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George Washington (February 22, 1732[b][c]– December 14, 1799) was an American political leader, military general, statesman, and Founding Father who also served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. He led Patriotforces to victory in the nation's War of Independence, and he presided at the Constitutional Convention of 1787 which established the new federal government. He has been called the "Father of His Country" for his manifold leadership in the formative days of the new nation.Washington received his initial military training and command with the Virginia Regiment during the French and Indian War. He was later elected to the Virginia House of Burgesses and was named a delegate to the Continental Congress, where he was appointed Commanding General of the nation's Continental Army. Washington led American forces, allied with France, in the defeat and surrender of the British at Yorktown, and resigned his commission in 1783.Washington played a key role in the adoption and ratification of the Constitution and was then elected president by the Electoral College in the first two elections. He implemented a strong, well-financed national government while remaining impartial in a fierce rivalry between cabinet members Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton. During the French Revolution, he proclaimed a policy of neutrality while sanctioning the Jay Treaty. To pacify the South and preserve national unity, the president and Congress passed legal measures that protected slavery. He set enduring precedents for the office of president, including the title "President of the United States", and his Farewell Address is widely regarded as a pre-eminent statement on republicanism.Washington utilized slave labor, owning and trading African American slaves, but he became troubled with the institution of slavery and freed them in his 1799 will. He endeavored to assimilate Native Americans into Western culture, but responded to their hostility in times of war. He was a member of the Anglican Church and the Freemasons, and he urged tolerance for all religions in his roles as general and president. Upon his death, he was eulogized as "first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen." He has been memorialized by monuments, art, geographical locations, stamps, and currency, and many scholars and polls rank him among the top American presidents.Contents1Early life (1732–1752)2Colonial military career (1752–1758)2.1French and Indian War3Marriage, civilian, and political life (1759–1775)4American Revolution (1765-1783)5Commander in chief (1775–1783)5.1Siege of Boston5.2Battle of Long Island5.3Crossing the Delaware, Trenton, and Princeton5.4Brandywine, Germantown, and Saratoga5.5Valley Forge and Monmouth5.6West Point espionage5.7Southern theater and Yorktown5.8Demobilization and resignation6Early republic (1783–1789)6.1Return to Mount Vernon6.2Constitutional Convention 17876.3First presidential election7Presidency (1789–1797)7.1Cabinet and executive departments7.2Domestic issues7.2.1National Bank7.2.2Jefferson–Hamilton feud7.2.3Whiskey Rebellion7.3Foreign affairs7.4Indian affairs7.5Second term7.6Farewell Address8Retirement (1797–1799)8.1Final days9Burial and aftermath10Personal life10.1Religion and Freemasonry11Slavery12Historical reputation and legacy12.1Memorials12.1.1Places and monuments12.1.2Currency and postage13See also14References14.1Notes14.2Citations14.3Bibliography15External linksEarly life (1732–1752)Further information: Ancestry of George Washington and British AmericaWashington's great-grandfather John Washington immigrated in 1656 from Sulgrave, England to the British Colony of Virginiawhere he accumulated 5,000 acres (2,000 ha) of land, including Little Hunting Creek on the Potomac River. George Washington was born February 22, 1732 at Popes Creek in Westmoreland County, Virginia,[4]and was the first of six children of Augustineand Mary Ball Washington.[5]His father was a justice of the peace and a prominent public figure who had three additional children from his first marriage to Jane Butler.[6]The family moved to Little Hunting Creek, then to Ferry Farm near Fredericksburg, Virginia. When Augustine died in 1743, Washington inherited Ferry Farm and ten slaves; his older half-brother Lawrence inherited Little Hunting Creek and renamed it Mount Vernon.[7]Washington did not have the formal education that his older brothers received at Appleby Grammar School in England, but he did learn mathematics, trigonometry, and surveying, and he was talented in draftsmanship and map-making. By early adulthood, he was writing with "considerable force" and "precision."[8]Washington often visited Mount Vernon and Belvoir, the plantation that belonged to Lawrence's father-in-law William Fairfax, which fueled ambition for the lifestyle of the planter aristocracy. Fairfax became Washington's patron and surrogate father, and Washington spent a month in 1748 with a team surveying Fairfax's Shenandoah Valley property.[9]He received a surveyor's license the following year from the College of William & Mary; Fairfax appointed him surveyor of Culpeper County, Virginia, and he thus familiarized himself with the frontier region. He resigned from the job in 1750 and had bought almost 1,500 acres (600 ha) in the Valley, and he owned 2,315 acres (937 ha) by 1752.[10]In 1751, Washington made his only trip abroad when he accompanied Lawrence to Barbados, hoping that the climate would cure his brother's tuberculosis.[11]Washington contracted smallpox during that trip, which immunized him but left his face slightly scarred.[12]Lawrence died in 1752, and Washington leased Mount Vernon from his widow; he inherited it outright after her death in 1761.[13]Colonial military career (1752–1758)Lawrence's service as adjutant general of the Virginia militia inspired Washington to seek a commission, and Virginia's Lieutenant Governor Robert Dinwiddie appointed him as a major in December 1752 and as commander of one of the four militia districts. The British and French were competing for control of the Ohio Valley at the time, the British building forts along the Ohio River and the French doing likewise, between Lake Erie and the Ohio River.[14]In October 1753, Dinwiddie appointed Washington as a special envoy to demand that the French vacate territory which the British had claimed.[d]Dinwiddie also appointed him to make peace with the Iroquois Confederacy and to gather intelligence about the French forces.