Alexandria residents benefit from being surrounded by history, like the life and times of its most famous resident, George Washington. When in 1775 George Washington was appointed by the Continental Congress to take command of the fledgling military forces, a young lady in Providence felt compelled to compose a patriotic poem and send it to him at his headquarters in Cambridge across the Charles River from Boston which at that time was occupied by the British. The 43 line poem, “His Excellency George Washington” was well received by George Washington not only because of its glowing tribute and encouragement, but because the poem acknowledged the imminent struggle for freedom and independence. Celestial choir! enthron’d in realms of light,
Columbia’s scenes of glorious toils I write.
While freedom’s cause her anxious breast alarms,
She flashes dreadful in refulgent arms.
The poem went on to sagaciously and sanguinely predict victory over the British:
Anon Britannia droops the pensive head,
While round increase the rising hills of dead.
Ah! cruel blindness to Columbia’s state!
Lament thy thirst of boundless power too late.
Shortly after receiving the poem George Washington wrote the young lady expressing his appreciation and extending an invitation to meet with her which he did in March of 1776. What makes all this more remarkable was that the shining light was Phillis Wheatley an African slave who had been purchased by the Wheatley family of Boston. She had come from West Africa (probably Senegal) when she was just eight years old. The Wheatley’s encouraged their own daughter to tutor the slave girl in Greek, Latin and other subjects to the point that Phillis Wheatley was regarded as a prodigy. When she was only twelve years old she started to write poetry and in 1773 she published a book of poetry which made her a world celebrity. That year Phillis Wheatley made a literary tour to England and upon her return to Boston her master opted to manumit her. She drew the favorable attention of America's founding fathers, including George Washington, who told her that "the style and manner [of your poetry] exhibit a striking proof of your great poetical talents." She is recognized as the first African-American woman to publish a book and she is a cornerstone in African American literary heritage. Among other honors, the Phillis Wheatley YWCA in Washington, D.C. is named for her.
The meeting between George Washington and Phillis Wheatley has been regarded as an early instance of racial tolerance and may have contributed to George Washington’s evolving attitude towards slavery. In 1776 he reversed an earlier decision and permitted the enlistment of black soldiers with eventually about 9000 slaves joining the patriots. George Washington in his last will and testament famously freed the slaves he owned making provisions for their education and training. Indeed Phillis Wheatley’s influence on George Washington may have been more momentous than she could have ever suspicioned.
