coming up next on the presidency, author warren bingham talks about his book "george washington 1791 southern tour 689" he discusses the newly election to the southern states, and promote the constitution. george washington's mount vernon hosted this hour and 20 minute event. >> all right. good evening, everybody. it's great to see such a full house tonight. i'm rob shenk. i want to welcome you all this evening to the ford evening book talk. we've got a great topic for tonight. the washington library is proud to offer free monthly book talks as part of our mission to disseminate knowledge about the colonial revolutionary and founding eras. i want to pause to thank ford motor company. ford has been a supporter of mount vernon for more than 90 years. [ applause ] tonight's guest is warren bingham. he's a speaker, broadcaster, free lance writer, and author. he earned a b.a. in history from the university of north carolina. go heels. an m.a. from hollins university. his career includes nearly 25 years of success in sales, in marketing of financial and philanthropic services. he has a special interest in the history of north and south carolina. george washington and george c. marshal. so carolina and george seems to be a theme. he's the creator of carolina color, a series of live radio vignettes that offer historical perspectives on north carolina people, places, events and products, and he contributed to a number of books, including the dictionary of north carolina biograp biography, sloencyclopedia of nh carolina. i hope you brought some hush puppies or barbecue or something with you. being a tech person myself, i always appreciate warren because he has a very active twitter account. follow him @warren bingham. so tonight's event, warren will discuss his newest book, "george washington 1791 southern tour," which considers the history and lore of the president's visit to the south. this is a topic that's near and dear to my heart. i had the opportunity a few years back to work on a project called washington's world interactive map. that sounds pretty daunting. it's an interactive map on our website today that has more than 1,000 places that washington visited during his lifetime. if you're really into washington geography, i highly recommend it. you can kind of see the different journeys and paths that he visited. it's really remarkable to think in the 18th century context, to think how far washington moved from north to south and east to west, particularly in north america. if you're looking for that, you can find it on our home page. but also, mount vernon.org/washingto vernon.org/washingtonsworld, one word. while washington never visited europe, i do contend that washington probably was the most traveled of the founding fathers when you consider north america. when we think about his epic journey to ft. le buff in 1763 u the journey across the wilderness, to this 1900 mile grand journey that warren's going to discuss, this is a man that throughout his life was on the move. he was a man who wanted to see the world with his own two eyes. and he accomplished so much in that regard in his journeys, they're really true epics. in studying these travels in the diary entries, i personally found you found a more human washington when you look at washington on the move. you see a man that you can relate to. and i think mr. bingham agrees, because i'm going to quote from his introduction, so when i visualized a tired, aching and nearly 60-year-old washington, plugging away on a long journey, that passed within 50 miles of my hometown, he became human and flesh and blood. so without much further ado, please join me in welcoming mr. warren bingham. [ applause ] >> thank you, rob. and thanks, everyone. a who are you y'all anyway? i need to get a list of everyone's name. i just can't believe you're all here to hear me talk about this. because it's a thrill fob me to be in mount vernon, and then to have this great audience here to hear it is very special for me. i've been sharing this topic for over 20 years. and so the book is sort of a cap of my longtime interest in this subject. over the years, in my -- washington-southern tour. it's not a military campaign. it wasn't a fine wine, or one of washington's whiskeys that he distilled here, but it was literally a trip. and some folks have a hard time believing that. but it really was a trip. and the southern tour, i think it to be true, the other travels washington took as president to the middle states and to the north, new england, were a little bit morrow teen compared to the southern tour. george washington's southern tour was the third of three major trips that he took to visit the 13 states during his first term as president. it was nearly 1900 miles and it took nearly 3 1/2 months. the capital was in philadelphia. and washington held this trip to the last because he knew it was the most challenging. and one other reason is that north carolina, my home state, was a little reluctant to join the union. in north carolina, we've long been ones not to want to commit to anything. didn't really want to commit to the union, didn't rem i want to commit to the confederacy. we had the shadow of virginia, and south carolina surrounding us, and those states used to poke fun at us. we were slow to move. we were not a particularly united states in north carolina, a very diverse state early on. so we were slow to join the union. but we signed the constitution in november of 1789. washington was then cleared to come on down south to see all of the southern states. and that would be virginia, the carolinas and georgia. why did washington visit the 13th states and make this southern tour? he was salesman in chief. he was selling the new federal government, which believe it or not was not especially something that a lot of people were in love with from the get-go. just like they aren't today. some things don't change. and he was selling that new constitution. washington was a strong federalist. he believed in a strong sim central government, at least as they thought of it in those days. many in the south, particularly, weren't that really strongly in favor of that at all. except in certain pockets. charleston, south carolina, was a place where washington had a lot of federalist friends. and plus, that was the fourth largest city in the united states at the time. so washington wanted to get to charleston in particular during his southern tour. washington was a keen observer. so he learned a lot. as rob said, he was learning all his life, and travel really informed him. you can tell from reading his die race how he got more of a kick out of observing a river or canal or progress on some sort of industry rather than meeting with any particular people. so he learned by looking. and by doing. and so that's what was going on, on these tours. most especially the southern tour. he had never been south of virginia until the southern tour in 1791. the exception being he probably was in parts of northeastern north carolina, in the dismal swamp. as my mother would say, that does not constitute a proper visit to north carolina. [ laughter ] washington knew that it was important to use his presence to influence people. he was the hero of the american revolution and he stood 6'2" or 6'3". that went a long ways towards impressing people. and so washington was beloved at that time. he was like elvis and the pope combined. and with that influence, he wanted to get out among the people, and impress the importance of a stronger federal government. this new government and the new constitution. and washington enjoyed being out of the office. he was never an office kind of guy. he was a farmer, he was a surveyor, he liked to be out. and it was thought at that time that it was so good to be out in the fresh air, and to ride horseback in particular. that's why in the 1950s they created all of those quirky machines that