Skip to main content
Drawn portrait of George Weedon

George Weedon

Once fighting for British interests and land in the colonies, years later became an early and outspoken patriot.

An illustrated map showing a marker for Fredericksburg Virginia

Early Life

Born in 1734, George Weedon grew up on Virginia's Northern Neck southeast of Fredericksburg. He received a minor education and spent much of his childhood in Westmoreland County.

An illustrated map showing a marker for Fredericksburg Virginia

As a teenager and young adult, Weedon lived with his uncle in Stafford County, opposite Fredericksburg, until the onset of the French and Indian War. At just 21, Weedon became an ensign in Washington's Virginia Regiment, and spent much of the war on frontier outposts in Virginia and Pennsylvania.

Blowing the seeds of sedition

On the eve of the Revolution, one observer wrote that Weedon was “very active and zealous in blowing the seeds of sedition.” An ardent Patriot, in January 1776 Weedon received a commission as lieutenant colonel in the 3rd Virginia Regiment. The regiment served in Virginia for much of the spring and summer before joining the Continental Army in New York. Weedon participated in the latter stages of the New York Campaign and fought at Trenton in December.

An illustrated map showing a marker for Philadelphia

An Active Military Career

Weedon was promoted and took command of a brigade in Maj. Gen. Nathanael Greene's division.

An illustrated map showing a marker for Philadelphia and another for New York City

Late in the summer of 1777, British General Sir William Howe moved his army from New York to capture the American capital of Philadelphia.

An illustrated map showing a marker for Philadelphia and another for New York City

Washington and Howe clashed at Creek on September 11, west of the city. Howe managed to turn Washington's right flank, however, Weedon's brigade along with the rest of Greene's division fought a delaying action that allowed the rest of Washington's command to safely evacuate the field.

An illustrated map showing a marker for Philadelphia followed by a marker for the Battle of Germantown.

Less than a month later, Weedon fought at the Battle of

An illustrated map showing a marker for Philadelphia followed by a marker for Valley Forge.

Weedon spent the winter of 1777-78 at before leaving the army in a dispute with Virginia officers.

Lieutenant-Colonel Banastre Tarleton by Sir Joshua Reynolds, in the uniform of the British Legion, wearing a Tarleton helmet

By 1780, Weedon returned to the field as the British shifted their focus to the Southern colonies, raising militia units for Virginia's defense. When British Lt. Gen. Charles Cornwallis invaded in May 1781, Weedon cooperated with Maj. Gen. Marquis de Lafayette's troops, raising militia to support Lafayette and securing logistical assets in Fredericksburg.

He commanded a brigade in the Campaign and working with French allies, trapped Lt. Col. Banastre Tarleton's British force at Gloucester Point.

Image Credit: "Surrender of Lord Cornwallis" by John Trumbull is on display in the Rotunda of the US Capitol.

After the War

After the Revolution, Weedon returned to Fredericksburg where he continued to be active in civic duty including local politics, including serving as the mayor of Fredericksburg and president of the Virginia chapter the Society of the Cincinnati, a fraternal organization of Revolutionary War officers.

Weedon's former commander and brother-in-arms George Washington remarked in 1792 that George was "rather addicted to ease & pleasure," Weedon's long career in military, political, and civic service, was "very active and zealous" indeed.

Themes of the period
A Lasting Legacy

Valley Forge orderly book of General George Weedon of the Continental Army under command of General George Washington, in the campaign of 1777-1778

This book, produced from Weedon's orderly notes, details the events of the battles of Brandywine, Warren Tavern, Germantown, and Whitemarsh, where Washington was successful in driving Howe, with considerable loss, from the field. Weedon describes army life at the camps at Neshaminy, Wilmington, Pennypacker's Mills, Skippack, Whitemarsh, & Valley Forge. He writes about the kind of bread and other food available to the soldiers, the manner of drumming, the prevention of diseases caused by filth, and the celebration of victories.

Valley Forge orderly book of General George Weedon of the Continental Army under command of Genl. George Washington, in the campaign of 1777-8, describing the events of the Battles of Brandywine, Warren Tavern, Germantown, and Whitemarsh, and of the camps at Neshaminy, Wilmington, Pennypacker's Mills, Skippack, Whitemarsh, & Valley Forge.
View the entire book

Loading...