CHAPTER IX

THE YOUNG COLONEL GOES COURTING

The Colonel of the Colony

During the three years that followed the Braddock campaign, Washington enjoyed all the honors and torments that his native colony could inflict upon him. He had rank, authority, men, and money; but what were all these to a soldier who was obliged to endure Dinwiddie? There can be no doubt that the old gentleman was hot for war, but some of the developments of his martial spirit were unspeakably exasperating to those who were expected to do the fighting. Although being a war governor was not an exact science in those days, it was not necessary that Dinwiddie should have been satisfied to display only the characteristics of an army mule, particularly as the customs of the time forbade that a governor should be treated according to his deserts. This conceited, obstinate, short-sighted, narrow-minded, jealous governor gave the military force more trouble than all the French and Indians on the border. Yet Washington, as the colonial commander-in-chief, did not proceed against the old fellow with powder and ball, or even drive him out of the country. Such self-restraint was phenomenal.

Fears that the French and Indians would transfer the seat of war to the settled portions of the colony made the Virginia Burgesses liberal of men and money, and a regiment of a thousand men was at once recruited. Washington became its colonel, for which Dinwiddie never forgave him, although he was obliged to sign his commission. The Governor's own candidate had been Colonel Innes, of North Carolina, who, like the Governor, was a

Scotchman, and was strongly supported by a number of his fellow countrymen. As the patriotic Scots of that period seemed to believe that the sites of the Garden of Eden and the town of Bethlehem were both in Scotland, and that the Scotch were the chosen race, they naturally clung together with great tenacity, and remembrance of the long and ugly fight over the Virginia colonelcy may have been the reason why, in the first draft of the Declaration of Independence, Scotchmen were classed with sundry creatures whose doings had been reprehensible.

As colonel of the Virginia regiment, Washington became commander-in-chief of the colony's forces. He established his headquarters at Winchester, which was the largest place near the border that had good lines of communication with the remainder of the colony.

George Washington, John Habberton, p. 40.

How Colonel Washington "Took" Boston

One of the beauties of the military system of the day was, that each colony managed its own forces, under the nominal supervision of a commander-in-chief sent out from England. Quarrels were frequent over questions of rank, for some officers who bore commissions from the king were among the volunteers, and declined to receive orders from higher officers who had been commissioned only by governors. A Maryland captain named Dagworthy claimed command of Fort Cumberland on the strength of having held a king's commission, and a grand quarrel at once arose between Maryland and Virginia, which threatened to drive Washington out of the service. The case was finally referred to General Shirley, British commander-inchief in America, and Washington was sent to the general to explain.

To this phase of the quarrel Washington owed one of the most enjoyable trips of his life; but this was only a minor result, for his journey brought him in contact with

Boston. It may be seen at first sight that an unfair advantage was taken of the young man, for he had not yet become the Father of his Country, while Boston, on the contrary, had been the Hub of the Universe for at least a century. Still, the man and the town impressed one another favorably; the original Yankee, being shapeless and awkward, could not fail to be greatly impressed by six feet two of symmetrical humanity; the original Yankee dressed very badly, whereas Washington was faultlessly and richly attired; Yankee horses were carefully modeled after dried codfish, and were about as sad-eyed and spiritless, whereas Washington rode into Boston on a magnificent charger, and even his colored servant was well mounted. The young Virginian "took the town" at once; the natives could not show him Bunker Hill Monument, the burnt district, or the Back Bay improvements, as now they would do within an hour of his arrival, but they gave him what they had-heartiness, patriotism, and beans. Concerning the latter, his letters are painfully silent; nothing but silence can do justice to some topics; but the people's hospitality and public spirit pleased him greatly. George Washington, John Habberton, p. 43.

The Handsome Colonel Rode away to Boston Town

The little cavalcade that left Virginia on February 4, 1756, must have looked brilliant enough as they rode away through the dark woods. First came the colonel, mounted of course on the finest of animals, for he loved and understood horses from the time when he rode bareback in the pasture to those later days when he acted as judge at a horse-race and saw his own pet colt "Magnolia" beaten. In this expedition he wore, of course, his uniform of buff and blue, with a white and scarlet cloak over his shoulders, and a sword-knot of red and gold. His "horse furniture" was of the best London make, trimmed with "livery lace," and the Washington arms were engraved upon the housings.