George Washington was born on February 22, 1732, and died December 14, 1799. He married Martha Dandridge Custis who was the widowed daughter of Col. John Dandridge; he was the Colonel in the Virginia Militia. He was a signer of the Declaration of Independence.
Henry "Light Horse Harry" Lee described George Washington as "First in war, first in peace, first in the hearts of his countrymen."
George Washington was a descendent of King John of England. His great-great-grandfather, Lawrence Washington, was a clergyman in the Church of England.
His great-grandfather, John Washington came to America in 1675, and helped found a church in Virginia. In his Last Will and Testament, he left a gift to the church of a tablet with the Ten Commandments, on which he inscribed his testimony:
Being heartily sorry from the bottome of my hart for my sins past, most humbly desiring forgiveness of the same from the Almighty God (my Saviour) and Redeemer, in whom and by the merits of Jesus Christ, I trust and believe assuredly to be saved, and to have full remission and forgiveness of all my sins.
In 1775-1783, He was the Commander in Chief of the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War.
On December 17, 1777, George Washington and his troops arrived at Valley Forge.
While there, General Steuben trained the troops hard. That winter they became a drilled, orderly army, rather than the rag-tag group of citizens they were before. Because of this training they made good account of themselves in 1778.
It is at Valley Forge that a Quaker farmer named Potts, walking in the woods, came across George Washington on his knees praying. Up to that time, Mr. Potts figured George Washington couldn’t be a Christian, because Quakers don’t believe war and Christianity can go together. After hearing Mr. Washington pray, Mr. Potts reportedly told his wife, “I have seen this day what I shall never forget. Till now I have thought that a Christian and a soldier were characters incompatible; but if George Washington be not a man of God, I am mistaken, and still more shall I be disappointed if God does not through him perform some great thing for this country.”
The 1777-78 winter at Valley Forge was extremely hard on the troops. George Washington himself wrote from Valley Forge to a friend:
“No history, now extant, can furnish an instance of an Army’s suffering such uncommon hardships as ours has done and bearing them with the same patience and fortitude.
“To see men without clothes to cover their nakedness, without blankets to lay on, without shoes, by which their marches might be traced by the blood from their feet, and almost as often without provisions as with; marching through frost and snow, and at Christmas taking up their winter quarters within a day’s march of the enemy, without a house or hutt to cover them till they could be built and submitting without a murmur, is a mark of patience and obedience which in my opinion can scarce be paralleled.”
Also stationed at Valley Forge was a Baptist pastor, David Jones. British General Howe had a price on Rev. Jones head, because Jones was a most patriotic preacher. He had defended the war to his church, and inspired American troops to heights of patriotism and loyalty with his sermons after he joined the army. It was his custom to preach to the troops right before any battle.
Replica of cabin that soldiers would have had to build and live in at Valley Forge
One day a farmer approaching the camp heard an earnest voice. On coming nearer, he saw George Washington on his knees, his cheeks wet with tears, praying to God.
The farmer returned home and said to his wife: "George Washington will succeed! George Washington will succeed! The Americans will secure their independence!"
"What makes you think so, Isaac?" asked his wife.
The farmer replied: "I heard him pray, Hannah, out in the woods today, and the Lord will surely hear his prayer. He will, Hannah; thee may rest assured He will."
On October 3, 1779, George Washington proclaimed the very first national Thanksgiving Day.
The proclamation by President George Washington is as follows. It was to be observed on the 26th of November.
“Whereas, it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor; Whereas, both the houses of Congress have, by their joint committee, requested me “to recommend to the people of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness!” Now therefore, I do recommend next, to be devoted by the people of the states to the service of that great and glorious being, who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be, that we may then all unite in rendering unto Him our sincere and humble thanks for His kind care and protection of the people of this country.”
The story did not end there. Several days of thanksgiving days were declared and even President Lincoln designated days of thanksgiving “to subdue the anger which has produced and so long sustained a needless and cruel rebellion.” But Sarah Hale wanted more. She was a widow with five children, and she decided we needed to have an annual national Thanksgiving Day. In 1837, Sarah became editor of the Godey’s Lady’s Book. She wrote stirring editorials about Thanksgiving, made poems and wrote personal letters to politicians trying to get Thanksgiving made a national holiday. Nothing happened. As a civil war became apparent, she tried another tactic. Disunion could be avoided if every State would join in union Thanksgiving on the 24th of this month, would it not be a renewed pledge of love and loyalty to the Constitution! She wrote this in 1859. War exploded in 1861, and no Thanksgiving had been established. In desperation, Sarah wrote to President Lincoln. He agreed with her letter, and on October 3, 1863 declared the last Thursday of November to be Thanksgiving Day. He said: “Even in war, we can count our blessings: They are gracious gifts of the most high God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy.”
In May 14, 1787 to September 17, 1787, he was President of the Constitutional Convention, where the United States Constitution was assembled.
In 1789-1797, he was the first President of the United States.
George Washington was very involved in church work from the earliest of years. He was the primary mover to get one church started, and he could always be counted on to support, and faithfully attend the churches of which he was a member, with his pew usually being close to the pulpit. When the weather made it possible, he preferred to attend a church that was 10 miles away. This meant he and his family endured a ride by carriage of at least 2 if not 3 hours each way!
He was a silent man, always very thoughtful, and never spoke of himself. He was always in prayer, and could often be seen silently praying with his lips moving.
He always retired to his study to pray and read God’s Word, for an hour before going to sleep, and then rose up before dawn, to enter his study for prayer and private devotions.
Sundays were holy days for the Washington household. The only reason not to attend the morning church services would be for illness. The afternoons were spent by George Washington alone in his room and then he would come out in the evening and spend time with his family. Company was not accepted for the day, except in rare circumstances and then only briefly.
Sources
Miss Faith Macomber’s sources were lost.
T. Armitage, A History of the Baptists (Roger Williams Heritage Archives. c.1886; Electronic Edition; Libronix, 2003) p. 794.
David Barton, “Was George Washington a Christian?” The Articles of David Barton (Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 2007).
W.J. Federer, Great Quotations (St. Louis, MO: AmeriSearch, 2001) "Washington, George."
George Grant, & Wilbur Gregory. The Christian Almanac, (Nashville, Tennessee: Cumberland House c2000) pg. 583.
Lagass, P., & Columbia University. The Columbia Encyclopedia (6th ed.). (New York; Detroit: Columbia University Press; Sold and distributed by Gale Group. c. 2000), "Valley Forge."
R.J. Morgan, On This Day. (electronic ed. Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2000, c1997). “October 3.”
P.L. Tan, Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations (Garland TX: Bible Communications, 1996, c1979).
10,000 Sermon Illustrations. (electronic ed. Dallas: Biblical Studies Press, 2000).
Painting was found at: http://www.whitehouse.gov/histoy/presidents/gw1.html
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