This week we are going to take a look at the post war years, primarily from George Washington’s perspective.
Return to Mount Vernon
Washington had resigned his commission at the end of 1783 and returned to Mount Vernon just in time for Christmas. His letters from this time indicate he was happy for his time in public service to be over. At the ripe old age of 52, he was considering his own mortality. Four of his six brothers and two of three sisters had already died. He had also lost both of his stepchildren.
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| Mount Vernon |
It’s not entirely clear why the Washington’s took custody of two of their four grandchildren. Nelly and Washy, however, lived at Mount Vernon for the last two yeast of the war, while both George and Martha were away with the army. The Washingtons had informally adopted the two to be raised as their own children.
Their mother, Jackie’s widow, remarried in late 1783, just before the Washingtons returned home. She lived nearby in Arlington with her two oldest daughters, while her two youngest remained at Mount Vernon.
Washington focused on his plantation. During the war, he had written to his caretaker regularly about administration and improvements. He had dreamed of the day he could put the war behind him and return to managing his own land. That time had finally arrived.
Things were not easy though. The plantation had failed to produce at pre-war levels. Washington found himself deeply in debt, even after Congress reimbursed his war expenses, something that he received rather promptly, unlike almost everyone else in the army.
Washington rode over twenty miles on most days, personally visiting most of the lands he owned in the area. His estates in northern Virginia included five separate working farms totaling about 8000 acres of land. More than 200 slaves, along with dozens of hired laborers grew various crops, including wheat, corn, and oats, raising livestock. His commercial fishing boats sailed up and down the Potomac River. A grist mill and other projects were in full operation as well. Washington wanted to see for himself how things were progressing almost every day. He conversed with his workers and gave detailed instructions on what he wanted done.
When visitors came to Mount Vernon, he wanted to discuss agriculture, and actively avoided discussing politics. He received visitors of all sorts, almost constantly. Some were old friends from the war or earlier in his life. Many artists and sculptures came by, hoping to create an image of him. Others were people who just wanted to meet the great man..
Visit from Lafayette
One of his visitors in 1784 was the Marquis de Lafayette. The French General had returned to France at the end of 1781, shortly after Yorktown. He was received in Paris as a hero. While he had left France back in 1776 as a French captain, he received promotion to brigadier general upon his return. Lafayette remained actively involved in the war against Britain over the next two years, and also played a role in the final peace treaty. He also served as a key player in helping France and the United States develop trade agreements.
Lafayette’s role in the peacetime world remained a question for many. There is a story about a discussion near the end of the war, when there was a possibility that Britain might lose Jamaica. A minister suggested to the king of Spain that Lafayette might be made governor of Jamaica as a reward for his services. The king responded “Never! He would create a republic there.”
The income from Lafayette’s lands in France assured that he would live a very comfortable life without ever having to work. Even so, the young man was restless. Just nine months after his return from America, his wife bore another daughter, Virginie.
He also took a lover on the side, Diane de Simiane. She was the wife of the Marquis de Miremont, an officer who had served as an aide-de-camp to General Rochambeau in America. As it turned out, Miremont was a homosexual. His frustrated wife, Diane, began taking lovers at court, when she and Lafayette got together. This was not Lafayette’s first affair. During his first return to France in 1777, he began an affair with the wife of Count Philippe-Antoine of Hunolstein. That was a relatively short lived relationship. Lafayette’s relationship with Diane would last for over 30 years.
Lafayette helped to establish several free ports in France, allowing for free trade between France and the United States. He also lobbied for the reduction of import tariffs, which would increase trade between the two countries. Lafayette also spent some time at court trying to help some French Protestant communities regain some rights they had lost. He also founded a school for the children of his home region and supported the building of a new wool weaving factory.
