Last updated: February 17, 2026
Article
Inside Daily Life at Washington’s Headquarters in Cambridge, Massachusetts
Courtesy of the National Art Gallery, Washington
When most people picture George Washington at the dawn of the American Revolutionary War, they imagine the commander-in-chief on horseback, directing troops with authority and resolve on the battlefield.
Washington is rarely pictured worrying over laundry, household expenses, or whether there was enough firewood to keep the house warm. Yet command also required a steady household, where the order of daily life supported the order of an army.
For nine months—from July 1775 to April 1776—Washington lived and worked inside the mansion now known as Longfellow House––Washington’s Headquarters National Historic Site on Brattle Street in Cambridge, transforming it into the first long-term headquarters of the Continental Army.
Today, the National Park Service preserves this space. Behind its elegant Georgian façade once bustled not just military activity, but the hum of a working household that required cooks, laundresses, a steward, and attendants to keep it running smoothly.
A House Transformed
The house originally belonged to the loyalist Vassall family before being confiscated by colonial forces. Prior to Washington’s arrival the house was used as the quarters of Colonel John Glover and the 21st Massachusetts Regiment from Marblehead.
Before the Marblehead regiment was to leave the Vassall mansion, they were recorded in Washington’s expense notebook as paid in cash for cleaning the house. The cleaning occurred over eight days to render the residence habitable. When Washington arrived, the stately mansion had only the bare essentials—some furniture, fireplaces, and kitchen tools. Quickly, its rooms were repurposed: the dining room or writing room chamber for war strategy, offices and bedrooms filled with military staff, and storerooms overflowed with supplies.
To make the home livable, Washington relied on local networks. Families in the area lent furniture, while merchants supplied food, candles, crockery, and firewood. Though the home served as a military nerve center, Washington maintained the civility of a gentleman’s household. Meals were formal, visitors were expected to dress properly, and appearances reflected both leadership and order.
The Workforce Behind the General
Running this household required not only military discipline but the labor of dozens of people—paid and unpaid.
William Lee (c. 1752-1810)
Enslaved Valet/Body Servant to General Washington
William Lee was one of the enslaved men Washington brought with him from Virginia to Cambridge in 1775. At headquarters, Lee took on highly visible and trusted duties, as valet he assisted Washington with dressing, grooming, and maintaining personal equipment. Lee also accompanied Washington on horseback, sometimes riding beside him on inspections or errands.
Lee remained with Washington throughout the Revolutionary War and became one of his most recognized enslaved attendants. His presence in Cambridge marked the beginning of nearly a decade of military service to Washington in the field.
Timothy Austin (c. 1718-1787)
Steward of Washington’s Headquarters
Timothy Austin was a leather-dresser by trade and a deacon of the First Church in Charlestown. After the burning of Charlestown during the Battle of Bunker Hill in June 1775, Austin and his family became refugees. He soon found work in Cambridge as the steward to Washington’s headquarters.
Courtesy of the Library of Congress
Austin’s role as steward is documented in Washington’s expense accounts, which show that he managed food purchases, supervised staff payments, and submitted regular account summaries.
He had direct financial responsibility for the household and worked directly with Washington’s aides. He was paid £6 per month for his services and continued working until Washington’s departure from Cambridge in April 1776. After the spring of 1776 Austin returned to Charlestown and resumed his work as a deacon.
Lydia Austin (c. 1727-1800)
Housekeeper
Lydia Austin, wife of Timothy Austin, also worked within the household during Washington’s time in Cambridge. Though few records survive that directly describe her tasks, her presence is documented in pay receipts and referenced alongside her husband’s role. She likely helped oversee domestic operations, from meal preparation, cleaning and organizing supplies for the growing staff. As the wife of the steward, Lydia Austin would have had some authority over other women working in the household, providing an internal structure within the domestic staff.
Mary Austin (c. 1745-after 1797)
Cook and Domestic Assistant
Mary Austin, daughter of Timothy Austin and his first wife, Mary (Trumbull) Austin, worked alongside her father and stepmother at headquarters. She likely cooked meals, helped with washing and food storage, and managed housekeeping tasks.
Edward Hunt
Cook (July-mid-September 1775)
Edward Hunt was paid by Washington for cooking services beginning in July 1775. He appears frequently in Washington’s account books for food-related tasks and purchases. Hunt received about one to three shillings every few weeks until mid-September, when he was paid in full for his service in the kitchen by the steward Timothy Austin.
Elizabeth Hunt
Laundress or Washerwoman (March 1776)
Elizabeth Hunt is likely associated with Edward Hunt, the short-term cook at headquarters. It is not known if they were spouses or connected through other familial ties. She appears once in Washington’s financial records in March 1776, listed as receiving payment for laundry service.
Her name appears too briefly to draw broader conclusions, but her presence near the end of Washington’s time in Cambridge places her among the staff who help close down operations.
