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Moviegoers headed to theaters on the July 4 holiday to watch Young Washington, the new movie about George Washington’s younger years during the French and Indian war.
The movie shows Washington struggling to defeat the British colonies’ archaic hierarchies, which threatened to consign him to a mundane life as a tenant farmer. But Washington had bigger military designs. This post will have some spoilers for the movie.
The movie introduced many Americans to little known historic figures, like Washington’s brother, Lawrence; his widowed mother; and his first love interest, Sally Cary. Much of the film focuses on the beginnings of Washington’s mythology as he charged into battle for the British Crown, which was jousting with France and Native American tribes for control of the Ohio frontier. Washington loses a key battle, but he learns from it, and, within those lessons, one can see the seeds that led to the American Revolution.
However, what is true in the movie? Is it a real story?
Is it True That George Washington Could Not Be Struck By Bullets?
(Photo by MPI/Getty Images)
The movie shows indigenous leaders and fellow soldiers stunned by Washington’s ability to avoid bullets during battle. In one scene, the leader of an opposing Native American tribe that sided with the French revealed that he instructed all of his warriors to fire at Washington and was astounded that the bullets all missed. He decided that Washington was protected by a spiritual force.
According to History’s Vault, this is generally true; “George Washington’s survival in battle often defied logic. From the chaos of Monongahela to the daring charge at Princeton, he emerged unscathed while death claimed those around him. His men saw it. His enemies noted it,” the site reported.
“In July 1755, a young George Washington rode with British General Edward Braddock into the Ohio Valley. Their mission: to seize Fort Duquesne from French and Native American forces,” History’s Vault reported. As the movie shows, Washington no longer had a formal command.
In a letter preserved by Mount Vernon, Washington wrote, “By the all-powerful dispensations of Providence, I have been protected beyond all human probability and expectation; for I had four bullets through my coat, and two horses shot under me, yet escaped unhurt, altho’ death was levelling my companions on every side.”
According to American Heritage, “Upon at least five occasions when in great danger from gunfire George Washington remained unscathed. His hat was shot off his head; his clothes were torn; horses were killed beneath him, but the hero was never so much as scratched by a bullet. For this immunity he thanked ‘Providence.'”
Did George Washington Really Lose a Battle Due to Poor Strategy at Fort Necessity?
The film shows Washington making a series of strategic errors during the French and Indian War while fighting for the British Crown. He builds a fort in a low area that floods and allows the French to take potshots from the trees, winning the battle. This causes him to relinquish his colonel’s title. However, Washington uses this failure as a learning experience. Is this true?
According to The Washington Post, “At Fort Necessity, he experienced the humiliation of surrender and the importance of matching military tactics to the surrounding environment.”
The 1754 battle played out much as it is seen on film. “At this Pennsylvania skirmish, Washington—only in his early 20s—suffered a humiliating defeat that ignited the French and Indian War between France and Great Britain and their Indigenous North American allies,” according to Biography.com. “It also offered valuable lessons before the revolution that lay two decades ahead to cement his legacy.”
It’s also true, according to Biography.com, that Washington worked as a surveyor, was named an envoy to try negotiating with the French, was placed in command of a militia, and requested a truce after rain turned the fort into a muddy terrain and his forces ended up cornered inside of it. It’s also true that Washington was accused of causing the death of the French commander, sparking the conflict, and that the French exploited his misunderstanding of a translation.
Was George Washington in Love With Sally Cary and What Happened to Her?
The movie shows Washington falling in love with a noblewoman named Sally Cary. Of course, most history buffs realize he ended up marrying a woman named Martha instead. So, what gives?
Sarah “Sally” Fairfax “was born in 1730 into one of Virginia’s oldest and wealthiest families,” according to Women History Blog.”Sally Cary married George William Fairfax on December 17, 1748, and the couple moved into the Belvoir Plantation with his father, William Fairfax.” It’s true that Washington wrote Sally letters and had a romantic interest in her.
“Sally was well-educated, and as a young man with limited education and a low rung on the social ladder, George Washington was impressed with this attractive and intelligent woman,” Women History Blog reported. “She was a key inspiration for the future President to elevate himself to a higher social, cultural, and intellectual sphere, which is clear in his letters to her.”
George wrote Sally a letter that read, “Misconstrue not my meaning; doubt it not, nor expose it. The world has no business to know the object of my love declared in this manner to you, when I want to conceal it.”
George Washington’s Brother Lawrence Washington Was a Substitute Father for Him in Real Life and a Military Officer
In the movie, George Washington’s mentor is his much older brother Lawrence Washington, who has married into a wealthy aristocratic landowning family and is presented as a military officer and the owner of Washington’s eventual estate, Mount Vernon. Lawrence then falls ill with consumption, helping open the door to Washington’s military career. The brother is also shown encouraging Washington to read and helping train him. But is it true?
According to George Washington Barbados, Lawrence Washington was George’s half-brother in real life, and he “played a significant role in shaping the early life and career of the first President of the United States. Lawrence’s life story is imbued with elements of leadership, resilience, and a profound influence on one of the most pivotal figures in American history.” That site says that Lawrence and George shared a father in common named Augustine Washington.
It’s true that Lawrence was a military officer, that site says, noting, “Lawrence was commissioned as a captain leading an infantry battalion that went on to play a crucial role during the war.” According to The George Washington Financial Papers, Lawrence “was appointed adjutant general of the colony and on 19 July 1743 married Ann Fairfax, daughter of Col. William Fairfax of Belvoir.” A surrogate father to George, Lawrence did fall ill; Lawrence’s marriage “into the powerful Fairfax family introduced GW to the social life of the beautiful Fairfax estate at Belvoir, some four miles from Mount Vernon, where he met the most influential segment of Virginia society,” The George Washington Financial Papers reports.
George Washington’s Father, Augustine Washington, Died When George Was a Young Boy
The movie shows George grieving the loss of his dad, Augustine Washington, when he was still a young boy. Is this true? Yes. According to the National Park Service, “Augustine died at Ferry Farm in 1743, when George was eleven years old. At this age, George had been old enough to have observed how his father managed the business of a plantation and iron furnace, as well as how he held leadership positions in society and interacted with various members of their community.”
It’s True That George Washington’s Mother, Mary Ball Washington, Carried on as a Widow Without Remarrying
The movie characterizes George’s mother, Mary Ball Washington, as a strong and determined widow, who carries on managing a farm by herself after her husband dies.
According to the National Park Service, in real life, Mary “married Augustine Washington on March 6, 1731. Their first child, George Washington, was born the following year. Although Mary later had a daughter, Betty, and three additional sons—Samuel, Charles, and John Augustine—she first learned the responsibilities and expectations of motherhood on the shores of Popes Creek with George.”
After Augustine died, Mary remained “in charge of their children and property. She chose not to remarry, a somewhat unusual decision for a woman in the 18th century. By remaining unmarried, she took on the responsibility of managing the plantation and providing for the family, while also protecting her children’s inheritance.” She lived to see her son become the first president of the new United States.
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