George Washington Wired

Something akin to turducken (the infamous chicken-stuffed-inside-a-duck-stuffed-inside-a-turkey entree), an 18th-century Christmas pie incorporated just as many if not more meats under a crust-like exterior that leaves many modern-day visitors to George Washington’s kitchen believing that they’re looking at a decadent dessert rather than a carnivore-worthy feast.

Like 21st-century revelers who come to terms with Christmas dinner in meal after meal of leftovers, 18th-century pie partakers had a lot of eating to do in subsequent days.

In November of 1786 one of Washington’s friends wrote to inform the General that he would not be able to make the Washingtons’ Christmas dinner and eat their pie. On December 26, having dined with at least nine people, Washington informed his friend that they “had one [pie] yesterday on which all the company, tho’ pretty numerous, were hardly able to make an impression …”

Consuming concentric layers of turkey, goose, duck, partridge and pigeon, surrounded by hare, woodcocks or whatever other game or fowl was available, was no doubt an arduous task. And that’s not including the four pounds of butter and bushel of flour that were called for in the recipe that belonged to Martha Washington.

But as large as Washington’s pies may have been, they were no match for the nine-foot-circumference record-breaking Christmas pie that was said to have been made in London in 1770. It’s a case of Christmas gluttony at its best. Check out Mount Vernon’s faux food replica of a much smaller Christmas pie on display in the Mount Vernon kitchen through January 6.

On December 23, 1783, George Washington ceded power by resigning his commission as commander in chief of the Continental Army. In the State House in Annapolis, Md., Washington gave an address to the Continental Congress and other spectators. Eager to be home, Washington returned the next day to Mount Vernon where he intended to resume the life of a private citizen and farmer, ending his public tour of duty. Fate, of course, would have it otherwise for the future president.

Washington’s voluntary resignation of power is a moment of epic proportion in American history, an instant in which an individual who could have easily usurped power, instead deferred to Congress and the citizens of a nascent nation, leaving America in good, capable and democratic hands.

Horns sounding in the forest were like Christmas music to the 18th-century ear at Mount Vernon, where the General was known to hunt with his male counterparts, particularly during the holiday season, when horns such as this cut through the silence of the Virginia forest, in a tuneful attempt to keep a hunting party managed and hounds on course.

Compared to other horns of the hunting variety, George Washington’s was of a higher musical quality than most, with characteristics that make historians believe it was originally intended for use in an orchestra.

In the wee, cold hours Washington and his party would head out on their hunting foray. On January 4, 1772, Washington, his neighbor Bryan Fairfax and three male companions set out from Mount Vernon. No doubt accompanied by a pack of hounds, it’s possible that one or several of Washington’s slaves who served as huntsmen — such as Washington’s valet Billy Lee and his brother Frank Lee — played the horn, an arduous task for even the most skilled of horsemen. In his diary Washington recorded that they “Found both a Bear & Fox but got neither …”

During the fall and winter Washington participated in hunts up to three times a week and particularly enjoyed hunting for fox during the Christmas season. From his ledgers we know that Washington purchased at least four horns over the course of his life. Keeping in mind that18th-century Americans didn’t celebrate Christmas in the same manner we do today, but instead spent the day visiting or participating in religious activities, it’s not a bad way to pass the Christmas season.

Assistant Curator Alison Bliss contributed to this report.

Object Spotlight is a regular feature that highlights household belongings used by the Washingtons. Check out Mount Vernon’s eMuseum to explore more Washington belongings.

Gift of Judge James Alfred Pearce, 1921 [W-81]

A hedgehog cake and sheep marzipan are just a few of the various, sundry and sugary artisanal faux foods Mount Vernon has placed on the Washingtons’ dining table for the dessert course of an imagined holiday meal. The Washington Post Magazine took a fancy to this fanciful spread on its “Closer Look” page, with a photo shoot that appears in this Sunday’s edition. Check out the table here.