exercised the body in strange ways. i don't know if that really works or not, but i would think riding a horse is probably good exercise. and george washington was an excellent horseman and he wanted to be out. so those are the reasons why washington, who was a man of action, said that in his early days as president, he wanted to visit all 13 states. he asked for john adams' thoughts on that. and asked for his cabinet's opinions, i'm not sure what they all said, because i think president washington was going to go out to the states regardless. and he didn't waste much time. so in 1789, 1790, 1791, in less than two and a half years in office, washington had visited all 13 states. pretty remarkable given the challenges at the time. i had been interested in this subject ever since hearing about it my senior year in college. in a north carolina history class. the professor shared anecdotes of washington's visit to north carolina, my home state, and for the first time it dawned on me that george washington, and i was a 22-year-old, but i just figured out that george washington was not like paul bun on, but he was a real man. he was flesh and blood. when i learned about some of the things that occurred in our state, and towns that i knew, and visited all my life, washington for the first time seemed real. and that meant a lot to me. 15 years after that class, i decided to start doing some public speaking, and this became one of my primary topics, and i've been doing it now as i say over 20 years. and finally in a book as well. so it has been a treat to share this topic, because i think it's a way that i can -- it's a device. to bring george washington to life, to make him more interesting, to make him more relatable to the -- to any of us. to average people. he seemed so much like a man in bronze, or a man in marble. he did live his entire life in the 1700s. it was as if god meant for him not to make it to 1800 when he died two weeks shy of 1800. so he's a little hard to relate to to the average person. so i think this is a wonderful way to look at washington, any of these trips, to read his diari diaries, and find out the challenges he had in travel, and what his thoughts were. i also think that looking at his trips make for a great interdisciplinary study. it's a great way to look at the architecture at the time, the pop culture of the time, travel at the time. so many ways to look at these tours. and that's what i've been doing for so long. george washington's southern tour took him south from philadelphia. washington was a man of detail. he was a bit of a controlling man. he liked to make his own decisions, and advise himself, but he loved to get great advice from a vast array of people, and from diverse opinions. who else would bring thomas jefferson and alexander hamilton together in the same room. but washington did. he wanted to get the thoughts of these bright, bright minds and be advised from them. so washington made his decisions about his travel itinerary, but he would bring in people to help him. his secretary, they were all male, of course, in this era, as well as friends from the revolution, and congressmen. folks that he knew in the south. and gentlemen were most of the travelers that made round trips. most other folks were just going somewhere, they were going to stay, they were going to settle. it was a challenging thing, but most of the men out traveling were gentlemen who went from their homes to somewhere and back. these gentlemen would recommend where to cross waters and soo forth. one thing that the south really stood out for in that era was how bad the roads and inns were. so they were very unreliable. and how to cross water was very challenging, uncertain thing. on the southern tour, there were several incidents on water that put the president in harm's way. but washington selected this route. and as you see, he's going from philadelphia down to charleston. and eventually savannah. he came on the fall line and coastal plain, and there were places where he could have chosen to go a little bit different here and there. but he really wanted to pick an expeditious route to charleston, because that was really key to get to charleston. but otherwise, he wanted a representative visit over land to these other places. one thing i like to point out is that of the early presidents, george washington was the only one to really make an effort to tour the states, and most especially to go south. thomas jefferson never put a foot in north carolina. i'm personally affront by that. ] laughter ] john adams never came south. he barely got in virginia, i believe. james monroe visited the south, but mostly along the coast. made some coastal incursions. andrew jackson became president in 1839, ta person who had a fel for prominent places. when washington got to charleston, it was down to savannah, and up to augusta, georgia, and back through piedmont of the south. as you see, mount vernon is on the map there somewhere. there we go. mount vernon, it was a particular treat for washington to stop at mount vernon. he stopped, i believe it was roughly a week as he went south and about two weeks as he went north. and of all his years as president, i believe -- and mary thompson, who has been a wonderful help to me on the staff here -- told me that 12 times did he get to mount vernon as president. so two of the times were on the southern tour. so that was a special treat for washington as well. but he chose the route. and he wanted to keep a schedule. he called it his line of march. the old military man that he was. one reason he wanted to do it that way, well, one, he was controlling and he liked to get everything just right and he was into details. but more importantly, as he was traveling south in particular, he was with the line of will mail. the king's highway, primarily, excuse me, i'm getting excited. the king's highway coming down on the east, was the main line of the mail in the united states, from boston down to charleston, eventually savannah. so he knew that if his cabinet or someone needed him, they might have a shot of getting some mail to him as he went south. but when he turned up to augusta and went back north through the piedmont, even though he was leaving the itinerary that he stuck pretty close to, during those dates that he said he would be here and there, nevertheless it would have been challenging to get a message or letters to him as he went through the piedmont. so it was important that he stick with his route as best he could. he was gone nearly three and a half months. thomas jefferson wrote in late may that mr. president, there's really nothing of note to report to you. so it shows it was a little bit of a different time in our history. you think president obama would like to disappear for a few months? and have nothing of note to report to him? that sounds good, doesn't it. so george washington selected this route. and he also wanted to see the governors in these states. he kind of arranged ahead to make sure he would do that. he didn't go certain places that many assume he did. he didn't go to norfolk on the southern tour. he didn't go to edenton, north carolina, in the northeastern section, which was one of our largest places, most prominent places at the time. that's probably because he was simply trying to get the best route to get to charleston. he missed edenton. he missed his namesake in north carolina. those folks there can't get over that. that's what we call little washington in north carolina. and he also missed fayetteville, north carolina, which often acted as our state capital. and he missed atlanta, georgia. atlanta didn't even exist in 1791. those folks are really upset that they couldn't work out the president seeing their city. president washington kept a diary off and on his entire life. fortunately, the diary for the southern tour exists. and fortunately for me, many people over the