a
more retired and comfortable apartment. He sent for the young mechanic,
and desired him and one of his fellow-apprentices to fit up a room in
the upper story for the accommodation of Lady Washington through the
winter. She herself arrived before the work was commenced. "She came,"
says the narrator, "into the place--a portly-looking, agreeable woman
of forty-five, and said to us: 'Now, young men, I care for nothing but
comfort here; and should like you to fit me up a beauffet on one side of
the room, and some shelves and places for hanging clothes on the other.'
We went to work with all our might. Every morning about eleven Mrs.
Washington came up stairs with a glass of spirits for each of us; and
after she and the General had dined, we were called down to eat at their
table. We worked very hard, nailing smooth boards over the rough and
worm-eaten planks, and stopping the crevices in the walls made by time
and hard usage. Then we consulted together how we could smooth the
uneven floor, and take out, or cover over some of the huge black knots.
We studied to do every thing to please so pleasant a lady, and to make
some return in our humble way for the kindness of the General. On the
fourth day, when Mrs. Washington came up to see how we were getting
along, we had finished the work, made the shelves, put up the pegs on
the wall, built the beauffet, and converted the rough garret into a
comfortable apartment. As she stood looking round, I said, 'Madam, we
have endeavored to do the best we could; I hope we have suited you.' She
replied, smiling, 'I am astonished! your work would do honor to an
old master, and you are mere lads. I am not only satisfied, but highly
gratified with what you have done for my comfort.'" As the old soldier
repeated these words, the tears ran down his furrowed cheeks. The thrill
of delight which had seventy years before penetrated his heart at the
approving words of his General's lady, again animated his worn frame,
sending back his thoughts to the very moment and scene.
At one time the head-quarters of the Commander-in-chief were at
the house of Mrs. Berry, in New Jersey. While he remained here Mrs.
Washington arrived. When the carriage stopped, and a female in a plain
russet gown, with white handkerchief neatly folded over her neck, was
seen, Mrs. Berry imagined her to be a domestic. But she was undeceived
when the General went forward to receive her, assisted her from the
carriage, and after the first greeting, began to inquire after his pet
horses. A ball was given in honor of the arrival of "Lady Washington,"
at which her brave husband himself condescended to lead a minuet; it
being the first occasion in a long time on which he had been known to
dance. *
* Communicated by a friend of Mrs. Berry.
An anecdote illustrative of the heroic spirit of the lady whose house
was the Chief's abode on this occasion, will not be here misplaced. Her
husband was at Saratoga attending to some private business, when General
Washington, with his officers and troops, went forth to battle. Mrs.
Berry and the wives of the officers who were with her, were busily
occupied in preparing bandages and wrappings for the use of the army;
every sheet and article of linen in the house having been torn up for
that purpose. She was harassed with anxiety lest her husband should not
return to assume his post before the departure of the troops. He did
not arrive in time; and she had the mortification of seeing another
appointed to the command of his men. Sometime after they were gone, she
heard the welcome sound of his horse's feet. He rode up hastily, and
stopped only long enough to change his wearied horse for another. As he
galloped down the lane leading from the house, he heard his wife's
voice calling, "Sidney, Sidney!" She was leaning from a window, her hand
stretched towards him, as if eagerly soliciting his attention. He turned
and rode within hearing; she wished but to give him her parting words.
These were, "Remember, Sidney, to do your duty! I would rather hear that
you were left a corpse on the field, than that you had played the part
of a coward!"
Mrs. Wilson, a lady whose name is mentioned elsewhere in this book, has
favored me with an account of Mrs. Washington's visit to her father's
house at Union Farm, the last time she came to that part of New Jersey.
She was escorted by Major Washington and ten dragoons. She remained a
day and night at the house of Colonel Stewart, and spoke much with
his daughter concerning housekeeping and her domestic affairs. Her
conversation is described as agreeable, and her manners simple, easy,
and dignified. Among other particulars, Mrs. Washington mentioned that
she had a great deal of domestic cloth made in her house, and kept
sixteen spinning wheels in constant operation. She showed Mrs. Wilson
two dresses of cotton striped with silk, manufactured by her own
domestics, and worn by herself; one weighing a pound and a half, the
other rather less. The silk stripes in the fabric were made from the
ravellings of brown silk stockings, and old crimson damask chair-covers.