Dinah
Cook (August 1775-April 1776)
Dinah’s first name appears in financial records from August 1775 through April 1776. She likely assumed cooking responsibilities after Edward Hunt’s departure and remained in the role until Washington left Cambridge. Dinah managed her own employment directly, as indicated by financial documentation, which suggests that she was a free Black woman working independently during Washington’s time in Cambridge.
There is a strong possibility that the Dinah paid for her work in Washington’s household was the same Dinah who had been enslaved in the house by the Vassall family. While other individuals enslaved by the Vassalls, such as Anthony and Cuba Vassall and their family, claimed their liberty by establishing a separate household, Dinah asserted hers by being paid for her labor.
Mrs. Morrison
Kitchen Worker (October-December 1775)
Mrs. Morrison appears in Washington’s account book for kitchen work between October and December 1775. She was likely hired to support the increasing domestic demands of the headquarters household during the fall and early winter.
Mary Kettel
Laundress (August 1775-April 1776)
Mary Kettel was paid for washing linens and towels at headquarters in August 1775. The surname “Kettle” was very common among refugees from Charlestown, making it difficult to fully confirm which Mary Kettle worked at Headquarters. Unlike other washerwomen working at Headquarters, Mary Kettle was paid in a lump sum which might suggest that she was also living at headquarters and paid at the end of her service.
Elizabeth “Eliza” Chapman (c. 1758-1831)
Housemaid/Assistant (October 1775-April 1776)
Eliza Chapman was a teenager when she fled Charlestown following the Battle of Bunker Hill. She was hired at headquarters in October 1775 and worked there through April 1776. Her duties likely included housecleaning, kitchen help, and possibly laundry.
In 1784, she married Ozias Goodwin, a sea captain from Hartford, Connecticut who had relocated to Boston sometime after the end of the war. They lived in Boston for the rest of their lives, and left a lasting legacy carried on through their children, born between 1787 and 1799.
Margaret Thomas
Seamstress (February 1776-until the end of the war)
Margaret Thomas, a free Black woman, was employed as a seamstress at Washington’s Cambridge headquarters beginning in February 1776. She was paid by the steward, Timothy Austin for her work for the amount of 7 shillings and 21/4 pence.
Thomas was probably another refugee from Charlestown. Ater the fire, a Black woman named Margaret Thomas had claimed a loss of £68 9s for her house and belongings there. Like other Charlestown residents, she sought safety and income in Cambridge.
While at headquarters she met William Lee, Washington’s enslaved valet, the two quickly took a liking to each other which ultimately resulted in their marriage. Thomas appears to have traveled with Washington's headquarters during the first years of the war - she was present at Valley Forge - and perhaps throughout. Following the war she and William Lee remained married but were separated as Lee returned to Mount Vernon with Washington and Thomas returned to Philadelphia. In 1784, Washington wrote:
The Mulatto fellow William who has been with me all the War is attached (married he says) to one of his own colour a free woman, who during the War was also of my family—She has been in an infirm state of health for sometime, and I had conceived that the connection between them had ceased—but I am mistaken—they are both applying to me to get her here, and tho’ I never wished to see her more, yet I cannot refuse his request (if it can be compiled with on reasonable terms) as he has lived with me so long & followed my fortunes through the War with fidelity
Peter
Stable Worker
A man named Peter was mentioned in Timothy Austin’s accounts as being paid for working in the stables on the grounds of the Vassall estate. Peter was most likely a Black man who could have already been associated with the Vassall estate prior to Washington’s arrival in Cambridge.
More Than a Military Headquarters
Washington’s Cambridge headquarters was not just a place where strategies were drawn, and orders issued; it was a household held together by many hands. The cooks who kept the fire going, the laundresses who tended the linens, the seamstress who repaired worn garments, and the steward who kept order, all made it possible for Washington to lead.
The Revolution rested on these often-unseen labors. Each individual alike shaped the daily life of this home, their efforts woven into a larger struggle for independence. Their names appear in glimpses—wages paid, tasks noted—small traces of indispensable roles.
To walk through this house today is to encounter those echoes. It is to be reminded that history is not built by leaders alone, but also by the steady, necessary work of many—work that endures, even if it does not always leave its mark in stone or ink.
Sources
Bell, JL. George Washington's Headquarters and Home, Cambridge, Massachusetts. National Park Service, 2012. https://irma.nps.gov/DataStore/Reference/Profile/2240286
DeAngelis, Caitlin, Carla D. Martin, Rayshauna Gray, Aabid Allibhai, and Eshe Sherley. Black History at the Vassall Estate: Special History Study. National Park Service, 2025. https://doi.org/10.36967/2315759
Washington, George. George Washington Papers, Series 2, Letterbooks 1754 to 1799: Letterbook 11,- Feb. 5, 1785. - February 5, 1785, 1778. Manuscript/Mixed Material. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/item/mgw2.011/
Washington, George. George Washington Papers, Series 5, Financial Papers: Revolutionary War Cashbook of Household Expenses, July - October. 07-/10, 1775. Manuscript/Mixed Material. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/item/mgw500025/