In 1784, once Washington had reestablished himself at Mount Vernon, he invited Lafayette for a visit. Washington’s letter to Lafayette establishes Washington’s state of mind at this time and his contentment to settle into private life:
At length my Dear Marquis I am become a private citizen on the banks of the Potomac, & under the shadow of my own Vine & my own Fig tree, free from the bustle of a camp & the busy scenes of public life, I am solacing myself with those tranquil enjoyments, of which the Soldier who is ever in pursuit of fame—the Statesman whose watchful days & sleepless Nights are spent in devising schemes to promote the welfare of his own—perhaps the ruin of other countries, as if this Globe was insufficient for us all—& the Courtier who is always watching the countenance of his Prince, in hopes of catching a gracious smile, can have very little conception. I am not only retired from all public employments, but I am retireing within myself; & shall be able to view the solitary walk, & tread the paths of private life with heartfelt satisfaction—Envious of none, I am determined to be pleased with all. & this my dear friend, being the order for my march, I will move gently down the stream of life, until I sleep with my Fathers.
Lafayette jumped at the chance to return to America and visit with his old friend and confidant. Of course, Lafayette’s return to America was more than just a personal visit. The French hero of the American Revolution left France in late June, 1774, arriving in New York City on August 4. The city celebrated his return and he attended a reception by the State Assembly.
After two days in New York, he set out of Philadelphia, arriving on August 9th. The City Troop of Light Horse escorted him into the city, where cheering crowds greeted him. The new French Ambassador, François Barbé-Marbois, and former General Anthony Wayne hosted a banquet for the returning hero. While in Philadelphia, Lafayette gave a lecture at the American Philosophical Society on animal magnetism, a popular theory then circulating around Europe.
On August 14, Lafayette reached Baltimore, Maryland, where he enjoyed two more days of public celebrations. Following that, he rode on to Mount Vernon, arriving on August 17. The two old friends spent days riding around Washington’s plantations and discussing a wide variety of topics, from reminiscing about the war, to agriculture, to philosophy and politics. Lafayette was one of the few men in the world with whom Washington spoke freely. The only record we have of their conversations is from what Lafayette mentioned in letters home to Adrienne.
After Lafayette returned to France, Washington did remark to someone else that they discussed slavery, but the details were not recorded. We do know that through other correspondence, Lafayette encouraged Washington to free his slaves and put them to work as tenant farmers, to show the rest of the south that it was a viable economic model. Of course, this never came to pass.
Following this short visit, Lafayette continued on with a tour of New England and New York, accompanied by Virginian James Madison. It was during this time that Lafayette visited the negotiations with the Iroquois at Fort Stanwix, and apparently provided barrels of French brandy for all parties involved.
Lafayette hoped to secure better commercial relations between the US and France as part of this visit. However, he also spoke out on touchy issues. He gave addresses against slavery on several occasions during his visit, particularly in Virginia. In November, while in Yorktown, Lafayette learned that James Armistead, who had carried out spy missions for him during the Yorktown campaign, was still enslaved. Lafayette lobbied hard for his emancipation, which the Virginia Assembly granted just over a year later.
Lafayette then reunited with Washington in Richmond on November 22. The two men returned to Mount Vernon where they spent another week together. Washington then rode with his old friend for a day or two into Maryland, before they finally parted ways. Lafayette returned to New York before sailing back to France.
Potomac Company
In between Lafayette’s two visits to Mount Vernon in 1784, Washington rode west to inspect some of his lands in what is today western Pennsylvania and West Virginia. Part of his trip was to try to settle disputes with tenants living on his land who had failed to pay rent. Part of it was also to survey possibilities of establishing better trade routes into the west.
Washington understood that western settlers would need to establish trade to the east to find markets for their goods and to buy things that they could not produce themselves. Washington very much wanted to establish better trade routes between the Ohio River and the Potomac and James Rivers. This would make Virginia a center of trade and commerce for the growing nation. Such a trade route necessitated building better roads, canals, and locks to allow goods to ship easily to and from the west. It would not be easy. Upriver from Mount Vernon, the Potomac river had rapids and waterfalls that would need to be circumvented for shipping traffic.
In October, 1784, Washington wrote to Virginia Governor Benjamin Harrison, calling for the establishment of the Potomac Company, which would hire workers to establish the necessary infrastructure between the Ohio and Potomac Rivers. In his letter, Washington noted not only the economic benefits of such trade, but also the political advantages of having western trade flow through the eastern states. Otherwise, westerners would be prone to using the Mississippi River, which would give Spain much more influence over them. They might also use the Great Lakes, which would require closer relations with British Canada. He also recognized that Virginia was in competition with Pennsylvania and New York, which also had plans to help westerners get their goods to market as well.
