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To Colonel Richard Butler the following Christmas Eve, the commander of the colonial army wrote: “I cannot but hope the sweets of liberty, peace, & domestic enjoyment are yet to be tasted by those who have shared so freely in the fatigues & dangers of procuring these inestimable blessings for others.”
Those blessings came again to Washington in 1783. On Dec. 23, he tendered his commission as commander-in-chief. As a private citizen and with the war won, he rode home on Christmas Eve with Martha to Mount Vernon. Bonfires blazed in the darkness while the plantation’s slaves fired muskets into the night to welcome the master and mistress.
On Christmas morning, he rose at 4 a.m. to inspect the mansion, the stables and the kennels. He passed out Christmas shillings to the slaves. Despite the harsh weather that Christmas Day, neighbors rode to Mount Vernon all day to greet the returned soldier.
Before leaving Philadelphia and the army, Washington bought gifts for the grandchildren who waited at Mount Vernon. For little Nelly and George Washington Parke Custis there were books, dice games, pocketbooks, a handkerchief, a whirligig, a locket and a fiddle.
Christmas feast
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