unhappiness will flow from the uneasiness I know you will feel from being left alone. I therefore beg that you will summon your whole fortitude and pass your time as agreeably as possible. Nothing will give me so much sincere satisfaction as to hear this, 5 and to hear it from your own pen. My earnest and ardent desire is that you would pursue any plan that is most likely to produce content and a tolerable degree of tranquillity; as it must add greatly to my uneasy feelings to hear that you are dissatisfied or complaining at what I really could not avoid. 10 As life is always uncertain and common prudence dictates to every man the necessity of settling his temporal concerns while it is in his power, and while the mind is calm and undisturbed, I have, since I came to this place (for I had not time to do it before I left home), got Colonel Pendleton to draft a will for me, by 15 the directions I gave him, which will I now inclose. The provision made for you in case of my death will, I hope, be agreeable. I shall add nothing more, as I have several letters to write, but to desire that you will remember me to your friends, and to assure you that I am with the most unfeigned regard, my dear 20 Patsy, your affectionate, &c. NOTES AND QUESTIONS Biographical and Historical Note. George Washington (1732-1799) came from Virginia to attend the second meeting of the Continental Congress, held in Philadelphia, May 10, 1775. He was at that time commander of the militia of Virginia and sat in Congress in his colonel's uniform. In the name of "The United Colonies" the Congress voted to authorize the enlistment of troops, to build and garrison forts, and to issue notes to the amount of three million dollars, the original "Liberty Loan" in America. There was an army of about ten thousand men encamped around Boston, and this Congress adopted as "The Continental Army." John Adams rose in his place and in proposing the name of the Virginian, George Washington, to be commander-in-chief of this New England army, said: "The gentleman is among us and is very well known to us all; a gentleman whose skill and experience as an officer, whose independent fortune, great talents, and excellent character would command the approbation of all America, and unite the colonies better than any other person in the Union." The pay of the commander-in-chief was fixed at five hundred dollars a month, and on June 15 Washington received the unanimous vote for this all-important office. His lofty stature, exceeding six feet, his grave and handsome face, his noble bearing and courtly grace of manner all proclaimed him worthy of the honor. In a brief speech expressive of his high sense of the honor conferred upon him, he said, "I beg 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 this arduous 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. Those, I doubt not, they will discharge; and that is all I desire." As there was no time for a visit to his home, Mount Vernon, on the Potomac River, Washington was obliged to give his wife this important information by letter. In 1759 Washington had married Mrs. Martha Custis, the widow of one of the wealthiest planters in the Virginia Colony. She had two beautiful children at the time of her marriage, but when Washington went to Philadelphia Mrs. Washington was quite alone, for her son was away from home, and her daughter had died a few years before. Later in the year Mrs. Washington went north and spent the winter with her husband at the army headquarters in Cambridge. Discussion. 1. Name the fine qualities of Washington shown in this letter. 2. Read the sentence that tells briefly what had happened. 3. What do you imagine was Mrs. Washington's reply to this letter? 4. What did Washington mean when he said, "a kind of destiny has thrown me upon this service"? 5. It has been said that "destiny" has given America great leaders in times of unusual danger. Washington was one; what other great leaders can you mention? 6. What important part did Washington play in our "inheritance of freedom," about which you read on pages 219 to 222? 7. Find in the Glossary the meaning of: aggravated; capacity; designed; tenor; apprehensive; intimate; esteem. Phrases for Study inexpressible concern, 280, 4 tolerable degree of tranquillity, 281, prudence dictates, 281, 10 Suggestions for Theme Topics. 1. How letters were sent in colonial times. 2. Benjamin Franklin and our postal system. LETTER TO GOVERNOR GEORGE CLINTON Dear Sir: GEORGE WASHINGTON Valley Forge, 16 February, 1778 It is with great reluctance I trouble you on a subject which does not properly fall within your province; but it is a 5 subject that occasions me more distress than I have felt since the commencement of the war; and which loudly demands the most zealous exertions of every person of weight and authority who is interested in the success of our affairs; I mean the present dreadful situation of the army, for want of provision, and the 10 miserable prospects before us, with respect to futurity. It is more alarming than you will probably conceive; for, to form a just idea of it, it were necessary to be on the spot. For some days past, there has been little less than a famine in camp. A part of the army has been a week without any kind of flesh, and 15 the rest three or four days. Naked and starving as they are, we cannot enough admire the incomparable patience and fidelity of the soldiery, that they have not been, ere this, excited by their suffering to a general mutiny and dispersion. Strong symptoms, however, of discontent have appeared in particular instances; 20 and nothing but the most active efforts, everywhere, can long avert so shocking a catastrophe. Our present sufferings are not all. There is no foundation laid for any adequate relief hereafter. All the magazines provided in the states of New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Mary25 land, and all the immediate additional supplies they seem capable of affording, will not be sufficient to support the army more than a month longer, if so long. Very little has been done at the eastward, and as little to the southward; and whatever we have a right to expect from those quarters must necessarily be very remote, and is, indeed, more precarious than could be wished. When the before-mentioned supplies are exhausted, what a terrible crisis must ensue, unless all the energy of the Continent shall be exerted to provide a timely remedy! I am, etc. NOTES AND QUESTIONS Historical Note. This letter was addressed to George Clinton, governor of New York from 1777-1795. Washington appealed to Clinton because of the wealth and power of New York and also because the governor's zeal as a patriot was well known. At the same time, Washington addressed a similar letter to the inhabitants of New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia, urging the farmers to provide cattle for the use of the army. Besides assuring them of a generous price, he impressed upon them the fact that in supplying food they would be rendering great service to the cause of their country. Discussion. 1. Read in your history text what is said about the winter of 1777-1778 at Valley Forge. 2. Compare the methods of providing food for the army in Washington's time with those of our own time. 3. Compare the difficulties of feeding Washington's army with those of feeding our army in France during the World War. 4. How did Washington hope to avert a terrible crisis? 5. What debt of gratitude do we owe to the soldiers who endured even starvation to win our "inheritance of freedom"? 6. Washington not only carried the burden of the fighting, but also that of the provisioning of the army; what is our great debt to him for this service? 7. What did you read on page 222 about the way by which we can show that we are worthy of such sacrifices as George Washington and his soldiers made? 8. How did our soldiers in the World War show that they were worthy of these sacrifices? 9. Find in the Glossary the meaning of: zealous; conceive; dispersion; avert; magazine; precarious. 10. Pronounce: incomparable; catastrophe; adequate. Phrases for Study fall within your province, 283, 4 of weight and authority, 283, 7 with respect to futurity, 283, 10 crisis must ensue, 284, 3 |