Passing On

Between ten and eleven at night on December 14, 1799, George Washington passed away. He was surrounded by people who were close to him including his wife who sat at the foot of the bed, his friends Dr. Craik and Tobias Lear, housemaids Caroline, Molly, and Charlotte, and his valet Christopher Sheels who stood in the room throughout the day. ​

Doctor, Doctor

On December 13, 1799, Craik was summoned to Mount Vernon to attend to a gravely ill Washington. Serving with two other doctors, Craik repeatedly attempted to cure what ailed the sickly former president. Washington passed away the next day, despite the best efforts of his long time friend and physician. 

Washington's Will

On the eve of his death on December 14, 1799, the gravely ill George Washington asked his wife Martha to bring him the two versions of his will. After reviewing them, Washington had one thrown in the fire and asked Martha to safeguard the other. Washington's will provides significant insight into his life, deeply held beliefs, and affections for family and friends.

Eulogy

"First in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen."  These famous words about George Washington come from a eulogy written by Henry “Light Horse Harry” Lee. Lee was a major general in the Continental Army, member of the Continental Congress, governor of Virginia, father of the famous Civil War general Robert E. Lee, and close friend of George Washington. 

Reenactment

Music Appreciation

Military Ranks

Virtual Field Trip:  Mount Vernon

Dental Health

Primary Sources

Positive Behavior Conversations

Music Appreciation

While We're on the Subject

George Washington was the first to sign the Constitution of the United States of America.

Measuring Up

He may be described as being as straight as an Indian, measuring six feet two inches in his stockings, and weighing 175 pounds when he took his seat in the House of Burgesses in 1759.

His majesty was on horseback in company with several military gentlemen.  It was not difficult to distinguish him from all other, his personal appearance is truly noble and majestic, being tall and well proportioned.

The General was one of these master pieces of nature who inspire respect and confidence at first sight and are gifted with all the external attributes which make them born leaders.  He was tall, his face was commanding, his eyes kind.

...was incapable of fear, meeting personal dangers with calmest unconcern...His stature was exactly what one would wish, his deportment easy, erect, and noble, the best businessman of any age, and the most graceful figure that could be seen on horseback.

The Presidential Oath

I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.

Mood Music

Freeing the Slaves

That Famous Silhouette

Learn the Presidents

Origin of the estate

Map Mount Vernon

Do You Measure Up?

Virtual Tour

Symmetry

Sandcasting

The French has long made it clear that they would recognize the Iroquois claim to the Ohio country provided the Six Nations kept the English out.  For the French to build the forts necessary to occupy the valley would cost far more than they could hope to recover by trade...The most immediate threat, however, was that English traders would invade the Ohio country.  Britain's cheap, high-quality trade goods would become a magnet drawing away the native peoples who now traded with the French at Detroit and other posts.  This in turn would weaken, and perhaps destroy the system of alliances on which French power rested in the interior of the continent.

By the end of 1914 stalemate had therefore set in on both Austro-Hungary's fronts.  It had effectively lost the Third Balkan War that it...had so ardently pursued.  Within four months Austro-Hungary's casualties totalled 957,000, more than twice the army's pre-war strength.

Russia set about making its conquest permanent.  Reactionaries saw Galacia as part of Russia, and persuaded the governor-general appointed to run it that it should be subject to Russification and racial cleansing.  'This meant that Russian was to be the only language in schools, that the churches should convert to Orthodoxy, and that the Russian army was licensed to loot.  The ingrained anti-Semitism of the Russian army meant that Jews were driven from their homes either forward towards Austria-Hungary or back to the Russian interior.

Eleven-year-old Lorenzo Ventura knows heroes are rare—like his father, who died in the war, or his friend Paloma Lee, who fearlessly pursues her dream of being a famous musician. Renzo would never describe himself as a hero, but his chance comes when he adopts Marty, a runt piglet.
 
Marty is extraordinary—he thinks he’s a dog and acts like one too—and his bond with Renzo is truly one of a kind. At first, the family farm seems like the perfect home for Marty, but as he approaches 350 pounds, it becomes harder for Renzo to convince his mom that a giant pig makes a good pet. So when Marty causes a dangerous (and expensive) accident, Renzo knows Marty’s time is up. He’d do anything and everything for his best friend, but will everything be enough to save Marty?

Ethan Allen

John Deere

La Chute Falls

The cessation of hostilities, however, served them even better.  During the Long Peace - the thirty years between the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713 and the outbreak of the next Anglo-French war in 1744 - the Five Nations became increasingly adept at maintaining the delicate balance between empires to their own advantage.  Now they found themselves not only in a position to continue controlling the flow of information between New France and New York but also to act as middlemen in the smuggling trade that went on between the two colonies via Lake Champlain and the Richelieu River.  The admission of the Tuscaroras to the League as a sixth nation in 1726 greatly enhanced Iroquois military power and enabled them to expand their raids against a variety of southern Indian groups, notably the Cherokees and the Catawbas.  This limited form of mourning war enabled the Iroquois to continue rebuilding their population and spiritual power without the risk of French retaliation, for these enemies were either allied with the British of the Carolinas or with the Spanish in Florida.

Against the ominous backdrop of the influenza epidemic of 1918, Annie, a new girl at school, is claimed as best friend by Elsie, a classmate who is a tattletale, a liar, and a thief. Soon Annie makes other friends and finds herself joining them in teasing and tormenting Elsie. Elsie dies from influenza, but then she returns to reclaim Annie's friendship and punish all the girls who bullied her. Young readers who revel in spooky stories will relish this chilling tale of a girl haunted by a vengeful ghost.