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The Digital Encyclopedia of George Washington

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Animals
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Animals

Dogs

Dogs

There were many dogs living at Mount Vernon during George Washington's lifetime. These animals were owned?

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Birds

Birds were a feature of life at the Mount Vernon mansion for at least three decades. As early as April?

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Buffalo

George Washington spent much time in the West as a young man, both as a surveyor and as a soldier serving?

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Camel

George Washington brought a camel to Mount Vernon for Christmas in 1787.

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Cattle

Just after the Revolutionary War, Washington had almost 350 heads of cattle of all types at Mount Vernon.

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Deer

During the 1780s and 1790s, George Washington transformed the area just below the lawn overlooking the?

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Dogs

There were many dogs living at Mount Vernon during George Washington's lifetime. These animals were owned?

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Donkeys

Donkeys were utilized to breed mules for work on the Mount Vernon plantation, by mating with female horses?

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Hogs

Months before his death, George Washington admitted that while he had

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Nelson (Horse)

Thomas Jefferson once referred to George Washington as

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Prescott (Horse)

From the time of his early youth, George Washington had a deep appreciation for his horses, which he rode on a daily basis.  Washington favored white horses, and he continually sought more for purchase, even in his final years. Washington once specified his ideal body measurements and fur color for a horse, stating that he “would prefer a perfect white” horse before “a dapple grey” or a “deep bay.”1  Prescott, one of Washington’s “white chargers,” or parade horses, fulfilled this description. 

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Royal Gift (Donkey)

Royal Gift was the name of George Washington's most prized Spanish donkey that he acquired to live at Mount Vernon in 1785. Washington had long desired to own a Spanish jack ass to begin breeding mules, a cross between a male donkey and female horse. Believing the mule would revolutionize farming, he played an integral part in popularizing these animals in America and Virginia specifically. Mules are both better draft animals than horses, and they also require less feed, making them more economical. As a man who prided himself on economic efficiency, Washington was eager to embark on this new venture in animal husbandry. Washington wanted the best jack ass he could find to begin, and Spanish donkeys were considered the most superior of the breed. He was convinced that "a good Jack would be a public benefit to this part of the country."1

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Sheep

The sheep population at Mount Vernon soared after the conclusion of the Revolutionary War. In the fall?

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