A-Z Index

Explore the wide range of subjects related to George Washington’s world and the colonial and founding eras.

The Digital Encyclopedia of George Washington was generously supported by Richard and Bonnie Dial in memory of Irby and George Prendergast.

Agriculture

Muddy Hole Farm

Muddy Hole Farm

Muddy Hole Farm was one of the five farms that made up the Mount Vernon estate. Located in the northeast corner of the plantation, running alongside Little Hunting Creek, Muddy Hole is said to have lived…

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American Revolution

Resignation of Military Commission

Resignation of Military Commission

On December 23, 1783, then commander in chief of the Continental Army, George Washington, addressed the Continental Congress in Annapolis in order to resign his military commission. The resignation not…

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American West

Hugh Henry Brackenridge

Hugh Henry Brackenridge

Hugh Henry Brackenridge was a Scottish-born Pennsylvanian preacher, politician, writer, and jurist, who – though not strictly a Founding Father himself – was intimately familiar with several founders…

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Animals

Hogs

Hogs

Months before his death, George Washington admitted that while he had "a large stock of Hogs—the precise number is unknown." During this period, Washington let his hogs run free to feed on vegetable…

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Artists

Washington Irving

Washington Irving

Washington Irving was one of the most famous American authors of the nineteenth century. While he is primarily remembered for short stories such as “Rip van Winkle” and “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow…

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Enslaved Community and Slavery

William (Billy) Lee

William (Billy) Lee

William Lee spent two decades as George Washington's enslaved valet accompanied him nearly everywhere.

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Family

Mary Ball Washington

Mary Ball Washington

Mary Ball Washington (b. approximately 1707 – d. 1789) is primarily known as the mother of George Washington.

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Food and Drink

Rum

Rum

During the colonial era, rum was the preferred alcoholic drink of American colonists.

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Gardens

Upper Garden

Upper Garden

The upper garden was established in the 1760s and paralleled the lower or kitchen garden to its south. This garden was initially planted with fruit and nut trees, and was walled and rectangular in shape…

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Mansion

Venetian Window

Venetian Window

The Venetian (also called Palladian) window on the north elevation of Mount Vernon is one of the house's most distinctive features. The window illuminates the large dining room (known as the new room)…

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Military

Frederick the Great

Frederick the Great

The story of Frederick’s youth is a known chronicle of suffering.”

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Mount Vernon

Tomb

Tomb

Learn more about the New Tomb at Mount Vernon - the Washington's final resting place.

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Objects

Bastille Key

Bastille Key

In 1790 George Washington received the key to the Bastille prison from an appreciative Marquis de Lafayette. It remains at Mount Vernon to this day.

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Personal

George Washington and Ballooning

George Washington and Ballooning

During George Washington?s lifetime lighter-than-air travel was first demonstrated. As a person who embraced new technologies, he was aware of and showed interest in the development of balloons.

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Politics

Robert Dinwiddie

Robert Dinwiddie

Robert Dinwiddie poured his ambitions into becoming a successful merchant, as well as a colonial administrator and politician for more than 30 years, including six and a half years as Governor of the Royal…

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Preservation

MVLA Early Refurnishing Efforts: The Yellow Room

MVLA Early Refurnishing Efforts: The Yellow Room

Located on the southeast corner of the second floor, the Yellow Room overlooks the Potomac River. It connects the central portion of the mansion to the south wing through a door installed by John Augustine…

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Presidency

Benjamin Franklin Bache

Benjamin Franklin Bache

Benjamin Bache is regarded as one of the fathers of the American tradition of the ideological and partisan political press.

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Servants and Laborers

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