The military of Philadelphia prepared to escort the president to Trenton the next morning, but rain prevented, and Washington and suite journeyed in a close carriage. Toward noon the clouds broke, and as they approached the Delaware the sun beamed out brightly, and a great crowd of people came to welcome the Father of his Country to the spot where, many years before, he had given a blow of deliverance, the most brilliant that was struck during the war. The contrast between the scenes that now broke upon his vision and those at the same place in the dark winter of 1776-'77, when hope for the republican cause had almost expired, and the sun of liberty for his country appeared to be setting among the clouds of utter despondency, must have created the most lively sensations of joy in his bosom. Memory with its sombre pencil drew the picture of the past, while present perception with its brilliant pencil portrayed passing events, that quickened the pulse and made the heart leap with pleasure.
Upon the very bridge over which, less than thirteen years before, Washington had fled before the troops of Cornwallis, a triumphal arch, made by the women of New Jersey, was now placed, bearing mementoes of his triumphs there, and the words: “The defender of the mothers will be the protector of the daughters.” And as he passed under that arch, the way was lined with mothers and daughters, all dressed in white, while thirteen young girls in like apparel, with wreaths upon their heads, and holding baskets of flowers in their hands, strewed blossoms in the way and sang:—
“Welcome, mighty Chief! Once more,
Welcome to this grateful shore;
Now no mercenary foe
Aims again the fatal blow—
Aims at thee the fatal blow.
Virgins fair and matrons grave,
Those thy conquering arm did save,
Build for thee triumphal bowers:
Strew, ye fair, his way with flowers!
Strew your hero's way with flowers!”
Before he left Trenton, the president sent a brief note to the ladies who prepared this memorable reception, in which he said: “General Washington can not leave this place without expressing his acknowledgments to the matrons and young ladies who received him in so novel and grateful a manner at the Triumphal Arch, for the exquisite sensations he experienced in that affecting moment. The astonishing contrast between his former and his actual situation at the same spot, the elegant taste with which it was adorned for the present occasion, and the innocent appearance of the white-robed choir who met him with the gratulatory song, have made such an impression on his remembrance as, he assures them, will never be effaced.”
Reception of President Washington at New York, April 23, 1789.
Over the same route across New Jersey along which Washington fled toward the close of 1776, with his wasting little army, before an exulting foe, and in the midst of secret enemies on every side, he now made his way among a happy and peaceful people, who received him everywhere with the open arms of love and veneration, while the air was filled with the shouts of multitudes, the booming of cannon, and the ringing of bells. He arrived at Elizabethtown point, a few miles from New York, on the morning of the twenty-third of April, and there he was received by committees of both houses of Congress, officers of the federal, state, and municipal governments, and a large number of citizens who had collected from all parts of the country. A splendid barge had been constructed for the occasion, to carry the president to New York, and in it he embarked immediately after his arrival. It was manned by thirteen masters of vessels in white uniforms, commanded by Commodore James Nicholson; and other beautiful barges, fancifully decorated, conveyed the Congressional committees and the heads of departments. Other boats joined them on the way, some of them bearing musicians; and when they approached the city, whose shores and wharves, and every part of Fort George and the Battery, were covered with people, there was a grand flotilla in the procession, the oars keeping time with instrumental music.
All the vessels in the harbor but one were gayly decked with flags, and upon two of them parties of ladies and gentlemen sang gratulatory odes as the barge of the president approached. The exception was the Spanish man-of-war Galveston, which displayed no token of respect. A general feeling of indignation began to prevail, when in an instant, as the president's barge came abreast of her, her yards were manned as if by magic; every part of her rigging displayed flags of all nations, with the effect of an immense shrub bursting suddenly into gorgeous bloom; and the roar of thirteen cannon, discharged in quick succession, attested the reverence and respect of the Spanish admiral for the illustrious Washington. The effect upon the multitude was electrical, and over bay and city a shout, long and loud, floated upon the noontide air.
Washington was received at the stairs of Murray's wharf by his old friend Governor Clinton; and his loved companion-in-arms, General Knox, was there to welcome him, with a host of others of the army of the Revolution, who had come, some of them long distances, to look once more upon the face of their beloved Chief, to feel the grasp of his hand, and to hear his voice.