Remembering Washington's Patriotism

"First in battle, first in peace, and first within the hearts of his countrymen." These are the phrases that Henry "Gentle-Horse Harry" Lee III spoke on December 1799 in his eulogy for George Washington. In a single phrase spoken throughout a second of nationwide mourning, Lee captured Washington’s generalship within the Revolutionary Conflict, his function in shaping and forming the republic, and his enduring place within the American thoughts.