Replaying raising James Wood - GW election reenactment
For the 5th annual reenactment of the 24 July 1758 election on 22 July 2023:
From the reenactment of the 1758 election yesterday that portrays Colonel George Washington's first win, we always replay the illustration of raising in a chair James Wood.
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James Wood stood in for Colonel George Washington busy with building road for the Forbes Expedition targeting the French Fort Duquesne (now today's Pittsburgh).
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We replay an illustration in Washington Irving's popular biography of George Washington. Washington Irving is famous for writing the story Legend of Sleepy Hollow, a story refreshed in 1999 by Johnny Depp.
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Washington Irving kept a picture of his childhood, a meeting with George Washington.
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FAMOUS PICTURE OF JAMES WOOD
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James Wood representing Colonel George Washington is held high in the chair celebrating Washington’s win . . . . Click on picture to enlarge.
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Colonel George Washington was at Fort Cumberland Maryland when this election occurred.
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James Wood stood in for him.
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Candidates would sit at the same table when the voters would come up to vote.
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Then the candidate, if chosen out loud by that voter, would stand to bow or shake that voter’s hand.
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At the July, 1758, election young Col. Washington, after receiving Col Bouquet’s blessing to leave his post for this election, chose not to leave his command of Virginia’s troops in the Forbes Expedition.
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His campaign manager, Col. James Wood, stood in his place at the voting table.
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And James Wood, founder of Winchester VA, was illustrated here triumphantly carried on the shoulders of jubilant voters.
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ORGIN OF PICTURE
In a biography by Washington Irving, famous for the Sleepy Hollow story, there is an illustration printed Graham’s Magazine of James Wood (representing George Washington who was in the Forbes Expedition) being carried on the chair in celebration of GW’s victory.
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According to the Handley Library Archives
which cites Katherine R Glass Greene
in her book,
that you can find the picture on
page 95, published 1926
in Graham’s Magazine in 1853 .
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But ! The picture is not there!
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The illustration is instead to be found in April 1854 Graham’s Magazine.
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Clicking on this link will take you straight to Page 360 of Graham’s Magazine April 1854.
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Compiled by Jim Moyer, last updated 10/15/2015, 7/17/2016,10/2/16, 11/26/2016, 12/11/2016, 4/27/2017. 4/27/2018, 6/4/2018, 6/6/2018, 6/30/2018, 7/1/2018, 7/25/18, 5/2/2018, 7/26/2019, 7/28/2019, 12/12/2019, updated 7/30/2023
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