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Student Worksheet Packet

William Lee at Valley Forge: Presence, Invisibility, and the Revolutionary Record

Mount Vernon, VA

Grades 7-9·2 class periods

This lesson uses William Lee's presence at every major battle and camp of the Revolutionary War to examine who is and is not visible in the historical record. Students analyze how Lee appears — and does not appear — in portraits, letters, and official accounts of the Revolution, and what his story reveals about the construction of Revolutionary memory. The lesson asks students to use the absence of evidence as evidence itself, and to practice the historical thinking skill of reading against the grain of sources written by people with interests in what they recorded.

This Packet Includes

  • Learning Objectives & Essential Questions
  • 5 Primary Source Analysis Worksheets
  • 3 Reading & Activity Handouts
  • Assessment Quiz (5 questions)
Unit:William Lee at Valley Forge: Presence, Invisibility, and the Revolutionary Record — Lesson Overview
History is for Everyone
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Learning Objectives

By the end of this unit, you will be able to:

  1. Students will identify William Lee's documented presence throughout the Revolutionary War
  2. Students will analyze how enslaved people appear and are absent from Revolutionary War portraits and documents
  3. Students will evaluate what Washington's will reveals about the relationship between Lee and Washington
  4. Students will practice the historical skill of reading against the grain of primary sources

Essential Questions

Keep these questions in mind as you work through this packet:

  • How do we write history about people who left no documents of their own? What methods do historians use?
  • What does William Lee's presence at every major battle of the Revolution tell us about who fought in the Revolutionary War?
  • What does it mean to be present in history but invisible in the historical record?
Unit:William Lee at Valley Forge: Presence, Invisibility, and the Revolutionary Record — Primary Source Analysis
History is for Everyone
Name: Date: Period:
Primary Source 1 of 5
Document Information
DocumentThe Diaries of George Washington, 1748-1799 (6 vols.)
SourceUniversity Press of Virginia (Donald Jackson and Dorothy Twohig, eds.)
TypePRIMARY

Analysis Questions

Read the document carefully, then answer each question in complete sentences.

  1. Who created this source and why?

  2. When was this source created?

  3. What perspective does this source represent?

  4. What was happening when this was written?

  5. How might the author's position affect their account?

Reflection

How does this source connect to what happened in Mount Vernon, VA? What does it tell you about the people involved?

Unit:William Lee at Valley Forge: Presence, Invisibility, and the Revolutionary Record — Primary Source Analysis
History is for Everyone
Name: Date: Period:
Primary Source 2 of 5
Document Information
DocumentLund Washington to George Washington: Mount Vernon Management Letters, 1775-1783
SourceLibrary of Congress, George Washington Papers
TypePRIMARY
Lund Washington to George Washington: Mount Vernon Management Letters, 1775-1783

Lund Washington to George Washington: Mount Vernon Management Letters, 1775-1783

Analysis Questions

Read the document carefully, then answer each question in complete sentences.

  1. Who created this source and why?

  2. When was this source created?

  3. What perspective does this source represent?

  4. What was happening when this was written?

  5. How might the author's position affect their account?

Reflection

How does this source connect to what happened in Mount Vernon, VA? What does it tell you about the people involved?

Unit:William Lee at Valley Forge: Presence, Invisibility, and the Revolutionary Record — Primary Source Analysis
History is for Everyone
Name: Date: Period:
Primary Source 3 of 5
Document Information
DocumentMount Vernon Research Library and Collections
SourceMount Vernon Ladies' Association
TypeINSTITUTIONAL
Mount Vernon Research Library and Collections

Mount Vernon Research Library and Collections

Analysis Questions

Read the document carefully, then answer each question in complete sentences.

  1. Who created this source and why?

  2. When was this source created?

  3. What perspective does this source represent?

  4. What is the institution's mission?

  5. How does that mission shape the presentation?

Reflection

How does this source connect to what happened in Mount Vernon, VA? What does it tell you about the people involved?

Unit:William Lee at Valley Forge: Presence, Invisibility, and the Revolutionary Record — Primary Source Analysis
History is for Everyone
Name: Date: Period:
Primary Source 4 of 5
Document Information
DocumentMount Vernon Slave Inventories and Will of George Washington, 1799
SourceMount Vernon Ladies' Association / Fairfax County Court Records
TypePRIMARY

Analysis Questions

Read the document carefully, then answer each question in complete sentences.