Her coachman, footman, and waiting-maid, were all habited in domestic
cloth; though the coachman's cuffs and collars, being scarlet, must have
been imported. In the practice of this economy and moderation, as in the
simplicity of her dress, Mrs. Washington appeared desirous of affording
an example to others in inferior station. As late as 1796, Mrs. Wilson,
inquiring for pocket handkerchiefs at a celebrated fancy store in
Philadelphia, was shown some pieces of lawn, of which Mrs. Washington
had just purchased. The information was added, that she paid six
shillings for handkerchiefs for her own use, but went as high as seven
shillings for the General's.
The anniversary of the alliance with France was celebrated by an
entertainment given in the camp near Middlebrook. * On this festive
occasion Mrs. Washington, Mrs. Greene and Mrs. Knox, and the wives of
several officers were present; and a circle of brilliants, the least
of which, says the gallant journalist, was more valuable than the stone
which the king of Portugal received for his Brazilian possessions. The
ladies and gentlemen from a large circuit around the camp, attended
the celebration. It was opened by a discharge of cannon; and dinner was
prepared in a building used for an academy. There was dancing in the
evening, and a grand display of fire-works. The ball was opened by
General Washington. As this was a festival given by men who had not
enriched themselves by the war, the illuminations were on a cheap scale,
being entirely of their own manufacture; the seats were adorned with no
armorial blazonry, but were the work of native, and rather unskillful
artisans. "Instead of knights of different orders, such as pageants
like the Mischianza could boast, there were but hardy soldiers; happy,
however, in the consciousness that they had contributed to bring about
the auspicious event they had met to celebrate."
* Remembrancer, Vol. VI.
Among the lively sallies of the belles of this entertainment, one is
recorded, that caused no inconsiderable amusement. A young lady, when
asked if the roaring of the British lion in his late speech had not
somewhat depressed the spirit of the dance--replied: "No, it should
rather enliven it; for I have heard that such animals always increase
their howlings when frightened."
For Mrs. Washington a heavy cloud of sorrow hung over the conclusion of
the glorious campaign of 1781. Her only child was seized with a fever
while attending to his duties during the siege of Yorktown. He lived to
behold the surrender of the British army, and expired in the arms of his
mother, mourned for by Washington as a son. The Marquis de Chastellux
visiting Mount Vernon not long after this sad event, says: "I had the
pleasure of passing a day or two with Mrs. Washington, at the General's
house in Virginia, where she appeared to me one of the best women in the
world, and beloved by all about her. She has no family by the General,
but was surrounded by her grandchildren and Mrs. Custis, her son's
widow. The family were then in mourning for Mr. Custis, whose premature
death was a subject of public and private regret."
After the close of 1783, General Washington had leisure for the
superintendence of improvements in the building and grounds at Mount
Vernon. This old mansion was always crowded with visitors.
Social and rural pleasures winged the hours, and past dangers were
pleasantly talked over. A letter never before published, of Mr. N.
Webster, affords a passing glimpse of this period.
"When I was travelling to the south in the year 1785, I called on
General Washington at Mount Vernon. At dinner the last course of dishes
was a species of pancakes, which were handed round to each guest,
accompanied with a bowl of sugar, and another of molasses for seasoning
them, that each one might suit himself. When the dish came to me, I
pushed by me the bowl of molasses, observing to the gentlemen present
that I had enough of _that_ in my own country. The General burst out
with a loud laugh, a thing very unusual with him; 'Ah,' said he, 'there
is nothing in that story about your eating molasses in New England!'
There was a gentleman from Maryland at the table, and the General
immediately told a story, stating that during the Revolution, a hogshead
of molasses was stove in at Westchester by the oversetting of a wagon;
a body of Maryland troops being near, the soldiers ran hastily and saved
all they could by filling their hats or caps with molasses.
