Washington's wife, who was of nearly the same age with him, is described as having been amiable in character and lovely in person. She was the daughter of Colonel John Dandridge, of New Kent County, and was born in May, 1732. Her first husband, to whom she was married in June, 1749, was Daniel Parke Custis, a wealthy planter. By the courtesy of the period she was called Lady Washington, and whether in her own home or at the ‘federal court,’ she presided with great dignity and grace. She died at Mount Vernon, May 22, 1802.
Consult: Sparks, Life and Writings of Washington (12 vols., Boston, 1834-37); Life of Washington, by Chief Justice Marshall (5 vols., Philadelphia, 1804); Life of Washington, by Washington Irving (5 vols., New York, 1855-59), and the abridged edition, John Fiske (New York, 1888); The Writings of Washington, collected and edited by W. C. Ford (14 vols., New York, 1889); lives by Hale (1887), Lodge (“American Statesmen,” 2 vols., 1880), B. T. Johnston (1894), P. L. Ford and Woodrow Wilson (1896). See also the many publications of Lossing and Baker, and histories of the Revolution, such as those by Fiske and by Trevelyan. For the history of Washington's administrations, see Schouler's and McMaster's histories of the United States.
WASHINGTON, William Augustine (1752-1810). An American soldier, a kinsman of George Washington, born in Stafford County, Va. He was educated for the ministry, but on the outbreak of the Revolutionary War entered the patriot army as a captain under Colonel Hugh Mercer. He was wounded in the battles of Long Island and Trenton; fought at Princeton; and later became a major in Colonel Baylor's corps of cavalry. In 1779 he joined General Lincoln's army in the South; became a lieutenant-colonel in March, 1780; and in many conflicts greatly distinguished himself as a leader of light cavalry. At the battle of Cowpens he made a charge upon Tarleton's troops that decided the day, and in the pursuit he had a personal encounter with the British leader. He assisted in covering the rear of Greene's army in the famous retreat before Cornwallis, and fought with great distinction at Guilford Court House and Hobkirk's Hill. At Eutaw Springs his horse was shot under him; he received a bayonet wound, was taken prisoner, and was not released until the close of the war. He then married a Charleston lady, settled in that city, and became a member of the South Carolina Legislature. When war with France became imminent in 1798, he was, upon the recommendation of General Washington, made a brigadier-general.
WASHINGTON AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE AND SCHOOL OF SCIENCE. A co-educational State institution at Pullman, Wash., established in 1890 on the national land grant act. It offers partially elective courses in the departments of mathematics and civil engineering, chemistry, botany and zoölogy, agriculture, horticulture, English, economic science and history, mechanical engineering, modern languages, mining engineering, and military science and tactics, with supplementary courses in physics, geology, and mineralogy, Latin, and education. In addition, special instruction is provided in the schools of agriculture, dairying, pharmacy, veterinary science, and business, the school for artisans, and the preparatory school. Provision is also made for graduate instruction. The endowment consists of 190,000 acres of land, none of which has as yet been converted into funds, $25,000 annually from the Morrill Fund, $15,000 from the Hatch Fund, and State appropriations amounting for 1903-04 to $158,000. It had in 1903 a total attendance of 761, when its faculty numbered 59, and its library contained 5000 books and 2000 documents. The buildings and grounds were valued at $260,500 and the college property at $340,000. The gross income for 1902 was $115,000.
WASHINGTON AND JEFFERSON COLLEGE. An institution of higher education at Washington, Pa., founded in 1787 as Washington Academy and chartered as Washington College in 1806. In 1865, to secure a conditional gift of $50,000, Washington College and the neighboring Jefferson College, founded in 1802, were united under the present name, and in 1869 the location of the consolidated institution was fixed at Washington. The college is Presbyterian in affinity, but is not under ecclesiastical control. It admits students on certificate as well as by examination. Three courses of study leading to degrees are offered—classical, Latin scientific, and French scientific. A summer school and a preparatory department with courses corresponding to those in the college are maintained. In 1903 the attendance was 360, of whom 250 were collegiate students; the instructors numbered 25; and the library contained 16,000 volumes. The endowment was $250,000, the income $40,000, and the value of the college property $1,100,000. The centennial of the college was celebrated in 1902, when gifts to the amount of $425,000 were secured, of which $50,000 was for a library building and $375,000 for endowment.
WASHINGTON AND LEE UNIVERSITY. An undenominational institution of learning at Lexington, Va., established as the Augusta Academy in 1749 and chartered in 1782. The first considerable amount of money received by the school was that given by George Washington, which still yields an annual income of $3000 to the university. The name was in consequence changed to Washington Academy. In 1802 the Cincinnati Society, on dissolving the organization, appropriated the residue of their funds to the institution. Gen. Robert E. Lee was made president of the college in 1865, and during an administration of five years wielded great power for good with the students. After his death the corporate name of the institution was changed in 1871 to its present title, and in the same year Gen. G. W. Custis Lee succeeded his father as president, resigning in 1897. His successor was William Lyne Wilson, former Postmaster-General of the United States, who died in 1900. The following year George Hutcheson Denny, LL.D., was elected to the vacant position. The university is divided into three schools, of Arts, Engineering, and Law, with courses leading to the degrees of B.A., B.S., and LL.B. It accepts the certificates of accredited schools in lieu of the entrance examination and offers a number of free scholarships and a university fellowship. In 1903 it had a faculty of 22; 302 students; an
