Changes

Washington returned to his beloved Mount Vernon, but his health continued to decline.  In 1798 he accepted appointment as nominal head of a new national army designed to fight the French in a threatened war. (President [[John Adams]] chose him as the one man who would command respect from all factions.)  His role was nominal, as Hamilton was in effective command.   

Washington returned to his beloved Mount Vernon, but his health continued to decline.  In 1798 he accepted appointment as nominal head of a new national army designed to fight the French in a threatened war. (President [[John Adams]] chose him as the one man who would command respect from all factions.)  His role was nominal, as Hamilton was in effective command.   

Washington died in 1799 from acute epiglottitis during an influenza epidemic. Attending physicians, including his personal physician [[James Craik]], could not agree whether his condition was cynanche, an inflammation of the throat that was believed to require powerful remedies, or something that would require less radical therapeutic interventions than those his physicians had prescribed.<ref>Ben Cohen, Ben. "The Death of George Washington (1732-99) and the History of Cynanche." ''Journal of Medical Biography'' 2005 13(4): 225-231. Issn: 0967-7720 </ref>  [[Tobias Lear]], Washington's personal secretary, reported that his last words were "Tis well."<ref>[http://www.mountvernon.org/george-washington/biography/washington-stories/tobias-lear-tells-the-tale-of-washingtons-death/ Tobias Lear Tells the Tale of Washington's Death]</ref>

Washington died in 1799 from acute epiglottitis during an influenza epidemic, and complications from extensive [[bloodletting]].<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=jgC36S_BdpwC&pg=PR17 Blood Work: A Tale of Medicine and Murder in the Scientific Revolution]</ref> Attending physicians, including his personal physician [[James Craik]], could not agree whether his condition was cynanche, an inflammation of the throat that was believed to require powerful remedies, or something that would require less radical therapeutic interventions than those his physicians had prescribed.<ref>Ben Cohen, Ben. "The Death of George Washington (1732-99) and the History of Cynanche." ''Journal of Medical Biography'' 2005 13(4): 225-231. Issn: 0967-7720 </ref>  [[Tobias Lear]], Washington's personal secretary, reported that his last words were "Tis well."<ref>[http://www.mountvernon.org/george-washington/biography/washington-stories/tobias-lear-tells-the-tale-of-washingtons-death/ Tobias Lear Tells the Tale of Washington's Death]</ref>

==Family and personality==

==Family and personality==