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Revolution, 1753-1783
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General SummaryGeorge Washington met Martha Dandridge, the widow of Daniel Parker Custis, in the Spring of 1758. At their second meeting he made a proposal of marriage which she accepted and on January 6th of the following year they were married. \n It is said that after General Washington’s death, Martha Washington shut herself up in her room at Mount Vernon and spent her time sitting before the window which looked out on his tomb. Shortly before her death Martha Washington destroyed all of the personal letters from her husband that she had in her possession. The letter given here, dated Philadelphia, June 18, 1775, is one of the few that has come down to us.
Farewell to Mrs. Washington
MY DEAREST: I am now set down to write to you on a subject, which fills me with inexpressible concern, and this concern is greatly aggravated and increased, when I reflect upon the uneasiness I know it will give you. It has been determined in Congress, that the whole army raised for the defense of the American cause shall be put under my care, and that it is necessary for me to proceed immediately to Boston to take upon me the command of it.
"You may believe me, my dear Patsy, when I assure you, in the most solemn manner, that, so far from seeking this appointment, I have used every endeavor in my power to avoid it, not only from my unwillingness to part with you and the family, but from a consciousness of its being a trust too great for my capacity, and that I should enjoy more real happiness in one month with you at home, than I have the most distant prospect of finding abroad, if my stay were to be seven times seven years. But as it has been a kind of destiny, that has thrown me upon this service, I shall hope that my undertaking it is designed to answer some good purpose. You might, and I suppose did perceive, from the tenor of my letters, that I was apprehensive I could not avoid this appointment, as I did not pretend to intimate when I should return. That was the case. It was utterly out of my power to refuse this appointment, without exposing my character to such censures, as would have reflected dishonor upon myself, and given pain to my friends. This, I am sure, could not, and ought not, to be pleasing to you, and must have lessened me considerably in my own esteem. I shall rely, therefore, confidently on that Providence, which has heretofore preserved and been bountiful to me, not doubting but that I shall return safe to you in the fall. I shall feel no pain from the toil or the danger of the campaign; my 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, 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.
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 the directions I gave him, which will I now enclose. 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 Patsy, your affectionate, &c."
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Chicago: George Washington, "Farewell to Mrs. Washington," Revolution, 1753-1783 in America, Vol.3, P.127 Original Sources, accessed November 23, 2024, http://originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=6EJLW9P8AG7KTPB.
MLA: Washington, George. "Farewell to Mrs. Washington." Revolution, 1753-1783, in America, Vol.3, P.127, Original Sources. 23 Nov. 2024. http://originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=6EJLW9P8AG7KTPB.
Harvard: Washington, G, 'Farewell to Mrs. Washington' in Revolution, 1753-1783. cited in , America, Vol.3, P.127. Original Sources, retrieved 23 November 2024, from http://originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=6EJLW9P8AG7KTPB.
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