"Near the close of the Revolutionary war, I think in 1782, I was at
West Point, when the birth of a Dauphin in France was celebrated by the
American troops at that place. The troops were arranged in a line along
the hills on the west of the camp, on the point, and on the mountains on
the east side of the Hudson. When the order was given to fire, there was
a stream of firing all around the camp, rapidly passing from one end of
the line to the other; while the roar of cannon reverberated from the
hills, resounded among the mountains, and thousands of human voices made
the atmosphere ring with a song prepared for the occasion. 'A Dauphin
is born!' This was a splendid exhibition, closed with a handsome repast
under a long arcade or bower formed with branches of trees. I have never
seen any account of this celebration in print."
While the victorious general was thus merged in "the illustrious farmer
of Mount Vernon," Mrs. Washington performed the duties of a Virginia
housewife, which in those days were not merely nominal. She gave
directions, it is said, in every department, so that, without bustle
or confusion, the most splendid dinner appeared as if there had been no
effort in the preparation. She presided at her abundant table with ease
and elegance, and was indeed most truly great in her appropriate sphere
of home. Much of her time was occupied in the care of the children of
her lost son.
The period came when this rural Eden, which had bloomed and flourished
under their care, was to be exchanged for new scenes. A few years of
rest and tranquil happiness in the society of friends having rewarded
the Chief's military toils, he was called by the voice of the nation
to assume the duties of its Chief Magistrate. The call was obeyed. The
establishment of the President and Mrs. Washington was formed at the
seat of government. The levees had more of courtly ceremonial than has
been known since; but it was necessary to maintain the dignity of office
by forms that should inspire respect. Special regard was paid to the
wives of men who had deserved much of their country. Mrs. Robert Morris
was accustomed to sit at the right of the lady of the President, at
the drawing-rooms; and the widows of Greene and Montgomery were always
handed to and from their carriages by the President himself; the
secretaries and gentlemen of his household performing those services for
the other ladies. In this elevated station, Mrs. Washington, unspoiled
by distinction, still leaned on the kindness of her friends, and
cultivated cheerfulness as a duty. She was beloved as few are in a
superior condition. Mrs. Warren says, in reply to one of her letters,
"Your observation may be true, that many younger and gayer ladies
consider your situation as enviable; yet I know not one who by general
consent would be more likely to obtain the suffrages of the sex, even
were they to canvass at elections for the elevated station, than the
lady who now holds the first rank in the United States." * On the
retirement of Washington from public life, he prepared to spend the
remnant of his days in the retreat his taste had adorned.
* Manuscript letter.
It was a spectacle of wonder to Europeans, to see this great man calmly
resigning the power which had been committed to his hands, and returning
with delight to his agricultural pursuits. His wife could justly claim
her share in the admiration; for she quitted without regret the elevated
scenes in which she had shone so conspicuous, to enter with the same
active interest as before upon her domestic employments. Her advanced
age did not impair her ability or her inclination to the discharge
of housewifely duties. But she was not long permitted to enjoy the
happiness she had anticipated. It was hers too soon to join in the grief
of a mourning nation for the death of Washington.
Visits of condolence were paid to the bereaved lady by the President and
others; and from all quarters came tributes of sympathy and sorrow. She
continued to receive the visitors who came to Mount Vernon, and gave
the same attention to her domestic concerns. But in less than two years
after her husband's death, she was attacked by a fever that proved
fatal. When aware that the hour of her dissolution was approaching, she
called her grandchildren to her bedside; discoursed to them on their
respective duties; spoke of the happy influences of religion; and then,
surrounded by her weeping family, resigned her life into the hands of
her Creator, in the seventy-first year of her age. Her death took place
on the 22d of May, 1802. Her remains rest in the same vault with those
of Washington, in the family tomb at Mount Vernon.
Those who read the record of her worth, dwell with interest on the
loveliness of her character. To a superior mind she joined those amiable
qualities and Christian virtues which best adorn the female sex, and
a gentle dignity that inspired respect without creating enmity. Her
features are familiar to all, from the portraits of her, taken at
different ages, published in Sparks' Life of Washington, and the
National Portrait Gallery. These have been copied into different
publications.