[16]Washington met with Half-King Tanacharison and other Iroquois chiefs at Logstown to secure their promise of support against the French, and his party reached the Ohio River in November. They were intercepted by a French patrol and escorted to Fort Le Boeuf where Washington was received in a friendly manner. He delivered the British demand to vacate to French commander Saint-Pierre, but the French refused to leave. Saint-Pierre gave Washington his official answer in a sealed envelope after a few days' delay, and he gave Washington's party food and extra winter clothing for the trip back to Virginia.[17]Washington completed the precarious mission in 77 days in difficult winter conditions and achieved a measure of distinction when his report was published in Virginia and London.[18]French and Indian WarMain articles: French and Indian War, George Washington in the French and Indian War, and Seven Years' WarIn February 1754, Dinwiddie promoted Washington to lieutenant colonel and second-in-command of the 300-strong Virginia Regiment, with orders to confront French forces at the Forks of the Ohio.[19]Washington set out for the Forks with half of the regiment in April but soon learned that a French force of 1,000 had begun construction of Fort Duquesne there. In May, Washington had set up a defensive position at Great Meadows when he learned that the French had made camp 7 miles (11 km) away. Washington decided to take the offensive in pursuit of the French contingent.[20]Lt. Col. Washington holding night council at Fort NecessityThe French detachment proved to be only about 50 men, so Washington advanced on May 28 with a small force of Virginians and Indian allies to ambush them.[21][e]What took place was disputed, but French forces were killed outright with muskets and hatchets. French commander Joseph Coulon de Jumonville, who carried a diplomatic message for the British to evacuate, was mortally wounded in the battle. French forces found Jumonville and some of his men dead and scalped and assumed that Washington was responsible.[23]Washington placed blame on his translator for not communicating the French intentions.[24]Dinwiddie congratulated Washington for his victory over the French.[25]The "French and Indian War" was ignited—which later became part of the larger Seven Years' War.[26]The full Virginia Regiment joined Washington at Fort Necessity the following month with news that he had been promoted to command of the regiment and to colonel upon the death of the regimental commander. The regiment was reinforced by an independent company of 100 South Carolinians, led by Captain James Mackay, whose royal commission outranked Washington, and a conflict of command ensued. On July 3, a French force attacked with 900 men, and the ensuing battle ended in Washington's surrender.[27]In the aftermath, Colonel James Innes took command of intercolonial forces, the Virginia Regiment was divided, and Washington offered a captaincy which he refused, with resignation of his commission.[28]Washington the SoldierPainting of Lt. Col. Washington on horseback during the Battle of the Monongahela — Reǵnier, 1834In 1755, Washington served voluntarily as an aide to General Edward Braddock, who led a British expedition to expel the French from Fort Duquesne and the Ohio Country.[29]On Washington's recommendation, Braddock split the army into one main column and a lightly equipped "flying column".[30]Suffering from a severe case of dysentery, Washington was left behind, and when he rejoined Braddock at Monongahela, the French and their Indiann allies ambushed the divided army. The British suffered two-thirds casualties, including the mortally wounded Braddock. Under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Gage, Washington, still very ill, rallied the survivors and formed a rear guard, which allowed the remnants of the force to disengage and retreat.[31]During the engagement he had two horses shot from under him, and his hat and coat were bullet-pierced.[32]His conduct under fire redeemed his reputation among critics of his command in the Battle of Fort Necessity,[33]but he was not included by the succeeding commander Colonel Thomas Dunbar in planning subsequent operations.[34]The Virginia Regiment was reconstituted in August 1755, and Dinwiddie appointed Washington its commander, again with the colonial rank of colonel. Washington clashed over seniority almost immediately, this time with John Dagworthy, another captain of superior royal rank, who commanded a detachment of Marylanders at the regiment's headquarters in Fort Cumberland.[35]Washington, impatient for an offensive against Fort Duquesne, was convinced Braddock would have granted him a royal commission, and pressed his case in February 1756 with Braddock's successor, William Shirley, and again in January 1757 with Shirley's successor, Lord Loudoun. Shirley ruled in Washington's favor only in the matter of Dagworthy; Loudoun humiliated Washington, refused him a royal commission and agreed only to relieve him of the responsibility of manning Fort Cumberland.[36]In 1758, the Virginia Regiment was assigned to Britain's Forbes Expedition to take Fort Duquesne.[37][f]Washington disagreed with General John Forbes’ tactics and chosen route.[39]Forbes nevertheless made Washington a brevet brigadier general and gave him command of one of the three brigades that would assault the fort. The French abandoned the fort and the valley before the assault was launched, with Washington seeing only a friendly-fire incident which left 14 dead and 26 injured. The war lasted another four years, but Washington resigned his commission and returned to Mount Vernon.[40]Under Washington, the Virginia Regiment had defended 300 miles (480 km) of frontier against 20 Indian attacks in 10 months.[41]He increased the professionalism of the regiment as it increased from 300 to 1,000 men, and Virginia's frontier population suffered less than other colonies. Some historians have said this was Washington's "only unqualified success" during the war.[42]Though he failed to realize a royal commission, he gained valuable knowledge of British tactics, self-confidence, and leadership skills. The destructive competition Washington witnessed among colonial politicians fostered his later support of strong central government.[43]Marriage, civilian, and political life (1759–1775)Colonel George Washington, by Charles Willson Peale, 1772On January 6, 1759, Washington, at age 26, married Martha Dandridge Custis, the 28 year-old widow of wealthy plantation owner Daniel Parke Custis. The marriage took place at Martha's estate; She was intelligent and gracious, and experienced in managing a planter's estate, and the couple created a happy marriage.[44]They raised John Parke Custis and Martha Parke (Patsy) Custis, children from her previous marriage, and later their grandchildren Eleanor Parke Custis and George Washington Parke Custis. Washington's 1751 bout with smallpox is thought to have rendered him sterile, and they lamented the fact that they had no children together.