No, George Washington didn't have wooden teeth. Yes, he led the Siege of Boston

BOSTON (AP) — More than a decennary earlier helium became the country's archetypal president, George Washington was starring a captious run successful the aboriginal days of the American Revolution. The Siege of Boston was his archetypal run arsenic commander-in-chief of the Continental Army and, successful galore ways, acceptable the signifier for his subject and governmental successes — celebrated connected Presidents Day.

Following the Battles of Lexington and Concord, militias had pinned down the British successful Boston successful April 1775. The Continental Congress, recognizing the request for a much organized subject effort, selected Washington to pb the recently formed army.

The Siege of Boston and its significance

On this time 250 years ago, Washington would person been nearing the extremity of an astir yearlong siege that bottled up arsenic galore arsenic 11,000 British troops and hundreds much loyalists. The British were occupying Boston astatine the time, and the extremity of the siege was to unit them out.

A captious determination made by Washington was sending Henry Knox, a young bookseller, to Fort Ticonderoga successful New York to retrieve dozens of cannons. The cannons, transported hundreds of miles successful the dormant of winter, were yet utilized to occurrence connected British positions. That contributed to the determination by the British, facing dwindling supplies, to wantonness the metropolis by vessel connected March 17, 1776.

Historians reason that the British abandoning their positions, celebrated successful Boston arsenic Evacuation Day, escaped the metropolis of loyalists astatine a captious time, denied the British entree to an important larboard and gave patriots a immense morale boost.

“The occurrence of the Siege of Boston gave caller beingness and momentum to the Revolution,” Chris Beagan, the tract manager astatine Longfellow House successful Cambridge, a National Historic Site that served arsenic Washington's office during the American Revolution. “Had it failed, royal power of New England would person continued, and the Continental Army apt would person dissolved."

How the siege shaped Washington

The siege was besides a captious trial for Washington. A surveyor and farmer, Washington had been retired of the subject for astir 20 years aft commanding troops for the British during the French and Indian War. His palmy run ensured Washington remained the commander-in-chief for the remainder of the revolution.

Doug Bradburn, president of George Washington’s Mount Vernon, said Washington took the archetypal steps to creating a geographically divers service that included militiamen from Massachusetts to Virginia and, by the extremity of the war, a warring unit with important Black and Native American representation. It was the astir integrated subject until President Harry S. Truman’s desegregated the equipped forces successful 1948, helium said.

Washington, a enslaved proprietor who depended connected hundreds of slaves connected his Mount Vernon estate, was initially opposed to admitting formerly enslaved and escaped Black soldiers into the army. But abbreviated of men, Washington came to recognize “there are escaped Blacks who privation to enlist and helium needs them to support the British from breaking out” during the siege, Bradburn said.

Ridding Boston of the British besides turned Washington into 1 of the country's astir fashionable governmental figures.

“He comes to embody the origin successful a clip earlier you person a nation, earlier you person a Declaration of Independence, earlier you’re truly definite what is the extremity of this struggle,” Bradburn said. “He becomes the look of the revolutionary movement.”

Commanding the subject for much than 8 years besides prepared Washington for the presidency, Pulitzer Prize-winning subject historiographer Rick Atkinson said. “Perhaps astir important, it gave him a consciousness that Americans could and should beryllium a azygous people, alternatively than denizens of thirteen antithetic entities.”

Myths of Washington

His emergence to prominence besides led to plentifulness of myths astir Washington, galore which persist to this day.

One of the astir fashionable is the cherry histrion myth. It was invented by 1 of Washington's archetypal biographers, according to George Washington’s Mount Vernon, who created the communicative aft his death. Supposedly, a 6-year-old Washington took an ax to a cherry histrion and admitted arsenic overmuch erstwhile caught by his father, famously saying “I cannot archer a prevarication … I did chopped it with my hatchet."

The 2nd 1 is the woody teeth myth. It was rumored that Washington had woody dentures and scholars, good into the 20th century, were quoted arsenic saying his mendacious teeth were made from wood. Not true. He ne'er wore woody dentures, alternatively utilizing those with ivory, golden and adjacent quality teeth.

More than a statesman

During his lifetime, Washington had myriad pursuits. He was known arsenic an innovative farmer, according to the George Washington’s Mount Vernon, and an advocator for Western expansion, buying up to 50,000 acres of onshore successful respective Mid-Atlantic states. After returning to Mount Vernon, helium built a whiskey distillery that became 1 of the largest successful the country.

His transportation to slavery was complicated. He advocated for ending slavery, and his volition called for freeing each the slaves helium owned aft the decease of his wife, Martha Washington. But helium didn't ain each the slaves astatine Mount Vernon truthful helium couldn't legally escaped each of them.

Celebrating Presidents Day

For fans of George Washington, Presidents Day is their Super Bowl. Originated to observe Washington's birthday, which falls connected Feb. 22, the vacation has go associated with bully deals astatine the mall. Still, determination are plentifulness of places celebrating each things Washington connected this day.

There volition beryllium a wreath-laying ceremonial astatine Washington's tomb astatine Mount Vernon, and determination volition beryllium a Continental Army encampment. There volition beryllium a parade honoring Washington successful Alexandria, Virginia, and, successful Laredo, Texas, a monthlong solemnisation features a carnival, pageants, an aerial amusement and jalapeno festival.

Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This worldly whitethorn not beryllium published, broadcast, rewritten oregon redistributed without permission.