Life of George Washington, volume 4 of 5 by Washington Irving
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"Life of George Washington, volume 4 of 5" by Washington Irving is a historical biography written in the mid-19th century. It follows Washington through the most trying later years of the Revolutionary War and into the war’s close, highlighting the army’s privations, political strains, the French alliance, decisive southern campaigns, and the steps that led from victory to Washington’s retirement and eventual inauguration. The opening of the book depicts the brutal winter
at Morristown, where hunger, nakedness, and a collapsed currency push Washington to impose carefully measured impressments while praising New Jersey’s patriotic aid; the frozen New York Bay invites small forays but yields only raids and reprisals, including Knyphausen’s incursions, the burning of Rev. James Caldwell’s church, and the destructive attack on Young’s House in Westchester. It then turns to Benedict Arnold’s controversial rule in Philadelphia—his extravagance, speculation, and clash with Pennsylvania’s Executive Council—ending in a court-martial that acquits him of fraud but leads to a formal reprimand from Washington and a leave of absence. Attention shifts south as Sir Henry Clinton and Admiral Arbuthnot move on Charleston; Lincoln fortifies the city, Governor Rutledge strains for militia, and Washington—short of men and money—both fears the worst and dispatches De Kalb while welcoming Lafayette with news of imminent French aid and sketching a joint strike on New York. Amid mutiny in the Connecticut line and Washington’s urgent appeals to Pennsylvania for bread and authority, the narrative follows the tightening British siege, Tarleton’s ruthless cavalry blows at Monk’s Corner and Laneau’s Ferry, the capitulation of Charleston, and the Waxhaws massacre, after which Clinton declares the province subdued and sails for New York. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
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About this eBook
| Author | Irving, Washington, 1783-1859 |
|---|---|
| Title | Life of George Washington, volume 4 of 5 |
| Original Publication | New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1857. |
| Credits | Richard Tonsing, Emmanuel Ackerman, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive) |
| Language | English |
| LoC Class | E300: History: America: Revolution to the Civil War (1783-1861) |
| Subject | Presidents -- United States -- Biography |
| Subject | Washington, George, 1732-1799 |
| Category | Text |
| eBook-No. | 77882 |
| Release Date | Feb 7, 2026 |
| Copyright | Public domain in the USA. |
| Downloads | 353 downloads in the last 30 days. |
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