The Gregorian Gardener

One of the best things about the Young Washington movie is Washington's journey from a selfish and ambitious young man to a servant leader who is willing to lay down his life for his men. It reminded me of the beautiful passage from the Gospel of Matthew when the disciples are arguing over who is the greatest. "But Jesus summoned them and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and the great ones make their authority over them felt. But it shall not be so among you. Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave. Just so, the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.” St. Matthew 20:25-28 Later in the movie George Washington tells his men, "I am a Virginian and it is my honor to serve you." Leadership isn't about ego. It's about service.

On March 17, 1776, General George Washington and the Continental Army forced the British to evacuate Boston, ending an 11-month siege through strategic fortification of Dorchester Heights and artillery brought from Fort Ticonderoga.

On June 10, Jacky Custis [Washington's stepson], in Maryland with his wife, wrote an appreciative note to Washington about his mother [Martha]'s successful recovery [she was recently inoculated against smallpox as a precaution since she was traveling with George Washington and the Continental army]. [Jacky] used the occasion to express gratitude for everything his legal guardian had done, thanking him for the "parental care which on all occasions you have shown me. It pleased the Almighty to deprive me at a very early period of life of my father, but I cannot sufficiently adore His goodness in sending me so good a guardian as you, Sir. Few have experienced such care and attention from real parents as I have done. He best deserves the name of father who acts the part of one." It was an eloquent, well-deserved tribute for the often-thankless care that Washington had given his stepson.

On Friday morning, June 16, John Hancock officially announced that George Washington had been chosen "General and Commander in Chief of the army of the United Colonies." Washington stood humbly at his seat during his reply. There was to be no chest-thumping from the new commander; this wasn't the Man on Horseback that every good republican dreaded. "Mr President," he said, "though I am truly sensible of the high honor done me in this appointment, yet I feel great distress from a consciousness that my abilities and military experience may not be equal to the extensive and important trust. However, as the congress desire it, I will enter upon the momentous duty and exert every power I possess in their service and for the support of the glorious cause." Washington's speech was rife with disclaimers; he had long ago perfected the technique of lowering expectations. "But, lest some unlucky event should happen, unfavorably to my reputation," he went on, "I beg it may be remembered by every Gentleman in the room that I this day declare, with utmost sincerity, I do not think myself equal to the command I am honored with." Then he made the proudly aristocratic gesture he had already practiced during the Braddock campaign -- he waived the proposed salary of five hundred dollars a month: "As to pay, sir, I beg leave to assure the Congress that as no pecuniary consideration could have tempted me to have accepted this arduous employment at the expense of my domestic ease and happiness, I do not wish to make any profit from it. I will keep an exact account of my expenses; those I doubt not they will discharge and that is all I desire." ... While some of Washington's humility can be traced to political calculation, it also reflected his frank admission that he lacked the requisite experience to take on the British Empire. It was both a gratifying and a terrifying moment for a man who was such a bundle of confidence and insecurity. Preoccupied, as always, with his sense of personal honor -- his calling card as a gentleman -- he feared disgrace as well as failure. When he ran into Patrick Henry after his appointment, an emotional Washington seemed full of foreboding. "Remember, Mr. Henry, what I now tell you: from the day I enter upon the command of the American armies, I date my fall, and the ruin of my reputation." Henry said that Washington's eyes were full of tears -- one of many times when, under stress, he betrayed his underlying emotions.

"Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports," [Washington] declared in his farewell address. For Washington, morality was so central to Christianity's message that, "no man who is profligate in his morals or a bad member of the civil community can possibly be a true Christian." That Washington believed in the need for good works as well as faith can be seen in his extensive charity. George and Martha Washington never turned away beggars at their doorstep. "Let the hospitality of the house with respect to the poor be kept up," Washington informed his estate manager after being named commander of the Continental Army. "Let no one go hungry away ... provided it does not encourage them in idleness." The Washingtons tried to practice anonymous charity even when it would have been politically expedient to advertise it loudly. Washington's secretary, Tobias Lear, recorded hundreds of individuals, churches, and other charities that, unbeknownst to the public, benefited from presidential largesse. Even leftovers from the executive mansion were transferred to a prison for needy inmates. Washington had particular sympathy for those imprisoned for debt and gave generously to an organization -- later called the Humane Society of the City of New York -- that was formed to assist them. He took a special interest in the care and education of orphaned and indigent children and turned into a major benefactor of the Alexandria Academy, established for that purpose.

Washington's pastor at Pohick Church before the war confirmed that he "never knew so constant an attendant at church as Washington." His early biographer Jared Sparks recorded this comment from Washington's nephew George W. Lewis. "Mr. Lewis said he had accidentally witnessed [Washington's] private devotions in his library both morning and evening; that on those occasions he had seen him in a kneeling position with a Bible open before him and that he believed such to have been his daily practice." General Robert Porterfield recalled that when he delivered an urgent message to Washington during the Revolutionary War, he 'found him on his knees, engaged in his morning's devotions." When he mentioned this to Washington's aide, Alexander Hamilton, the latter 'replied that such was his constant habit.' Washington's adopted granddaughter saw his self-effacing religiosity as consistent with a hatred of pretension: "He was not one of those who act or pray, 'That they may be seen of men.'"

Numerous historians, viewing Washington as imbued with the spirit of the Enlightenment, have portrayed him as a deist. ... Washington never conformed to such deism, however, for he resided in a universe saturated with religious meaning. Even if his God was impersonal, with scant interest in individual salvation, He [God] seemed to evince a keen interest in North American politics. Indeed, in Washington's view, He hovered over many battlefields in the French and Indian War and the Revolutionary War. His influence was especially manifest during stirring patriotic victories and hairbreadth escapes from the enemy. Convinced that his life had been spared for some larger purpose, Washington later expressed gratitude to Providence, "Which has directed my steps and shielded me in the various changes and chances through which I have passed from my youth to the present moment." Throughout his life he descried signs of heavenly approbation and seemed to know that he operated under the overarching guidance of a benign Providence."

" 'Tis not in mortals to command success, but we'll do more, Sempronius; we'll deserve it."

"Our rifles were leveled (at Washington), rifles which, but for him, knew not how to miss -- 'twas all in vain, a power mightier far than we shielded him from harm. He cannot die in battle. ... Listen! The Great Spirit protects that man, and guides his destinies -- he will become the chief of nations, and a people yet unborn will hail him as the founder of a mighty empire."

"Had Washington's military career ended with the French and Indian War, he would have earned scarcely more than a footnote in history, yet it is impossible to imagine his life without this important preamble. The British Empire had committed a major blunder by spurning the talents of such a natural leader. It said something about the imperial system that it could find no satisfactory place for this loyal, able, and ambitious young subject. The proud Washington had been forced to bow and scrape for a regular commission, and it irked him that he had to grovel for recognition. Washington's military career would be held in abeyance until June 1775, but in the meantime he had acquired a powerful storehouse of grievances that would fuel his later rage with England."