From Farm House to the White House / The life of George Washington, his boyhood, youth, manhood, public and private life and services

by William Makepeace Thayer

To the Colonies a tax on one article was just as much an invasion of their rights as a tax upon all; so that the last act of Parliament was additional proof that England meant to force taxation upon them. Of course, as brave and fearless patriots, they resisted. Tea was universally discarded. Ship-loads of it in Boston, New York, and other ports were returned to England, or packed away to perish. In Boston seventeen citizens disguised themselves as Indians, boarded an English tea-vessel, and cast the tea into the dock. This act aroused the British lion, and he shook his mane and roared. Soon an English fleet appeared in Boston Harbor to reduce the inhabitants to subjection by force of arms. At the same time, the Boston Port Bill was enforced, thereby closing the harbor of that city to commerce.

The citizens refused to provide quarters for the English troops, and declared, in public assembly, that quartering British soldiers in the State House and Faneuil Hall, as the English officers had done, was a still further and graver invasion of their rights.

We should have said that the day on which the Stamp Act went into operation, Nov. 1, 1765, was observed throughout the Colonies as a day of fasting and prayer. The day was ushered in by the tolling of bells, as if the funeral ceremonies of the king himself were to be performed. Ships displayed their colors at half-mast. Business was suspended, and halls and churches were opened for prayer and addresses. Washington's journal shows that he spent the day very much as he did his Sabbaths, in devout worship in the house of God, and religious exercises at home.

In Boston a solemn procession bore along the streets effigies of the men who were promoters of the Act, burying them with appropriate ceremonies. In New York City a similar procession carried the printed Act itself upon a pole, surmounted by a death's head, with a scroll bearing the inscription, "The Folly of England and Ruin of America." Lieutenant-Governor Colden, who had lent his influence to secure the Act, fearing violence, fled to the fort, and garrisoned it with marines from a ship of war. "The mob broke into his stable, drew out his chariot, put his effigy into it, paraded it through the streets to the Common (now the Park), where they hung it on a gallows. In the evening it was taken down, put again into the chariot, with the devil for a companion, and escorted back by torchlight to the bowling green, where the whole pageant, chariot and all, was burnt under the very guns of the fort."

The day on which the Boston Port Bill went into effect was also set apart as a day of fasting, and similar demonstrations were made throughout the Colonies.

It is necessary to turn aside at this point to speak of Washington's visit to Ohio in the interest of his officers and soldiers. It will be remembered that the Governor of Virginia pledged the Virginia troops led by Washington to the Ohio, two hundred thousand acres of the best land in that region. Years passed by, and this pledge was not redeemed. The British ministry opposed redeeming the pledge. But Washington did not forget the claim of his old associates in the hardships and perils of war. He took the matter in hand, and seized upon an opportune moment to carry out his purpose. He even performed a journey to the Ohio to select the best land possible for his deserving comrades. The opportune moment he chose for his journey is described as follows by Irving:

"The Six Nations, by a treaty in 1768, had ceded to the British Crown, in consideration of a sum of money, all the lands possessed by them south of the Ohio. Land offices would soon be opened for the sale of them. Squatters and speculators were already preparing to swarm in, set up their marks on the choicest spots, and establish what were called preemption rights. Washington determined at once to visit the lands thus ceded, affix his mark on such tracts as he should select, and apply for a grant from government, in behalf of the 'soldiers' claim.'"

This expedition was attended by considerable danger, as the Delawares, Shawnees, and Mingees considered that their rights were invaded by the action of the Six Nations. The appearance of white men upon their domains to claim lands was not at all agreeable to them.

In these circumstances Washington undertook the journey, accompanied by his old friend Dr. Craik, and servant, with two servants of his own. All were mounted, with an additional horse to carry the baggage.