[45]They moved to Mount Vernon, near Alexandria, where he took up life as a planter of tobacco and wheat and emerged as a political figure.[46]The marriage gave Washington control over Martha's one-third dower interest in the 18,000-acre (7,300 ha) Custis estate, and he managed the remaining two-thirds for Martha's children; the estate also included 84 slaves. He became one of Virginia's wealthiest men and increased his social standing.[47]At Washington's urging, Governor Lord Botetourt fulfilled Dinwiddie's 1754 promise of land bounties to all volunteer militia during the French and Indian War.[48]In late 1770, Washington inspected the lands in the Ohio and Great Kanawha regions, and he engaged surveyor William Crawford to subdivide it. Crawford allotted 23,200 acres (9,400 ha) to Washington; Washington told the veterans that their land was hilly and unsuitable for farming, and he agreed to purchase 20,147 acres (8,153 ha), leaving some feeling that they had been duped.[49][50]He also doubled the size of Mount Vernon to 6,500 acres (2,600 ha) and increased its slave population to more than 100 by 1775.[51]As a respected military hero and large landowner, Washington held local offices and was elected to the Virginia provincial legislature, representing Frederick County in the House of Burgesses for seven years beginning in 1758.[51]He plied the voters with beer, brandy, and other beverages, although he was absent while serving on the Forbes Expedition.[52]He won election with roughly 40 percent of the vote, defeating three other candidates with the help of several local supporters. He rarely spoke in his early legislative career, but he became a prominent critic of Britain's taxation and mercantilist policies in the 1760s.[53]Martha Washingtonbased on a 1757 portrait by John WollastonBy occupation Washington was a planter, and he imported luxuries and other goods from England and paid for them by exporting tobacco.[54]A poor tobacco market in 1764 left him £1,800 in debt, so he diversified and monitored his finances.[55]He changed Mount Vernon's primary cash crop from tobacco to wheat, and further expanded operations to include flour milling, fishing, and other pursuits.[56]Washington took time for leisure with fox hunting, fishing, dances, theater, cards, backgammon, and billiards,[57]Washington soon was counted among the political and social elite in Virginia. From 1768 to 1775, he invited some 2,000 guests to his Mount Vernon estate, mostly those whom he considered "people of rank". He became more politically active in 1769, presenting legislation in the Virginia Assembly to establish an embargo on goods from Great Britain.[58]Washington's stepdaughter Patsy Custis suffered from epileptic attacks from age 12, and she died in his arms in 1773. The following day, he wrote to Burwell Bassett: "It is easier to conceive, than to describe, the distress of this Family".[59]He canceled all business activity and remained with Martha every night for three months.[60].American Revolution (1765-1783)Further information: American Revolution, American Revolutionary War, and George Washington in the American RevolutionWashington played a central role before and during the American Revolution. His disdain for the British military had begun when he was abashedly passed over for promotion into the Regular Army. He was opposed to the continuing taxes imposed by the British Parliament on the Colonies without proper representation.[61]He and other colonists were also angered by the Royal Proclamation of 1763 which banned American settlement west of the Allegheny Mountains and protected the British fur trade.[62]Washington believed that the Stamp Act of 1765 was an "Act of Oppression", and he celebrated its repeal the following year.[g][64]In March 1766, Parliament passed the Declaratory Act asserting that Parliamentary law superseded colonial law.[65]Washington helped to lead widespread protests against the Townshend Acts passed by Parliament in 1767, and he introduced a proposal in May 1769 drafted by George Mason which called Virginians to boycott English goods; the Acts were repealed in 1770.[66]Parliament sought to punish Massachusetts colonists for their role in the Boston Tea Party in 1774 by passing the Coersive Acts, which Washington referred to as "an Invasion of our Rights and Privileges".[67]He said Americans must not submit to acts of tyranny since "custom and use shall make us as tame and abject slaves, as the blacks we rule over with such arbitrary sway".[68]That July, he and George Mason drafted a list of resolutions for the Fairfax County committee which Washington chaired, and the committee adopted the Fairfax Resolves calling for a Continental Congress.[69]On August 1, Washington attended the First Virginia Convention where he was selected as a delegate to the First Continental Congress.[70]As tensions rose in 1774, he assisted in the training of county militias in Virginia and organized enforcement of the Continental Associationboycott of British goods instituted by the Congress.[71]The American Revolutionary War began on April 19, 1775 with the Battles of Lexington and Concord and the Siege of Boston.[72]The colonists were divided over breaking away from British rule and split into two factions: Patriots who rejected British rule, and Loyalists who desired to remain subject to the British King.[73]General Thomas Gagewas commander of British forces in America at the beginning of the war.[74]Upon hearing the shocking news of the onset of war, Washington was "sobered and dismayed",[75]and he hastily departed Mount Vernon on May 4, 1775 to join the Continental Congress in Philadelphia.[76]Commander in chief (1775–1783)Further information: Military career of George WashingtonGeneral WashingtonCommander of the Continental ArmyCharles Willson Peale (1776)Congress created the Continental Army on June 14, 1775, and Samuel Adams and John Adams nominated Washington to become its commander in chief. Washington was chosen over John Hancock because of his military experience and the belief that a Virginian would better unite the colonies. He was considered an incisive leader who kept his "ambition in check."[77]He was unanimously elected commander in chief by Congress the next day.[78]Washington appeared before Congress in uniform and gave an acceptance speech on June 16, declining a salary—though he was later reimbursed expenses. He was commissioned on June 19 and was roundly praised by Congressional delegates, including John Adams who proclaimed that he was the man best suited to lead and unite the colonies.[79]Congress chose his primary staff officers, including Major General Artemas Ward, Adjutant General Horatio Gates, Major General Charles Lee, Major General Philip Schuyler, Major General Nathanael Greene, Colonel Henry Knox, and Colonel Alexander Hamilton.