George Washington Papers

From George Washington to Charles Washington, 2 August 1784

To Charles Washington

Mount Vernon, August 2, 1784.

Dear Brother:

The enclosed came to my hands from Philadelphia last night. I am sorry to find by George’s letter to me, that he had not received the benefit from the Sea Air he expected, but as his passage was not good and he in a manner but just landed, no Judgment at the time he wrote could be well formed of the effect the voyage would have upon his complaint; as he writes you himself there can be no doubt of his giving you an acc’t of his health and present intentions, I shall add nothing further therefore on this subject.1

I still hold to my resolution of setting off the first of September for the Western Count[r]y, and if I am not obliged (in business) to go by the way of Fredericks Town in Maryland to the Springs, I shall most assuredly spend a night at 2 with you. Mrs. Washington joins me in best wishes for you, my sister and the family, and I am, etc.

Fitzpatrick, Writings of Washington, description begins John C. Fitzpatrick, ed. The Writings of George Washington from the Original Manuscript Sources, 1745–1799. 39 vols. Washington, D.C., 1931–44. description ends 27:452.

1. See George Augustine Washington to GW, 27 June 1784.

2. GW set out from Mount Vernon on 1 Sept. and spent the night of 3 Sept. at Happy Retreat. See Diaries description begins Donald Jackson and Dorothy Twohig, eds. The Diaries of George Washington. 6 vols. Charlottesville, Va., 1976–79. description ends , 4:1–5. Charles Washington recently had moved from Fredericksburg to Berkeley County and built his house, Happy Retreat, on Evitt’s Run. Fitzpatrick inserted “Harewood” in brackets at this point. Harewood, also in Berkeley County, had been the home of another brother, Samuel Washington, until his death in 1783.

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    Washington Papers
    Title
    From George Washington to Charles Washington, 2 August 1784
    Author
    Washington, George
    Recipient
    Washington, Charles
    Date
    2 August 1784

    Reference

    Cite as
    “From George Washington to Charles Washington, 2 August 1784,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/04-02-02-0021. [Original source: The Papers of George Washington, Confederation Series, vol. 2, 18 July 1784 – 18 May 1785, ed. W. W. Abbot. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1992, p. 21.]

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