The Humor of George Washington

 

In the popular imagination, there’s nothing funny about George Washington; a smile is nowhere to be seen on the one-dollar bill.

But in the memories of those who knew him best, and in Washington’s own writings, a different Washington emerges — one who “relished wit and humour,”¹ according to close friend David Humphreys, or made sly jokes while barely “suppressing a smile,”² according to another friend William Thornton.

Part of the reason for this discrepancy is that biographers such as Parson Weems sought to cleanse the General’s image for history, handing down a version of Washington that is serious, unsmiling, and unable to tell a lie. Washington himself even edited his past correspondence, with the understanding that his letters would be scrutinized by historians and would help create a presidential model.

But in many places, his humor remains. And in examining the funny things Washington said, and the things that made him laugh, we get a clearer picture of our Founding Father — and if you look closely, he might be wearing a trace of a smile.  

Conflicting Reports

Washington narrowly escaped death on July 9, 1755, while serving as an aide-de-camp in General Edward Braddock’s colonial force. Despite having two horses shot out from under him and four musket balls tear through his coat, Washington survived the onslaught of a combined French and Native force.

As false reports of his death began to circulate, Washington wrote to his brother John Augustine Washington:

As I have heard since my arrival at this place, a circumstantial account of my death and dying speech, I take this early opportunity of contradicting the first, and of assuring you, that I have not as yet composed the latter.

The jest pre-dates, by more than 150 years, the famous Mark Twain quip, “The report of my death was an exaggeration.”