George Washington - Founding Father

George Washington has been distinguished as the father of our country. He was a founding father and the first president of the United States, serving our country in that capacity from 1789 until 1797. George Washington was also a Freemason.  As a side note, John Adams served as Vice President and succeeded George Washington as President.

He is noteworthy for the Jay Treaty, the Whiskey Rebellion, the Naval Act of 1794, and the Slave Trade Act of 1794.  George Washington was also a skilled craftsman, a patriot, a prayer warrior, and a Freemason. He represented the best of America in every way.                     

George Washington was born on February 22, 1732, in Popes Creek, Colony of Virginia, British America. He died on December 14, 1799, at Mount Vernon, Virginia, located in Fairfax County, Virginia.   From his birth until his death, what was his legacy?  What did he do? What was his greatness to afford him the recognition that he received?

As a young child, George Washington grew up on his family’s plantation. During his young adulthood, he assisted his family in managing their farm. He also became a land surveyor at the age of 17. In 1743, George’s father, Augustine Washington, died, leaving most of his property, including ten slaves, to George.  Young George’s formal education ended when he was 11.

Lawrence Washington, an American soldier, planter, politician, and prominent landowner in colonial Virginia, served as adjutant general of the Virginia militia. He inspired young George Washington to pursue a commission in the militia. Washington began his military career in his early 20s, just before becoming an officer in the French and Indian War. Robert Dinwiddie, Virginia’s lieutenant governor, appointed George Washington with the rank of major as commander of one of four Virginia militia districts. At this time, the British and the French were competing for control of the Ohio River Valley. The British were building forts along the river, while the French were positioned between the river and Lake Erie.

In October 1753, Dinwiddie, who founded the town of Alexandria, Virginia, appointed George Washington as a special envoy to make peace with the Iroquois Confederacy and gather intelligence about the French forces. Washington met with the Iroquois leader Tanacharison. He said that at this meeting, Tanacharison named him “Conotocaurius,” meaning the “devourer of villages.” This name had previously been given to George Washington’s great-grandfather, John Washington, in the late 17^th century by the Susquehannock tribe.

In 1754, Major George Washington, with 150 soldiers, traveled to the Ohio Valley to claim Virginia’s land. Washington’s army engaged in a confrontation with French soldiers. Following this battle, Major Washington and his army retreated to the makeshift Fort Necessity, where Washington was soon forced to surrender. Major Washington was extremely embarrassed over this incident. This failed campaign marked the beginning of the French and Indian War.

In 1755, George Washington returned as a volunteer aide to General Braddock to the Ohio frontier near the Monongahela River. On July 9, 1755, the battle proved to be one of the most significant events of George Washington’s early years. His life hung in the balance for over 2 hours. This battle helped shape his true character and confirm God’s call on him.

During the 2-hour battle, 23-year-old George Washington rode back and forth on the battlefield delivering General Braddock’s orders to other officers and troops. The officers had been a special target for the Indians. Of the 86 British and American officers, 63 were casualties. George Washington was the only officer on horseback who was not shot down, demonstrating great courage. George Washington has later been respectfully referred to as “Bulletproof” George Washington.

During the battle, several horses had been shot out from under George Washington; however, he was never struck. He discovered four bullet holes had gone through his jacket, but no bullet had hit him.  He proclaimed, “By the all-powerful dispensations of Providence, I have been protected beyond all probability or expectation.” Washington openly declared that God’s hand was upon him, and God had protected and kept him through the battle.

George Washington was married to Martha Custis Dandridge Washington from 1759 to 1799. George and Martha had two children, John Parke Custis and Martha Parke Custis. George adopted Martha’s two children (from an earlier marriage), John and Martha Custis.  After this marriage, the four of them moved to Mount Vernon.

In 1770, now in a time of peace, George Washington returned to the same Pennsylvania woods where the battle had taken place. An old Indian Chief, having heard that George Washington had returned to the area, travelled a long way to meet him.

He had been the leader in the battle 15 years earlier. This chief had instructed his braves to single out all officers and shoot them. George Washington had been singled out to be shot and killed. This old chief then explained that he had personally shot at George Washington 17 different times without success. The chief believed that George Washington was protected by the Great Spirit and ordered his braves to cease firing at him.

The old chief then told George Washington, “I have travelled a long and weary path that I might see the young warrior of the great battle. I have come to pay homage to the man who is the particular favorite of Heaven and who can never die in battle.”

During much of the French and Indian War, George Washington suffered from dysentery, an infection that causes diarrhea and other medical problems. The discomfort of these medical issues caused him to sit taller on his horse.  George Washington was officially recognized for his outstanding courage and was rewarded by being given command of the entire military force of Virginia.

Between 1759 and 1775, George Washington was a farmer at Mount Vernon, the years following his marriage to Martha and the onset of the American Revolution. He experimented with different farming techniques and also enlarged his home at Mount Vernon.

On May 10, 1775, the Second Continental Congress convened.  George Washington was requested to command the ragtag colonial militias.  Washington immediately began to instill in the troops an absolute faith in God.  Washington understood that his only hope for success was to instill an unquestioned conviction in his army’s hearts and daily actions that they accomplished for God and under God’s protection.

