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Washington (George) Collection
mssGW
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Contributing Institution:
The Huntington Library
Title: George Washington collection
Creator:
Washington, George, 1732-1799
Identifier/Call Number: mssGW
Physical Description:
29 Linear Feet
(25 boxes, 1 oversize folder)
Date (inclusive): 1749-1806
Abstract: This collection contains correspondence, surveys, military records, memoranda, accounts, receipts, and ephemera pertaining
to George Washington's careers as surveyor, military leader, and U.S. president. Also present are Washington family correspondence
and material relating to Mount Vernon and Washington's household, including several items regarding enslaved laborers.
Language of Material: Materials are mostly in English with a few items in French.
RESTRICTED. Available with curatorial approval. Requires extended retrieval and delivery time.
The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from or publish images of this material,
nor does it charge fees for such activities. The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and
obtaining necessary permissions rests with the researcher.
[Identification of item]. George Washington collection, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
The George Washington collection was assembled by the Huntington Library, and consists primarily of purchases made by Henry
E. Huntington, especially from George D. Smith in 1920-1921, who had purchased 170 Washington manuscripts from collector Grenville
Kane in 1913 and from an unidentified collection in 1915. Other purchases include the William K. Bixby Americana collection
in 1918; from the Anderson Galleries, Maggs Bros., and other auction houses, 1920-1923; and from the American Art Association,
1912-1926. The Washington-McDougall correspondence was purchased from A.S.W. Rosenbach in 1923. Many Martha Washington items
came from J.F. Meegan in the 1920s. Source of acquisition is noted at the item level, when known.
The George Washington collection also consists of numerous items transferred from other Huntington Library manuscript collections;
item call numbers reflect these removals and refer to the following collections: the Loudon papers: Americana (LO), the R.A.
Brock collection and papers (BR), the James McHenry papers (MH), the Charles Thomas Harbeck manuscript collection (HR), the
Charles-René-Dominique Sochet Destouches papers (DE), the Spence and Lowell families papers (SL), and the Richard Clough Anderson
papers (AND).
George Washington (February 22, 1732-December 14, 1799), the first president of the United States, was born in Westmoreland
County, Virginia, the son of a planter and enslaver. At age 17, he started working as a licensed land surveyor. Washington's
military career began in 1752 when he was appointed to the Virginia militia. In 1753, he was sent by Virginia's governor as
special envoy to the French in the Ohio Valley. During the French and Indian War, he served as a volunteer aide-de-camp, and
as colonel of the Virginia Regiment in command of the colony's forces defending the frontier, resigning his commission in
1758.
Washington married widow Martha Dandridge Custis on January 6, 1759, and helped raise her two surviving children from her
first marriage, John ("Jacky") Parke Custis (1754-1781) and Martha ("Patsy") Parke Custis (1756-1773). In 1761, Washington
inherited his family's tobacco plantation, Mount Vernon. Over the next several decades, he would expand the plantation, diversify
his crops, and add a gristmill and distillery to the property. Enslaved persons performed the majority of the maintenance
and construction of Mount Vernon, working in the household, tobacco and grain fields, and at various trades; the Washington
family enslaved at least 577 laborers on the property over several decades.
Washington served as a delegate to the first Continental Congress in 1774. When war broke out with Great Britain in 1775,
he was appointed commander in chief of the Continental Army. Major Revolutionary War actions included the Siege of Boston
(1775-1776); battles and movements around New York City (1776), Pennsylvania (1777), and New Jersey (1778-1780); and an alliance
with France in 1778. Great Britain surrendered in October 1781 and negotiations to end the war continued until the signing
of the Treaty of Paris in September 1783. Washington resigned his commission as commander in chief of the Continental Army
on December 23, 1783 and he returned to civilian life at Mount Vernon.
In 1787, Washington presided over the Constitutional Convention and encouraged its ratification. He was unanimously chosen
as first president of the United States by the electoral college, taking office April 30, 1789 in New York City. In July 1790
the capital was moved to Philadelphia. Washington's first term involved the creation of the executive branch, building a cabinet,
filling the Supreme Court, and formalizing procedures and protocols for the new government. He was reluctant to serve a second
term as president but a number of factors created pressure on him to do so, including economic concerns, relationships and
conflicts with Native Americans, and growing political strife within the new government. He was again unanimously elected
to a second term, which was marked by partisanship and foreign affairs with France, Spain, and Great Britain. Both terms involved
plans to create a new national capital at Washington, D.C. Washington's second term ended on March 4, 1797 and he returned
to Mount Vernon, where he spent the remaining years of his life.
