Christmas Celebrations Circa 1770
Christmas celebrations have been around for centuries. In the 18th century American Colonies, particularly in the South, people decorated their houses with home made wreaths of pine boughs and cones, ribbons and vegetation. It was usually more “green” than “red.” And the “red” was usually a darker red. The red of apples and pomegranates and berries.
But it was always a family occasion – and a feast occasion. The kitchen was busy for days preparing meats and game, poultry and vegetables – and of course lavish desserts. There was generously poured libation. There was music. There was singing (hymns, of course) and dancing – depending on the strictness of their observation. Church services were well attended.
Families were large then, and many people traveled for miles to spend the holiday with their kin. Between the distances and the primitive means of transportation (usually horses-and-vehicles of some kind), family members were known to stay for a week or more.
Bottom line. It was fun and always an occasion to be remembered.
George Washington: The General
In 1775, George Washington was a 43-year-old Virginia planter of means, a former Colonel of its Militia, and long time member of the House of Burgesses. When the thirteen grumbling Colonies called for a convention in Philadelphia, GW was one of Virginia’s representatives.
April, 1775 was a watershed moment. Boston militiamen faced British soldiers at Bunker Hill with serious loss of life. Then the Redcoats marched into Lexington and Concord and fired on farmers and tradesman who mustered at a “minute’s notice” to protect their property – and their rights. What was a local revolt was becoming an all-out revolutionary war.
George Washington was the only delegate to the convention who had actual military experience, albeit from 15 years earlier. But he was charged with whipping the Massachusetts militia (and anyone else who wanted to enlist) into an army. The new General left for Boston immediately.
By 1776, the Continental Army, as it was then called, was a ragtag, ill-equipped, poorly subsisted bunch of men between their mid-teens and mid-fifties. After managing to outmaneuver the British Army out of Boston, the next 18 months were filled with American losses, and clever strategic withdrawals, from Boston through New York, and into The Jerseys.
GW: The Christmas of 1776
December, 1776 found General Washington in Pennsylvania, across the Delaware River, some 15 miles from Trenton, NJ, where more than a thousand Hessian soldiers (a mercenary force hired by Great Britain) was headquartered.
The weather was bitter cold, and the small Continental army was poorly clad, some had no shoes. Food was scarce. Morale was at rock bottom. General Washington despaired, since many of the soldiers had enlisted for 6-months, due to expire at the New Year. GW feared that the war, and the cause of American independence would end there and then.
Hoping to reignite flagging morale, he devised a brilliant plan. Late on Christmas Day, knowing the Hessian fondness for the holiday and its associated libation, he planned to surprise them in the early morning.
His entire army was ferried across the ice-packed Delaware, and as silently as possible, they marched to Trenton, and surprised the Hessians, groggy with sleep – and grog. Not only was it a near bloodless victory for the Americans (only five casualties to the Hessian 900), but General Washington was able to confiscate huge stores of food and other provisions.
The successful battle was followed a few days later by a similar foray at Princeton. Morale was lifted, many militiamen re-enlisted, and many new recruits came to join the cause.
That was George Washington’s “famous” Christmas story.
GW: The Christmas of 1783
The less “famous” Christmas story is just as important.
Even though the Revolutionary War ostensibly ended with the surrender of General Cornwallis at Yorktown in late 1781, the war technically did not end until late 1783, when the Treaty of Paris was officially signed, sealed and delivered.
Astute man that he was, George Washington was not about to disband the army until every British soldier was en route back to Britain. It took two years, but finally, his responsibilities having been completed, he bade his officers a fond farewell, advised them of his “retirement” back to his beloved Mount Vernon, and headed for Annapolis, MD, where the Continental Congress was temporarily in session. He planned to resign his commission in person.
GW arrived in Annapolis on December 16, and spent several days being feasted and feted and showered with honors by everyone before the formal ceremony on December 22, 1783, where he physically returned his commission papers to Thomas Mifflin of Pennsylvania, then serving as President of Congress. (The essence of this was immortalized 40 years later in a huge “representation” mural for the Capitol Rotunda).
Following more “fond farewells,” private citizen GW began his trip to Mount Vernon. He had promised his wife Martha that he would be home for Christmas. But one more overnight was needed, since late December darkness came early.
He arrived late on Christmas Eve to his beloved home that had changed little since he left it 8 years earlier.
The Last Word
The final summation on George Washington’s formal retirement is usually credited to King George III. When he learned of GW’s voluntary retirement to private life, he remarked, “ If he does that, he will be the greatest man in the world.”
Sources:
Randall, Willard Sterne – George Washington – Galahad Books, 2000
Weintraub, Stanley – General Washington’s Christmas Farewell: A Mount Vernon Homecoming 1783 – Free Press, 2003
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/washington-crosses-the-delaware
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