years have transcribed it and studied it and gave good footnotes about what all it says and means. the papers of george washington, based over at uva, and i think moving over here to mount vernon, aren't they, rob, they have done a good job with all of washington's papers, including this diary. but this is from april of that 1791 in washington's hand. and he kept a diary entry every day of the trip, except when he was at mount vernon. i don't know what -- it's like with mrs. clinton, i don't know why these were missing. but he didn't write anything during his stay at mount vernon. otherwise he kept up the diary every day. washington's diary entries are not that exciting. but they're somewhat telling. they tell you a lot about practical things, about how high the water is on a certain river or where he crossed a river or what kind of commerce he observed, or what type of soil he was seeing. i think those are fascinating things that you can compare then and now to. and learn a lot from it. but thankfully, washington did keep the diaries and the originals exist, and somehow they got chopped up. james keith marshall known as jimmy marshall was a son of chief justice marshall. and chief justice marshall was a good flend washington. somehow they wound up with his son, james keith marshall. sortly before the civil war, jimmy marshall gave at least a portion of these diaries to the then fledgling virginia historical society in richmond. and that diary still exists. however, the june through july, the portion at the tail end of the diary, wound up at the lie brar of congress. they all exist and i was able to go to the virginia historical and at least get within a few feet of that diary of the southern tour. it was a real treat to see president washington's hand. in fact, that's the one page i got to take a photograph of. so we're grateful for washington's journaling talents. he wrote about the weather. how many miles they traveled. washington had an odometer on his carriage. just the gist of the activities. you don't get any deep inner political thoughts of washington in his diaries. he doesn't really talk about what he thinks about certain men and that kind of thing. but you do get a real feel for what he did each day. what he was living through. how he got across that river. or how hot the day was. that means a lot to a traveler. he used terms that i took note of. it seems to me the term indifferent meant a little something different in that era. i read it in other places, too, but especially with washington. he would seem to use it meaning so-so, or to no committal. he also seemed to use it to suggest bad or poor. and there were a lot of indifferent meals that he did not enjoy along the way, for example. because on the other hand, he would occasionally use the term exceedingly good. exceedingly good. so when have you had an exceedingly good meal at mcdonald's. you might want to just say it was indifferent. which is probably accurate either way. nothing against mcdonald's. he used the term several times trifling place. to refer to smaller communities. in fact, in north carolina, the folks in greenville, north carolina, were honored, because he called them a trifling place just like he called charlotte a trifling place. greenville said it was the last time they've been compared to charlotte. so it was an exciting thing for greenville. not so good for charlotte. in fact, charlotte's been trying to prove him wrong since then, to prove they're not a trifling place. george washington earned his own carriage. he was a man on the move in many different forms of transportation. including foot. and horseback. but on the southern tour, and these other tours he took, he traveled in a carriage similar to this. this particular carriage was owned by a prominent philadelphian, mr. powell. i think he was maybe mayor of philadelphia at one point, a wealthy man. this is on here on display at mount vernon. this was on the southern tour. but it was painted white or cream in color. that must have really stood out on those rustic southern roads. washington would have preferred to have used white horses to pull that carriage to create an image. he believed in striking an image. he thought that meant a lot to your credibility, and that you actually respected people by putting on your best. and by doing your best. and by showing off the best that you have. some thought it looked a little bit royal-like. there was that concern, too. but washington struck a pretty good balance with it. so this carriage is typical of what washington went in. it was built by the clark brothers carriage makers in philadelphia. and cost a considerable sum. very few people had these type of enclosed carriages for long transport for really long trips with shock absorbers and offering some comfort. thomas jefferson, quite a traveler himself, said that washington might need to lower the hang of that carriage for these rough southern roads so it wouldn't tip over. but washington knew what he wanted to do, and so he didn't do it that way. he kept the carriage high, thinking it rode better. but he had outriders, extra men on horses riding alongside the carriage to keep it stable. but washington used brown horses on the southern tour, knowing that was more practical than the white horses. washington called this vehicle a chariot. it was enclosed. i've researched this a bit. it's very confusing, but apparently that was a popular term for the enclosed luxury rides at the time, a chariot. washington selected his own staff for this tour. and he selected the horses that would go. so he had the brown horses pulling this vehicle, he had horses, brown horses pulling a baggage wagon, and he had several other horses led along, including his tall white charger, prescott. also along for the trip were a total of eight men. it was originally going to be nine, but one took ill at mount vernon and didn't go the rest of the way. there were five staff members from the president's home in philadelphia, there was major william jackson, one of washington's secretaries in philadelphia who made all of these tours with the president. he was the perfect choice. he was in his early 30s. he was single. and he was a south caroliniacar. he was born in england, but raised in charleston, in south carolina. he was the perfect choice for the southern tour. but the young buck william jackson actually made all of the trips, but a great choice for the southern tour. plus his wife wouldn't be worried about him being gone for three and a half months. so it was william jackson along for the tour. also two slaves started out with the baggage wagon and the help of the extra horses, giles and paris. giles took ill. i'm not sure what happened here at mount vernon, and didn't go the rest of the way. but paris would make the rest of the trip. that was a total of 8 men and 11 horses as near as i can tell. near petersburg they added two horses, to just simply be able to rotate horses in and out pulling the vehicles. this particular george washington reenactor is in newburn, north carolina. this was a year ago when they spent an entire weekend commemorating washington's visit there in 1791. this is a local actor, and so he was busy all weekend. and this was when he made his entrance into newburn. the local story goes that an african-american there in newburn somehow knew washington from the revolution era, and he greeted him early on. and washington knew exactly who he was. i find in going to the communities over the years, there's a lot of things sometimes you can't find the documentation. a lot of local stories, lore, if you will, that say these great things about what happened there. i'm sure some of it's true, or some version of it's true. and i'm sure in some cases none of it's true. but i think they're great for creating interest in local history and this subject in general. and occasionally, something surfaces that helps