AP News, February 20th, 2007
The handwritten speech George Washington held as he resigned from the Continental Army in 1783 was unveiled during a special Presidents Day ceremony celebrating Maryland's acquisition of the document.
Washington's personal copy of the speech _ considered a landmark in American history for establishing military subservience to civil authority _ was acquired by the state from the family that has held it since it was given.
"Having now finished the work assigned me, I retire from the great theatre of action _ and bidding an affectionate farewell to this August body under whose orders I have so long acted, I here offer my Commission, and take my leave of all the employments of public life," Washington wrote.
The document includes words scratched-out during revision. Washington initially wrote that he intended to "take my ultimate leave of all the employments of public life," but the word "ultimate" is crossed out. He also crossed out the word "final" before "farewell." The changes are noteworthy considering Washington became the nation's first president in 1789, about five years after giving the speech.
"It is clear from what Washington crossed out that he had two goals in mind in making this speech, one of the most important of his whole career: reinforcing the supremacy of the civil authority and leaving the door open for his being called back to civilian service," said Maryland state archivist Edward Papenfuse, who worked on acquiring the speech.
It took state officials about two years to acquire the speech from the family that has owned it all these years. The document is worth an estimated $1.5 million, Papenfuse said.
The state paid $600,000. Two Baltimore philanthropists _ Willard Hackerman and Henry A. Rosenberg _ donated $200,000 each. The owners, who have requested to remain anonymous, donated the rest of the value.
As part of the purchase, the state will also receive a handwritten letter sent by eyewitness James McHenry to his wife, in which he described Washington's resignation.
McHenry described the speech as "a solemn and affecting spectacle."
"The spectators all wept, and there was hardly a member of Congress who did not drop tears," McHenry wrote. "The General's hand which held the address shook as he read it."
Washington's speech, which is about 350 words, will be on display in the capitol for several days. It will eventually be displayed permanently in the capitol after a case is designed to protect it from light exposure and fluctuating climate conditions in the building. Until then, it will be housed at the state archives.
On Monday night, lawmakers and Gov. Martin O'Malley gathered in The Rotunda of the State House, just outside the old Senate chamber, where the commander in chief read from the document as he gave his resignation speech on Dec. 23, 1783.
There are two official copies of the speech. One is in the National Archives in Washington, D.C., and the other is in the Library of Congress. The one acquired by Maryland is Washington's personal copy, which he wrote while he was in Annapolis. Members of the Continental Congress met in Annapolis from November 1783 to August 1784.
___
On the Net:
Maryland State Archives: http://www.mdarchives.state.md.us
