George Washington (Vol 1): Young Washington

George Washington #1

by Douglas Southall Freeman

Biography of George Washington (1732-1759)

Genres: Biography, American History, Nonfiction, History, Presidents, Autobiography, American Revolution

549 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1948

About the author

The son of a Confederate veteran, Douglas Southall Freeman was long interested in the Civil War. A man of intense work ethic, he earned his PhD at 22, then balanced a journalist's demanding schedule with a historian's, as he churned out Lee's Dispatches (1915), the Pulitzer-Prize-winning four-volume R. E. Lee: A Biography (1934-35), Lee's Lieutenants: A Study in Command (1942-44), and finally, the multi-volume George Washington (1948-54). A respected historian, renown for his research, he garnered fame in his native Virginia and the friendship of major military figures.

Reviews

[Katherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best biographies I've ever read. Obviously, as seen by the fact that it's in seven volumes of 600 pages each, it's extremely detailed, providing details not only of the man, but of his time and place. By the time you're halfway through volume 1, you've hardly touched on Washington at all, but you feel like you know the Virginia he grew up in in the deepest way a modern reader possibly could. Yet at no point does it become boring, as such things often can, and mired in pointless minutiae. It's definitely not light summer reading (well, unless you're like me), and it isn't for people without a relatively scholarly interest in the topic, but for people interested in both colonial history and George Washington, it's a gem. I cannot wait to delve into the rest of the volumes.

Two caveats. One, the author shows his time, or I suppose that of his subject, in the way he writes about the Native Americans. He repeatedly and without any seeming problem refers to them as "savages", "red men", etc., and implies that they are unreliable and addicted to alcohol. While the introduction of hard liquor amongst the native peoples caused many and well-documented problems, the author doesn't have our modern sensitivity to the original inhabitants of the continent, so the reader would have to shake their heads and lament a less sensitive time when going over the passages of Washington's interactions with the Indians.

Two, there has obviously been seventy years of scholarship between the publication of this book and now. While there's nothing "missing", per se, there are many details that have been more "fleshed out" in recent biographies. Case in point, the episode with de Jumonville. While it is covered, it is dealt with in broad overview (oddly, as most other things are dealt with in great detail). No mention of Half King cracking his skull open and washing his hands with the man's brain, no mention of Washington's horror and attempts to negotiate to save the rest of the Frenchmen, etc. That is one of a few episodes I noticed lacked detail that I've found in more recent Washington biographies. Still, sans the sensational, you can't get much better at all around detail than Freeman.

[Joe Archino · Rating 5 out of 5]

At the age of 19 in September 1751, young George Washington was making his way in the world of colonial Virginia, showing great skill and reaping rewards in his profession as a land surveyor. Despite the budding start to his career, George agreed to put it on hold in order to accompany his ailing half-brother Lawrence as he sought a cure from tuberculosis by traveling to the tropical island of Barbados in the Caribbean. Despite what he would be missing out on back in Virginia by embarking on this journey and tending to his elder brother, even at his young age, George had an ingrained sense of duty and responsibility that would not steer him away from doing what he knew to be right. As legendary Washington biographer Douglas Southall Freeman outlined the situation faced by George and his mentality at this time, “Financially, long absence from Virginia would be serious for George. It would involve the loss of the autumn season of surveying and, perhaps, the sacrifice of the chance of finding some new bargains in frontier lands. No hint of any balancing of loss against gain or of cost against duty appears in anything George is known to have said then or afterward. Family obligation came first; Lawrence needed his company. That was enough. Everything else could wait.”

Young George spent around four months away from home before returning to Virginia in late January 1752. Along his journey tending to Lawrence, who was more like a father than a brother to him, George endured harsh sea travel and was stricken with smallpox, “the most dreaded disease of the 18th century,” in what was the first and only trip he ever made away from the North American mainland. To George’s great sadness, Lawrence never fully recovered from tuberculosis, dying at the age of 34 or 35 in July 1752.

Nineteen-year-old George Washington’s decision to put his blossoming career on hold in order to accompany his ailing brother to Barbados highlights a key aspect of his character - his lifelong devotion to duty. As Freeman astutely concluded, duty was Washington’s “governing principle.” By identifying this fundamental part of young George Washington’s character, one can see the makings of the great hero who went on to live a life of duty to his country as the commander in chief of the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War, America’s first president, and so much more.

The first volume of Douglas Southall Freeman’s epic seven volume biography on the life of George Washington lays the groundwork for what remains one of the greatest accounts ever produced to chronicle the story of America’s preeminent hero. Covering the life of Washington from his birth up to the Battle of Fort Necessity and his subsequent resignation from the Virginia Regiment in the fall of 1754, Freeman skillfully brought young Washington’s world to life through his skill as a master researcher and his intimate understanding of that time period and the people who lived in it. Freeman rightly holds an immortal place as one of foremost experts and greatest historical scholars ever to put pen to paper on the life of George Washington.

[Jack W. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent. Freeman does not disappoint, and the history of Colonial Virginia gained at the front of volume one is invaluable for someone who wishes to understand American history beyond the textbook level. Washington's immense discipline and drive from a young age sets him apart. His story cannot but leave the reader thinking, "how can I imitate this great American in some small, significant way?"

