Here's the history book that belongs in the library of every family. Why? First, because its author, the youth who called General (and afterward President) Washington his father, the youth who was the grandson of First Lady Martha Washington, knew intimately the Great Patriot s family and life:
"Concerning [Washington s] domestic habits and manners; the routine of his methodical life; what he said and did, when he retired from public cares and duties, in the evening of his glorious day, I ought to know much. Taken from my orphaned cradle to his paternal arms, nourished at his board, cherished in his bosom, from childhood to manhood, I ought to know something of the First President of the United States, and the illustrious Farmer of Mount Vernon.
So, over the years, George Washington Parke Custis wrote it all down, everything he could remember about his father, the Father of our Country. What Mr. Custis couldn't remember himself, he got directly from family and friends, all former associates of Washington. Mr. Custis tells us of two:
"Bishop, [Washington s] military servant and humble friend in the war of '55-56, who helped him to his last horse on the field of Braddock, when death gathered so many sheaves to the garner --- the veteran Bishop died at Mount Vernon at a very advanced age. It was while sitting upon his knee, in the days of my childhood, that I often heard the old man relate the events of the Indian wars, and have seen him raise his withered arm, while his faded eye lighted up, when describing the memorable and heroic achievements of his patron and commander."
Dr. James Craik, also. He and Washington were comrades and fellow-captives at the affair of the Meadows, in '55; were associated in the War of the Revolution, and bosom friends.
When Mr. Custis died in 1857, his daughter collected and arranged for publishing the Recollections and Private Memoirs of George Washington, careful not to alter her father s text.
It s truly a history bonanza. A mere sliver of the contents explains why:
Washington at Mount Vernon • Observer of the Sabbath • Tour of his Farms • Washington s Evenings • His Habit in Winter • Washington at the Battle of Princeton • Composition of the American Army • Washington Undismayed by Defeat • Battle of Germantown • Anecdote of Pulaski • The Undisciplined Americans • March to Valley Forge • Privations at Valley Forge • Washington s Compassion • Washington on the Night of the Battle of Monmouth • Exposure in Battle • Anecdote of Colonel Hamilton • Incidents of the Siege of Yorktown • Cornwallis s Attempt to Escape • A Chosen Guest at Washington s Table • Mysteries of the Revolution • Headquarters at Morristown • Washington s Life-Guard (select corps) • Depreciation of Continental Money • Celebration of Washington s Birthday • Washington a Sportsman • First Year of the Presidency • Aversion to Show and Pomp • Martha Washington
The indispensable Washington:
MORE reasons to purchase this great book: • Explanatory footnotes throughout from the original publisher, with many additional eyewitness accounts. These incredible anecdotes and histories make a book all their own • Correspondence between Washington and his adopted son while the latter was at Princeton and then Annapolis. Full of practical wisdom for today s young men • Correspondence between General Washington and John Parke Custis (the author s father) during the Revolution. Reveals Washington s great presence of mind • Memoir of Mr. Custis by his daughter; which introduces a "very curious matter" about the earlier history of the family • A sketch, by Mr. Custis, of Washington s mother; acknowledged by Washington himself as the foundation of his fame • Background on all the original portraits of Washington • Presentation of a ring to General Lafayette by Mr. Custis at the tomb of Washington, 1826 • The famous oration on the death of Washington delivered by Henry Lee before Congress • Washington s directions for the management of his farms, 1789 • Beautifully designed cover; stamped in gold with the famous painting of Washington praying at Valley Forge • Hefty 644 pages • Teens to adult, but even parents of younger children will want this classic on hand
