the British were unfamiliar with George Washington's appearance at the start of the American Revolution - but manufactured images of him anyway
Source: Milwaukee Art Museum, George Washington, Esq. General and Commander in Chief (Lent by the Chipstone Foundation)
When the American Revolution started, the leaders of the rebellious colonies knew George Washington in person. He served in the Continental Congress, until it chose him as the general to lead the military forces. No one in England knew what he looked like, however. Unlike his older half-brother Lawrence, George Washington never traveled to England.
Unfamiliarity with his appearance did not stop English artists from creating images of the man, however. One sculptor created an earthenware figure that he claimed was of Washington, but was more likely based on an American who had spent years in London - Benjamin Franklin.1
George Washington inherited the right to live at Mount Vernon when his brother Lawrence died, after which he significantly improved the mansion house
Source: Library of Congress, Mount Vernon estate, Virginia
George Washington rode his grey horse Blueskin (shown above) on long trips, but preferred the more even-tempered, chestnut-colored horse Nelson for battle
Source: National Park Service, The Provision Train (by Imogene Robinson, 1877)
George Washington traveled from Williamsburg to the French fort near Lake Erie and back in later 1753
Source: Library of Congress, A map of the western parts of the colony of Virginia (b.1754)
the obelisk marking George Washington's birthplace was erected with a wooden derrick
Source: National Park Service, George Washington Birthplace Monument
historic boundaries of George Washington's Five Farms at Mount Vernon
Source: George Washington's Mount Vernon, Facebook post
in 1934, Virginia contributed this copy of the
Jean Antoine Houdon statue to the National Statuary Hall Collection in the US Capitol
Source: Architect of the Capitol, George Washington
state officials hoped the statue of George Washington outside the Virginia State Capitol would sit above his grave
Source: "The Chesapeake & Ohio Railway Directory, Containing an Illustrated History and Description of the Road," Washington Monument - Richmond (p.96)
Source: Life on the Civil War Trail, In 1837, George Washington's Remains Were Disinterred. Here's What Was in the Casket
the Washington Monument, under construction in 1877
Source: National Park Service, Washington Monument Under Construction
LIDAR reveals the topography around the mansion house at Mount Vernon (red circle)
Source: Fairfax County, LiDAR Digital Surface Model - 2018
after the end of the American Revolution, George Washington resigned from the army and returned to Mount Vernon
Source: Smithsonian Institution, Genl. Lafayette's Departure from Mount Vernon 1784
1937 vs. 2023 housing development on the edge of Mount Vernon (with mansion circled)
Source: Fairfax County, Historical Imagery Viewer