Washington ordered that each day begin with a prayer led by his officers.  Soldiers were ordered to attend unless their duties required them to be elsewhere.  Washington also directed that all profanity be prohibited and that swift punishment be given to anyone who uttered oaths that would be offensive to God or man.  General Washington continually sought to instill faith and reverence for God in his army. 

After failing to prevent the British from occupying Philadelphia in 1777, Washington and the Continental Army decided to spend the winter at Valley Forge during the American Revolutionary War.  The Valley Forge encampment lasted six months.  While there, General Washington rode among his soldiers, admonishing each man to fear God.

Isaac Potts was a Quaker and a pacifist who opposed the war.  He lived near Valley Forge.  While riding through the woods one day, he overheard General George Washington praying.  Potts tied his horse and saw the great George Washington on his knees alone, with his sword at his side.  Potts is quoted thus.  “He was praying to the God of the armies, beseeching to impose with His Divine aid, as it was ye Crisis and the cause of the country, humanity, and world.”  Isaac Potts had never thought any soldier could be a Christian until he witnessed George Washington praying.

Many prayers were offered and heard by God during the Revolutionary War.  Finally, on October 19, 1781, British General Cornwallis surrendered his entire army to Prayer Warrior General George Washington.  On December 23, 1783, George Washington addressed Congress in Annapolis and resigned his commission, after which he was declared a hero around the world.

George Washington and his young friend, Thomas Jefferson, believed that the Potomac was the best method to reach the Ohio Valley.  In 1784, George Washington toured the area and became excited about developing the route.  In 1785, George Washington chartered the Patowmack Company to clear a river channel and construct skirting canals around the Potomac River’s more turbulent sections. Young America had other plans for George Washington. In 1789, after chairing the Constitutional Convention, George Washington was elected the first president of the United States. He then appointed Thomas Johnson, an American lawyer, politician, and patriot (also the first governor of Maryland), to fill his position as president of the Patowmack Company; however, he continued to monitor the hard work being done there. George Washington returned to the company’s meetings. The canal, known as the Chesapeake and Ohio (C&O Canal), is 184.5 miles in length and runs between Georgetown (District of Columbia) and Cumberland, Maryland. He served two terms as president of the United States from 1789 until 1797.

In 1797, George Washington entered the sunset slopes of life, and the shadows of the evening approached; he retired from all public life and returned to Mount Vernon, where he enjoyed a private, peaceful life until his passing.  On December 14, 1799, George Washington laid down his working tools in his bedroom at Mount Vernon due to a severe throat infection, likely epiglottitis.

The lessons that George Washington learned as a Freemason guided his leadership qualities throughout his life, as he was a man of prayer, kneeling before the Great Architect of the Universe. The lessons that George Washington learned from the use of the Twenty-Four Inch Gauge, the Plumb, Square, Level, and Trowel, all used indiscriminately, along with the Holy Bible as the rule and guide of his faith, guided him throughout his life and service to America. He became known and respected as the Father of Our Country.

The following is an account of George Washington’s Masonic History.  On November 4, 1752, at the age of 20, George Washington was initiated into Masonry in Fredericksburg Lodge, No. 4, in Fredericksburg, VA. He received his Fellowcraft Degree on March 3, 1753, and his Master Mason Degree on August 4, 1753.

On September 2, 1782, Robert Adam, Esq., Dr. Elisdha Cullen Dick, and others presented a petition to the Provincial Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania to organize a Masonic Lodge in the City of Alexandria, VA.  On February 3, 1783, the charter was granted. On February 25, 1783, the first communication was held in the first Masonic Lodge in Alexandria. It was known as Alexandria Lodge No. 39,  under the jurisdiction of the Provincial Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania.  On June 24, 1784, George Washington was elected to honorary membership in Alexandria Lodge #39.

In 1788, the Brethren of Alexandria Lodge No.39 desired to change their affiliation from the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania to that of Virginia. The Grand Lodge of Virginia had been organized during the Revolutionary War. This resulted in George Washington becoming its First or Charter Worshipful Master when Alexandria Lodge No. 39 was reorganized and established under the Grand Lodge of Virginia. On April 28, 1788, Edmund Randolph, who was the Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia and also the Grand Master of Masons at the same time, signed the Virginia Charter. After the preamble, it reads in part as follows:

“KNOW YE, That We, Edmund Randolph, Esq., Governor of the Commonwealth aforesaid, and Grand Master of the Most Ancient and Honorable Society of Freemasons, within the same, by and with the consent of the Grand Lodge of Virginia, do hereby constitute and appoint our illustrious and well-beloved brother, George Washington, Esq., late General and Commander-in-Chief of the forces of the United States of America, etc.”

On December 9, 1805, the Grand Lodge of Virginia granted permission for Alexandria Lodge No.39 to change its name to Alexandria-Washington Lodge No. 22 officially.

So, Mote It Be.

Brother Keith Barksdale Throckmorton, Andrew Jackson Lodge No. 120, Past Chaplain and Past Chairman Grand Lodge Committee On Masonic Community Blood Program.