of
Henderson County, Kentucky
GEORGE WASHINGTON BICENTENNIAL INFOLINE
August 1999
George Washington's role as a founding father of this great nation can never be disputed. However, Martha Dandridge Custis Washngton's untiring efforts on behalf of her husband and our infant nation are all too often overlooked. Perhaps her unassuming manner, or her gender--Colonial women rarely got the respect due them--have kept her from being portrayed as the national heroine that she is. Let us consider here, her many contributions as mistress of Mount Vernon, faithful army wife, and the first First Lady.
Martha Dandridge Custis was born in June, 1731, the oldest child of Colonel John and Francis Jones Dandridge on their Pamunkey River plantation in Virginia. The Dandridge family was by no means among the First Families of Virginia. However, Martha's parents made sure she was educated in the ways of managing an estate as well as in reading, writing, and dancing.
At the age of 17, Martha married Daniel Parke Custis, the son of a wealthy Virginia planter. Within the first five years of their marriage, she gave birth to four children, two of whom died at birth. Before their sixth wedding anniversary, Daniel died, leaving Martha a wealthy young widow.
Martha had many suitors during her year of mourning, but she was still grieving the loss of her husband and was not interested in a quick remarriage. Towards the end of that first year of mourning, Martha took her two children to visit a neighboring family. During their stay, George Washington came to visit their host. He was a young man then, active in the French and Indian War. The two found much amiable conversation in this chance meeting and after just a few further visits, George proposed. They were married in January of 1759 and lived for a while in Williamsburg before moving to the newly remodeled Mt Vernon.
From all accounts, George and Martha had a happy life together. She enjoyed managing the mansion, supervising the kitchen and house servants and tending to the needs of everyone there, most especially her two children and her husband. George was suited to managing the crops on all the lands and in overseeing the inheritance of Martha's two children, Jack and Patcy. The only long shadows over their lives was the lack of a child of their own and the fact that Patcy suffered from epilepsy. In 1773, at the age of 16, she died during a seizure. Both George and Martha deeply grieved the loss of this dear child.
As
unrest in the colonies grew, George was called away from Mt Vernon much
of the time. While this did not please Martha, she did remain supportive
to her husband. When the Continental Congress asked him to lead the
colonial troops, Washington knew what a burden this would be to Martha
. He states in one letter to her:
My dearest,
I am now set down to write you on a subject which fills me with inexpressible
concern and the concern is greatly aggravated and increased when I reflect
upon the uneasiness I know it will cause you...
[Randall, p 284].
In another letter, he writes:
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 [Randall, p 285.]
Indeed, Martha did "summon (her) whole fortitude" for neither of them could have predicted the long, arduous years of war that would ensue. One Washington biographer tells us that Washington even suggested to Martha that he expected to be home by that first autumn [Flexner, p71].
At times, Washington feared for Martha's life as in August of 1775 when he suggested to his correspondent at Mt Vernon ways to avoid her being kidnapped by the British. Martha had fears too. In addition to her great loneliness, she worried that if George's absence were prolonged, the prosperity he had worked so hard to achieve could be lost. Even more worrisome, if the colonial army lost and Washington had to surrender, he might lose far more than his lands and home, he might lose his life!
In December of 1775, Martha embarked on what was to be just the first of many long journeys to visit her husband and his troops in their military headquarters. Unlike today, the military campaigns were conducted sporadically, depending on weather, troop supplies, etc., such that there were times of relatively quiet during which the officers' wives could reside with their husbands. Most usually, these quiescent periods were during the winter months. Martha, who had never ventured but a few miles from home, would now gladly undertake risky treks to reach the side of her husband. Her first visit was to Boston, Massachusetts in the winter, a place so different from their native Virginia! But Martha, as she did on so many of these visits, brought a little of Virginia with her in the form of Virginia hams, fruits and vegetables. She also brought a touch of southern hospitality as she shared these items with Washington's men.
