VA, USA
Washington's Will Provides Conditional Freedom
December 14, 1799
Washington's will, executed after his death on December 14, 1799, provided for the emancipation of his 123 enslaved people after Martha's death — but only those he personally owned. The 153 dower slaves belonging to the Custis estate were not freed and passed to Custis heirs.
People Involved
Virginia planter and Continental Army commander-in-chief who owned and managed Mount Vernon's enslaved workforce. Absent from his estate for most of the war, he directed Lund Washington's management by correspondence and returned to find the plantation's human community shaped by eight years of wartime disruption.
Virginia widow who married Washington in 1759, bringing the Custis dower estate and its enslaved people into the household. Spent several winters at Continental Army camps supporting her husband and managing the social expectations of a commander's wife. Legal owner of the Custis dower slaves who could not be freed by Washington's will.
Distant Washington cousin who managed Mount Vernon as the estate's agent during the eight years of the Revolutionary War. Kept detailed accounts of the plantation's operations, managed the enslaved workforce in Washington's absence, and infamously provisioned a British warship in 1781, drawing Washington's sharp rebuke.