Random Things About George Washington's Private Life (14 items)

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  (#11) He Kept Hundreds Of Enslaved People

  Washington first inherited enslaved people at the age of 11, and by the end of his life, reports noted he kept 317. During his 56 years as a plantation owner, many of the subjugated people at Mount Vernon attempted to escape, including during the American Revolution, when 17 of them fled to a British warship to gain their freedom.

  Many of the enslaved people closest to the Washington family, including the president's personal assistant, the family cook, and Martha's personal maid, either escaped or attempted escape at one point.

  Washington's will included instructions to free all those he outright owned under the law (only 123 of the 317 people), but not until Martha died. And under Virginia law, the will also provided care for the infirm and elderly among the enslaved people at Mount Vernon.
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  (#1) He Wrote A Love Letter To A Married Woman During His Own Engagement

  At 27 years old, George Washington agreed to marry Martha Dandridge Custis. But while planning his marriage to the wealthy daughter of a landowner, Washington wrote love letters to Sally Fairfax. In one missive to Fairfax, dated September 12, 1758, Washington said he remained devoted to "a Lady," implying his forbidden love for the woman.

  The apparently lovelorn man went on to say, "I feel the force of her amiable beauties in the recollection of a thousand tender passages that I could wish to obliterate," because circumstances kept them apart. Not only was Washington engaged, but the letter's recipient was married to his friend George William Fairfax.

  The letter acknowledged Washington's fiancee, Custis, calling her an "animating prospect." Both Fairfax and Washington entered into marriages dictated by social convention and economic prospects, rather than love, but Fairfax kept the letter until the end of her life.
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  (#3) British Officials Claimed He Was Unfaithful To His Wife

  Several British officials tried to destroy Washington's reputation by allegedly spreading disparaging remarks about his faithfulness and character. In 1775, a Boston, MA, newspaper reported Britain's Royal Navy had seized a letter about General Washington's private life. Supposedly, the letter claimed a Virginia Congressman procured a "Kate the Washer-woman's Daughter over the Way" for the general. However, it seems as if British factions forged the letter to smear Washington.

  A British group tried the same tactic in 1777, when a soldier testified Washington kept a "girl from New Jersey" as his mistress and hid the tryst from his wife. The witness declared:

  Mary Gibbons was a girl from New Jersey, of whom General Washington was very fond, that he maintained her genteelly at a house near Mr. Skinner's, – at the North River; that he came there very often late at night in disguise.

  A second witness alleged Gibbons was a spy who stole top-secret documents from her lover while he slept. Records suggest both witnesses and the mistress were fabricated.
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  (#5) Martha Said She Felt Like A Prisoner As The First Lady

  Her husband spent eight years away from home during the Revolutionary War, but Martha Washington wasn't happy to learn her spouse was elected president. Hardly shy about expressing her displeasure, Martha told her brother she was "truly sorry to tell" of her husband's victory. She added, "It was much too late for him to go in to public life again."

  Martha did not accept her role as first lady willingly. The formal dress, weekly receptions, and socializing were difficult adjustments. Martha even complained to her niece she felt "more like a state prisoner than anything else."
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  (#10) He Let His Step-Grandchildren Live With Him

  Washington served two terms as president before the White House came into existence. For his first 16 months as president, Washington lived in New York City, and for the remainder of his terms, he stayed in Philadelphia. Although Washington had no biological children or grandchildren, he did share the presidential mansion with Martha's two grandchildren.

  In 1789, Martha, 10-year-old Nelly, and 8-year-old Washy moved to the temporary capital in New York City.
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  (#12) He's Responsible For Many Of The Mules In America

  Washington is often called the Father of His Country, but he also earned an additional title: Father of the American Mule. After receiving a prized Spanish donkey from Charles III, King of Spain, Washington became the first person to breed mules in America.

  The donkey arrived at Mount Vernon in 1785, and Washington struggled to breed it with a horse. Named Royal Gift, the animal was so stubborn that Washington quipped it was "too full of Royalty, to have any thing to do with a plebeian race."

  But the president's plan eventually succeeded, and by 1799, 63 mules existed at Mount Vernon. Patriotic determination drove Washington's effort to populate America with mules. He argued the animal, which required less feed than a horse, would save farmers money and revolutionize farming - and he was right.

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