In the beginning, it was the deep respect for Washington that made the men defer to Martha, but over the many years of the war, it was Martha's concern for them, her organization of sewing circles to mend their clothing and ladies hospital auxiliaries that would aid the sick and roll bandages and her untiring efforts to raise their spirits that endeared Martha to them. It did not go unnoticed that her presence could fortify their great leader and increase his resolve to see the war through. They appreciated that as the rigors of war increased, she was wiling to "make-do" with whatever provisions were available, just as they had to do.
Martha's many treks back and forth from Mt Vernon to the General's headquarters continued throughout the war. In November of 1781, Washington returned to Mt Vernon for a hasty visit on his way to Yorktown and the hoped-for victory. Even this long-sought visit resulted in negative consequences. In the excitement of anticipating the surrender of Cornwallis, Martha's son Jack determined to accompany Washington as an aide. He made hasty provisions and rode off with the General. Unfortunately, while he lived long enough to see the surrender in October, Jack contracted camp fever and died on November 5, 1781. By November 20, Martha was at George's side on his trek back to Philadelphia to appear before the Congress and on his eventual return to military headquarters at Newburgh, New York. The long wait for a peace treaty required two more years of service from George and Martha. Finally, in November of 1783, she was able to return to Mt Vernon for what she expected to be the rest of her life. Washington was home by December 24th of that year. Life at Mt Vernon was so busy that according to Washington's diary, it was June 30, 1785, before George and Martha dined alone [Thane, p 258].
This era of tranquility did not last long. By December of 1786, George was appointed to the Constitutional Convention and by mid 1788, it was obvious that this nation was going to ask him to be their first President. So Martha was again required to make a "home" for she and her husband away from their beloved Mt Vernon, first in New York City and then in Philadelphia. But this time, she would be setting new precedent as she became the first First Lady.
Martha Washington was responsible for designing the role of the First Lady. She presided over the kitchen and dinner table and directed the staff of the President's household. She served tea on Fridays for any ladies who cared to join her and always accompanied Washington at the Tuesday night Presidential soirees. Unlike our modern First Ladies, she did not allow herself to participate in any governmental meetings nor to proffer opinions on matters of state except to generally support her husband. She was well-liked; Abigail Adams says of her, "... a most friendly , good lady, always pleasant and easy,... no lady can be more deservedly beloved and esteemed as she is." [Randall, p 451].
While not to her liking, Martha accepted that her husband's steady hand was required for a second term. She remained steadfast to her post and refused to flee Philadelphia when in August of 1783, yellow fever caused more than 6,000 deaths. It was a very happy time for them both when Adams became the second President and they could at last return for good to their beloved Mt Vernon.
Alas, their return to Mt Vernon was not as idyllic as they had hoped. Washington was a very honored and powerful man; the nation still sought his advice. Hundreds of visitors continued to stream to Mt Vernon and Martha had to continue to provide the kind of hospitality the nation had come to expect. This does not mean they did not savor their life at Mt Vernon, but rather that the war and the presidency had changed their lives forever. In all too short a time--December, 1799-- Washington fell ill and died. Martha was most grieved. She shut up the bedroom she and Washington had shared and moved to a room upstairs. While she grieved, she did not resign herself from life but continued being an active part of her grandchildren's lives until her death in the Spring of 1802.
Martha Washington was above all a loyal wife, but her sacrifices for our
nation's sake stand out, including her endurance of Washington's long absences
from home due to his devotion to our country, her willingness to serve
our soldiers in addition to their Commander-in-chief during the Revolutionary
War, and her precedent-setting example of a First Lady. Today, as
we pay tribute to her husband, let us also remember Martha Washington,
another American patriot!
REFERENCES
James Thomas Flexner. George Washington, 4-vols. (Boston: Little, Brown, 1965-72; 1-vol abridgement, 1974).
Willard Stern Randall. George Washington: A Life. (New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1997).
Elswyth Thane. Washington's Lady. (New York; Dodd, Mead & Company, 1960).
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