clarify whether something is accurate or not. but newburn put on the dog a year ago. i'm not sure why they did it a year ago, because this spring marked the 225th anniversary of the southern tour. which seems like a great time to commemorate it. washington loved horses, and he worried about his horses on the southern tour all the time. they were his transportation. he cared a lot about them in general, but he liked his horses. when you travel in 1791, you not only have to worry about eating yourself, but you had to feed your horses. some inns were notorious for having good food for horses and bad for people and vice versa. it was a challenge to take care of the horses properly. these were the presidential horses. they got better care than most. in near aiden, north carolina, not far from greenville, they spent an april night for the first time on the trip where the horses had to stay out of doors. they were not in a stable of any kind. i don't think washington slept a wink that night worried about his horses being out in the open. that's how well washington was used to taking care of his horses. well, in addition to visiting these posts in virginia, carolinas and georgia, something very important happened on the southern tour. washington made stops in georgetown, maryland. georgetown, maryland. anyone ever heard of that place. that's now a section of the federal district. that's right. he stopped in georgetown, maryland, coming and going. he was a real estate broker, too, on this trip. he was trying to bring the locals together to agree to a combination of selling their land and donating their land to create this new federal city there. he had just announced in january 1791, congress had given washington the authority to select a specific site between the an a cost yeah river and going up the po tom ag 50, 60, 70 miles or so. it was then carrollsburg, maryland, and he stopped there. but the specific corners haven't been figured out yet. so on the southern tour, washington actually solidified that this would be our new nation's capital. he had what i call town hall meetings at suitor's tavern, calling in the landowners and community-minded folks to discuss the idea. they were already good typical americans. they were asking that question, what's in it for us. and they were also concerned about what it would mean. what were they going to get for their land? what was this going to create? what issues do we need to consider here and so forth? did r it really is an interesting thing when you think of it that way. people were getting a little greedy and they wanted more money than what it seemed it might bring and so forth. and washington pretty much threatened that the capital could just as easily stay in philadelphia. in fact, that's the way the law was written, if i'm not mistaken. the residence act is what the congress called it, the residence of the new federal government. washington left going south, and he felt pretty good with the way things were going there. but by the time he got back in june, the folks were all up in the air again. they had too long to think about it. you know how that goes. so there were a lot of issues and questions, once again, but washington was able to bring everyone together, and the capital city was on its way. for the rest of his presidency, george washington was kind of the ceo of the federal city project, to make sure that it opened on time. of course, he left office a couple of years ahead, before 1800. but indeed, washington's work got it all on course. a lot of that got kicked off on the southern tour. this particular spot is on m street at rock creek at the river rock creek park where you cross the creek. it's an old stone house, if any of you know the old stone house, which may be the only structure that stands in that area that washington would have known. he passed right by there on these stops. and so i use that to just demonstrate a pretty spot with gingko trees in the fall, in the federal district, or georgetown, maryland, and now washington, d.c. washington on the return trip north after everything seemed settled there in the federal district, one of the last things there is he went with pierre lafaunt to select the sites for the executive mansion, what we now have as the white house, and picked the site for the capitol, which would be jenkins hill, which we call capitol hill. well, after he left jourjtown and went to mount vernon for a week, there's much evidence we have in correspondence where washington would be in mount vernon, in addition to enjoying time here, seeing his farms and catching up with things important to him, he also did a lot of official correspondence. so we have in his papers all these letters that he was cranking out on his stops at mount vernon. so the president was busy. he was not on vacation per se at all. he left mount vernon and started his march going south. he was in fredericksburg. but before he got there, he nearly had a big calamity on the aqua quaun river. three of his horses went in, and it could have been even worse, and there was much concern, they were going to pull his white carriage into the aquaquaun. but that didn't happen, fortunately. he got to fredericksburg. there was family time on this whole trip. he stopped and had tea with a niece in dumb fris. in fredericksburg, he spent a night with his sister. and the house, as we call it now, ken more. it was not called kenmore back in the day. we know the bedroom where washington always stayed at kenmore in fredericksburg. he also met up with old masonic buddies, which were very prominent on the southern tour in fredericksburg. that's where he became a mason in his younger life was in fredericksburg. throughout this trip, there were many similar things that happened in the different communities. masons would be involved. members of the society of the cincinnati, the officers of the revolution would be involved in pitching affairs and dinners. there would be parades. there would be special dinners. there would be teas. there would definitely be dances and balls. and this all gets a little tedious at times for washington. he would go from having a lot of that sort of thing to all of a sudden rolling out through very desolate land for a long time, not sure where he or the horses would stay or eat. so you had this yin and yang going on all the time. he got very annoyed at many well-meaning militias that would escort the group from town to town, stirring up monstrous dust. he told a lie, i have to tell you. he did tell a lie, as he was leaving petersburg. he had been so annoyed by the dust in recent days, the evening before he left petersburg, they asked him what time he would be leaving in the morning. he said he shall strive to leave by 8:00. indeed he did. he left at 5:00. he was getting out of town ahead of the well-meaning escort. he would try to dismiss these well-intentioned folks all the time. but he was so honored by it. he was, again, trying to unite the country, bring people together and make them feel good. so it was a line that he had to walk there. he visited richmond. this would be his last-ever visit to richmond. there he met with edward carington as he appointed as a u.s. marshal, as one of the new tax collectors. we had a new tax in 1791. washington was in favor of it. alexander hamilton was in favor of it. it was a tax on domestic distilled spirits. so whiskey made here in the states. this was a new tax. washington liked it. and congress obviously liked it. the whiskey rebellion people in pennsylvania did not like it. however, it seemed to go pretty well. he would quiz people on the tour and met with the new tax collector, edward carington, in richmond. and the best they could tell, the intelligence on it was it was being pretty well received, that folks were understanding that we have to have tax dollars from somewhere, this seems like a good start, so forth. so it