George Washington

The Project Gutenberg EBook of George Washington, by William Roscoe ThayerThis eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it,give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online atwww.gutenberg.netTitle: George WashingtonAuthor: William Roscoe ThayerRelease Date: June 6, 2004 [EBook #12540]Language: English*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK GEORGE WASHINGTON ***Produced by the Online Distributed Proofreading Team.The Riverside LibraryGeorge WashingtonByWILLIAM ROSCOE THAYER1922TOHARRIET SEARS AMORYWITH THE BEST WISHES OF HER OLD FRIENDTHE AUTHORPREFACETo obviate misunderstanding, it seems well to warn the reader that this book aims only at giving a sketch of GeorgeWashington's life and acts. I was interested to discover, if I could, the human residue which I felt sure must persist inWashington after all was said. Owing to the pernicious drivel of the Reverend Weems no other great man in history hashad to live down such a mass of absurdities and deliberate false inventions. At last after a century and a quarter therubbish has been mostly cleared away, and only those who wilfully prefer to deceive themselves need waste time over animaginary Father of His Country amusing himself with a fictitious cherry-tree and hatchet.The truth is that the material about George Washington is very voluminous. His military records cover ...