Nov 16

Nov 16 Lund Washington Hosts The British at Mount Vernon

Lund Washington was a cousin of General George and the caretaker of Mount Vernon who was visited by the British during the Revolutionary War.

Published 6/9/20 - Updated 11/15/21

Lund Washington

In 1764, a 27-year-old Lund Washington was hired by his cousin, George, to act as caretaker of Mount Vernon.

The two men were cousins and sometimes fox hunting buddies, and Lund already had several years experience running another property.

By the time George left to take charge of the Revolutionary War, Lund had complete authority over Mount Vernon.

Forgeries

Lund Washington’s contemporaries would primarily have known his name due to a series of letters first published in Boston.

These letters, supposedly written to Lund by George, heavily criticized the Continental Congress and the Revolution at large.

Although these were forgeries (none of which even claimed to be written by Lund), this was the younger Washington’s only exposure to the public at large.

Hosting The British

In 1781, a detachment of the British Army under the command of Thomas Graves sailed up the Potomac River, destroying houses along the way.

When they arrived at Mount Vernon, Graves declared that he would spare the Washington residence if Lund provided him with supplies.

Lund declared that the General knew what he was getting into and expected that his house might be burned.

Graves made a second attempt, inviting Lund onto his ship to discuss the situation.

Eventually, Lund decided it was better to save the property and therefore gave the British several provisions (and slaves) before they left peacefully.

George’s Reaction

General Washington was furious at Lund’s decision.

First of all, aiding the enemy in any way was unacceptable, especially if it came from the Commander-in-Chief’s personal stores.

Secondly, how would it look with all his neighbors having their houses destroyed but Mount Vernon spared?

Forgotten

Fortunately, the Battle of Yorktown just a few months later led to the British evacuating Virginia and the whole story seemed to blow over.

Furthermore, Lund continued at his position well after this scenario came to pass.

Despite George’s unhappiness with the situation, modern American’s are lucky to have such an important landmark still standing.

While researching Lund Washington, I stumbled onto a portion of today’s story through an article by Michael Cecere at the Journal of the American Revolution. I suggest you read it here.

Want to read more about WASHINGTON’S RELATIVES?

Check out these articles:

First Siblings - George Washington’s Brothers (And Sister)

William Washington’s Quaker Gun

Bushrod Washington Interprets Privileges and Immunities

Lund Washington appears in most biographies of George, so here is my recommendation to learn more:

‘His Excellency’ if one of my favorites. Personally, I enjoy Joseph Ellis’ writing though I am partial because his book ‘Founding Brothers’ turned my curiosity regarding the Founders into a full-on passion.

If you’d like a copy you can get one through the Amazon affiliate link below (you’ll support this site, but don’t worry, Amazon pays me while your price stays the same).