went. obviously there was some concern in pennsylvania a couple years later, but it all worked out in the long run. so washington was taking the temperature about these details of the government. the constitution and the new tax and so forth when he would meet with the people in the different cities. another thing that happened in petersburg, by the way, another thing that happened in many towns, was what was called a general illumination. you know the phrase light up the town. when washington would come, some of the communities indeed would light up. they would have tar barrels, they would have torches, they would have bonfires, candles in the windows and so forth. petersburg city leaders said, we love you, mr. president, however, we have too many wooden buildings here to do a general illumination. so there was no illumination in petersburg. maybe that's why washington left early the next day, too. times were different. when washington got to north carolina, his first stop was in the northeastern part of the state, halifax, which had been a prominent town in the 18th century. prominent meetings had been held there. it had several prominent citizens, including william r. davy, a friend and federalist of washington's. and the most prominent citizen there, though, was someone else. his name was wily jones. it's spelled like willie, but sounds like wily. he would receive georgia and dine with him only as great man but not as president of the united states. so again, this would take you to guantanamo today. it was different in 1791. washington was working hard to bring people together. he understood people had a lot of issues about the new government, the constitution, what things would work going forward. it's a great reminder how we won the revolution, it's easy for the average person just to think, we were all united now. we were happy. we wanted our independence. and we were all going forward happy. but there were many, many concerns for decades after that. and that's well documented. and here's someone in 1791 not really accepting the president of the united states. and he was one of north carolina's leading citizens. in fact, our general assembly is on jones street named for him. and we had worked hard at defeating the constitution the first time, led by willie jones, and he succeeded, but it finally passed in the fall of 1789 in north carolina. so willie jones was there. it tempered the reception for washington in halifax. because the fact is, most folks in hall i fact were thrilled washington was coming. they were supporters. but washington was just there for two days. they had to live with willie jones after the president left. so they kind of kept things a little bit quashed there in halifax. washington liked pomp and ceremony. in north carolina, washington wrote with a lament in his diary, received as good a salute in tarboro as one can get with a single cannon. so i don't know if he admired them or was terribly disappointed. a little of both, i think. in eastern north carolina, which was famous for his tar pitching turpentine production, supplies mostly for the naval vessels, and sailing, washington saw tar being made. and he saw the lonely pine forest. he couldn't understand them. he was trying to understand what other crops you might grow here useful other than these big pine trees. but he learned a lot as he went to these different places. he learned about pine trees in north carolina. he learned about rice in indigo and south carolina. he would write about these things in his diary. well, in newburg, nng, that was the largest city in our state. at a dance, at the palace which has been restored and stands, washington began a pattern that he would do for the rest of the southern tour. at dances, particularly and teas and things where ladies attended, because he was mostly meeting with gentlemen on official business, but he would socialize with co-ed groups and even in charleston once with just a women's group, he would write specifically how many ladies were in attendance. i think his secretary, william jackson, had to help him count. in newburn, there were 70 ladies in attendance at a ball at the palace. and he would go on and on throughout the trip noting specifically how many women and often commenting on how lovely they were and how beautifully they were dressed. i think people made special, special efforts with their appearance for these presidential visits by george washington. and sometimes they definitely did. they had different kinds of specially made uniforms, they had sashes and so forth. women did their hair in different ways. so it was a big deal when the president would come. washington worked his way to wilmington, north carolina, where the guy that was hosting him said do not ig drink the water. they still tell you that in wilmington. and there he left and went down to south carolina coast. myrtle beach, famous beach resort, did not exist as such then. very little development there. it was called long bay at the time. and the king's highway would divert over to about 30-some miles of what is now myrtle beach. and you had to find local yolkles to guides you across the inlets. this was a more direct way to get to charleston. you would go straight down the beach at 30 miles at low tide. it made the best road of the entire southern tour. so this was quite a scene, i'm sure, as washington's carriage and his entourage, and by the way, the staff dressed in red and white livery, so that must have been quite a scene going down myrtle beach. they stopped at the plantation, the brook green gardens there now. as you mentioned, washington enjoyed learning about the new agriculture. to him, indigo and rice, and he had never seen flora quite like this other than a trip to barbados. there were things he was not accustomed to seeing in his life. so this was also special for him. carolina parakeets, the bird that's now extinct, was flying overhead. it was quite a different place for washington to be. washington throughout these trips did not want to accept private hospitality if he could avoid it. he wanted to pay his way. but that was challenging at times to get to a place, an inn that you can do this, or if an inn even existed. along the south carolina coast, this was particularly challenging because it really was not greatly settled except for these large plantations. he ultimately would stay with a gentleman at plantations. i'm not always at all sure where his entourage would sleep. bless their hearts, i think they had to work all night taking care of the horses and other issues. but i think sometimes they slept out of doors in a baggage wagon. but they had some better occasions than others. washington got to charleston. well, let me back up. hampton plantation, before he got to charleston. this is about 40 miles north of charleston. and this is a recent picture. this tree was a little smaller when president washington was there. however, it was there. and the legend is, it's there on account of him to this day. this is called the washington oak at hampton plantation. and hampton plantation, earlier i think indigo, it was rice by the time he stopped on may 1, 1791, and there, the lady of the house said, i apologize for that tree. i've been meaning to remove it. apparently she thought it was improperly located there at the front of the mansion house. and i don't know much about how these things grow. washington said, that's going to be a wonderful tree. let it be. and it's still there to this day. even survived all kinds of hurricane and disease and so forth. and it is a very, very large, impressive tree. the hampton plantation is a park and wonderful place to visit. in charleston, washington got the royal treatment. he crossed the cooper river, where the big bridge is now. he was rode across by ship's captains in specially made uniforms. he was rode to the exchange building where a parade ensued. as he went