The First President

9 Pages 2259 Words

First President
George Washington

George Washington was born in Westmoreland County, VA, on February 11, 1731.

Washington’s family made a living by farming, land buying, trading, milling, and in the iron

industry. George had ten brothers and sisters, four of which were his half siblings.

George’s mother, Mary Ball, was Augustine’s second wife whom he had six of the ten children

with. Little is known about George’s childhood, other than that he received little formal

education. At a young age he showed a great skill in mathematics and soon got into surveying

land. At the young age of 16 George secured a commission as surveyor of Culpepper County.

In 1752, at the age of 21, George inherited Mt. Vernon from his brother Lawrence.


In the early 1750’s both Britain and France wanted to occupy the upper Ohio valley area. The

governor of Virginia, Robert Dinwiddie, sent Washington with an expeditionary force to guard

an intended British fort at the forks of the Ohio River. While enroute Washington learned that

the French had taken the fort, so George advanced to within 50 miles of the now French fort

and erected Fort Necessity. On May 28, 1754 Washington ambushed a small French

detachment, they killed ten men to include the commander, Joseph Coulon de Villiers. This

incident started the French and Indian War. The French claimed that the detachment was on a

peaceful mission, Washington thought it was spying. Washington returned to Fort Necessity,

which a large French force attacked on 3 July. Washington and his men were only able to hold


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