OCR Text |
Show ... . - a - -- 1 jj HISTORIC jj 8 HOUSES 0 Q Associated q 0 with 0 Q Washington Q g'"'" ' JNYTIHNG that pertains to 1 F I 11,0 "fc of Wnsnui8ton ,B 1 I Interesting and particular- I J ly so tho houses he occu- T pled during his military enreer. There aro standing PSRPj at this day three historical I vlV I houses which mark ns WtiOj mnny Important epochs in (Hyl the enreer of the great BWJJifl Liberator. WLfinvm Washington, ns wn all know, was initiated into military life by tho breaking out of the French and Indian war, which culminated In the nscendeney of Drltlsh rule in Canada. Tho march of Drnddock through tho wilderness to tho bloody gorges of the Mouongnheln stands out ns tho most tragic event of that struggle On ono of tho back streets of Frederick Fred-erick stands tho headquarters of Washington, a rather dilapidated building, with quaint little windows nnd narrow doors, tho wholo forming to-day a tout ensemble of loneliness and dilapidation. The owl and the bat mako it their abode, tho roof Is sadly in need of repairs and the only evidence of modernism that prevails about it Is tho little chbbage garden between It nnd tho street. A movement move-ment has been started looking to tho restoration of this historical house, which at one time sheltered our first president and it Is possible that some day it may bo restored to its original appearance. Tho city of Winchester, Vn., holds within Its keeping on tho comer of Cork nnd Draddock streets a small stone house which represents another phase of Washington's career. Ho was then the idol of the colonics, for his gallantry during the Uraddock campaign cam-paign hnd brought him prominently Into the limelight of the day. Tho little houso which he occupied during his stay at Winchester has of lato fallen into tho hands of the corporate cor-porate authorities, which insures its preservation for years to come. It Is a far cry in Washington's Hfo from Winchester to tho final campaign nt Yorktown, where tho Americnn revolution rev-olution met with its crowning success. Washington was now. at tho pinnacle of his fame ns a soldier and the star of hope for tho colonies was brightening brighten-ing tho henvens. The long roll of English Eng-lish supremacy on this continent was beating. The American army, 15,000 strong, lay about Williamsburg, 14 miles from the "final scene of glory." Washington was . surrounded by such men as Lafayette, Hochambeau, Lincoln Lin-coln and Hamilton, and In the mansion man-sion whore he had established headquarters head-quarters were held tho most momentous momen-tous councils of war witnessed during tho revolution. Tho houso Is still In nn excellent state of preservation. Indeed, In-deed, it looks ns well now as when it fci 11 lil Washington's Headquarters, Winchester, Winches-ter, Va. within Its walls wero laid tho plans for tho dofeat of Lord Cornwnllls. It was a brilliant military court that Washington held at Williamsburg, almost al-most within n stono's throw of Wll-11am Wll-11am and Mary college, the alma ma-tor ma-tor of Jefferson, Henry and other distinguished dis-tinguished Amerlcnns. and but a fow stops from the houso, now in ruins, whore ho courted tho "Widow Custls." It wns from tho Williamsburg houso that Washington set out for York-town. York-town. Tliero Is perhaps lu this country no placo richer in historical associations than Williamsburg, which wns tho colonial co-lonial capital of Virginia. It Is connected con-nected with great events from tho ear-Host ear-Host settlements to tho civil war. Not least among thorn Is tho gathering of the Americans and French for tho last campaign of tho revolution. It witnessed wit-nessed the preparation of tho trap that caught Cornwallls and tho brilliant bril-liant reception of tho French olllcors by Washington. And It Is a sourco of gratification 'that tho hoadquartors of tho First American, ono of his last In tho field, Is so woll preserved, rising to-day in its original appearance abovo tho tender roses of a southern clime. - ji iu-JB s. am 4 jAtH -a 1 |