The following excerpt is from the book of Joyce Hetrick, and provided here courtesy of her.

Fairfax in the Revolution

Because Fairfax was home to George Washington and Patrick Henry, two movers and shakers of the Revolution, even though no large campaigns or battles were fought on its soil, it was very important to the Revolution. In a practical sense, the day-to-day lives of the people in Fairfax were not disturbed much by the war. There was a constant fear that the British would land there, and some financial inconveniences, but nothing major. [Fairfax County, Virginia---1649-1800. pg. 83-97.]

The colonists saw themselves as citizens of Great Britain, and saw themselves as having rights identical to any British citizen. They did not appreciate being taxed without representation. Actually, the colonies lived better and made more money per capita than the British at home. They were either not aware of, or did not recognize, the complex problems that the British Government faced.

In 1770, an association was formed and it printed and distributed a broadside bearing 164 printed signatures. Seven copies of this broadside were made, but only one survived. George Washington and George Mason were members of this association. The Revolutionary spirit cooled somewhat until after 1773 and the “Boston Tea party.” By 1774, however, the supplies needed for the war were being raised to help those in Boston. [Fairfax County, Virginia---1649-1800, pg. 83-97.]

GEORGE-3 and SUSANNAH SIMPSON’s son, AARON-4, and several of his brothers and cousins, joined the Revolutionary forces and fought on the side of “Liberty” with General George Washington. [Revolutionary Pension of Aaron Simpson.]

George Washington was a neighbor in Fairfax County and was truly a “man of substance.” He married Martha Custis, one of the richest widows in the area, and used her resources, as well as the more limited resources of his own family, to promote himself into a position of great wealth and social standing in the community. He was a vestryman in the parish and was also elected to the House of Burgesses.

George Washington was very busy during his days in the House of Burgesses in securing parcels of land for himself and the veterans of the war of 1754. Governor Dinwiddie’s emergency proclamation of February, 1754, had supposedly rewarded these men with about 200,000 acres of the king’s lands on the Ohio [Tennessee], but it was George Washington’s activities, including promoting bills in the House and letters to the Governor, and addressing the Council, that 18 years later, actually secured the lands. He took the initiative in getting this grant, in locating and allotting the land among the claimants in proportion to rank, and his own reward was 24,100 acres of land. His personal allotment was some 18,500 acres and his special position allowed him to buy up others’ allotments. He had first-hand knowledge of which was the good land and he felt quite secure in receiving these lands. He felt that his reward was not out of line with his services. He did not feel that he had unduly favored himself. He said “I might add without much arrogance that if it had not been for my unremitted attention to every favorable circumstance not a single acre of land would ever have been obtained.” While this may or may not have been true, he certainly took maximum advantage of his position.

Not only was Washington able, before his election to office of President of the United States of America, to secure for himself “insider information” and to use it to his own advantage, but he feathered his own nest well during the Revolution.

Jack Anderson, a syndicated writer, sums up Washington’s expense accounts very well in an article published February 19, 1992 in the Arkansas Democrat Gazette. [Clipping in the author’s possession.]

According to the article, Washington took the job as Commander-in-Chief of the colonial army and refused the $500 per month salary that was offered. He would have been paid, in today’s terms, a sum about equal to $25,000 per month. “I will keep an exact account of my expenses. These I doubt not will discharge, and that is all I desire,” Mr. Anderson quoted the General as saying.

George Washington was one of the wealthiest men in Virginia, thanks to his own efforts and the resources of his wife. He was used to fine living and did not apparently see any reason to lower his standards simply because the troops were barefoot at Valley Forge.

Comparing estimates of what the currency during the Revolution was worth to today’s currency is difficult at best. Washington’s account book is still stored in Washington D. C. If you assume, as Mr. Anderson did, that each Colonial Dollar was equal to $50 in today’s money, then it may give you some idea of Washington’s “expenses.”

Washington considered things necessary that were considered frills by most people at that time, such as ice cream, which was then the rage with the upper-crusts of society. He bought a fabulous coach and horses for his own use, which of course, he kept after the war. He paid Martha’s extravagant expenses for her group of servants and friends to visit him on the war front, to the tune of an amount equivalent to about $1,500,000 in today’s money. He paid huge liquor bills, and actually gained 20 pounds during the course of the war. He paid his bills for his wigs, his barber, and his washing, which possibly included the “services” of his washer-woman’s daughter. At least our former President, Bill Clinton, didn’t charge the government for the services of his women friends!

After the war, Congress decided to give him a salary as president, rather than “cover his expenses” when he was elected president. They paid him $25,000 per year, the equivalent amount of $1,250,000. He moaned that it was barely enough to get by on. Washington enjoyed one of the highest lifestyles of any man in the country, both before, during, and after the war of Revolution.