Boyhood Of George Washington ( Rev)

[Music] he yes much has been made of me perhaps too much both good and bad I have been criticized for relishing the Pomp and privilege of high rank however few could doubt my integrity and Devotion to duty I see now that many of my better qualities were developed early in life as a lad in Virginia I often recall the years on our tobacco Plantation near Fredericksburg my father Augustine was a successful and practical man but I hardly knew him he died when I was 11 my mother Mary raised my sister brothers and me in the strictest fashion although I was legally the ward of my half brother Lawrence a captain in the Royal Marines how I admired Lawrence even then I too wanted to be a soldier it was always a special occasion when Lawrence returned from from his tours of Duty Lawrence always encouraged me to be an officer in fact Lawrence later named the plantation on the pomac river Mount Vernon after Admiral Vernon under whom he had served on the plantation I busied myself with a useful training I was only 13 when I started using my father's surveying equipment how practical was that early training it taught me to respect precision I was Outdoors too rather than being confined all day behind a tutor's desk yes from the start I took a liking to the surveyor's craft I learned to read the land a skill which later served me in War I also was Keen to learn the business of running the plantation and would often ride the boundaries it was a good thing for at 22 I was left the estate when Lawrence died of tuberculosis when Lawrence was alive oh the great parties he would host in the halls of Mount Vernon he was always a bit of a hero to me I'd often watch from the doorway and listen to the conversation at one such party I overheard Colonel Fairfax and others speak of the vast lands of the Shen Andor Valley and I listened rapidly to their plans for opening the valley to settlement Colonel Fairfax talked of treaties with the Indians and making claims to Great tracts of land he also considered the large Expedition he would have to mount to cross the Wilds of the Blue Ridge Mountains I watched as he plotted the course I was but a lad of 16 with a hunger for adventure how badly I wanted to prove myself in the company of frontiersmen I determined that night to offer my skills as a surveyor to Colonel Fairfax thus began an experience I have always treasured I became a member of that surveying party it was a toughening trip I recall one night when we were fortunate enough to have a roof above us that was the night the others played a rather fish trick on me I was shown a bed with a threadbear blanket double its weight with Vermin lice and fleas I knew it was so even as I undressed but I'd be hanged before I show the men I was bothered I lay on that infested mound of straw quietly scratching when the candle was carried away without saying a word I put my clothes back on and found a place on the floor I had not shown my discomfort a quality I later found useful on the battlefield I learned something else on that long and difficult trip exhausted by the worst Road ever trod by man or beast we stopped near a trading post rest suddenly two Cherokee Braves emerged from the woods we were alarmed defensive but I chose to face them peaceably after earning their trust I came to know the Indian as an important source of information another lesson gained from the Fairfax exped I suppose I approached challenges more seriously than many I remember writing a book which I so grandly titled Rules of Civility and Decent Behavior in company and conversation now I smile when I read my sentiments still they were true enough guides and I made an effort to live by them and so the years of my youth were spent studying and working practicing my favored craft with the thought always present that I might One Day lead men into battle my first military assignment came soon enough at age 19 I held the rank of major in the Virginia militia and in 1751 volunteered at once for a mission to determine any evidence of a French and Indian Invasion from Canada during the worst winter on record a small party moved North along the Ohio River we made our way to Fort Le near Lake IRA and soon learned of the invasion plans I observed over 220 canoes being Reed and recorded in my journal a French plan for establishing forts along the Ohio realizing the urgency with which the news must reach Virginia one trusted companion and I left our weary horses made our way to the alagan river and crossed toward the British Outpost well I remember the battles that followed during the bloody years of the French and Indian War and most vividly the massacre of our troops in [Music] 1755 I was 23 then an aid to General bradoock bradoock was mortally wounded and I was one of the few officers to survive the retreat what I learned as a young officer served me well in my later role as commander of the Continental Army my talents as a surveyor practiced early in life later allowed me to read the land and map my strategies as a boy I could not foresee of course the nature of the great Revolution to come or my place in it but I do believe that the qualities that helped me persevere during the Great hardships of the Revolution and the strengths that enabled me to bring together the colonies and build a nation in the Years afterwards were forged during my early years in [Music] Virginia e