Data Bases • Custom Term Papers • Free Term Papers • Free Research Papers • Free Essays • Free Book Reports • Plagiarism? Links • Top 100 Term Paper Sites • Top 25 Essay Sites • Top 50 Essay Sites • Search 97,000 Papers @ DirectEssays.com • Search 101,000 Papers @ ExampleEssays.com • Search 90,000 Papers @ MegaEssays.com Free Essays • Term Paper Sites • Chuck III's Free Essays • Free College Essays • TermPaperSites.com • My Term Papers • Get Free Essays • Essay World • Planet Papers	Search Lots of Essays Back to Subjects - History Other george washington george washington George Washington was born on February 22, 1732 on Popes Creek Farm in Westmoreland County, Virginia. The family George was born into consisted of his father, Augustine Washington, his mother, Mary Washington, and five brothers and sisters: Betty, Samuel, John Augustine, Charles and Mildred. There were also three other older children from his father’s first marriage to Jane Butler, who died in 1729: thirteen year-old Lawrence, twelve year-old Augustine and nine year-old Jane. When George was almost three, his family moved to the large, undeveloped plantation that was later called Mount Vernon. George’s only playmates were his younger sister and brothers. They had no neighbors that lived close by, but George was kept busy by exploring the nearby woods and helping out with the farm work as best as he could. He saw little of his father, who made many trips to his ironworks about thirty miles away. When George was nearly seven years old, his father decided to move to the 260- acre Ferry Farm, on some of Augustine Washington’s land on the Rappahannock River across from the town of Fredericksburg, Virginia. Most of the work done around the eight room house and in the fields was done by slaves. Augustine provided food, clothing, and homes for these people, but he did not have to pay them anything. Soon after George and his family moved to Ferry Farm, George began his schooling, which consisted of learning to read and write and do arithmetic. Arithmetic was George’s favorite subject. He wrote his lessons in ink on heavy paper. His mother then sewed the paper into notebooks. George studied enough history and geography to know many things about the outside world. Altogether George had no more than seven or eight years of schooling. By the time he ended his schoolwork at the age of fourteen or fifteen, George could keep business accounts, write clear letters and do simple figuring. George’s father had probably planned to send him to a school in England because there were few schools in Virginia, but Augustine Washington died when George was only eleven and the plans did not happen. After his father’s death George’s mother did not like to have him away from home for long. George was to inherit Ferry Farm when he reached the age of twenty-one. Meanwhile, George, his younger sister and brothers, and the farm, were left in the care of his mother. At the age of twenty, George, who had no experience or training as a soldier, applied to the governor for a commission in the militia. In February, 1753 he was commissioned as a major and put in charge of training militia in southern Virginia. Washington immediately began reading books on tactics and military affairs. In October, 1753 Washington learned that Robert Dinwiddie, the acting governor of Virginia, planned to send a message to the French military commander in the Ohio River Valley. Dinwiddie intended to warn the French that they must withdraw their troops from the region. The French wanted the Ohio River Valley for fur trading, but the British wanted it for farming. Washington volunteered to carry the message and Dinwiddie gave him the task. In November, Washington set out into the dangerous wilderness. With him went Christopher Gist, a frontier guide, an interpreter and four frontiersmen. Sometimes the men covered as much as twenty miles a day. In early December Washington reached the French headquarters at Fort Le Boeuf, just south of present day Erie, Pennsylvania. The French commander rejected Dinwiddie’s warning. He gave Washington a letter to carry back to the British. On January 16, 1754 Washington reached Williamsburg and delivered the French reply to Dinwiddie. Within a few days Dinwiddie sent a force of frontiersmen to build a fort. The governor had taken the first step toward a war that would spread to other countries, known in America as the French and Indian War, and in Europe as the Seven Year War. Throughout the Revolutionary War Washington seldom commanded more than 15,000 troops at any one time. He described his soldiers as “raw militia, badly officered, and with no government.” Washington’s army was defeated many times because the militia turned and ran when they saw red coated British soldiers. On December 12, 1799 George Washington went on his daily horseback ride around Mount Vernon. It was snowing and then began raining. When he came home from his ride he ate dinner before changing out of his wet clothes. Between 2:00 A.M. and 3:00 A.M. December 14, he woke up with a sore throat but would not let his wife call for a doctor until dawn. By the late afternoon, Washington had been examined by four doctors. They could not provide any help, and George Washington finally died around 10 P.M., December 14, 1799. Bibliography: Word Count: 798
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