Dinner for One Army: George Washington's Expense Account
Jul 01 '04
The Bottom Line History can be fun. Little known history can be hilarious!
On his selection as Commander of the Continental Armies, General George Washington magnanimously refused remuneration for what he considered a sacred duty to his fellow revolutionaries. Almost. But let George's own words tell it:
"Sir, I beg leave to assure the Congress that as no pecuniary consideration could have tempted me to have accepted this arduous employment, I do not wish to make any profit from it. I will keep an exact account of my expenses. Those I doubt not they will discharge, and that is all I desire."
So, while eschewing remuneration for his services, General Washington did agree to reimbursement of any incidental expenses he might incur during the as yet undecided contest with Great Britain.
At the time, a private made $6.67 per month; a captain $20.00, while a major general made a whopping $166.00 per month. Clearly, Washington was making a valuable and badly needed financial commitment to the impoverished Continental Congress' Treasury.
The little-known book George Washington’s Expense Account, by George Washington and Marvin Kitman, covers the actual expense account turned in to Congress after eight years of struggle in which the United States, under the leadership of General Washington, ousted the British oppressors.
During these eight years of struggle, including the infamous winter at Valley Forge, General Washington managed to gain 30 pounds.
Washington was one of the first recorded proponents of creative accounting, as a review of his actual expense account, visible at the Library of Congress, plainly shows: http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/mgw:@field(DOCID+@lit(wa010001)) Note the many creative uses of "&c" (etc.) and "miscellaneous."
In the many meticulously penned longhand entries General Washington bought horses, luggage, delicacies, and liquor and wine by the barrel. In all, the General’s modest needs caused him to incur over $449,000.00 in expenses to secure our liberty. And that in 1789 dollars. It has been estimated that the amount adjusted for inflation would run over $4,000,000 today. Congress approved the whole amount, in fact, they even found a minor addition error among the multitude of entries and adjusted the amount upward 89 cents.
When he had secured the blessings of liberty for posterity, including ourselves, the Congress appointed George Washington our first President. Washington modestly offered to serve without remuneration in this post also, but Congress in its wisdom instead put him on a salary of $25,000 per year. The salad days were over.
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