General And Mrs. Washington: The Untold Story of a Marriage And a Revolution - Hardcover

Chadwick, Bruce

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 140220695X ISBN 13: 9781402206955

Publisher: Sourcebooks Inc, 2006

Synopsis

Until now the story of the American Revolution has been incomplete. Many have told the stories of blood and battle, of heroes and traitors, but no one has told the tale of the union that helped form the Union.

The history of America's First Family is inexorably tied to the workings of the revolution. Martha's son Jackie (she had four children and George had none) was 28 when he died at Yorktown. George's own life would have been lost on multiple occasions if not for Martha. Only she could bring comfort and grace to the winter camps and it was in this manner that the revolutionaries came to see Martha not only as a kindred spirit, but as a beloved heroine.

Here is the story of the fateful marriage of the richest woman in Virginia and the man who could have been king. In telling their story, Chadwick explains not only their remarkable devotion to each other, but also why the wealthiest couple in Virginia became revolutionaries who risked the loss of not only their vast estates, but also their very lives.

About this title

From the Inside Flap

It was a lovely March afternoon in 1758 when the dashing, sixñfootñthree colonel decided to visit the home of an old friend who also had another visitor. She was barely five feet tall, twenty-seven years old and the richest widow in all of Virginia. Others were there. But the colonel and the widow only wanted to converse with each other. And they didóthroughout the afternoon and the evening. And when the guests awakened the next morning, they found them still talking.
So began a romance between George Washington and Martha Custis, a warm, compassionate and above all charming woman, that would last their lifetime. Though George never had children of his own, he was a loving parent to Marthaís daughter, an epileptic, and her son, who would find a tragic end.
This is the heartwarming, never-before-told story of their marriage. It evokes how Martha came to the aid of her husband and her fellow countrymen during the bitter winter months of the Revolution. Even in the harshest weather, when her husband and his army were ensconced in Valley Forge or Morristown, Martha would ride hundreds of miles from her home in Virginia to be with him and bring good cheer to his officers and soldiers. Often without food or enough clothes to keep them warm, they would never forget her and the candlelight of hope that emanated from her. The revolutionaries would come to see Martha not only as a kindred spirit, but as a beloved heroine.
The General and Mrs. Washington answers, too, why George and Martha, perhaps the wealthiest couple in the colonies, agreed to commit acts of treason against the king of England that surely could have ended in their deaths. This then is the story of a remarkable union that would give birth to the Union as we know it today.
Bruce Chadwick is a former journalist and the author of seven works of history including The First American Army, George Washingtonís War, Brother Against Brother, Two American Presidents, Traveling the Underground Railroad and The Reel Civil War. He lectures in American history at Rutgers University and also teaches writing at New Jersey City University.

From the Back Cover

?Chadwick puts a more human face on Washington by creating a very detailed portrait of how he and the outgoing Martha lived: their food, their slaves and servants, their health, their furniture, their daily life together.?
-USA Today
A doting stepfather, an enraptured husband, George Washington formed with his wife, Martha, a remarkable union that gave birth to the Union as we know it today. The General & Mrs. Washington is the story of the wealthiest couple in Virginia, who risked their vast estates, their love and their lives to lead the revolution that gave birth to America.
?A love story between two iconic Americans: George and Martha Washington. This book reminds us that their partnership helped make us who we are today.?
-Terry Golway, author of Washington's General and Let Every Nation Know
?Enhances our understanding of the nation's ?first couple? . . . A fine work of social history, providing keen insights into how people lived, worked and amused themselves.?
-John Ferling, author of Setting the World Ablaze and A Leap in the Dark
?Chadwick's brisk narrative comes as close as we are likely to get to an understanding of the Washington union.?
-Kirkus Reviews
?Chadwick takes his readers through the story of a 40-year marriage, from the courtship of the heroic frontier colonel and the young widow, through the sudden death of George Washington and the last, painfully sad, years of Martha Washington's life.?
-Mary V. Thompson, research specialist, Mount Vernon Estate and Gardens
?Bruce Chadwick vividly brings to life a time of turmoil and hope in a book that should endure as a fine example of historical journalism.?
-Willard Sterne Randall, author of George Washington: A Life

About this edition

• Publisher: Sourcebooks Inc
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 140220695X
• ISBN 13: 9781402206955
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 416