This was not a new idea for Washington. He stared at the Potomac River from his back porch every morning for years, dreaming of the potential. He had spent more than thirty years traveling through the back country around the Ohio River, as a surveyor, a soldier, and an investor. In 1774, Washington had worked on a similar bill to start establishing infrastructure to the Ohio River from Virginia. He was forced to set aside that project after accepting command of the Continental Army. When he took up the project again in 1784, it was the continuation of his lifetime ambition.
The Potomac river had a number of geographical problems that Washington believed could be solved. There was also a political issue. The Potomac was the border between Virginia and Maryland. The free flow of goods on the river would require the cooperation of both states.
Washington lobbied heavily for the bill, even riding to Richmond in November to meet with legislators. James Madison became Washington’s key sponsor of the legislation. After leaving Richmond, Washington traveled to Annapolis to convince the Maryland legislature to cooperate in this project. Given the lack of government funds, Washington also focused on attracting wealthy investors. He pitched the plan to both Lafayette and Robert Morris, among others, promising returns through fees collected on commercial traffic using the improved infrastructure.
Rather than allow Maryland and Virginia to pass differing laws, Washington wrote to Madison suggesting that an interstate commission meet to work out the details Once that was done, both Virginia and Maryland could pass bills that were in agreement on the final plan. While Madison worked on establishing such a commission from the Virginia side, Washington worked directly with Maryland officials to have them establish commissioners from the Maryland side.
Once Maryland passed their bill under Washington’s careful eye, he sent a copy to Madison, instructing him to get the bill through the Virginia Assembly without any amendments. Virginia passed the bill, without amendments, ten days later. The laws established the Potomac Company.
Mount Vernon Conference
The next step was for the commissioners from each state to meet and work out the details. The Virginia commissioners were George Mason, Edmund Randolph, James Madison, and Alexander Henderson. Madison, of course, was the sponsor of the bill. Edmund Randolph was Virginia’s attorney general. He was also a former aide-de-camp to General Washington. Mason was a longtime Virginia legislator who had also served in the Continental Congress before recently retiring. He was also a friend and neighbor of Washington’s. Henderson also served in the Virginia Assembly. He also owned a plantation near Mount Vernon. Both he and Washington had served as Vestrymen of Pohick Church together. George Mason also attended church there.
Maryland also appointed four commissioners: Thomas Johnson, Thomas Stone, Samuel Chase, and Daniel of St. Thomas Jenifer. Johnson never attended. Stone served in the Maryland Senate at the time. He was a former delegate to the Continental Congress, and owned a plantation near Washington’s across the River. Chase served in the House at the time, but had also been a delegate to the Continental Congress. Jenifer was the Maryland Intendant of Revenue, and former President of the Maryland Senate. He also lived on a plantation along the Potomac, not far from Mason, and Washington..
The implementation of the commission was a mess. Maryland scheduled a meeting in March 1785 in Alexandria, Virginia. The Virginia commissioners never received word of this meeting. In fact, Mason and Henderson were never told that they had been appointed to this commission that they knew nothing about.
Mason found out when two of his Maryland neighbors on the commission wrote to him to suggest they visit him and all proceed together to Alexandria. Mason probably wondered what the heck they were talking about, but rather than embarrass Virginia by revealing the lack of communication, he reached out to his neighbor Washington to find out what they were talking about, and reached out to his other neighbor Henderson to inform him that they were both expected to attend this commission meeting.
The men traveled to Alexandria, where they awaited the arrival of Madison and Randolph. While waiting, Mason received a letter from Randolph regarding some other business and mentioning nothing about the commission meeting in Alexandria. Based on this, Mason assumed correctly that Madison and Randolph knew nothing about the meeting. The Maryland delegates had sent the invitation via Virginia’s new Governor, Patrick Henry, who apparently did nothing to inform any of the commissioners.
