MARTHA WASHINGTON
Martha Washington is to be celebrated and remembered for her selfless work and caring for George Washington’s soldiers. In a way, she was like a mother to them. Few people are aware these days of what Martha took on as her ‘raison d’être’ during the American Revolution.
Who knew that:
- Martha spent her winters at her husband’s side during the thick and thin of the war.
. - In the spring, summer, and fall Martha and her friends, ladies in a sort of sewing and knitting circle, spent their days and evenings sewing for the Continental soldiers? They sewed bandages and underwear, knit socks, gloves, and scarves.
. - At Mount Vernon, Martha oversaw the planning, planting, and harvesting of fruits, grains, and vegetables for the soldiers?
. - Before the snow flew (sometimes even after) each of the 6-8 years of the war, she gathered the handwork, produce, and other useful items from the farm and set out in a caravan to join Washington everywhere he camped from Boston to Valley Forge, to Morristown? After the long months of preparation, Martha made the long, arduous journey north to re-supply the army as best she could in her own way.
. - This yearly journey was extremely dangerous for Martha and her small entourage? If she had been captured by the British during this dangerous trip, the war would have not ended, as it did, in glory but in real sorrow with Mrs. Washington as a prize captive. For instance, when Martha arrived at Morristown, she brought needed supplies of all kinds, and entertained the officers in the broad hallway of the second floor at Washington’s headquarters?
. - Martha called on the soldiers in the camps bringing substance and motherly gestures to as many as she could.
. - Like a mother protecting and caring for her husband and her brood, she brought new life, cheer and hope to Washington and his starving, freezing soldiers.
. - She left her own blood relatives at home in Virginia for months at the time in sacrifice for her husband and her country?
Vive Martha Washington, the mother of our country!
Photo by Karolina Bobek ✌ on Unsplash
Revolutionary Rochambeau 