Backyard History

A History of George Washington Birthday Celebrations in Alexandria

George Washington posing with horse and carriage before the 2023 Parade. (Photo: Anthony Marill Photography)

Alexandria, VA – While records exist of George Washington celebrating his birthnight in what is now
Gadsby’s Tavern Museum, celebrations of his birthday took off after his passing
in 1799. Alexandria was not the only American city to celebrate the birthday of
our nation’s first president, but the town displayed a particular enthusiasm
for celebrating the birth of its most famous resident in the 19th century, and
that tradition continues today. Interestingly, records listed Washington’s birth as February 11, 1732. When the British colonies switched from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar in the 1750s, his birthday was converted from the 11th to the 22nd. As political disagreement grew between the North and the South in the 19th century, political leaders from both regions used the memory of Washington as the epitome of the true American. Both sides portrayed our First President as one who rose above partisanship and regionalism in the nation’s interest. While always celebrated in Alexandria, the nation did not recognize Washington’s Birthday as a national holiday until 1885. The current designation of the third Monday in February as President’s Day took effect in 1971. After the Civil War, and into the 20th century, the memory of Washington
continued as a role model of idealized citizenship.

The February 22, 1856 edition of the Alexandria Gazette contains a brief preview of that year’s celebration. The newspaper listed the schedule as:
At 10 o’clock the procession will be formed under the direction of Wilmer D. Corse, Chief Marshal, and march in the order prescribed in the programme, to the Lyceum Hall, where, after prayer, extracts from the Farewell Address of Washington will be read by W. D. Stuart, and an oration delivered by C.W. Blincoe.
Alexandria’s public celebration contrasted with the one in New York City in 1852. That year the Gazette’s correspondent relayed the news to its readers that Secretary of State Daniel Webster’s speech on Washington would be delivered to an exclusive audience at the New York Historical Society. The next day’s newspapers published Webster’s address for the uninvited. The Alexandria Gazette noted that Webster’s speech was part of his campaign for the Whig Party nomination, which he lost to Winfield Scott. Webster died later that year while still Secretary of State.
Even with the start of the Civil War fast approaching, the Alexandria celebration of Washington continued with determined enthusiasm. The Gazette noted in its February 25, 1861 edition:
The Birth-Day of Washington was kept as a general holyday by our town folks. It was like the return of old days. Never before for thirty years have so large a body of our volunteer militia appeared upon parade. The stores were closed, and trade for a time, stood still, while the people, with one accord, gathered to renew the hallowed recollections of the past, and pledge anew their faithfulness to the cause of their country.
Less than three months after the article was published, Virginia seceded from the United States.

Almost fifty years later, the Alexandria Gazette’s account of the 1908 celebration was remarkably similar to the one it published in 1861, with a similar nostalgia for “old Alexandria” and celebrations by “young and old alike.”
The 1914 celebration was noteworthy for its very distinguished visitors:
The scenes in the streets especially at the reviewing stand were animating, and the fact that we had the President and Vice President with us added no little to the spirit of the occasion.
While the paper often noted that the City of Alexandria had invited the president and vice president to the celebration, the presence of Woodrow Wilson and Thomas Marshall was the first time that the Gazette reported the attendance of visitors with such distinction.
This year’s George Washington’s Birthday Parade’s theme is George Washington: America’s Commander in Chief. Historic Alexandria events related to the celebration include a Hamilton’s BFFs & Frenemies Tour at Gadsby’s Tavern Museum, An Intimate Reception with General Washington at the Duvall House, and the annual George Washington Birthnight Dinner at Gadsby’s Tavern Museum, including a visit from “George Washington” himself! Tickets for all of these events are available at alexandriava.gov/shop.

ICYMI: Landini and Bonitt are the Brains Behind New Cooper Mill Tavern on Alexandria’s Waterfront

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