Tide Clocks

Archive for March, 2007

Williamsburg, Virginia is the home of Presidents Park, a wonderful museum highlighting U.S. Presidents. A recent visit there and the questions that the visit spurred within my mind led me to do some research on the men who have held our country’s highest office. This article is the  culmination of that research with regard to those presidents who actually came from the Commonwealth of Virginia.Virginia was once called the “mother of presidents” because four of the first five of our country’s leaders came from our Virginia. These were Washington, Jefferson, Madison, and Monroe. It is also the birthplace of four additional presidents in Harrison, Tyler, Taylor, and Wilson. George Washington - - our first president and therefore called the “father of our country” - - was born in Westmoreland County, Virginia on February 22, 1732. He was taught at home, learning all of the manners and subjects that were expected of a young gentleman in those early colonial days. He pursued a lot of different interests including military arts and surveying. Washington began his military career in 1754 when he was commissioned as a lieutenant colonel. He fought the first skirmishes of what would be known as the French and Indian War. He would, of course, later become more renown for his military career during the American Revolution.A planter by trade, Washington married a widow, Martha Dandridge Custis, and settled in his Mount Vernon home. He adopted both of Martha’s children, John Parke Custis and Martha Parke Custis. They had no children of their own.In May of 1775, when the Second Continental Congress assembled, Washington was there as one of the Virginia delegates. He was ultimately elected Commander in Chief of the Continental Army. It was not uncommon in his battles to see Washington fall back slowly in order to lull the enemy into thinking they had the advantage. Then he would turn suddenly and strike unexpectedly. He suffered many military defeats but he never gave up. In 1781, with the aid of French allies, Washington forced the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown.