Was Washington Assassinated? Poem by Paul Hartal

On a December day of 1799,
the 67 year old George Washington
mounted his horse to survey his farms.
It was an early winter day
with snow and sleet, but the first president
of the US, who retired from office two years
earlier, was still a strong and robust man
in good health.

Upon return to home from the sleety weather,
Washington found a group of guest waiting for him.
He decided to see them right away,
without changing his wet clothes.

On the following day Washington complained
of soar throat, but still went out
in arctic weather to mark trees for cutting.

He soon developed high fever, chest congestion
and had difficulty to breathe.
In accordance with the prevalent practice
of the "heroic cures" of the era,
Washington asked his estate overseer,
George Rawlins, to remove about a pint of blood
from his feverish body.

Martha, Washington's wife, was deeply worried.
She summoned George's personal physicians
and friends, Dr. James Craik
and Dr. G. Richard Brown for consultation.
The two doctors were also joined
by a third medicine man, Dr. Elisha C. Dick.

The doctors diagnosed quinsy,
a severe inflammation of the throat,
with an abscess around the tonsils.
And they wanted to perform immediately
more bloodletting.

Martha felt danger and objected.
However, the doctors insisted that removing blood
was absolutely necessary and they promptly
began the procedure. Opening Washington's veins
with their two-edged surgical lancets,
the physicians removed about 2.4 liters blood,
or 40 % of his total blood volume,
in less than a day.

And thus, the first American president died
on December 14,1799, of a hypovolemic shock,
resulting from the enormous blood loss.
Although there is no evidence that his
doctors murdered Washington,
their "heroic medicine", killed him
nevertheless.

And in spite of the widespread medical routine
of bloodletting in the 18th century,
an established practice of mainstream medicine
in that time, the death of George Washington,
even if not viewed as a case of intentional killing,
it still appears to be
a case of grave malpractice,
probably also by the standards of those days,
since his doctors had completely failed
to use reasonable care and professional judgment.