Show da CT teah ta A N 12 INN UIN Y T arg au As e z 0 TF v y rf ht historic tree ader under which father of hi H ita count country ry took look corn bemand man of continental arm y under the brave old treo tree our ir fathers gathered in arroa arms and they icy would follow the sign their banners bo bore re and fights tili till the land was tree free oliver wendell I 1 honnies Hol nies by y JOH DICKINSON r bherman HE HE washington elm lg Is dying with no hope of keeping it alive till spring thus passes the ilie last of the three most historic trees in all america the charter oak in hartford the penn treaty elm in philadelphia tile the washington elm in boston only the most expert 7 tree doctoring has kept the washington E elm IM alive ive during the last twenty five years practically e very every year reye revealed aled adal donal onal decay in the interior of tho the massive aselve trunk from time to time it was aa necessary to lop off dead branches while alle those that still put forth grelin green aves were wera kept alive only by being propped copped up with iron braces how old Is the washington elm nobody can say with exactness until it t Is cut down and its annual rings are re counted but it Is creditably stated to 0 have been ono one of the original west trees tt standing anding on boston cornmon when first seen by the settlers in the w massachusetts bay colony plym auth th was settled by the pilgrims in IVA 0 O boston the third settlement of the ia colony was wag settled by the purla tans in 1030 1630 the indians called tile the waco shawmut sweat waters it as called boston after boston in lin england historic boston common on which contains 48 acres has teen d dedicated dl bated to public purposes since 1634 george washington wrote john ad lim ans in ills his diary was sitting near tile or when adams rose in the congress it the twelve united colonies to pro vm the adoption of the continental y and tile appointment of washington oa as commander III ander ln in calef washing beat eat a ha leasty treat retreat to the library nolas wt as soon as lie he caught the trend if Jk dains ad dress a when formal acton alon inn 8 taken june 15 1775 washing loso arose in I 1 its his place and said in a I 1 ahat was as far from calm president t i though I 1 am truly of f the high lionor honor done me in cointment yet I 1 fed feea great disi bellit brorn a consciousness ess that my i 11 not an nad a military nry experience may at to the extensive and lm rust st however however ns as the con aboto it I 1 will enter upon the duil er 1 ous ty y and exert every pow the possess p I 1 n their service and for t leg of the glor eglorious el orious lous cause I 1 in a accept my most moat cordial K tapi a for this s testimony i b S probation st lie event should adl ben I 1 att unfavorable rable to mi y reputation be remembered by e ivary cry beina in this roo room in that 1 l wo ihla 44 4 4 X le I 1 tv A k day leclare ae declare clare with the utmost sincerity I 1 do not think myself equal to tho the command I 1 am honored with As to pay sir I 1 beg leave to assure the congress that as no pecuniary consideration could have tempted rue roe to accept tho arduous employment at the expense of my domestic ease case and I 1 do not wish to ninke make any profit from it I 1 will keep an exact nc ac count of my expenses those I 1 doubt not they will discharge and that Is all I 1 deare 11 washington it will be noted had no illusions as to the job lie he was under taking tailing moreover it was a real and great sacrifice on his part ile he wrote his wife I 1 you may believe me my dear patsy W when hen I 1 ass assure ro you in the most solemn manner that so far from seeking this appointment I 1 bave used every endeavor in my power to avoid it not only from my unwillingness to part with yoh and the family but from a consciousness of its being a trust too great for my capacity it was utterly out of my power to refuse this appointment without exposing my character to such cens censures as woula have reflected dishonor upon myself and give pain to my friends washington traveled from philadelphia to boston on bor horseback with an escort of light horse cavalry his progress was marked by an outpouring of tle people who vied in showing their ait admiration and esteem WaSI washington lington reached now new york time june 25 05 1775 and left the next day As he neared boston hip chiq progress was waa it a 11 continued ovation i accod ding to contemporaneous neco accounts u ants ile he arri arrived ved at the headquarters of the army fit at cambridge july 2 and tool took up his permanent headquarters in the cragle house which Is also known to fame fahne as long the home borne of the presidents of harvard college find and the homo home of henry wadsworth longfellow Lossl washington says the commander ln in clitee rode a large white horse of arabian blood ills his dress was wads a blue blua coat with buff colored rich epaulette evaulette ep aulette on each shoulder fa failings fall lings a bult buff under dress and an elegant small sword a black cockade in ills his hat lossing also says washington first assumed the of his office on the th third of july about 0 9 in the morning rn C ming a clear sultry in morning orning tho the troops in cambridge were drawn up in order upon the corp common W on near harvard university ver sIty to receive the ln iti chief by tue general genei aJ of ansy wh we present he walked from ills qu quarters to 0 a venerable elm tree which yet flour hour bishes tit in the pride of vigorous age and ami under its ita shadow standing between ills his staff and tho battalions lie drew hla his sword and made n few appropriate remarks and formally took corn command inand of tho continental army A steel engraving in Los Lossl sings work however shows washington on n white horse and not under the elm ella most pictures of the e vent event show washington mounted there was a notable celebration around tile the tree july 3 1875 when a tablet was set pet up and an iron fence erected the wood of the alie tree will probably be distributed to milse uns rind and schools A nationwide nation wide wida campaign among school children la Is proposed for a monument on the site nowadays we have a hall of fame for american trees established by the american tree association A popular vote would undoubtedly gi give first honors to the washington elm 0 the charter oak and the penn treaty elm the penn tree was tile the Olde oldest of tile the three in respect to tile the events which la made ade them famous it was under that tree a magnificent elm consIder considerably alAy larger than the washington 4 elm im milt william penn Is suld said to have met the indian chiefs in 1682 and ratified that famous treaty of amity and will which Nolt voltaire alre said many was tile the only treaty between those people and the christians that was waa tint not rati ratified fled by olith oath and that was never lir broken benjamin niest mado the tree famous through ills his splendid painting in which william penn Is depleted depicted beneath its branches in ili the m midst of tho the indian braves it stood near the river bank blank in the Nen kensington I 1 section of philadelphia its age was ans estimated at years its ita circumference was as 24 feet in 1810 it was blown down by a storm the charter oak in hurtford Uart ford has haa a good claim on immortality the night of october 31 1687 the connecticut charter was hidden within the it hollow 01 of bf it decaying thereby balking the of sir edmund an dros the royal governor of new neis england sent over by james jame s II 11 to obtain posses possession siou of it it has beez said that tile tho Cliart crOak was ta apo 0 old id the tact fact hat ther thee e v was v j s jbell a thole e in its trunk laigo laige enough to conceal the c charter barter in 1087 proves that it was fin an tree trea ut at that time it ft lived on n for years more finally fall 1113 in i to t the he ground in i a storm 0 o on n aul gust gus t 21 1850 |