How Did George Washington Die

George Washington after serving his beloved country, went for a peaceful retirement in the solitude of Mount Vernon. Unfortunately his solitude was short lived. He died on December 14 1799 of acute epiglotitis. However, the exact cause on how did George Washington die has been an issue since then.

On the morning of December 12 1799, the President who was still a strong man at the age of 67 was seen riding his horse to make some improvements around the estate. There was a heavy snow fall at that time with a temperature of 30 degrees F. He remained outside from morning until 3 in the afternoon in spite of the weather.

The following day he complained of a sore throat, but then again returned to his estate to make some markings on the trees to be cut. Upon returning, he made a slight remark to his wife and Colonel Lear about his increasing hoarseness. Colonel Lear suggested that he take medication but refused. Around 3 in the morning of December 14 1799, the President awoke his wife while in distress and in pain. He would not permit his Mrs. Washington to go outside and call Caroline their maid who lives in the other house fearing that the cold air might harm his wife nor did not want to disturb any body in his account. It was only at daybreak that Mr Albin Rawlins, their overseer made a concoction made of vinegar, molasses and butter but he went into convulsive suffocation. The President who was a great believer of bloodletting asked Mr Rawlins to do the procedure to him. Mr Rawlins removed half a pint of blood in the President's arm but to no avail. They use bloodletting to their slaves with malaria and were proven successful. They decided to call the services of Drs. Craik, Dick and Brown all of which were successful physicians. Dr Craik performed two venesections of 20 ounces each. Venesection again was performed in the throat taking 40 ounces of blood. The President realizing that all the efforts made by the doctors to save his life will be in vain, called Colonel Lear and gave his dying instructions. As death approached him, he instructed his wife to get two papers in the private drawers of his desk, one is to be burned and the other is his will. To Dr Craig, his longest friend, he assured the doctor that he is not afraid to die. To Colonel Lear, he instructed that his corpse be kept only for three days. He proceeded to thank the three physicians who remained by his bedside until his last breathe. At exactly 10 in the evening of December 14 1799, George Washington, the first President of the United States of America joined the Lord.

The exact cause of how did George Washington die remained a question among the medical practitioners. One of which was the amount of blood removed, a total of 82 ounces, must have weakened and could cause death to any healthy aged man. If Drs. Craik and Brown had perfomed tracheostomy, the President might have survived and lived a little longer. But then there was no tracheostomy at that time. From the observations of his three doctors, the cause of his death was acute epiglotitis, an infection of epiglotitis and its surrounding tissues which could be fatal.

Thus, the issue of how did George Washington die remains . . .