across the river, there were barges full of people singing and playing instruments. then the parade started. at the foot of broad street, which is still there, and he would later wind up visiting the exchange to dance, he reviewed the parade. washington on some occasions on this trip would ride into a town, a smaller one than charleston, and literally he would be leading the parade. so he had all eyes on him all the time. and so this had to get tough. the trip was tough. it was dusty. he was uncertain about where he was staying some days. he was worried about his horses. but in charleston, they put him up in a nice home. it was called the hayward washington house now on church street. you can visit it. a gentleman's home who had a plantation house, but this was his city home. mr. hayward. there he stayed for a week, courtesy of the city of charleston. and it was staffed. so even, i think, washington's staff called a break during this week in charleston. washington enjoyed seeing sights of the american revolution that he had never seen before on the southern tour. things he had only read about and places he only read about in reports. so it was in charleston that he enjoyed seeing ft. moultry, and other sites along the way, later in savannah. this was very the way later in savannah. this was very special to me. help some free time in charleston. he was able to ride horse back, get on prescott and ride around the city, meet different kinds of people. he had a number of different social occasions each evening. the women, women leaders in charleston, they organized themselves and went and called on the president at the heyward house to say we feel left out. we would like some time with you. so i think about 30 some women gathered to go see president washington at the heyward house and he received them and he said i think something to the effect of it was a singularpleasure. so i don't know what they resolved that day, but that gives you a good feel for some of the different things that would happen. in savannah, georgia, there's very little left that washington would have seen. for whatever reason, charleston has withstood the wars and the hurricanes and the fires, i guess it was bigger, too, than has savannah. not many buildings even from the 18th century in savannah. it's a very charming place. the pattern of the streets are much the same as what washington saw. and in savannah, he had the pleasure of going to visit the widow of general nathaniel green who lived at mulberry grove plantation not far away. he called on her as he arrived and as he left. he loved nathaniel green and i think he wanted to check on the widow green who later would have the tutor that invented the cotton gin. eli whitney was a tutor there but he had not quite arrived when president washington did in the spring of 1791. washington turned to augusta, georgia from savannah and he had to go uphill. and he worried mightily about those horses going through that loose soil, going up grade from savannah to augusta. he would write about that on a regular basis. there weren't any large communities along the way. so the celebratory stuff was kind of low key, and he had more time i guess to write about the horses. so he did. he was relieved to finally get to augusta which was then the capital of georgia. just for a few years. there, he met with governor edward telfair and he met with the governors of all these southern states, and he also gave the locals some ideas about how they needed to remove some rocks from the savannah river to make better use of the channel. washington, very practical. he would look at these things and he was very interested in commerce and he wanted to come up with ways to move trade on the water, and of course, he loved canals. so he would take note of these places in river cities such as augusta. from augusta he turned north. he turned north and had to get on a roll just like i do now. he started leaving earlier. he had already been to charleston which was focal point. he already had a representative visit to some degree in all the states. he was heading back to mt. vernon and philadelphia. he started leaving frequently at 4:00 a.m. and was doing by and large one-night stands plus there were no other large cities remaining on the southern tour as he went north. he crossed the bridge over the savannah river and went to columbia, south carolina, which was the new capital of the state, and spent two nights there. he only wanted to spend one but he had a lame horse so he let the horse rest another day. that shows you how the line of march was picking up. he rested the horse, kept moving. he was up to camden, south carolina. charming wonderful place to visit. horse country today. antique country today. from camden, it was through upstate south carolina and back into north carolina. he entered charlotte. he spent one night in charlotte. he was hosted by general thomas polk, great grand-uncle of the future president, james k. james k. was born nearby in charlotte. he was not present by that time. he just spent would be night there and called charlotte the trifling place that it was. the courthouse in charlotte at the time stood in the middle of trade and trion streets which today are surrounded by towers, and is quite kos me positively tan but it was just a dusty little courthouse town at that time. he followed pretty much what's i-85 today, concord by the motor speedway in fact to salsbury. then he went a little to the west to old salem. it really was just called salem back then. the moravian community where once again, washington had spent two nights. that's because the governor of north carolina alexander martin had sent word he wanted to receive the president but was running a day late. i don't think washington was very happy about the governor being a day late, but he did stay an extra night in salem and he enjoyed it very much. the moravians are known for their music so they put on the feed bag for him, escorted him all over the community, gave him serenades of various kinds, played their instruments. they are known for brass instruments. he liked the industry of the people and admired very much their community. in fact, that's the cover of my book is washington arriving in salem, north carolina. from salem, washington -- by the way, i need to mention this. the washington building, that was back in salsbury. here's my anecdotanecdote. so it was right before salem. the washington building is on the site on main street in salsbury where washington lodged. it was there that washington came out at the end of the day and the locals said please, mr. president, give us a talk, tell us something, give us some words. washington shielded his eyes from the setting sun and said i have nothing of worth to offer. i'm just a tired old gray man. that apparently was written down in someone's diary and so that shows you how things were so different then. there's washington being an honest old man, nearly 60 years old, near the end of this trip, and he just simply was honest about that. and it happened supposedly at that site. washington continued north back through south side of virginia. his last night in north carolina, just shy of present day danville, virginia, he stayed at the home of dudley gatewood. that home was moved in the 1970s to a site near hillsborough called daniel boone village, sort of a collection of old buildings, but it's now maka mexican restaurant. so george washington's last night in north carolina was in this building that's now a mexican restaurant in hillsborough. if you are on i-85, stop at hillsborough, daniel boone village, go have some mexican food on george. this is a commemorative marker in granville, north carolina. this as i mentioned is the 225th anniversary of the southern tour, but folks in the carolinas and georgia have been commemorating it and celebrating it routinely and regularly for many, many years, particularly