Valley Forge—Washington and his military staff occupied this stone house during the winter encampment. The house had been built for an ironmaster named Isaac Potts, an owner of the iron forge that gave Valley Forge its name. At the time of the Revolution, the house was less than ten years old. Because of long resentment […]
Washington’s Headquarters Read More »
Valley Forge—Re-creation of log cabin soldiers’ huts, each built to house a dozen men, stacked like cordwood, during Washington’s winter encampment in 1777-78. Made of logs and chinked with mud, with a fireplace on one end. Crude, but better than tent living.
Photos from Mount Vernon: Commemorative marker, burial ground for enslaved people I originally thought of Finding George Washington as a comical, fish-out-of-water story, but as I learned more about my subject, so much emerged about George. A charismatic leader, but a soft-spoken, uninspiring orator. A courageous man, who endured the burden of
Slavery and the Washingtons Read More »
Excerpt from Finding George Washington • Valley Forge, February 22, 1778 • A new freeze gripped the valley, and a few inches of virgin white covered the now-frozen ruts in the roads. When they first arrived at this winter encampment two months before, rain and cold had compounded the misery of
Excerpt from Finding George Washington • Mount Vernon • The General approached the Mansion from the west. He floated up the serpentine path, around the bowling green, and through the north colonnade, until he could see the lush Potomac River Valley. He glided toward the inviting shade of the columned piazza on the east side, then
Plantation (Excerpt) Read More »
As a kid, I loved baseball and cherished my collection of player cards. I had hundreds of them, including, I’m pretty sure, a rare Mickey Mantle rookie card, now worth millions. When I was about eight or nine, my dad gave me an old set of U.S. President cards, with photos