Washington [273]
When John Trumbull painted this dashing portrait of Washington in 1780, he inserted at right William Lee, the slave who served the general devotedly throughout the Revolutionary War.
General Charles Lee. This caricature of the vain, eccentric general, a rival to Washington, pokes fun at his love of dogs and spindly body. Lee’s misconduct at Monmouth effectively terminated his career.
Puffed up to heroic proportions after his victory at Saratoga, General Horatio Gates failed to dislodge Washington as commander in chief and was later disgraced during the battle of Camden.
The warm, ebullient Henry Knox served with distinction as Washington’s artillery chief during the war but had a checkered success as secretary of war during his presidency.
Nathanael Greene. Always touted as Washington’s favorite general, Greene met an untimely death after the war, robbing Washington of an influential political ally.
Phillis Wheatley. Washington’s appreciative response to the ode written about him by this Boston slave signaled an early advance in his views on slavery.
Brilliant, crusty, and opinionated, John Adams evolved from an early booster of Washington into an envious detractor in later years.
Sir Henry Clinton, one of the many distinguished British commanders whom George Washington managed to send down to defeat.
Charles Cornwallis, first Marquess Cornwallis. Although associated with the stunning defeat of British forces at Yorktown, Cornwallis was an aggressive commander who inspired a healthy fear among American generals.
Benedict Arnold. A staunch admirer of Arnold’s derring-do throughout the war, Washington was staggered by the exposure of his massive treachery.
Peggy Shippen Arnold. Feigning temporary madness when her husband’s treason was revealed, she managed to hoodwink Washington, Hamilton, and Lafayette into believing her innocent of the scheme.
George Washington portrayed in the aftermath of his Yorktown victory. The Marquis de Lafayette stands between Washington and his beloved aide-de-camp Tench Tilghman, who grasps the articles of capitulation.
Fired by sparkling intelligence and unstoppable ambition, Alexander Hamilton flourished as a wartime aide to Washington and later as treasury secretary because the two men agreed on so many policy issues.
“Baron” von Steuben. Colorful, flamboyant, and profane, Steuben performed wonders as the drillmaster at Valley Forge, introducing a new professionalism and forging discipline in the Continental Army.
The chief political opponents of Washington’s presidency.
At first a trusted adviser to Washington and his peerless tutor on the Constitution, James Madison emerged unexpectedly as his most formidable adversary in Congress.
While Washington’s secretary of state, Thomas Jefferson teamed up with Madison, in a sometimes covert partnership, to contest the policies of the administration, inaugurating a major political party in the process.
An ardent admirer of Washington early in the Revolutionary War, Thomas Paine later turned into a scathing critic.
As the editor of an opposition paper, Philip Freneau heaped so many aspersions on Washington that the exasperated president denounced him as a “rascal.”
Elizabeth Willing Powel, a married woman of exceptional intelligence and literary flair, was Washington’s most intimate female friend and confidante during his presidency.
This image of Martha Washington captures both her sweetness and her sadness in later years.
Frances “Fanny” Bassett, a niece of Martha Washington’s, came to live at Mount Vernon in early adolescence and, with her winning personality, ended up as a much-loved surrogate daughter.
The Washington Family. This classic portrait of George and Martha Washington includes the two Custis grandchildren they reared: George Washington Parke Custis, left, and Eleanor Parke Custis, right. The slave depicted at right may have been William Lee or Christopher Sheels.
This painting of an aging President Washington shows just how haggard