During one battle in The French and Indian War, over 1000 (out of just over 1400) British troops had been killed or wounded. Washington, lieutenant colonel at the time, was on horseback during battle. Men were killed and wounded all around him. The Indians used their best marksmen to try and kill Washington, but he remained uninjured and very much alive at the end of the battle.

These excerpts from The Bulletproof George Washington , by David Barton, recaps what one of the Indian chiefs said of that day...

“Quick, let your aim be certain and he dies,” the chief commanded. The warriors leveled their rifles at the last officer on horseback. Round after round was aimed at this one man. Twice the officer’s horse was shot out from under him. Twice he grabbed a horse left idle when a fellow officer had been shot down. Ten, twelve, thirteen rounds were fired by the sharpshooters. Still, the officer remained unhurt.

The native warriors stared at him in disbelief. Their rifles seldom missed their mark. The chief suddenly realized that a mighty power must be shielding this man. “Stop firing!” he commanded. “This one is under the special protection of the Great Spirit.” A brave standing nearby added, “I had seventeen clear shots at him…and after all could not bring him to the ground. This man was not born to be killed by a bullet.”

After the battle, there were rumors of Washington's death. He wrote this letter to his stepbrother, letting him know that he was alive...

"As I have heard since my arrival at this place, a circumstantial account of my death and dying speech, I take this early opportunity of contradicting the first and of assuring you that I have not as yet composed the latter. But by the all-powerful dispensations of Providence I have been protected beyond all human probability or expectation; for I had four bullets through my coat, and two horses shot under me yet escaped unhurt, although death was leveling my companions on every side of me!"

Four bullet holes through his coat, and two horses shot out from under him, and yet he remained unharmed!

Years later, Washington had the chance to speak with one of the Indian chiefs from that battle. The chief had traveled a long way to speak to Washington. This is what he told Washington at the meeting...

I am a chief and ruler over my tribes. My influence extends to the waters of the great lakes and to the far blue mountains. I have traveled a long and weary path that I might see the young warrior of the great battle. It was on the day when the white man’s blood mixed with the streams of our forests that I first beheld this chief [Washington].

I called to my young men and said, “Mark yon tall and daring warrior? He is not of the red-coat tribe—he hath an Indian’s wisdom and his warriors fight as we do—himself alone exposed. Quick, let your aim be certain, and he dies.”

Our rifles were leveled, rifles which, but for you, knew not how to miss—’twas all in vain, a power mightier far than we shielded you.

Seeing you were under the special guardianship of the Great Spirit, we immediately ceased to fire at you. I am old and shall soon be gathered to the great council fire of my fathers in the land of the shades, but ere I go, there is something bids me speak in the voice of prophecy:

Listen! The Great Spirit protects that man [pointing at Washington], and guides his destinies—he will become the chief of nations, and a people yet unborn will hail him as the founder of a mighty empire. I am come to pay homage to the man who is the particular favorite of Heaven, and who can never die in battle.

...Fun Fact #2 - George Washington was the only president to be elected unanimously. He ran unopposed for both terms. When asked to run for a third term, he declined, setting a precedent which held until 1940.

May 9 - 1914 - President Wilson proclaims Mother's Day

May 10 - 1823: 1st steamboat to navigate the Mississippi River arrives at Ft. Snelling

May 11 - 1927: Louis B. Mayer forms Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

May 12 - 1932: Goofy, aka Dippy Dawg, 1st appears in 'Mickey's Revue' by Walt Disney

May 13 - 1930: Farmer killed by hail in Lubbock, Texas, only known fatality due to hail

May 14 - 1804: Lewis and Clark set out from St. Louis for Pacific Coast

May 15 - 1862: Union Grounds, Brooklyn, 1st baseball enclosure, opens

Today in History

"I can only say that there is not a man living who wishes more sincerely than I do to see a plan adopted for the abolition of slavery. " George Washington

More Presidential Quotes

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Julie