After
retiring from the presidency in March 1797, Washington returned
to Mount Vernon with a profound sense of relief. In 1798,
Washington was appointed Lieutenant General in the United States
Army (then the highest possible rank) by President John Adams.
Washington's appointment was to serve as a warning to France,
with which war seemed imminent.
In
1799, Washington fell ill from a bad
cold with a fever and
a throat infection called quinsy
that turned into acute laryngitis and pneumonia; he died on
December 14, 1799, at his home, while attended by Dr. James
Craik, one of his closest friends, and Tobias Lear, Washington's
personal secretary. Lear would record the account in his
journal. From Lear's account, we receive Washington's last
words: 'Tis well.
Modern
doctors believe that Washington died from either epiglottitis
or, since he was bled as part of the treatment, a combination of
shock from the loss of five pints of blood, as well as asphyxia
and dehydration. Washington's remains were buried at
Mount Vernon. In order to protect their privacy, Martha
Washington burned the correspondence between her husband and
herself following his death. Only three letters between the
couple have survived. source
I suspect that George
Washington's sore throat that started up after a couple of
hours on working on the grounds was more exposure to this
chemical. Had he lived he would have had more horrible CFS,
FM, CFIDS type of symptoms following. I suspect the habit
of 'bleeding' him was the cause of death ... but that it was not
the actual diagnosis he was given that 'started it off' |