[80]Washington was impressed by Colonel Benedict Arnold and gave him responsibility for invading Canada. He also engaged French and Indian War compatriot Brigadier General Daniel Morgan. Henry Knox also impressed Adams with ordnance knowledge; Washington promoted him to colonel and chief of artillery.[81]Siege of BostonMain article: Siege of BostonWashington taking command of the Continental Army, just before the SiegeEarly in 1775, in response to the growing rebellious movement, including the Boston Tea Party, Parliament sent British troops, commanded by General Thomas Gage, to occupy Boston, disband the local provincial government, and quell the growing state of rebellion. The British set up fortifications about the city, making it impervious to attack. In response, various state militias surrounded the city and effectively trapped the British, resulting in a standoff.[82]As Washington headed for Boston, word of his march preceded him, and he was greeted by local officials and statesmen, gradually becoming a symbol of the patriot cause.[83][h]Upon arrival on July 2, 1775, two weeks after the patriot defeat at nearby Bunker Hill, he set up his Cambridge, Massachusetts headquarters and inspected the new army there, only to find an undisciplined and badly outfitted militia.[84]After consultation, he initiated Benjamin Franklin’s suggested reforms—drilling the soldiers and imposing strict discipline, floggings, and incarceration.[85]Washington ordered his officers to identify the skills of recruits to ensure military effectiveness, while removing incompetent officers.[86]He petitioned Gage, his former superior, to release captured Patriot officers from prison and treat them humanely.[87]In October 1775, King George III declared that the colonies were in open rebellion, relieved General Gage of command for his incompetence, and replaced him with General William Howe as acting commander.[88]In June 1775, Congress ordered an invasion of Canada, led by Benedict Arnold who, despite Washington’s strong objection, drew volunteers from the latter’s force during the Siege of Boston, . The move on Quebec failed, the American forces were reduced to less than half, and retreated.[89]The Continental Army, further diminished by expiring short-term enlistments, and by January 1776 was reduced by half to 9,600 men, had to be supplemented with militia, and was joined by Knox with heavy artillery, captured from Fort Ticonderoga.[90]When the Charles River froze over Washington was eager to cross and storm Boston, but General Gates and others were opposed to untrained militia striking well garrisoned fortifications. Washington reluctantly agreed to secure Dorchester Heights, 100 feet above Boston, in an attempt to force the British out of the city.[91]On March 9, under cover of darkness, Washington's troops brought up Knox's big guns and bombarded British ships in Boston harbor. By March 17, 9,000 British troops and Loyalists began a chaotic 10-day evacuation of Boston aboard 120 ships. Soon after, Washington entered the city with 500 men, with strict orders not to plunder the city. He ordered vaccinations against smallpox to great effect, as he did later in Morristown, New Jersey.[92]He refrained from exerting military authority in Boston, leaving civilian matters in the hands of local authorities.[93][i]Battle of Long IslandMain article: Battle of Long IslandBattle of Long IslandAlonzo Chappel (1858)Washington proceeded to New York City, arriving on April 13, and began constructing fortifications to thwart British attack. He ordered his occupying forces to treat civilians and their property with respect, to avoid the abuse suffered by civilians in Boston at the hannds of British troops.[95]A plot to assassinate or capture him was discovered amidst the tensions, but failed, though his bodyguard Thomas Hickey (soldier) was hanged for mutiny and sedition.[96]General Howe took his resupplied army, with the British fleet, from Nova Scotia to the city, considered the key to securing the continent. George Germain, who ran the British war effort in England, believed it could be won with one "decisive blow."[97]The British forces, including more than 100 ships and thousands of troops, began reaching Staten Island on July 2 to lay siege to the city.[98]After the Declaration of Independence was adopted on July 4, Washington informed his troops in his general orders of July 9 that Congress had declared the united colonies to be "free and independent states."[99]Howe's troop strength totaled 32,000 regulars and Hessians, and Washington's consisted of 23,000, mostly raw recruits and militia.[100]In August, Howe landed 20,000 troops at Gravesend, Brooklyn and approached Washington's fortifications, as King George III proclaimed the rebellious American colonists to be traitors.[101]Washington, opposing his generals, chose to fight, based on inaccurate information that Howe's army had only 8,000 plus troops.[102]Howe assaulted Washington's flank and inflicted 1,500 Patriot casualties, with the British suffering 400.[103]Washington retreated, instructing General William Heath to acquisition river craft in the area. General William Alexander held off the British and gave cover while the army crossed the East River under darkness to Manhattan Island without loss of life or material, although Alexander was captured.[104]Howe, emboldened by his Long Island victory, dispatched Washington as "George Washington, Esq.", in futility to negotiate peace. Washington declined, demanding to be addressed with diplomatic protocol, as general and fellow belligerent, not as a "rebel", lest his men be hanged as such if captured.[105]The British navy bombarded unstable earthworks on lower Manhattan Island.[106]Washington, with misgivings, heeded the advice of Generals Greene and Israel Putnam to defend Fort Washington. They were unable to hold it, and Washington abandoned it despite General Charles Lee's objections, as his army retired north to White Plains.[107]Howe's pursuit forced Washington to retreat across the Hudson River to Fort Lee to avoid encirclement. Howe then landed his troops on Manhattan in November, and captured Fort Washington, inflicting high casualties on the Americans. Washington was responsible for delaying the retreat, though he blamed Congress and Nathanael Greene. Loyalists in New York considered Howe a liberator and spread a rumor that Washington had set fire to the city.[108]Patriot morale reached its lowest when Lee was captured.[109]Crossing the Delaware, Trenton, and PrincetonMain articles: George Washington's crossing of the Delaware River, Battle of Trenton, and Battle of PrincetonWashington Crossing the Delaware, December 25, 1776, Emanuel Leutze (1851)[j]Washington's army, reduced to 5,400 troops, retreated through New Jersey, and Howe broke off pursuit, delaying his advance on Philadelphia, and set up winter quarters in New York.