Editing Martha Washington (section)

== American Revolution (1775–1789) ==
=== Early revolution ===
[[File:Martha Washington by Rembrandt Peale c1856.png|thumb|upright|Martha Washington by [[Rembrandt Peale]], ''circa'' 1856, based on a portrait by his father, [[Charles Willson Peale]]]]
Life for the Washingtons was interrupted as the [[American Revolution]] escalated in the 1770s.<ref name="schneider"/>{{Rp|page=4}} Though rumors were spread that she was a [[Loyalist (American Revolution)|Loyalist]], Washington consistently shared her husband's political beliefs.<ref name="boller"/>{{Rp|pages=3–4}} She strongly supported his role in the [[Patriot (American Revolution)|Patriot]] movement and his work to advance his beliefs in the cause. She stayed at Mount Vernon when he was appointed [[commander-in-chief]] of the [[Continental Army]] in 1775, overseeing the construction of new wings to their home. She then moved to the home of her brother-in-law so as not to be so conspicuous a target during the [[American Revolutionary War]].<ref name="schneider"/>{{Rp|page=4}}

The revolution was the first time in their marriage that they were apart for an extended period. In the fall of 1775, Washington traveled to Massachusetts to meet with her husband.<ref name="gould"/>{{Rp|page=6}} On the journey north, she experienced her newfound celebrity status for the first time as the wife of a famed general.<ref name="gould"/>{{Rp|page=6}} She joined him in [[Cambridge, Massachusetts|Cambridge]], from where he and the other Continental Army officers were operating. While staying in Cambridge, she served as a hostess for guests of the officers.<ref name="schneider"/>{{Rp|page=4}} She would also sew clothes for the soldiers while at camp, encouraging other officers' wives to do the same, leading to the creation of a [[sewing circle]] that contributed to the war effort.<ref name="boller"/>{{Rp|page=5}} Though she hid it from those around her, Washington was frightened by the gunfire that could be heard from the nearby [[Siege of Boston]].<ref name="schneider"/>{{Rp|page=4}} She accompanied her husband when operations were relocated to New York, but she was sent to Philadelphia as British forces came closer.<ref name="schneider"/>{{Rp|page=5}} Each spring, when conflict resumed, she returned to Mount Vernon.<ref name="gould"/>{{Rp|page=7}}

=== Independent United States ===
The American Revolution became increasingly stressful for Martha after the signing of the [[United States Declaration of Independence|Declaration of Independence]], as George faced increased risks on the battlefield.<ref name="schneider"/>{{Rp|page=5}} Each winter, Washington would join her husband at his encampment while fighting was stalled. The quality of her housing varied during these visits, both in comfort and in safety.<ref name="schneider"/>{{Rp|page=5}} [[Marquis de Lafayette|General Lafayette]] observed that she loved "her husband madly".<ref>"Lafayette to Adrienne de Noailles de Lafayette, January 6, 1778," in ''[[iarchive:lafayetteinageof01lafa/page/225/mode/1up|Lafayette in the Age of the American Revolution]],'' ed. Stanley J. Idzerda  (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1977), 1: 225.</ref> Washington was kept informed of the war's developments by her husband, sometimes performing clerical work for him, and she was even permitted to know military secrets.<ref name="watson"/>{{Rp|page=14}} She became a symbol of the war effort, alongside George Washington, as a grandmotherly figure that cared for the soldiers.<ref name="gould"/>{{Rp|page=7}}

The Continental Army settled in Valley Forge, the third of the eight winter encampments of the Revolution, on December 19, 1777. Washington traveled 10 days and hundreds of miles to join her husband in Pennsylvania.<ref>"Nathanael Greene to Gen. Alexander McDougall, February 5, 1778", in ''The Papers of General Nathanael Greene,'' ed. Richard K. Showman (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1980), 2:276.</ref> On April 6, Elizabeth Drinker and three friends arrived at Valley Forge to plead with the General to release their husbands from jail; the men, all Quakers, had refused to swear a loyalty oath to the American revolutionaries. Because the commander was not available at first, the women visited with Martha.<ref>"Martha Washington." ''Encyclopedia of World Biography''. Vol. 32. Detroit: Gale, 2012. Biography in Context. Web. October 15, 2015.</ref> Drinker described her later in her diary as "a sociable pretty kind of Woman".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Drinker |first=Elizabeth |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Zw67boMtNYUC |title=The Diary of Elizabeth Drinker: The Life Cycle of an Eighteenth-Century Woman |date=October 11, 2011 |publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press |isbn=978-0-8122-0682-1 |editor-last=Crane |editor-first=Elaine Forman |pages=75}}</ref>

Washington's son John was serving as a civilian aide to his father during the [[Siege of Yorktown (1781)|siege of Yorktown]] in 1781 when he died of "camp fever", a diagnosis for [[epidemic typhus]].<ref name="Yates"/> After his death, she and George took in the youngest two of John's four children, [[Eleanor Parke Custis Lewis|Eleanor (Nelly) Parke Custis]] and [[George Washington Parke Custis|George Washington Parke (Washy) Custis]].<ref name="gould"/>{{Rp|page=7}} The Washingtons also provided personal and financial support to the children of many of their relatives and friends.<ref>{{cite book |last=Chernow |first=Ron |title=Washington, A Life |date=2010 |publisher=[[Penguin Books]] |page=507 |chapter=Chapter Forty-One "The Ruins of the Past" |quote=Washington offered to pay for the education of ... George Washington Greene. It was yet another example of Washington's extraordinary generosity in caring for the offspring of friends and family}}</ref>

=== Postwar retirement ===
The Washingtons returned to Mount Vernon in 1783.<ref name="gould"/>{{Rp|page=7}} They stayed at Mount Vernon for much of the [[Confederation period]], living in retirement with their nephew, nieces, and grandchildren.<ref name="schneider"/>{{Rp|page=6}} Washington, now in poorer health, believed that her husband was finished with public service.<ref name="schneider"/>{{Rp|page=6}} She spent her time raising their grandchildren, constantly worried for their health after having all four of her children and many other relatives die of illness. She also resumed hosting company at Mount Vernon, recruiting several of her nieces and other young women to assist her, as the house was overwhelmed with visitors.<ref name="gould"/>{{Rp|pages=7–8}} Their life at Mount Vernon was interrupted again when he was asked to participate at the [[Constitutional Convention (United States)|Constitutional Convention]] in 1787 and again when he was chosen as the first [[president of the United States]] in 1789.<ref name="schneider"/>{{Rp|page=7}}