[Stephen Morrissey · Rating 3 out of 5]

The epic life of the indispensable Founding Father opens with Mr. Freeman's first of seven volumes on George Washington. While the latter-half of the book picks up the fascinating threads of Young Washington's life on the Ohio frontier and the early interactions, both diplomatic and bloody, with the French, much of the book feels like a slog through a boyhood and youth forever shrouded by time, lack of evidence, and the span of different centuries, different cultures, and different nations. Freeman marches tediously through colonial Virginia, down to the houses of Washington's neighbors and the first President's near- and far-flung forebears. We learn less about Washington the man and more about tobacco, colonial government, the riverways of the Chesapeake, and land speculations than the young man who harbored an early, burning desire to distinguish himself.

Let's hope that as Washington grows, becomes more focused and matures, so will Mr. Freeman's narrative.

[David Shaw · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you want a very deep dive into 1700s Virginia and into Washington's life, then I would recommend this. Otherwise, find something shorter. I didn't realize I was getting into a 7 volume 133+ hour long series when I started. That being said, the narration was good and the music was fitting.

This first volume covered George Washington's life from his birth up through his participation in the French and Indian war during his early twenties, in which he both won and lost his first battles as an officer. There were also, at least, several hours purely covering the history and culture of Virginia in great detail. There is even a long list of how many table cloths various women in the area collected.

I'm not sure when or if I will finish the series, but will probably pick up volume two someday.

[Isaac · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have never tackled a more readable acholarly biography. Freeman lives up to his reputation, weaving historical data from wills, letters, and land transactions to paint a picture of Washington that none else could have accomplished. Starting over a century before Washington's birth, he sets the stage for the reader developing an understanding of the world he lived in that is comprehensive, yet not tedious. Thoroughly enjoyable and good enlightening, and I trust the future volumes will live up to this. This is the prime example of how history should be written - Thucydides and Freeman -the two giants.

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first of a seven volume biography, this covers Washington from birth until the start of the French and Indian War. Additionally, about half the book seems to be a history of colonial Virginia, especially the Northern Neck portion, from the mid-1600s until the mid-1700s. Well sourced and full of details. The extended tellings of his first surveying trip, his mission to deliver a message to the French in northern Pennsylvania, and the start of the French and Indian War were fascinating. The listings of his neighbors and their plantations were tedious. Looking forward to the other volumes.

[River · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an extremely comprehensive book, and it took me about a month to read and appreciate. It's not only about Washington and his early years, but the early years of America as well as of the Washingtons before George. It's offered me a lot of insight into a man often deified, but this book certainly does not go out of its way to denigrate him either, and I can't say Freeman was biased towards or against Washington too heavily.

I recommend this book to anyone who wants to know more about one of the most important men in American history - but set aside lots of time to read it!

[Jay · Rating 3 out of 5]

The length and detail are both a strength and weakness of this biography. It's amazing that someone could write a book like this, so detailed that you can hardly remember anything. I like the old fashioned prose, but it was a slog to get through. It took me months to get through on audio, and I usually breeze through audiobooks. I haven't decided if I'm going to attempt the next volume, let alone six volumes. Might try the abridged version.

[Parker Mills · Rating 4 out of 5]

Highly detailed account of Washington’s life through the French and Indian war. Douglas did a great job of pairing intense detail in an enthralling story. I was never bored, and I learned many details of Washington’s early life that I had never encountered in other biographies.

[Micah Douthit · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent. Could have done without the ~100 page chapter on Virginia during the youth of Washington, but Freeman is nothing if not thorough.

[Jwt Jan50 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pulitzer bio/auto bio 1958. Read Lee's Lieutenants first, then R. E. Lee and then all the volumes of George Washington. Great bio, great history and great writing. It may seem daunting, but if you love American history, it's a page turner.

[Robert Muller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very strong on Washington's earliest work as a surveyor, learning how to deal with wilderness; very strong on social/historical background of Virginia; not so good on "savages" and the like, unfortunately. Some of the text is quite jarring to 21st century sensibilities. Very strong on complete documentation and references, so it's a great guide for primary sources, many of which are online now for reference. He also focuses entirely on Washington, with only small asides on the other great men around him (Jefferson's birth and early educational adventures get mentioned, and the Lee family is ever-present, as Freeman wrote the definitive biography of R. E. Lee).

I will say Freeman doesn't make much of an effort to analyze Washington's personality and philosophy of life. The man himself doesn't really emerge from the pages and pages of facts and detail. You'd want to combine this with more modern books like Flexner to get a well-rounded view of Washington and his times.

[Patrick\ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Again, the best biography on Washington going. A must read for understanding the man. Washington has been diminished as of late, as we are in a time a extreme historical revision; but a read of these books will do much to bring him to life in the imagination - and he will come out not diminished, but the truly great person that he was.

[Erin]

This one has 7 volumes. Boy, this Freeman guy sure had a lot of time on his hands.

[George King · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very disappointed Did not meet expectations

[Caleb Anderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

George Washington as a youth showed how the simple act of saying "yes" can change a life. The two experiences I am thinking of are George becoming a surveyor and signing up to take the message and scout our the French's intentions with Ohio. He didn't have to do either. Both were done in his teenage years. George Washington could have been a simple farmer that no one would remember, like his neighbors. But instead, early on in his life, he decided to try something different. To try to make a difference. These acts of George have made me contemplate what I am doing in my life to progress. That doesn't mean I need to join the military or give up my job. But it does mean that I need to think, and to act where God would have me go, be, or do.