since the civil war era. and most especially in the 20th century. the d.a.r., daughters of the american revolution, have done much to remember the tour. this is one of their markers they placed in 1920 something, i believe, in greenville, north carolina. virginia, on the other hand, has not commemorated the southern tour very much that i can find because george washington was a virginian. waits n it was not as big a deal he was here in the commonwealth. it was a huge deal he was in the carolinas and georgia. there have been many re-enactments of his visits, many people trying to figure out the roads he took. they will have coaching days where they spend the day figuring out the route he took through a county, there have been balls, teas, et cetera, and many general days of commemoration, particularly this spring in north carolina, salsbury had a day-long commemoration as well. this is an equestrian memorial, a site that actually has a crypt, crypt door right there. this was built between 1850 and 1858 on the grounds of the capital in richmond in hopes they could move the general's remains from here to richmond. i don't know the political details of that but it never happened. but a security guard on the capitol grounds took me if tn t crypt. no one's in there. but it's a lovely memorial that took years to construct and is fabulous on the capitol grounds. it's just a great reminder of the southern tour to me because it's something there that reflects to me washington's last visit to richmond. he saw that capitol before it had even had the stucco put on it. it was just regular brick when he saw it. george still hasn't gotten back to richmond. he's not there in the crypt as well. the southern tour was nearly 1900 miles. washington was gone from march 21 to july 6th, three and a half months. when he got back to philadelphia the bells were ringing and cannons roaring and he thought it was all worth it. he traveled from sea level to nearly 1,000 feet in piedmont in north carolina, 1,000 feet elevation, he met with five governors, drank hundreds of toasts, danced with dozens of ladies, he wrote in his diary at the end of the trip that he gained flesh while his horses lost flesh. among the existing artifacts are some wedgewood china from hampton plantation, some of it here in mt. vernon and the rest in charleston. lovely pattern. a pewter plate and cup in greensboro where he stopped at the tavern. and a bed in southside virginia in which he slept at a colonel kohl's whose family still has the bed and land, et cetera and the family today has determined that that is uranium-rich land. you may hear of them in the news occasionally, the family is leading the effort to see about mining uranium in south side virginia. george washington was hosted by that family 225 years ago. among the lure, hampstead, north carolina on the southeastern coast say they take their name because washington chose to go with ham instead of oysters for his breakfast there. windy hill beach, south carolina, now combined in with myrtle beach, took the name because washington's hat kept blowing off in windy hill. and washington left his powder box at his inn in charlotte but it wasn't gun powder. it was hair powder. washington didn't wear a wig but it was a way to clean the hair and make it shiny. i think it true that he left his hair powder behind in charlotte. if you see on it ebay, do get in touch with me. the southern tour as well as all of these tours were washington's great i think heroic and visionary effort to pay the price to help unite the country, to see and be seen, to be present, to use his influence to bring us all together. i think they were really vital in keeping the republic going through his presidency and thereafter. i will close with a variation of a toast that washington would use occasionally throughout the tour. to a fairfax county and mt. vernon, prosperity to its residents. thank you very much. thank you. we will take some questions. yes, sir. in the blue. we will get a microphone to you. >> did he dress as a military officer, or as a civilian when he came into these towns? >> he definitely put on his uniform from time to time and i believe it's true that he was the last president and the first and only president that we have who actually put on that commander in chief uniform. during the southern tour, he would occasionally wear the uniform. i don't really know how often. i don't think that often but for formal occasions for some of these balls, he probably did. he put it on a lot in charleston because you know, you got to get proud as a peacock when you get to charleston. i think he wore his uniform a lot there. but i can't really say just how much. but it was definitely not uncommon, i'd say is probably true. right here in the front row. >> -- but have i asked it before and nobody seems able to answer it. his carriages went a long distance. did they have wheel bearings? >> yeah. he's asking if the carriage had wheel bearings. i don't know the answer. i'm so mechanically unminded i never even wondered that myself. it's a good question. clearly. and i'll work on that. i'm sorry. >> what did he do about air conditioning in the carriage and did they leave at 4:00 a.m. because of the humidity in the south, and you know, he left before hopefully the last frost and came back before hurricane season, so was that part of his intent? >> he had a clear intent to get to the furthest part of the trip south to georgia and low country south carolina and be heading north before what he called the warm and sickly season. there was always a concern of diseases that were prominent in the warm, wet weather, malaria being one of them. so yes, he wanted in fact to leave as soon as possible in mid-march or so. he got away march 21. and his line of march got him down there and out of georgia by mid-may or so. so he achieved that. that was a concern. i don't know much about how they dressed day to day, how people in general kept cool then. they were more used to their weather, for certain, and that made a difference as well. and you remind me of something i like to point out. in his diary, there are probably many things that happened on the trip that he doesn't mention that we would be going bonkers about. some of the challenges that he would have had traveling. it was just so difficult. the roads were bad. there were probably things, trees falling all over the road. he had to be so patient at crossing water sometimes, waiting on the proper vessel or forwardi fording a creek or small river. these are things that would be a huge deal, would be talking about it around the table for years but they were routine then. we don't know what he didn't tell us. some of the things i'd like to know, it's hard to say but weather was a krconcern. it was a dry season for the most part. he didn't have many storms, as it turns out, and that was helpful. shall i select someone? next. >> you talked about the purpose of the trip was to unite the country, particularly the southern states. so what was the net effect of his trip in the south? what was the reaction of the citizens in the different states to long-term impact of his trip? >> it's a little difficult to truly measure it. it's mostly a matter of reading between lines between the newspaper accounts and the diaries and the other documents, the letters primarily between people of the era. but it was generally very, very successful. washington was so popular and so revered that example being wally jones in north carolina, who was opposed to the government but wanted to reach out to george washington, the great man, that i think people were willing to give our government and the constitution a chance on account of washington's credibility. so there were no uprisings. there were some people that complained about washington being a little bit too royal in appearance and a little bit too english in his style, so you had