Editing George Washington (section)

===Funeral and burial===

Washington's funeral was held on December 18, 1799, four days after his death, at Mount Vernon. Cavalry and foot soldiers led the procession, and six colonels served as the pallbearers. The Mount Vernon funeral service was restricted mostly to family and friends.{{sfn|Chernow|2010|pp=808–810}} Reverend Thomas Davis read a brief funeral service, followed by a ceremony performed by members of Washington's Masonic lodge; Washington had been a Freemason since 1752.{{sfnm|Randall|1997|1p=67|Chernow|2010|2p=27}}{{sfn|Tabbert|2022|pp=196–197}} Word of his death traveled slowly, but as it reached other regions, church bells rang and many businesses closed.{{sfn|Chernow|2010|pp=810–811}} Memorial processions were held in major cities of the United States. Martha burned her correspondence with Washington to protect its privacy, though five letters between the couple are known to have survived.{{sfn|Chernow|2010|p=814}}

[[File:Tomb of George Washington - interior 02 - Mount Vernon.jpg|thumb|left|alt=A picture of the two sarcophagi of George (at right) and Martha Washington at the present tomb at Mount Vernon|The [[Sarcophagus|sarcophagi]] of George (right) and [[Martha Washington]] at the entrance to their tomb in Mount Vernon]]
Washington was buried in the Washington family vault at Mount Vernon on December 18, 1799.{{sfn|Lengel|2005|p=vii}} In his will, Washington left instructions for the construction of a new vault;{{sfn|Chernow|2010|pp=810–811}} this was completed in 1831, after a disgruntled ex-employee of the estate [[Attempted theft of George Washington's skull|attempted to steal]] what he thought was Washington's skull.{{sfnm|Nowlan|2014|1p=59|Costello|2021|2pp=77–78}} In 1832, a joint Congressional committee debated moving his body from Mount Vernon to a crypt in the [[United States Capitol]]. Southern opposition was intense, antagonized by an ever-growing rift between North and South; many were concerned that Washington's remains could end up, in the words of Representative [[Wiley Thompson]], on "a shore foreign to his native soil" if the country became divided, and Washington's remains stayed in Mount Vernon.{{sfn|Boorstin|2010|pp=349–350}} On October 7, 1837, Washington's remains, still in the original lead coffin, were placed within a marble [[sarcophagus]] designed by [[William Strickland (architect)|William Strickland]] and constructed by John Struthers.{{sfnm|Costello|2021|1p=182|Carlson|2016|2loc=chapter 1}}