Another Washington Slept Here Story?
Where is George today?
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Colonel George Washington finished paying a year's worth of rent to William Cocke's Tavern and moves into Fort Loudoun December 2, 1756.
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Where is William Cocke's Tavern?
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We will answer that.
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But context first.
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Building of the fort began May 18, 1756, the very date War was officially declared by the King of England.
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Nobody in Winchester knew of this official declaration until August 15, 1756.
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This horribly primitive
cut and paste of
Fort Loudoun is juxtapositioned overlapping
today's
Loudoun Street.
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This Point of view
is from standing
on the northeast
corner of
Piccadilly
and Loudoun Street
next to
Bank of Clarke County
as of this writing, 12/2/2018.
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The soldiers are
standing
on the corner of
Fairfax Lane and Loudoun Street
on the corner of the
Wells Fargo
parking lot.
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This is where we believe a military prison was built for deserters and war prisoners.
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Source: See Morton, page 82.
Sources listed at bottom of this post.
.
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Fort Loudoun 1756-1758
.
Colonel
George Washington
used
Fort Loudoun
from
December 2, 1756
to end of
1758
when he
.
Colonel
George Washington
datelined
the top
of all his letters
as
Fort Loudoun.
.
See the
from the fort.
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Prior to that date of
December 2, 1756,
Colonel
George Washington
would simply
dateline
the top
of his letters
as "Winchester"
when he was in
Winchester Virginia.
.
WAR had really "unofficially" started with
Washington's Indian ally
killing
and the French revenge
and capture of George Washington
and his men at
and continued
into the
And WAR continued
with the
and the
and numerous killings
of white pioneer families thru April and May of 1756.
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War was very real since May 1754
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Just not "official" in Winchester VA until August 1756.
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And what was all this about?
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The French built Fort Duquesne at the 3 rivers where Pittsburgh stands today.
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The British Empire was not going to allow that to stay.
.
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This is why Fort Loudoun was built.
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This fort
was
Colonel George Washington's headquarters.
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It was to be the
fall back position
if all the other
forts fell.
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Colonel
George Washington
did not believe
in this
fort system.
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There would never be enough men to defend this large area.
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He wanted the money to fund another expedition to attack the French at Fort Duquesne, present day Pittsburgh.
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That Fort Duquesne was the source of all the Indian attacks in this area.
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So that was where Washington's "head was at."
.
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Where he was staying is also of interest.
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Because there is debate on this.
.
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The late, local historian Garland Quarles
believes
Colonel George Washington
did not use
as a
military headquarters,
the place on
Cork and Braddock known as
.
The reason again
is how Washington datelines his location
at the top of his letters.
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After December 2, 1756 all the letters show
Fort Loudoun
as the location
at the top of the letters.
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Prior to that,
Washington would write Winchester as his location at the top of his letters.
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A ledger shows a year's worth of rent to William Cocke's Tavern dated December 2, 1756 as well as the letter he wrote that day is datelined Fort Loudoun at the top of the letter.
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Finally a jump in price indicates to Quarles that a building was added or expanded at a date later than the years Washington was either a young Surveyor or when he was Colonel of the Virginia Regiment.
.
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But !!!
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We really don't like the debunking mentality.
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Apparently the
local and late
Garland Quarles
did not either.
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He allowed there might have been something connected between Washington
and what is known
as the
.
There was a prison
called
Fort George nearby.
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There were parade grounds for the soldiers to practice drills nearby.
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Look for map of these nearby places made by a late local tour guide by scrolling further down in this link.
.
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And the back yard of Cocke's Tavern
of lot 8
was very close
to the lot that
James Wood
and his widow owned known today
as the
.
See sources at bottom of this post.
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We know for sure,
one thing there
is very very real
on that
Washington Office Museum:
.
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Let us go back
to locating
that
William Cocke's
Tavern.
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To locate it,
first look
at the
confusing signs
showing
different
years
of
Winchester's
creation.
.
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This picture shows 1744 on the sign.
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This sign is at the
entrance to
Winchester
Millwood Ave,
Route 50 East.
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This picture
shows 1752
on the sign
at the walking mall,
at Piccadilly
and
Loudoun Street.
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Winchester is
using the
Founding of 1744
as as the
275th Anniversary,
even though
James Wood
called it Opeckon.