some of that backdrop going on. but generally, it went very well. there's not evidence there was a lot of pushback. it seemed his presence went a long ways towards people being satisfied to give it a chance. thus, he was pleased. he wrote that he was pleased with the spirit of the people, the way they were conducting themselves and so forth. i think washington made everybody feel good. he reached out to people. earlier, he had assured folks of religious freedom, for example, not so much on the southern tour, but he was a big believer in that. he was pretty inclusive for a guy in 1791 in that way. i think this was conveyed on just a routine basis as he made these trips and through the south. this gentleman. >> how much leave time did people have in their towns to know he was coming? i think we had another speaker one time to made mention of one place where he just sent a rider ahead to a plantation and said would it be okay if i stopped by because he didn't have anyplace else to stay. was it rather spontaneous or was his travel fairly well planned? >> well, his itinerary was well planned. so as he went along going further south as he proceeded through virginia into north carolina, i believe the word more and more got to the communities where he was going. there were also that allowed more time for people from philadelphia and other places that knew of his plans and where he was going to get the word out. so there was a mix of people being totally ready for him, knowing he would be here this week to i think in small communities and just along the road having no clue that he was coming. so it was really a mixed thing. but in the larger communities, in particular charleston knew he was coming, wilmington, north carolina knew it because he was in newburn just long enough to make sure the word got there and so forth. it was kind of a mixed thing as to their notice about the president coming. but regardless of whether they were spontaneous or planned, he usually got a very good reception. >> did you find any evidence of action directed to the rest of the government as a result of his trip? >> i don't believe so. i don't know of anything good or bad that occurred related to the government as a result of the trip. it was more personal connections that he made. for example, he sent a mule or donkey, rather, down to low country south carolina to be bred because of the connection he had there, and then he sent a farm implement that he had helped create, a plow of some sort, to a gentleman in camden, south carolina, so he followed up with a lot of those kinds of things, but as far as anything about the government, as a result of the trip, some people i think were appealing, this is always going on, were appealing to how about making so and so a tax collector or marshal and things like that, but as far as the broad thing about government, i can't think of an example. who else here? anyone on this side right now? okay. emily, we got someone right there. the mic -- here we go. >> newspapers of the era were very different than what they are today, even 75 years later. how much were you able to find as far as contemporaneous accounts written at the time of washington's visits that account for his activities in the various communities? >> there are a number of newspapers and i reference not citations to particular articles but i'll tell you which newspapers you can check for that period of time. a number of papers in the middle states of northeast that did cover his exploits on the southern tour, but it would be weeks, sometimes months later before the article would appear, and they were all very flowery in their description of things. i don't recall anything that i have seen that was really critical. it was more just an accounting, little bit something that might be on the social page, if you will, more accounting of what the president was doing and who was there and this kind of thing but nothing analytical about it. there was no discussion that i have seen about issues. it was more just the fact the president was there and here's who else was there and that kind of thing. he was not often attacked on these travels. more of that was to come later, i think. not too much on the southern tour or any of these tours early on. >> did anything of significance occur in waynesborough, georgia? >> waynesborough, georgia? >> yes. it has its roots [ inaudible ]. >> he spent one night there getting ready to go to augusta. i am struggling to recall anything specific that i know of that happened in waynesborough. nothing -- i'm going down there in the fall to make a presentation and i will probably find out then. unless you're going to tell me tonight a little later. thanks for the question. waynesborough was one of those places that was thrilled to have him because that was not a special stop. it was just hey, i can't quite get to augusta today so i'm going to be in waynesborough. anyone else? we got this gentleman on the front row again. you, too, back there? yeah, okay. >> is there any evidence that government couriers or government dispatchers were sent in to meet him at anyplace to get a governmental decision while he was on the tour? >> his cabinet members would write him from time to time but there was nothing that i recall controversial. there were a few decisions made that were not that big a deal in the grand scheme in washington, endorsed anything that a cabinet member was thinking of doing. it was a pretty quiet town by june and thomas jefferson, with his friend james madison, left philadelphia and went off to new york, kind of doing a little bit of nature seeking and political trip at the same time. john adams, the vice president, i think by may, left and returned to massachusetts. i think henry knox was one of the few cabinet members that definitely stayed in place for the most part the entire time washington was gone. his cabinet did write him regularly during the trip but nothing of particular note. nothing comes to mind. we have a lady back -- you're at the most difficult place to reach, i think. but you will be worth it. >> thank you. how was the tour financed and also, did george washington get out of his carriage prior to entering a town to make like an entrance? >> now, why do you want to know that? >> i don't know. >> how was it financed. washington was paid a salary of $25,000 as the first u.s. president. that was a whopping sum in the day. i'm not an expert on this at all but i believe that he generally paid his own expenses. i think he may have gotten a little help on this but i think he generally paid his way on the southern tour. yes, he would alight from his carriage. he liked to ride horseback anyway. so some days, he would simply be on the horse, period. he would make certain before he entered a town he was on prescott's back riding high in the saddle. when you're 6'2" and on a tall horse, tall white horse, you look really good. so he did that. as he carried the federal government out, he wanted to look the part. he wanted to look special so he often did that. he was a master of i think theatrics and ceremony. he struck quite an image. i'm glad you asked that. i sometimes like to mention that. any last question? this gentleman in the navy jacket. one more. last question. >> when he was making these stops, did he have any contact with any of the members of congress who were from those cities? >> you're asking did he see some of them on his stops and so forth? yes, sir. yes, he did definitely see some of the members of congress along the way. he saw all governors. he saw i think a variety of congressmen and senators in all the states, and in i think north carolina or south carolina he saw several, in virginia his stop at the kohl's plantation going north, that was a former congressman. i think his term had just ended. so indeed, he did. all that went very well. there

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