Winchester Star article about 6th reenacting of GW's first political office win
WINCHESTER — When most people think of George Washington, they associate him with places like Mount Vernon, Valley Forge and Philadelphia.
But Winchester also deserves a place on that list because this is where the man who would become the United States’ first commander-in-chief rose from being a surveyor to become a military commander and political leader.Washington was elected to his first political office on July 24, 1758, in front of the Frederick County Courthouse (now the Shenandoah Valley Civil War Museum at 20 N. Loudoun St. in downtown Winchester).
Thirty-one years later, on April 30, 1789, he was sworn in as the first president of the United States in New York City, which was the young nation’s first capital.
From 5 to 7 p.m. Saturday, in front of the former courthouse on the Loudoun Street Mall, people will have a chance to relive Washington’s first political win as the nonprofit French and Indian War Foundation stages its sixth annual reenactment of the 1758 election that made Washington a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses.
Perhaps “reenactment” is not the appropriate word because everyone who attends Saturday’s event will become an active participant and vote for the two people they want to send to Williamsburg to represent Frederick County in the nascent legislative body.
“It is the only time we know of where the public becomes an active participant by voting and hearing the arguments for and against,” said Jim Moyer, a member of the French and Indian War Foundation and organizer of the annual election reenactment.
Just as it was on July 24, 1758, four candidates will be seeking votes from those assembled Saturday evening at the former courthouse: Washington, Col. Thomas Bryan Martin and incumbent representatives Hugh West and Thomas Swearingen.
Washington was not present at the actual election because the 26-year-old was serving as a colonel in the Virginia militia and was in Cumberland, Maryland, preparing for an expected attack on the French-held Fort Duquesne in Pennsylvania during the French and Indian War.
(The French ultimately decided to burn the fort before Washington’s troops arrived.)
Washington’s campaign manager, James Wood, stood in and solicited votes on behalf of his candidate.
On Saturday, though, Washington will be at the former Frederick County Courthouse courtesy of Middletown mayor and avid reenactor Charles Harbaugh IV.
Wood will be portrayed by Stevan Resan, vice president of the French and Indian War Foundation, and Martin will be brought to life by Ryan Williams, docent of George Washington’s Office Museum in Winchester.
Former Frederick County Commissioner of the Revenue Seth Thatcher and former Frederick County School Board Chairman Jay Forman will be portraying the incumbent candidates.
In the House of Burgesses election held in December 1755 in downtown Winchester, West and Swearingen handily topped Washington and put his political ambitions on hold for two-and-a-half years.
After his loss in 1755, Washington learned a valuable lesson in appealing to the voters.
When the next election was held in 1758, Washington (via Wood) treated all the voters, even those who didn’t support him, to free booze.
Using his own money, Washington spent approximately $51 (the modern-day equivalent of about $2,345) for 46 gallons of beer; 40 gallons, 1 hogshead, 1 barrel and 10 bowls of rum punch; 35 gallons of wine; 2 gallons of cider; and 3.5 pints of brandy, according to records preserved at his future home, Mount Vernon, in Northern Virginia.
The young colonel’s strategy worked. Washington topped the field with 310 votes, followed by Martin with 240.
They toppled incumbents West (199 votes) and Swearingen (45 votes).
On Saturday, Wood, on behalf of Washington, will once again treat voters of legal drinking age to a glass of beer courtesy of the Virginia Beer Museum in Front Royal.
While younger people can’t be served alcohol, they will still be welcome to cast a vote in the election reenactment, Moyer said.
According to Moyer, people can vote for whomever they choose, and if Washington and Martin don’t emerge as winners, so be it.
The top two vote-getters will be announced when Saturday’s event ends at 7 p.m.
For information about the French and Indian War Foundation in Winchester, which is staging this weekend’s election reenactment, visit fiwf.org.
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Contact Brian Brehm at bbrehm@winchesterstar.com
Facebook post by Jim Moyer, posted 7/24/2024
Come join us Saturday 5pm -7pm 27 July 2024 at the site you see in these pictures where our Colonel George Washington won his first office, to represent Frederick County VA in the House of Burgesses in 1758.
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This Saturday coming will be our 6th reenactment of this event. It is the only time we know of where the public becomes an active participant by voting and hearing the arguments for and against.
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Below are 2 pictures, among many, of last year's 5th annual reenactment of the 24 July 1758 election on 22 July 2023:
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A young man named Ben is given a tricorner by Jim Moyer. He later marched with the men of the Virginia Regiment into the pages of history.
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