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■ cany auveriiMiineiiia subject to •pemni 11 rangemsnt. l»u# advertisements at reduced rates Religious, Literary, and Charitable nott.-. a in serled gratuitously.All correspondence on business must be prepaidInteresting Relics.A abort lime since we paid a visit to “Belle Air,-’ the residence of L. W. Washington, esq., of this county, and having understood that Mr. W. was in possession of manv most interesting relics of the Father of his Country, we went alone, thereby to be enabled more folly to enjoy the sight of, and, at the same lime, to handle these precious remains of other days; and to make a note of all we were thuB enabled to look upon.We were first shown a sword, and found on the parchment label thereto altuchod: “ Presented to General Washington by Frederick the Great of Prussia, with the complimentary address, “/rum the oldest General in Europe to the ijreatast General in the World. This sword was worn by General Washington as his dress sword, when delivering hie messages to Congress. It was chosen ky his oldest nephew and executor, Col. William Augustine Washington, (in accordance with the will of Gen. W.. leaving him the first choice of his swords, vide Gen. W.’s will,) and by him bequeathed in 1810 to his son, Col. George C. Washington, of Maryland, and by him to his only son, L. W. Wueliington, in 1864.This sword is of exciuisite finish, being a straight rapier with the highest polished steel hilt, and now in a most beautiful stale of preservation; in fact, it has the appearance of being perfectly new, it having been always kept with particular care. We were struck forcibly with the difference between the present of a distinguished King, to a remarkable General, and the voted presents by our Congress and Legislatures, to the distinguished military men of the present day. The .ompliment of the former consisted in the delicacy of the offer-ing, the latter in the size and amount of gold appended to the same.We next had the pleasure to grasp the sword, appended to which we found the following inscription on parchment! “ Worn by Gen. Washington on fuuersl occasions during ihe Revolutionary war, and chosen (in accordance with his will) by his nephew, Judge Bushrod Washington, of Mount Vernon, and by him bequeathed in 1826 to his nephew, Col. George C. Washington, and by him tu 1854 to his only son, L. W. Washington. Tlieu we examined a pistol (one of a pair) presented by Lafayette to General Washington, and'used by bim during tbe Revolutionary war, from whom it descended to bis ucpbew, Judge Bushrod Washington, and by him bequeathed in 182C to his nephew, Colonel George C. Washington, and by him to his son, L. W. Washington, in 1854.After laying aside this interesting memento of our counlry’s friend, gallant defender, and personal friend of Washington, we took in band the desk knife used by our country's father during our struggle for independence, which made and mended many a pen which was the instrument used to couvey the reflections of our chief, when even bis firmness was shaken by the difficnlties and forebodings which overshadowed our glorious undertaking for freedom's cause and a great nation's future prosperity. This knife has engraved on the ivory handle, “General George Washington 1776.We were curious enough to stretch our pocket tape-line on the sword-belt, as worn by Gen. W., and found it to measure 40 inches— showing that for a man devoid of corpulence, theru was a manly frame. Next wo had ihe pleasure to inspect a case of rare and peculiar interest It consisted of a mahogany box containing a survevor's compass made by David Kitten house, of Philadelphia, the friend of Benjamin Franklin. Also, two levels, one used during the Revolutionary warasnguu-ner's level, tbe other for adjusting the sur veyor's case, scales, protractors, Ac., complete.A shagreen containing all Ihe protracting instruments, in very fine order, aud two surveyor's chains, together with the wooden pins used with the same. It is certain that these interesting relicts have been preserved with greai care by those who have possessed them, and we feel assured that they are now in bands where they are fully appreciated, and will be taken care of until the next generation shall claim their keeping. These instruments were used by General Washington in 1749, when he was 17 rears of age. They were carefully preserved by the General, and at bis death in 1799, they descended lo bis oldest nephew and executor, Col. William Augustine Washington, of Haywood, Westmoreland connty, Va., at whose death in 1826, they descended to his son. Col. George C. Washington, of Maryland, by whom they were presented, February 10, 1854, fo his son, Lewis W. Washington, of Belle Air, Jefferson connty, Va.These relics bare been in Maryland since 1810. end are again returned lo Virginia, where their first polish was worn off 106 years since. They certainly must be looked upon os the most interesting mementos connected with tbe early history of Washington. Each year adds an additional interest to these relics, and in time they certainly mnat be looked upon as the rarest curiosities connected with the early history of our country, and particularly with respect lo him who was so justly styled “ the Father of his country.Mr. Washington also kindly showed us many letter* from the General's brothers, nephews, nieces, and distant relatives, (Mr. W. having nearly all the private correspondence of the General,) therefore has in his possession much that is interesting, as connected with the Washington familv, and also.. .. . ..the confidential correspondence of the distinguished men of the days of the Revolution with General Washington, on subjects of peculiar interest.We have been thus particular with reference to our notes of dates and facts connected with these interesting relics, as thev are matters deeply connected with the history of onr country. Many articles of much interest shown us by Mr. Woshinglon we have omitted lo men-
Newspaper Details
Washington Sentinel
Washington, Washington-DC, US
Thu, May 10, 1855
Page 1
Full Page
Clipped by
Anonymous
GB 28 May 2024
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