[111]Washington crossed the Delaware River into Pennsylvania, where Lee's replacement John Sullivan joined him with 2,000 more troops.[112]The future of the Continental Army was in doubt for lack of supplies, a harsh winter, expiring enlistments, and desertions. Washington was disappointed that many New Jersey residents were Loyalists or skeptical about the prospect of independence.[113]Howe split up his British Army and posted a Hessian garrison at Trenton to hold western New Jersey and the east shore of the Delaware,[114]but the army appeared complacent, and Washington and his generals devised a surprise attack on the Hessians at Trenton, which he code named "Victory or Death".[115]The army was to cross the Delaware River to Trenton in three divisions: one led by Washington (2,400 troops), another by General James Ewing (700), and the third by Colonel John Cadwalader (1,500). The force was to then split, with Washington taking the Pennington Road and General Sullivan traveling south on the river's edge.[116]Washington first ordered a 60-mile search for Durham boats, to transport his army, and he ordered the destruction of vessels that could be used by the British[117]He crossed the Delaware River at sunset Christmas Day and risked capture staking out the Jersey shoreline. His men followed across the ice-obstructed river in sleet and snow at McKonkey's Ferry, with 40 men per vessel. Wind churned up the waters, and they were pelted with hail, but by 3 A.M. they made it across with no losses.[118]Henry Knox was delayed, managing frightened horses and about 18 field guns on flat-bottomed ferries. Cadwalader and Ewing failed to cross due to the ice and heavy currents, and a waiting Washington doubted his planned attack on Trenton. Once Knox arrived, Washington proceeded to Trenton, to take only his troops against the Hessians, rather than risk being spotted returning his army to Pennsylvania.[119]The troops spotted Hessian positions a mile from Trenton, so Washington split his force into two columns, rallying his men: "Soldiers keep by your officers. For God's sake, keep by your officers." The two columns were separated at the Birmingham crossroads, with General Nathanael Greene's taking the upper Ferry Road, led by Washington, and General John Sullivan's advancing on River Road. (See map.)[120]The Americans marched in sleet and snowfall, many were shoeless with bloodied feet, and two died of exposure. At sunrise, Washington led them in a surprise attack on the Hessians, aided by Major General Henry Knox and artillery. The Hessians had 22 killed (including Colonel Johann Rall), 83 wounded, and 850 captured with supplies.[121]The Capture of the Hessians at Trenton, December 26, 1776John TrumbullWashington retreated across the Delaware to Pennsylvania but returned to New Jersey on January 3, launching an attack on British regulars at Princeton, with 40 Americans killed or wounded and 273 British killed or captured.[122]American Generals Hugh Mercerand John Cadwalader were being driven back by the British when Mercer was mortally wounded, then Washington arrived and led the men in a counterattack which advanced to within 30 yards (27 m) of the British line.[123]Some British troops retreated after a brief stand, while others took refuge in Nassau Hall, which became the target of Colonel Alexander Hamilton's cannons. Washington's troops charged, the British surrendered in less than an hour, and 194 soldiers laid down their arms.[124]Howe retreated to New York City where his army remained inactive until early the next year.[125]Washington's depleted Continental Army took up winter headquarters in Morristown, New Jersey while disrupting British supply lines and expelling them from parts of New Jersey. Washington later said that the British could have successfully counter-attacked his encampment before his troops were dug in.[126]The British still controlled New York, and many Patriot soldiers did not reenlist or had deserted after the harsh winter campaign. Congress instituted greater rewards for re-enlisting and punishments for desertion in an effort to effect greater troop numbers.[127]Strategically, Washington's victories were pivotal for the Revolution and quashed the British strategy of showing overwhelming force followed by offering generous terms.[125][128]In February 1777, word reached London of the American victories at Trenton and Princeton, and the British realized that the Patriots were in a position to demand unconditional independence.[129]Brandywine, Germantown, and SaratogaMain articles: Battle of Brandywine, Battle of Germantown, and Battle of SaratogaIn July 1777, British General John Burgoyne led the Saratoga campaign south from Quebec through Lake Champlain and recaptured Fort Ticonderoga with the objective of dividing New England, including control of the Hudson River. But General Howe in British-occupied New York blundered, taking his army south to Philadelphia rather than up the Hudson River to join Burgoyne near Albany.[130]Meanwhile, Washington and Lafayette rushed to Philadelphia to engage Howe and were shocked to learn of Burgoyne's progress in upstate New York, where the Patriots were led by General Philip Schuyler and successor Horatio Gates. Washington's army of less experienced men were defeated in the pitched battles at Philadelphia.[131]Howe outmaneuvered Washington at the Battle of Brandywine on September 11, 1777 and marched unopposed into the nation's capital at Philadelphia. An October Patriot attack failed against the British at Germantown. Major General Thomas Conway prompted some members of Congress (referred to as the Conway Cabal) to consider removing Washington from command because of the losses incurred at Philadelphia. Washington's supporters resisted and the matter was finally dropped after much deliberation.[132]Once exposed, Conway wrote an apology to Washington, resigned, and returned to France.[133]Washington was concerned with Howe's movements during the Saratoga campaign to the north, and he was also aware that Burgoyne was moving south toward Saratoga from Quebec. Washington took some risks to support Gates’ army, sending reinforcements north with Generals Benedict Arnold, his most aggressive field commander, and Benjamin Lincoln. On October 7, 1777, Burgoyne tried to take Bemis Heights but was isolated from support by Howe. He was forced to retreat to Saratoga and ultimately surrendered after the Battles of Saratoga. As Washington suspected, Gates's victory emboldened his critics.[134]Biographer John Alden maintains, "It was inevitable that the defeats of Washington's forces and the concurrent victory of the forces in upper New York should be compared." The admiration for Washington was waning, including little credit from John Adams.[135]British commander Howe resigned in May 1778, left America forever, and was replaced by Sir Henry Clinton.[136]

