Don Brown - Dolley Madison Saves George Washington

Dolley Madison Saves George Washington

W RITTEN AND ILLUSTRATED BY D ON B ROWN

Houghton Mifflin Company

Boston

For Beth, Thom, Nick, Danny, and Braeden with love.

Copyright 2007 by Don Brown

All rights reserved. For information about permission to reproduce selections from this book, write to
Permissions, Houghton Mifflin Company, 215 Park Avenue South, New York, New York 10003.

www.houghtonmifflinbooks.com

The text of this book is set in Mrs. Eaves Roman.
The illustrations are pen and ink and watercolor on paper, as well as digitally created.
Book design by Carol Goldenberg

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Brown, Don.
Dolley Madison saves George Washington / written and illustrated by Don Brown.
p. cm.
ISBN-13: 978-0-618-41199-3 (hardcover)
ISBN-10: 0-618-41199-2 (hardcover)
I. Madison. Dolley, 17681849Juvenile literature. 2. Presidents' spousesUnited States
BiographyJuvenile literature. 3. Washington, George, 17321799PortraitsJuvenile literature.
4. Washington (D.C.)HistoryCapture by the British, 1814Juvenile literature. I. Title.
E342.I.B76 2007
973.8'1092dc22
[B]
2006009813
Printed in Singapore
TWP IO 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2

E VERYBODY TALKED ABOUT D OLLEY M ADISON .

They talked about her charm and grace.

They talked about her beauty, her stunning gowns, and her delightful banquets.

"Everybody loves Mrs. Madison. That's because Mrs. Madison loves everybody," they said.

It was a surprising turn for the onetime farm girl whose early years had not included grand parties and fancy clothes. Then she married James Madison in 1794 and joined his hectic political life.

James Madison was a great man of the Revolution, a Founding Father. In the early days of the American republic, he became President Thomas Jefferson's secretary of state. Jefferson, a widower with no wife of his own, enlisted Dolley to be something of his first lady and entertain politicians and foreign leaders.

She threw wonderful dinner parties, and even honored Lewis and Clark with a celebration before their daunting overland journey to the Pacific Ocean. Dolley became the capital's leading hostess.

Dolley's reputation grew when James Madison became president in 1808. As the actual first lady, she arranged weekly get-togethers; "drawing rooms," she called them.

Good-natured Dolley treated all her guests like family or long-lost friends, and she had "a smile and a pleasant word for everybody." Her beautiful gowns and outrageous turbans of satin and gold and ostrich feathers dazzled all. Everyone ached to attend the drawing rooms.

Despite the busy social whirl, Dolley still had the President's Mansion to manage. She saw a sore need for redecorating and threw herself to the task. Custom-made furniture, hand-woven carpet, and velvet curtains were carefully selected. In the dining room, she reserved a place for a remarkable lifesize portrait of George Washington.

The painting by the well-known artist Gilbert Stuart had been in the mansion since 1800. It portrayed the first president not like a king but as the country's leading private citizen, highlighting America's preference for democracy instead of royalty. The painting also showed the respect and love everyone had for Washington, feelings that Dolley surely shared. In fact, Washington was more than a war hero and great statesman to Dolley: she was related to him through her sister's marriage to Washington's nephew.

But in 1812, talk of Dolley's redecorating, her glamorous clothes, and her drawing rooms paled beside a bitter American and English quarrel. Each country felt the other meant it harm...

"You side with our enemies!" England cried

"You kidnap our sailors!" America roared.

Finally the arguments exploded into war. Battles blazed on land and sea. Then, in 1814, Britain invaded America and thousands of English soldiers stalked the Washington, D.C., countryside. Dolley's terrified friends fled.

Dolley did not.

August 22 found her with spyglass in hand at the top window of the President's Mansion, "watching with unwearied anxiety" for the president, her dear husband, in the field with his army.

She later wrote that she saw only "groups of military wandering in all directions, as if there was lack of arms, or the spirit to fight!"