WASHINGTON WHERE may the wearied eye repose, Yes, one, the first, the last, the best, Whom envy dared not hate, Bequeath the name of Washington, To make man blush there was but one! - BYRON. WEBSTER TAKE him for all in all, he was not only the greatest orator this country has ever known, but in the history of eloquence his name will stand with those of Demosthenes and Cicero, Chatham and Burke. - LODGE. VII. THE FIRST BUNKER HILL ORATION VIII. THE SECOND BUNKER HILL ORATION INTRODUCTION I GEORGE WASHINGTON GEORGE WASHINGTON was born on February 22, 1732, at Bridges Creek, Westmoreland County, Virginia, in the homestead of his father, Augustine Washington, beside the wide waters of the lower Potomac River. His ancestor, John Washington, had come from England to America in 1656. The family shared in the prosperous life and growth of Virginia; and, when Washington was born, his father owned more than five thousand acres of land, and was acquiring wealth in the directing of mining and commerce. The father died in 1743, leaving to his eldest son the best part of the estates, including Hunting Creek, afterward named by the heir Mt. Vernon; and to the other surviving son of his first marriage the lands about Bridges Creek. George Washington, |