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It was in 1752 when James Wood submitted expanded plans to the House of Burgesses naming this town officially as Winchester.
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So, get ready in 2019.
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Winchester VA will be celebrating its 275th Anniversary in 2019.
.
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But was George there in 1744 ?
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No, he visits 4 years later when 16 years old in 1748 as an apprenticing surveyor.
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Back to William Cocke’s Tavern
at 21 South Loudoun.
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The old Tavern
no longer exists.
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It was located
roughly across
from the
Winchester Thai restaurant
on the Loudoun Street walking mall as of 2014, and now as of 2018.
.
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Where is this 21 South Loudoun Street on the original parcels?
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Is it Lot 8?
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Let us look at 2 parcel maps, recreated by Quarles. See sources listed at end of this article.
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1744 Winchester is Founded
This is what James Wood submitted in 1744 and is the date Winchester was "Founded."
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Notice Lot 8 is showing here on his map.
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That was the location of William Cocke's Tavern rented to Colonel George Washington for a year ending 2 December 1756.
.
.
March 9, 1744
Quarles quotes James Wood:
“laid off from the tract of land
on which he now dwells at Opeckon.”
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This “tract of land” comprises 26 lots.
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Twenty-four of the 26 numbered lots were conveyed to the Justices of the County with the understanding that “they or their assignes, shall within two years of the day of the sale of the said lots, build or cause to be built on each lot one house either framed work or squared logs, dovetailed, at least of the dimension 20 ft. by 16 ft.”
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The other four unnumbered lots were reserved for public purposes, and on them were ultimately built the courthouse, the jail, the market house and the chapel of the established Church.” p 39-41 of Quarles.
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1752 Winchester is Established
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This is the same year the English Empire changed its calendar and lost 11 days.
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By 1752 when the map shows Winchester "established" in the eye of the House of Burgesses, the dispute between the Governor of Virginia giving this land to James Wood, and the King of England having given the same land to Lord Fairfax's ancestry, was resolved officially on May 15, 1753 when many lots were transferred.
.
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Lot Number 8 on which was 21 South Loudoun Street was conveyed May 15, 1753.
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That was a big day for conveying many lots by Lord Fairfax to William Cocks (Props. Grants - Book H- page 325).
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Paid to Cocke’s Tavern at 21 South Loudoun Street: 40lbs paid for a year’s rental.
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Sources:
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See pages 31-32 Quarles, page 34 Norman Baker's Fort Loudoun.
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Garland R. Quarles, author of “George Washington and Winchester VA 1748-1758, A Decade of Preparation for Responsibilities to Come,” 1974, published by Winchester Frederick County Historical Society.
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Norman L Baker, author of Fort Loudoun, Washington's Fort in Virginia. (More on Norman L Baker the author)
and to buy this book from French and Indian War Foundation, see this link.
.
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Morton's "Tradition"
.
Prior to
December 2, 1756
George Washington
would dateline
his letters as
"Winchester,"
but on this date and afterwards
all his letters were
datelined as
Fort Loudoun. .
.
Morton on page 74
thinks Tradition
has it
that a room
in the fort
used by
Washington
was above
the gateway
commanding a view
of Main Street
(Loudoun Street).
.
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This tradition Morton speaks of is supported by the design of the fort. The officer’s quarters designated had a 2nd floor that was higher than the fort’s curtain walls and could overlook the downtown area.
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First Letter Datelined Fort Loudoun
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On 2 December, 1756, Col Washington’s letter to Lt Gov Dinwiddie is datelined “Fort Loudoun”
.
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After detailing how the supplies have just been moved to Winchester from Fort Cumberland, Washington suggests that they should remain in Winchester:
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“And lastly; Winchester is in the centre, as it were, of all the Forts; is convenient for receiving intelligence & distributing orders—and notwithstanding any thing to the contrary, lies in a vale of land that has suffered more than any other from the incursions of the Enemy.”
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Sources:
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Garland R. Quarles, author of “George Washington and Winchester VA 1748-1758, A Decade of Preparation for Responsibilities to Come,” 1974, published by Winchester Frederick County Historical Society. .
See pages 31-32
.
Norman L Baker, author of Fort Loudoun, Washington's Fort in Virginia. (More on Norman L Baker the author)
and to buy this book from French and Indian War
See page 34.
