George Washington and the Ladies of Trenton: The New Jersey Women Who Feted a Hero and Then Disappeared from History

abstract: In April 1789, a group of mostly upper-class women welcomed George Washington to Trenton with a commemorative ode, a festive arch, and a banner that proclaimed, "The Defender of the Mothers will also Protect their Daughters." Although historians and visual artists have typically interpreted this occasion as a generic celebration of Washington's famed military and political achievements, these women commemorated something more specific—and less widely known. In 1776 and 1777, General Washington had publicly denounced rapes committed by the British and their allies in southern New Jersey and ordered his own troops to show "humanity and tenderness to women and children." In honoring Washington, this ceremony, with its carefully worded banner, referenced women's war experience and the poignantly intimate meaning of Washington's status as their "defender" and "protector." Washington and his contemporaries acknowledged the intended meaning of this unique welcome. In the changing political climate of the early Republic, however, historical memory elided the women and their message, making representations of the Trenton reception less about them and almost entirely about Washington. Abstract: In April 1789, a group of mostly upper-class women welcomed George Washington to Trenton with a commemorative ode, a festive arch, and a banner that proclaimed, "The Defender of the Mothers will also Protect their Daughters." Although historians and visual artists have typically interpreted this occasion as a generic celebration of Washington's famed military and political achievements, these women commemorated something more specific—and less widely known. In 1776 and 1777, General Washington had publicly denounced rapes committed by the British and their allies in southern New Jersey and ordered his own troops to show "humanity and tenderness to women and children." In honoring Washington, this ceremony with its carefully worded banner referenced women's war experience and the poignantly intimate meaning of Washington's status as their "defender" and "protector." Washington and his contemporaries acknowledged the intended meaning of this unique welcome. In the changing political climate of the early Republic, however, historical memory elided the women and their message, making representations of the Trenton reception less about them and almost entirely about Washington.