George Toasts George? (It’s Complicated): 'G.R.' Mugs and the Changing Identity of the Washington Family from Loyal Brits to Revolutionaries

Summary

The presence of ‘G.R.’ drinking vessels on mid-eighteenth century archaeological sites in Virginia is typically nothing to write home about… unless the sites in question are associated with individuals who were to become significant figures in the American Revolution. ‘G.R.’ vessels have been recovered from George Washington’s boyhood home at Ferry Farm, and Kenmore, his sister Betty’s home with her husband Fielding Lewis, a financier of the Revolution.  Like most colonists, they viewed themselves as loyal subjects of the British Crown and, prior to the war, would have toasted their monarch.  When their identity transitioned from English to American, one would think their ceramics would follow suit. However, a close examination of these two sites indicates that this may not have been the case.  This paper examines the transition of the Washington family’s national identity with an eye toward how it was -or was not- reflected in their ceramic choices.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for Historical Archaeology 2018   •
• Ceramics in the City, the Countryside, and the Sea: Pottery, Politics, and Archaeology

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 575