  1. Who created this source and why?

  2. When was this source created?

  3. What perspective does this source represent?

  4. What was happening when this was written?

  5. How might the author's position affect their account?

Reflection

How does this source connect to what happened in Mount Vernon, VA? What does it tell you about the people involved?

Unit:William Lee at Valley Forge: Presence, Invisibility, and the Revolutionary Record — Primary Source Analysis
History is for Everyone
Name: Date: Period:
Primary Source 5 of 5
Document Information
DocumentThe Papers of George Washington Digital Edition
SourceUniversity of Virginia Press
TypeDATASET
The Papers of George Washington Digital Edition

The Papers of George Washington Digital Edition

Analysis Questions

Read the document carefully, then answer each question in complete sentences.

  1. Who created this source and why?

  2. When was this source created?

  3. What perspective does this source represent?

Reflection

How does this source connect to what happened in Mount Vernon, VA? What does it tell you about the people involved?

Unit:William Lee at Valley Forge: Presence, Invisibility, and the Revolutionary Record — Mount Vernon Event Timeline
History is for Everyone
Name: Date: Period:

Mount Vernon Event Timeline

timeline

Students place key events in chronological order and add details

# Mount Vernon Revolutionary Timeline


Instructions: Place the following events in order and add one detail about each.


  • [ ] Lund Washington Provisions British Warship HMS Savage
  • [ ] Washington Departs Mount Vernon for Continental Command
  • [ ] Hercules Escapes from Philadelphia Household
  • [ ] Washington's Will Provides Conditional Freedom
  • [ ] Enslaved Mount Vernon Workers Respond to Dunmore's Proclamation

---


| Event | Date | Significance |

|-------|------|-------------|

| | | |

| | | |

| | | |

Unit:William Lee at Valley Forge: Presence, Invisibility, and the Revolutionary Record — Primary Source Analysis
History is for Everyone
Name: Date: Period:

Primary Source Analysis

graphic organizer

Structured analysis of Revolutionary-era documents

# Primary Source Analysis Worksheet


## Source Information

  • Title: _________________
  • Author: _________________
  • Date: _________________
  • Type: _________________

## Observation

What do you notice? (List 3 things)

1.

2.

3.


## Reflection

What do you wonder? (List 2 questions)

1.

2.


## Analysis

What does this source tell us about Mount Vernon during the Revolution?


_______________________________________________


## Perspective

Whose voice is represented? Whose might be missing?


_______________________________________________

Unit:William Lee at Valley Forge: Presence, Invisibility, and the Revolutionary Record — Key Figures Profile
History is for Everyone
Name: Date: Period:

Key Figures Profile

worksheet

Research template for Revolutionary figures

# Revolutionary Figure Profile


## Basic Information

  • Name: _________________
  • Birth/Death Years: _________________
  • Occupation(s): _________________

## Role in the Revolution

### George Washington

Virginia planter and Continental Army commander-in-chief who owned and managed Mount Vernon's enslaved workforce. Absent from his estate for most of the war, he directed Lund Washington's management by correspondence and returned to find the plantation's human community shaped by eight years of wartime disruption.


My questions about this person:

1.

2.


### Martha Washington

Virginia widow who married Washington in 1759, bringing the Custis dower estate and its enslaved people into the household. Spent several winters at Continental Army camps supporting her husband and managing the social expectations of a commander's wife. Legal owner of the Custis dower slaves who could not be freed by Washington's will.


My questions about this person:

1.

2.



## Reflection

Which figure interests you most and why?


_______________________________________________

Unit:William Lee at Valley Forge: Presence, Invisibility, and the Revolutionary Record — Assessment
History is for Everyone
Name: Date: Period:

Mount Vernon in the American Revolution

Answer the following questions based on our study of Revolutionary history.

  1. 1.  What makes Mount Vernon significant in Revolutionary history?

  2. 2.  Primary sources are documents or objects created during the time period being studied.

  3. 3.  Name one event that occurred in Mount Vernon during the Revolutionary period and explain its significance.

    Answer:

  4. 4.  Why is it important to consider multiple perspectives when studying history?

  5. 5.  Describe one connection between this town and another Revolutionary-era town we discussed.

    Answer: