Couple reasons for choosing this old Colonial $30 note. First, the visitor center/ museum at Morristown has an exceptional collection of Revolutionary War artifacts: Washington’s cane, his inaugural sword, a Ferguson rifle (designed by the British commander killed at Kings Mountain), clothing, household items and numerous books and pamphlets, plus the original note above. I enjoyed the Cross garden, driving through Jockey’s Hollow (where the soldiers camped), the wooded hilltop at Fort Nonsense, and the tour of Washington’s HQ, but the detailed items on display are unique.

The war lasted 8 years, so Washington had as many winter camps and HQs, including at Longfellow’s House in Cambridge and at Valley Forge. But Washington spent three winters here in Morristown, early, mid (worst winter ever) and late war. New Jersey was central to his efforts in the north, with good roads, hills and provisions. Especially after the British Navy helped them take New York, New Jersey was critical to holding the colonies together. New Jersey is a beautiful and historic state, that is often in the shadow of New York. But, especially after Washington’s victories at Trenton and Princeton, New Jersey was the lynchpin of the colonies, and Morristown was at the crossroads of the revolution.

Which brings me to the second reason the note is important. The war dragged on far longer than most realize, and simply feeding and clothing 10,000 troops was a monumental task at the time. Our government was broke, divided, broke and out of money. Congress printed so many dollars, that they lost 70% of their value, and then they simply issued IOUs. Having to wait years for repayment, assuming we won, burdened people and drove some bankrupt. Hamilton cut his teeth for his future as Washington’s Treasury Secretary trying to administer the financial end of the war. Now the ‘full faith and credit’ of the United States is recognized internationally, but when the outcome of the Revolutionary War was in doubt, it took a great leap of faith to accept that dollar above, especially when the enemy was paying in actual gold and silver coins.

One of the key reasons we won the war was because the Marquis de Lafayette used his own money to join Washington’s army. The French noble was on a quest to avenge the death his father at the hands of the British, but the King hadn’t yet authorized direct military assistance. So Lafayette bought his own ship, and joined Washington’s army for free, even paying his staff, aides & junior officers out of his own pocket. Lafayette’s direct connections to the French monarchy helped convince France to join the war, and his negotiations with the balky French forces in Newport led to Washington’s strategic partnership with Rochambeau that helped end the war at Yorktown.

Washington had a knack for recognizing and inspiring talent, including von Steuben, Lafayette, and Hamilton. Those he mentored gave their all for him, and some grew resentful if they didn’t get the recognition they wanted. Benedict Arnold blamed Washington for not helping him enough after Arnold’s court-martial on a profiteering charge, leading Arnold to his infamous act of treason. Hamilton helped defeat a cabal of Washington’s rivals, but quit Washington’s service in a momentary quarrel over respect. Lafayette not only was devoted to Washington, but he helped bring our revolutionary ideals back to France, where he razed the Bastille and brought Washington one of the keys.

Washington’s leadership united our fractious states, overcoming deep distrust between many colonists. Which is why it came as such a shock to me when some of the tourists today interrupted the tour to propose alternate US flags, arguing (falsely) that the 16th Amendment (income taxes) wasn’t ratified and that Washington had created a religious flag (he didn’t) for the ships he sailed (he didn’t). The ranger was making a point about real slaves in actual slavery, when the nutter said that ‘we were all slaves but we didn’t know it’. Given how hard Washington worked to unify the original colonies and hold our country together, so that it could become the United States of America, I found it sad that selfish, misinformed and misguided citizens would be so clueless as to raise this nonsense where he once slept.