Military families have a long checklist of things to do when going through a PCS move. One of those tasks is vehicle registration.Rules and fees for vehicle registration vary by state. Some states don’t require vehicle registration if you’re on military orders, in some states military members are exempt from registration fees, and some states offer special consideration to veterans, such as discounts on registration or license plates.A quick note before you register your vehicle in your new state. Most states require insurance and many will require proof of insurance before you even register your vehicle. If you've moved, your insurance rates will change and your carrier may not offer coverage in your new state.What is the Law for Military Vehicles?The law and regulations that apply to your military vehicle may not be all that clear to the state Department of Motor Vehicles employees. Your situation may be unique in their experience. Don't get into an arguement, but if they are trying to put some unreasonable requirement on you ask them to show you the applicable statute or regulation. Don't accept just a statute number, actually look at the text. It may not say what they think it says. Have with you a copy of the relevant law; you can get these from your state Internet web site or at your library or bookstore. For example, in California you can buy the Motor Vehicle Code in an inexpensive paperback book. Be polite but firm; ask them to explain to you how the law applies to your vehicle. Don't accept some half-ass explanation. Keep saying, "I don't see how that applies to this vehicle". Ask to talk to the Supervisor, Office Manager and up the line. Expect to wait them out.AlabamaMilitary members stationed in Alabama but who aren't residents of Alabama don't have to register their vehicles with the Alabama Motor Vehicles Division as long as they have a current registration in their home state and valid insurance. Military members who are Alabama residents have the same registration process as civilians.AlaskaAs a non-resident you are not required to transfer your title or registration to Alaska. You may retain the registration in the state you are a resident of, according to the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA).If you are an Alaskan resident military member stationed outside Alaska, you can renew your vehicle registration in Alaska by mail. Your LES must show Alaska as your home of record.ArizonaActive-duty military personnel stationed in Arizona who are not Arizona residents are exempt from paying the vehicle license tax portion of the annual vehicle registration.When the nonresident service member is assigned overseas and the spouse or dependent must remain in Arizona, the exemption still applies if the nonresident service person was on military assignment in Arizona at the time the overseas orders were issued.Arizona residents who are stationed out-of-state can renew their license online or by mail.Residents can get a one year Special Military Exemption from the payment of vehicle license tax and registration fees. It is available one time per deployment and may be applied for during the time period between the date of deployment until one year after the deployment ends or the member is released from duty. This exemption applies to no more than two vehicles, and each vehicle requires a separate form.ArkansasIf Arkansas is not your home of record you are exempt from assessment and personal property taxes. You must provide a copy of your leave and earnings statement for verification of your home of record and, therefore, cannot renew by phone or internet.For military personnel whose home of record is Arkansas, the requirements are the same as for an Arkansas resident, regardless of where you are stationed.CaliforniaIf you are a nonresident member of the military stationed in California, you can drive a vehicle as long as your out-of-state license remains valid and you're insured.As a California resident, you're eligible for a waiver of the late fee if you're deployed and your registration expires. (Training doesn't count.)ColoradoIf you are stationed in Colorado but a resident of another state, you can register your vehicle without paying ownership tax by completing this Nonresidence and Military Service Exemption From Specific Ownership Tax Affidavit (Form DR 2667) and taking it to your county title and registration office.If you are a Colorado resident stationed out-of-state you may apply for an extension for up to three years by mail. If you have a CDL your license is automatically extended for up to 3 years per Colorado Revised Statute 42-2-118(2) as long as a military ID or military orders are presented with the license.DelawareTo renew a vehicle registration when stationed outside of Delaware, you need to contact the state’s Registration Correspondence Section for an Out-of-State Inspection Packet to be mailed to you provided you are outside a 250 mile radius of a DMV location in Delaware. The packet consists of a safety inspection checklist and an emission test requirements.You can renew your license through the mail if stationed out-of-state.FloridaMilitary members who are both Florida residents and non-residents and are stationed in Florida on military orders are exempt from the $225 initial registration fee on a motor vehicle.HawaiiYou can either keep your home state’s registration or switch to Hawaii’s registration. If you choose to stay with your home state, you will be exempt from the annual weight tax and any excise taxes in Hawaii, but you’ll need to have a vehicle safety inspection.IdahoThere are no provisions in Idaho statute allowing the extension of vehicle registrations for military personnel, so check the expiration date of your vehicles before you deploy or move out of state. You can renew Idaho vehicle registrations from overseas or out of state online.IllinoisMilitary members on active duty outside Illinois, as well as their spouses and children, may drive with an expired license for up to 120 days after their return to the state. A Military Deferral Certificate(s) must be carried with your expired Illinois driver's license. Certificates are available at no charge and may be mailed to your out-of-state address.Vehicle registrations can be renewed online.IndianaIndiana law provides that the driver’s license of any Indiana resident in the military or their dependents remains valid for ninety days after discharge or post-deployment regardless of the expiration date of the