When George Washington died in 1799, partisan infighting and international crises threatened the survival of the American experiment. Many Americans believed in Washington’s unique ability to unite the country, and his death exacerbated national uncertainties. Enter Mason Locke Weems, whose contributions to Washington mythmaking dwarf those of any individual then or since. As national yearning for Washington increased after his passing, Weems authored The Life of George Washington, capitalizing on the current cultural and financial opportunity. While future scholars would devote volumes to Washington’s life, Weems required a mere two hundred and forty-four pages to communicate his essential stories. He did not write a historical biography. Rather, Weems celebrated Washington’s most admired virtues through a series of instructive lessons. Many of the tales he included, such as the fabled cherry tree episode, are fiction. Weems thrived in the space between evangelist and huckster, between historian and fabulist.
One of the book’s most famous excerpts remains Washington’s prayer during the 1777-1778 Valley Forge winter encampment, which Weems wrote as an allegorical defense of revolutionary-era values. Weems repeatedly referred to his source for the story, Isaac Potts, as “Friend Potts” to highlight his religious affiliation with the Society of Friends, or Quakers. According to Weems, Potts passed through the woods and spied “the commander in chief of the American armies on his knees at prayer.” He observed Washington until the general concluded his devotions, at which point Potts returned home to report the encounter to his wife. He reminded her of his Quaker vow to pacifism, declaring, “I always thought that the sword and the gospel were utterly inconsistent. But George Washington has this day convinced me of my mistake.” The General’s reverence converted Potts to the American cause, now certain that “Washington will yet prevail” and “work out a great salvation for America.” Weems designed the prayer legend to remind his audience that national obligations superseded religious differences.
Thus, published in 1804, the prayer at Valley Forge entered the lexicon. Fresh memories of the revolutionary civil war, the loss of the nation’s foremost leader, and intensifying political discord all meant the story resonated with Weems’s readers. And yet, that lesson of national unity, intended to bind Americans of differing religious backgrounds together, has been overlooked or ignored in many interpretations of the prayer story. More recently in the twentieth century, politicians and religious leaders have used the tableau to celebrate Washington as a pious patriot. Such interpretations often disregard the tale’s dubious origins and forget that as times have changed so has the meaning of the prayer myth.