Although Mason and Henderson represented Virginia at the meeting, they still did not have all the documentation over exactly what they were supposed to be negotiating. Washington, of course, was also embarrassed at the failure of communications by Virginia. He invited all the delegates to come to Mount Vernon to continue the discussions. That way, commissioners would have a comfortable setting and not have to worry about room and board during the discussions.
The commissioners understood the general issues of negotiating an agreement regarding navigation and control of the Potomac River and Chesapeake Bay. Discussions, however, went well beyond that issue. There was some question as to whether the states needed permission from the Continental Congress, especially on issues of naval protection of these waters. There was also an issue over state currencies and the relative value of each. They also expressed concerns about how legal issues between citizens of the states should be handled. They also raised the issue of whether Pennsylvania ought to be included since its control of the Ohio River would be part of any final plan. Maryland also thought Delaware should also be included.
The commissioners recommended meeting again in September. That never happened. On May 17, 1785, the Potomac Company selected Washington to serve as its President. The company sold 400 shares, each with a value of $400. Individuals and communities along the Potomac purchased most of the shares.
Washington and his board of directors began hiring workers and establishing projects along the River. These included digging canals and establishing Locks around the waterfalls. They hired James Rumsey as Chief Engineer. Rumsey had a reputation as a creative engineer, who recently had been working with steam powered riverboats. The company could not hire enough men for the work, so many of those employed were indentured servants or slaves of those who rented out their labor.
Shareholders were required to make ongoing payments as the project progressed. Over the first couple of years many shareholders defaulted, resulting in a forfeiture of their shares. This, however, resulted in funding problems for the ongoing work.
As for the necessary regulations, following discussions via correspondence, the parties agreed that it would probably be better to meet in Annapolis, Maryland, in September of 1786 as part of a broader discussion of how interstate compacts like this one, and interstate trade issues more generally, should work and whether a new interstate compact was needed.
Next week, we take a look at post-war diplomacy as John Adams goes to London.
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Next Episode 338 John Adams Goes to London
Previous Episode 336 Planning the Northwest Territory
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Further Reading
Websites
“From George Washington to Lafayette, 1 February 1784,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/04-01-02-0064
Marquis De Lafayette's First Visit to The United States After the American Revolution https://www.losthistory.net/mcjoynt/laf1784.htm
“From George Washington to Benjamin Harrison, 10 October 1784,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/04-02-02-0082
Abbot, W. W. “George Washington, the West, and the Union.” Indiana Magazine of History, vol. 84, no. 1, 1988, pp. 3–14. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/27791135
Littlefield, Douglas R. “The Potomac Company: A Misadventure in Financing an Early American Internal Improvement Project.” The Business History Review, vol. 58, no. 4, 1984, pp. 562–85. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/3114165
Potomac Company: https://www.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/digital-encyclopedia/article/the-potomac-company
Canal History: George Washington & The Patowmack Company https://www.canaltrust.org/about-us/about-the-co-canal/history/canal-history-george-washington-the-patowmack-company
“Act Giving Canal Company Shares to General Washington, [4–5 January] 1785,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Madison/01-08-02-0117
Free eBooks
(from archive.org unless noted)
Headley, P.C. The Life of the Marquis De Lafayette, New York: A.L. Burt Co. 1903.
Hunt, Gaillard The Life of James Madison, New York: Doubleday, Page & Co. 1902.
Nelson, Thomas F. Washington's Canal Around the Great Falls of the Potomac, Washington, D.C., Records of the past exploration society, 1910.
Pickell, John A New Chapter in the Early Life of Washington, In Connection with the Narrative History of the Potomac Company, New York: D. Appleton, 1856.
Books Worth Buying
(links to Amazon.com unless otherwise noted)*
Chernow, Ron Washington, A Life, Penguin Press, 2010.
Horn, Pierre L. Marquis de Lafayette: French Statesman, Chelsea House Publishers, 1989 (borrow on archive.org).
Kapsch, Robert J. The Potomac Canal: George Washington and the Waterway West, West Virginia Univ. Press, 2007 (borrow on archive.org)
Stewart, David O. George Washington: The Political Rise of America’s Founding Father, Dutton, 2021.
* As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