The bulk of the George Washington collection is correspondence; the collection also contains surveys, military records, memoranda,
accounts, receipts, and ephemera. Material dates from 1749 to 1806 and spans Washington's entire adulthood, from his early
years as a Virginia surveyor and through his military career to the final days of his presidency. Also present in the collection
are Washington family correspondence and material pertaining to Mount Vernon and Washington's household, including several
items regarding enslaved laborers.
The military material in the Washington collection is primarily correspondence and relates to both the French and Indian and
Revolutionary Wars. French and Indian War material pertains to the Virginia Regiment, forts, supplies, funds and soldiers'
pay, and relations with Native Americans.
Revolutionary War records also include appointments, addresses, orders, returns, commissions, brigade lists, warrants, and
congressional resolutions. The bulk of correspondence is between Washington and other generals and military personnel, including
Alexander McDougall, James Mitchell Varnum, George Clinton, William Alexander, Elias Dayton, Israel Shreve, and others; many
are in the handwriting of his various aides-de-camp and secretaries, including Alexander Hamilton, Tench Tilghman, Robert
Hanson Harrison, and Richard Kidder Meade. Revolutionary War letters and documents pertain to military strategy, intelligence,
troop movements and expeditions, instructions to generals, and British positions; procurement and supplies, including food
and clothing; the relationship with the French; suspected spies; methods of correspondence; and peace. They also relate to
the recruitment and enlistment of soldiers, soldiers' conduct, and pardons and executions. In addition, some items refer to
civilian behavior and the appropriation of civilian property.
Few items relate specifically to Washington's government work during the years of his presidency, other than several items
that discuss congressional acts and bills. A small number of documents pertain to the new government's relationship with Native
Americans including the Eel River tribe (1793 May 7). The bulk of correspondence from this period are letters to Tobias Lear,
Washington's personal secretary, and relate primarily to household matters, including setting up house in Philadelphia, Washington's
properties, and tenants and renters. Items also pertain to Potomac Company activities and its river and canal projects around
Washington, D.C., in Maryland and Virginia. Also included are several items that discuss the development of the District of
Columbia.
The collection contains a small amount of personal and family material, including correspondence with Bushrod Washington,
George Augustine Washington, and Elizabeth ("Betty") Washington Lewis. There are also several letters from Martha Washington
to family members, especially to her niece, Frances (Fanny) Bassett Washington Lear. A 1792 Washington family genealogy includes
a narrative and chart.
A number of items in the collection pertain to Mount Vernon and the Washington household, including surveys and records of
lands granted to Washington and Mount Vernon properties; items relating to farming and crops; and household accounts, bills,
receipts, orders, and inventories. Also included are fabric samples of furniture covering from Mount Vernon, and of a curtain
used by Washington while president in New York and Philadelphia.
Several items in this collection relate to the persons held in slavery by the Washingtons, including an appraisement of enslaved
laborers sent to the Dismal Swamp (1764 July 4), letters to Tobias Lear (1791 June 19 and 1794 May 6), and letters (1796 November
28 and December 22) to Joseph Whipple regarding Ona (Oney) Judge, enslaved personal servant of Martha Washington who self-emancipated
to New Hampshire.
The George Washington collection was reprocessed in 2020 by Melissa Haley as part of the American Presidential Papers Project.
The items had been assembled physically and arranged chronologically by Huntington Library former staff in early- or mid-20th
century; material was rehoused during reprocessing. Previously assigned item-level call numbers have been retained.
Personal and place names misspelled on the original manuscripts have been corrected in the item descriptions. Place names
have been made uniform and modernized where necessary. Additional location information provided by previous library staff
has been included where known (i.e., location of camp headquarters during Revolutionary War). See item-level Scope and Contents
notes for information on place names as they appear in the documents. Military and other titles have been retained for correspondents
where available. The number of pages for each item is noted in parentheses in item-level Scope and Contents notes. Document
measurements are included at the item level for items larger than 45 x 30 cm.
Previously assigned legacy terminology regarding autograph, endorsement, docket, and franking status of items was retained.