license. You may renew your driver's license online if your name and residential address have remained the same since the last time you received a license and your last renewal was in a BMV license branch and you do not have a J restriction or any 2-9 restrictions.If you are a member of the military from another state who is stationed in Indiana, you may renew your vehicle registrations in Indiana.IowaIowa residents in the military must pay the same registration fees that apply to other residents when registering a vehicle in this state. A nonresident member of the military is not required to register a vehicle in Iowa, providing the vehicle is properly registered in the state of residency. A nonresident can register a vehicle in Iowa, if desired, in the same manner as any nonresident..KansasService members stationed outside of Kansas can renew vehicle registration online.KentuckyYou can renew your vehicle registration through the mail with your resident County Clerk's office or online.LouisianaService members registering vehicles in Louisiana, follow the same registration process as permanent residents.MaineYou can renew your registration and license online. You may be eligible for a waiver of the state excise tax if you are a non-resident stationed in Maine.MarylandIf you’re a service member not establishing residency because you are only temporarily stationed in Maryland, you do not need to register your vehicle if it is currently registered in your state of residence If you are establishing residency in Maryland you must title and register your vehicle within one year of moving to Maryland.Maryland residents who buy a used vehicle while stationed outside of Maryland can complete a form to temporarily register their vehicle in Maryland without the safety Inspection. The vehicle must be immediately inspected upon return to Maryland. The military personnel inspection waiver is valid for two years and may be renewed if necessary (if still stationed out-of-state).MassachusettsIf your vehicle was purchased, titled, and registered in your home state, you may retain your home state registration indefinitely, regardless of where you are stationed in the country. The only requirement is that you carry insurance at least equal to Massachusetts minimum levels.MichiganTo apply for a vehicle title and registration in Michigan, an Application for Certificate of Title and Registration must be completed and submitted to the state with payment via mail.MinnesotaIf you’re a non-resident student or member of the military located in Minnesota but claim residency in another state, you do not have to register your car as long as your registration remains current with your home state.Minnesota residents who are active duty military members stationed out-of-state or overseas are exempt from registration tax during your duration of military service, and for 1 year after you complete your military obligation. You must be the vehicle’s owner or co-owner, and your car must remain registered in Minnesota during your active service.MississippiMilitary personnel who are stationed in Mississippi, but claim another state as their home, are not required to obtain a Mississippi registration or tag. Military personnel who are residents of Mississippi are required to register their vehicle in Mississippi.MissouriFor military personnel stationed out of state, you must submit certain documents to register your vehicle, including the Certificate of Title, signed Application for Missouri Title and License (Form 108), your LES and more.MontanaA Montana resident who entered active military duty from Montana, including a National Guard or Reserve member, and who is stationed outside Montana, may register a motor vehicle that he or she owns and operates without paying certain light vehicle registration fees.NebraskaMilitary personnel stationed at a military base or any one of the various recruiting services in Nebraska and who have not established legal residence in Nebraska, may continue to operate their vehicles with current out-of-state license plates or may obtain current Nebraska license plates.NevadaOut-of-state residents on active duty are not required to register their vehicles in Nevada. Spouses are also exempt if the spouse lives in Nevada solely to be with the service member. Service members and spouses who choose to obtain a Nevada registration are eligible for an exemption from the Nevada Governmental Services Taxes on vehicles.The DMV will waive registration late fees for active duty military members assigned to combat or combat support positions.New HampshireRegardless of where you’re stationed, residents of New Hampshire need to register vehicles every year.New JerseyIf you are on active military duty and have been deployed, including New Jersey National Guard and Reserve, you and your immediate family are entitled to automatic extensions for your driver license, registration and inspection requirements. If you enter or are an active member of the U.S. Armed Forces and have a valid New Jersey registration, you can get a refund for the remainder of the registration period.New MexicoNonresident service members stationed in New Mexico can drive vehicles with the plates of your home state or switch registration to New Mexico.New YorkIf you are not able to visit the DMV to register a vehicle, another person can come for you with certain forms. The state of New York also offers a sales tax exemption for vehicles purchased out-of-state by service members.If your New York registration expires while on active duty, registrations can be extended for up to 60 days from return to New York State. Liability insurance coverage must be maintained at all times, including the period of extension.North CarolinaWhen registering your vehicle in the state of North Carolina, you must have certain documents and completed forms.North DakotaIf you’re in the military assigned to North Dakota, you must complete certain forms and out-of-state title must be submitted with completed application.OhioOhio military residents who are currently in state should follow the normal in-state vehicle registration. Non-resident military service members stationed in Ohio are not required to register their vehicles in the state.OklahomaActive duty military personnel who are either residents of, or stationed in, Oklahoma are entitled to a discounted annual registration fee.OregonIf you’re a resident of Oregon, register your vehicle in the state of Oregon. If you are in the military, you may provide a copy of your Leave and Earnings Statement (LES) showing Oregon as your home of record. You must still provide your actual residence address, even if it is in another state..PennsylvaniaA service member can maintain Pennsylvania vehicle registration or can title and register