...Went up to Alexandria to the celebration of my birth day. Many manoeuvres were performed by the Uniform Corps and an elegant Ball & Supper at Night.
February 9, 1799, from The Diaries of George Washington.
The Birthnight Ball originated in Britain to commemorate and celebrate the birthday of the monarch each year. In the American colonies, balls or dancing assemblies were held annually. Following the Patriot victory in the Revolution, Americans continued this tradition. However, absent of a monarch, Americans turned to the next closest figure, President George Washington.
The first public celebration of Washington's birthday was at Valley Forge during the winter of 1778 on February 22. The Virginia Gazette referenced a ball in Williamsburg for Washington's birthday in its February 26, 1779 issue. The Virginia Herald and Fredericksburg Advertiser printed on February 19, 1780 that a birthday ball was held in Alexandria on February 11 in honor of Washington's birthday.
It should be noted that the discrepancies between the birth date of Washington are due to differences in the Julian and Gregorian calendar. The British empire switched from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar in 1752. On the Julian calendar Washington was born on February 11. The switch added eleven days to the calendar and therefore placed Washington's birth date on February 22. Despite this modification, celebrations continued on February 11 for many years.
Gadsby's Tavern
Anniversary Ball
THE Ladies of Alexandria and its vicinity on both sides of the Potomac, are respectfully invited to a BALL, to be held at Mr. Gadsby's Ball Room, on Friday Evenings, the 10th of this month, to celebrate the Anniversary of the birth of the President of the United States.
Gentlemen must provide themselves with tickets of admission, which may be had of Mr. Gadsby.
N.B. As the President's birth-day happens to fall on Saturday, it has been deemed proper to celebrate it on Friday to avoid any encroachment on the Sabbath. Alexandria, 7th Feb.
The Times and Alexandria Advertiser, February 7, 1797
1797
The first known celebration of a Birthnight Ball at Gadsby's was on February 10, 1797. Washington was unfortunately not in attendance as he was in Philadelphia still serving as President. The notice placed in The Times and Alexandria Advertiser on February 7, 1797 invited all "Ladies of Alexandria and its vicinity" as well as informed gentlemen where they could purchase tickets. Additionally, the notice clarified why the Ball was not on the traditional date of February 11- a religious conflict since the eleventh fell on a Saturday.
1798
Washington, enjoying his final years at Mount Vernon, returned to Alexandria for the annual Birthnight Ball. Gadsby's Tavern hosted the ball on February 12. As with the 1797 celebration, the date was moved from the eleventh due to religious conflicts. The Times and Alexandria Advertiser described the event in the February 13, 1798 issue as being, "ushered in by a discharge of cannon." Washington and his company left Gadsby's for the Union Tavern where they dined and offered a series of toasts.
1799
Two notices were placed in The Times and Alexandria Advertiser on February 9, 1799 detailing the upcoming activities for what would be the last Birthnight Ball Washington would attend. All "Silver Grays" were expected to meet at the Court House "to arrange matters for the celebration of Lieutenant General George Washington's Birth-Day." The Ball at Gadsby's, scheduled for Monday, February 11, was advertised for "the gentlemen of Alexandria and its vicinity." A committee of managers, unlike in past years, posted the last advertisement. The appointment of a planning committee suggests that the tradition of celebrating Washington's birth had taken root and would outlive Washington.
A ball was held at Gadsby's Tavern in November of 1799, and an invitation was sent to the Washingtons at Mount Vernon. Washington's response dated November 13, 1799 read in part:
Gentlemen- Mrs. Washington and myself have been honored with your polite invitation to the Assemblies of Alexandria this winter, and thank you for this mark of your attention. But, alas! our dancing days are no more...
On December 12, while riding in a snow storm Washington fell ill. He died two days later at Mount Vernon from complications resulting from quinsy (a throat infection).
The Birthnight Ball, however, did not end with the life of Washington. The Alexandria Gazette posted the following ad on February 18th, 1803:
The Gentlemen of Alexandria and its vicinity are respectfully informed, that an Assembly will be given at Gadsby's Hotel, on the 22d instant, in commemoration of the Nativity of Washington.
Based on newspaper records from the nineteenth century, Gadsby's Hotel, also known as the City Hotel, held the Birthnight Ball frequently until the outbreak of the Civil War in the 1860s.
In 1932, American Legion Post #22 celebrated the 200th anniversary of Washington's birth at Gadsby's by reenacting the 1799 Birthnight Ball. Although sporadically held for the next forty-four years, in 1976 the annual tradition of the Birthnight Ball resumed and continues each year at what is now Gadsby's Tavern Museum.
The Birthnight Banquet and Ball
Every year the Birthnight Banquet and Ball is held in the ballroom of Gadsby's Tavern Museum, 134 N. Royal Street, date and time to be announced. Advance tickets are required. Call Gadsby's at 703-838-4242 for more information about the Ball and about 18th century dance classes, or check the Gadsby's Tavern Museum Calendar for February.
George Washington Bicentennial Links
Part of a nationwide celebration in honor of our first President, these pages were created in 1999 to commemorate the anniversary of George Washington's death.
George Washington's Hometown | Following in Washington's Footsteps | Commemorating George Washington
Celebrating at the Birthnight Ball | George Washington and Alexandria History
