A Valentine Tribute to “Rocking” Martha
Recently I had the honor of spending several days with Martha Washington. Yes, it was Mount Vernon’s re-enactor of Lady Washington, but she prefers to use that persona rather than announcing her real name. She was just like the REAL Martha, the “worthy partner of the worthiest of men.” Kind, unassuming, engaging everyone in conversation, and has a special sparkle in her eyes whenever she talks of the General. Like Martha Washington, she is beloved by almost everyone with whom she comes into contact. When I showed her two Photo Stories I created about Martha and George Washington, she wept with emotion.
So as Valentine’s Day approaches, I thought I would write a little about Martha and George’s life-long romance. Many people say it “was a marriage of convenience” and perhaps that is how it started—for both of them. It quickly seems to have changed into something much deeper. From the day Martha married George Washington in 1759, her great concern was the comfort and happiness of her husband and children. When his career led him to the Revolutionary battlegrounds, she followed him bravely. During the war Martha spent 52-54 months of the roughly 114 months of the Revolution either with her husband in camp, or nearby, in the hopes that they could spend more time together (Mary Thompson). It is believed that during the war Washington wore a locket of his “Patsy” (He called her “Patsy” although as a public figure she was referred to as “Martha”) around his neck as Martha did of him. Of the few notes and letters that survived between the two of them, Martha begins the notes with, “My love” and “My dearest.” Perhaps the most telling corrrespondence about their love is reflected in the letter Washington penned to Martha after he had been voted General of the Continental Army. Here is an excerpt:
“My Dearest,
I am now set down to write to you on a subject which fills me with inexpressible concern—and this concern is greatly aggravated and Increased when I reflect on the uneasiness I know it will give you—It has been determined in Congress, that the whole Army raised for the defence of the American Cause shall be put under my care . . . .I should enjoy more real happiness and felicity in one month with you, at home, than I have the most distant prospect of reaping abroad, if my stay was to be Seven times seven years. . . . it was utterly out of my power to refuse this appointment without exposing my Character to such censures as would have reflected dishonor upon myself, and given pain to my friends—-this I am sure could not, and ought not to be pleasing to you, . . . My dear Patcy . . . I retain an unalterable affection for you, which neither time or distance can change.”*
Martha once declared, “I am fond of only what comes from the heart.” She surely knew this message from her husband came from deep within his heart.
What a beautiful love they cherished.
Happy Valentine’s Day!
(Letter quoted from Peter R. Henriques, Realistic Visionary, pg. 90)
