Washington began his career as a professional surveyor in 1749 at the age of 17. He completed his first survey (a 400-acre parcel of land) in less than two days.

When General Edward Braddock arrived in Virginia in February 1755, Washington was made a member of the staff, with the rank of colonel. In the calamitous defeat that was to follow, he showed for the first time that fiery energy which always lay hidden beneath his calm and unruffled exterior. He ranged the whole field on horseback, making himself the most conspicuous target for Indian bullets, and, in spite of what he called the dastardly behaviour of the regular troops, saved the expedition from annihilation, and brought the remnant of his Virginians out of action in fair order. In spite of his reckless exposure, he was one of the few unwounded officers. In August, after his return, he was commissioned commander of the Virginia forces, being then only twenty-three years old.

In January of 1759, George Washington married Martha Dandridge, the widow of Daniel Parke Custis. They remained married until George died in 1799. Martha died shortly thereafter, in 1802. They are both buried at Mount Vernon.

George Washington was childless. The people of his day said that he was the father only of his country. Collateral branches of the family, however, have given the Lees, the Custises, and other families a claim to an infusion of the blood.

In 1794, George Washington suppressed a rebellion by farmers in western Pennsylvania who were protesting a federal whiskey tax. This short-lived revolution came to be known the Whiskey Rebellion of 1794.

Sally Fairfax was one of Washington's earliest romantic interests. Although there is no evidence of an affair, he continued to write her love letters even after she was married, and Sally, along with her husband, was one of the most frequent visitors to Mount Vernon.

If you have never tasted peanut soup, then you are missing out on one of the classic dishes of the colonial era. It is rumored that George Washington ate this soup every day.

Although wigs were fashionable, Washington kept his own hair. He usually wore it long and tied back in a queue, or ponytail. He did powder his hair, giving it the iconic white color seen in famous portraits, but as a young man, Washington was actually a redhead!

The estate is situated on the banks of the Potomac River in Fairfax County, Virginia, near Alexandria, across from Prince George's County, Maryland. The Washington family had owned land in the area since the time of Washington's great-grandfather in 1674.

Washington is credited by the American Kennel Club with being one of the people who helped develop the breed known as the American Foxhound. This new breed resulted from a mixture of different hounds imported from England and France, with local American stock.