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How Did George Washington Die ?
George Washington’s retirement days were short lived as he lived only for 3 years after retiring as the first American President in 1797. Ironically, George Washington was once reported dead, a rumor he dismissed with a tinge of humor. |
During the battle of the Monongahela against the French, the British unit in which George Washington was a part of was at the receiving end. The British were decimated by the French, and the battle was so intense that many soldiers were killed and Washington’s clothes were battered by bullets. Everyone including the family of Washington believed that he was dead. Further, there was another rumor that Washington had given a dying speech before breathing his last. Upon learning this, George Washington sent a letter to his brother reassuring the family that he was very much alive. There was a tinge of humor in that letter as he mentioned that he was yet to compose the so-called dying speech.
It was just two to three years that George Washington lived after he retired from politics as the first President of the United States. When he finally returned to his Mount Vernon plantation, his ancestral property, it was in a state of neglect for decades. George Washington spent his remaining days trying to resurrect his property.
George Washington’s diary is, perhaps, the only reliable source of how he died. On December 12, 1799, Washington had mentioned in his diary that it was snowing, with hail and freezing rain, and he spent many hours inspecting his farm on horseback. And, when he returned to home, he took his dinner even without changing his wet clothes.
On the fateful next morning George Washington was down with bad cold, fever, and quinsy, a type of throat infection. His health condition deteriorated and he suffered from acute laryngitis and pneumonia. Eventually, the disease took its toll, and in the evening of December 14, 1799, George Washington died at his home. He was 67 years old when he died. George Washington’s last words on his diary was “Tis well.”
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