Items marked
autograph indicate the item is in the handwriting of the author of the letter or document.
Endorsement usually refers to a signature of the addressee or individual authorized to read and respond to a letter and indicates that
they have done so. A
docket generally refers to an item's label created at the time for filing purposes. However, the terms
endorsement and
docket were sometimes used interchangeably in prior processing practices, especially in cases where those actions were performed
by the same individual.
Franking indicates the presence of an authorized signature for mailing purposes.
Related Materials at the Huntington Library
- Richard Clough Anderson papers, mssAND
- Baldwin family papers, mssBN
- R.A. Brock collection and papers, mssBR
- Charles-René-Dominique Sochet Destouches papers, mssDE
- Charles Thomas Harbeck manuscript collection, mssHR
- Loudon papers: Americana, mssLO
- James McHenry papers, mssMH
- Spence and Lowell families papers, mssSL
Existence and Location of Copies
This collection has been digitized in its entirety and the digital reproductions are available in the
Huntington Digital Library.
Existence and Location of Copies
Contemporary copies exist in other repositories for many of the items in this collection, especially in the George Washington
papers (MSS44693) at the Library of Congress. Information on locations of copies is provided at the item level (citations
are from Founders Online, National Archives).
Collection is arranged chronologically.
The bulk of items in the George Washington collection has been published in scholarly editions. Publication information is
noted at the item level and refers to the following sources:
- • Founders Online, National Archives (https://founders.archives.gov/)
- • The Writings of George Washington from the Original Manuscript Sources, 1745-1799. Edited by John C. Fitzpatrick. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1931-1944.
- • The George Washington Atlas: A Collection of Eighty-five Maps including Twenty-eight Made by George Washington, Seven Used and Annotated by Him, Eight Made at his Direction, or for His Use or Otherwise Associated with Him, and Forty-two New Maps concerning His Activities in Peace and War and His Place in History. Edited by Lawrence Martin. Washington, D.C.: United States George Washington Bicentennial Commission, 1932.
- • Letters to Washington. Edited by Stanislaus Murray Hamilton, National Society of Colonial Dames of America. Boston: Houghton, Mifflin and Co.; Cambridge: Riverside Press, 1898-1902.
- • The Writings of George Washington. Edited by Worthington Chauncey Ford; New York London: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1889-[1893].
- • The Writings of George Washington: Being his Correspondence, Addresses, Messages, and Other Papers, Official and Private. Edited by Jared Sparks. Boston: Little, Brown and Co., 1858.
- • Correspondence of the American Revolution: Being Letters of Eminent Men to George Washington, from the Time of His Taking Command of the Army to the End of His Presidency. Edited by Jared Sparks; Boston: Little, Brown and Co., 1853
See also: The Papers of George Washington. Edited by W.W. Abbot, editor, Dorothy Twohig, associate editor, Philander D. Chase,
Beverly H. Runge, and Frederick Hall Schmidt, assistant editors; Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1983-[2020].
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Washington, George, 1732-1799 -- Archives
Washington, George, 1732-1799 -- Autographs (manuscripts)
Washington, George, 1732-1799 -- Correspondence
Slavery -- United States -- History -- 18th century
Mount Vernon (Va. : Estate)
United States -- History -- French and Indian War, 1754-1763
United States -- History -- Revolution, 1775-1783
Washington (D.C.) -- History -- 18th century
Land surveys -- Virginia -- 18th century
Letters (correspondence) -- United States -- 18th century
Military records -- United States -- Revolution, 1775-1783
Alexander, William, 1726-1783
Clinton, George, 1739-1812
Dayton, Elias, 1737-1807
Judge, Oney
Lear, Frances Bassett Washington
Lear, Tobias, 1762-1816
McDougall, Alexander, 1732-1786
Shreve, Israel, 1739-1799
Varnum, James M. (James Mitchell), 1748-1789
Washington, George Augustine, approximately 1759-1793
Washington, Martha, 1731-1802
Potomac Company
- Collection Overview
-
Collection Details
- Conditions Governing Access
- Conditions Governing Use
- Preferred Citation
- Immediate Source of Acquisition
- Custodial History
- Biographical / Historical
- Scope and Contents
- Processing Information
- Related Materials at the Huntington Library
- Existence and Location of Copies
- Existence and Location of Copies
- Arrangement
- Publication Note