the vehicle in the jurisdiction in which he/she is stationed. If your vehicle is registered in Pennsylvania, you must renew the registration annually.Rhode IslandIf you are in the military in Rhode Island, you are required to renew your registration before it expires, even if you are out-of-state at the time.South CarolinaIf you’re a service member stationed in South Carolina, register your vehicle or renew your registration as normal.South DakotaService member stationed out of state can renew vehicle registration online or by mail.TennesseeYou can title, register, and transfer and renew registrations of their vehicles in the county where they are based. All transactions are done through the local county clerk. If Tennessee is listed as your home of record but you have no physical presence in the state, you can submit your application to any county clerk office.TexasIf you are in the military on active duty outside of the state, your Texas driver's license will remain valid unless your license has been suspended, canceled, or revoked. Once you are honorably discharged you will be given an extension of 90 days from the date of your discharge or your return to the state. Your driver's license will be expired after the extension.If you wish to avoid having to renew your driver's license when you return, you may renew by mail.UtahActive-duty military personnel whose legal residence is in another state are permitted to register their motor vehicles in their state of legal residence. Non-resident military personnel who purchase a vehicle in Utah must pay the sales/use tax on the vehicle if they plan to operate the vehicle in Utah; sales tax is due even if they choose to register the vehicle in their home state.Utah residents who are members of the U.S. Armed Services and are stationed out of state may obtain property tax exemption, emissions inspection exemption and safety inspection exemption.VirginiaWhile stationed in Virginia, if you purchase a vehicle, you can register that vehicle in your home state or in Virginia. Vehicles titled and registered in your name may be driven with valid out-of-state license plates.Members of the military may request an extension of their Virginia driver’s license. Note: Commercial driver’s licenses are not eligible for extensions.WashingtonNonresident military personnel on duty in Washington may keep their current state registration or get Washington plates.Washington residents stationed out-of-state can renew their registration online.Washington DCDistrict law requires that all vehicles housed and operated in the District of Columbia must be registered in the District unless the owner displays a reciprocity sticker issued by DC DMV.West VirginiaTo renew your registration while you're stationed out of state, you can renew online with all required information on your insurance, personal property taxes, and a valid credit card for payment.WisconsinVehicle registration renewals may be completed by the military member, a relative or a friend. Options for renewing include on-line, mail and in-person.Upon entering the military, a member may request a refund of the unused portion of a registration fee. A military member on active duty may receive credit for periods of non-operation of less than twelve months.

Politics‘My whole town practically lived there’: From Costa Rica to New Jersey, a pipeline of illegal workers for Trump goes back yearsTrump rails against illegal workers. His 'Summer White House' was built by them.For years, Trump's golf club in Bedminster, N.J. relied on undocumented workers from Costa Rica. These are their stories. (Video: Dalton Bennett, Jesse Mesner-Hage/Photo: Carolyn Van Houten/The Washington Post)By Joshua Partlow ,Nick Miroff andDavid A. FahrentholdFebruary 8 at 2:58 PMAt his home on the misty slope of Costa Rica’s tallest mountain, Dario Angulo keeps a set of photographs from the years he tended the rolling fairways and clipped greens of a faraway American golf resort.Angulo learned to drive backhoes and bulldozers, carving water hazards and tee boxes out of former horse pastures in Bedminster, N.J., where a famous New Yorker was building a world-class course. Angulo earned $8 an hour, a fraction of what a state-licensed heavy equipment operator would make, with no benefits or overtime pay. But he stayed seven years on the grounds crew, saving enough for a small piece of land and some cattle back home.Now the 34-year-old lives with his wife and daughters in a sturdy house built by “Trump money,” as he put it, with a porch to watch the sun go down.It’s a common story in this small town.Other former employees of President Trump’s company live nearby: men who once raked the sand traps and pushed mowers through thick heat on Trump’s prized golf property — the “Summer White House,” as aides have called it — where his daughter Ivanka got married and where he wants to build a family cemetery.“Many of us helped him get what he has today,” Angulo said. “This golf course was built by illegals.”Dario Angulo at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, N.J. (Courtesy of Dario Angulo)Dario Angulo with his cattle in Santa Teresa de Cajon. (Carolyn Van Houten/The Washington Post)The Washington Post spoke with 16 men and women from Costa Rica and other Latin American countries, including six in Santa Teresa de Cajon, who said they were employed at the Trump National Golf Club Bedminster. All of them said that they worked for Trump without legal status — and that their managers knew.The former employees who still live in New Jersey provided pay slips documenting their work at the Bedminster club. They identified friends and relatives in Costa Rica who also were employed at the course. In Costa Rica, The Post located former workers in two regions who provided detailed accounts of their time at the Bedminster property and shared memorabilia they had kept, such as Trump-branded golf tees, as well as photos of themselves at the club.The brightly painted homes that line the road in Santa Teresa de Cajon, many paid for by wages earned 4,000 miles away, are the fruits of a long-running pipeline of illegal workers to the president’s course, one that carried far more than a few unauthorized employees who slipped through the cracks.Soon after Trump broke ground at Bedminster in 2002 with a golden shovel, this village emerged as a wellspring of low-paid labor for the private club, which charges tens of thousands of dollars to join. Over the years, dozens of workers from Costa Rica went north to fill jobs as groundskeepers, housekeepers and dishwashers at Bedminster, former employees said. The club hired others from El Salvador, Mexico and Guatemala who spoke to The Post. Many ended up in the blue-collar borough of Bound Brook, N.J., piling into vans before dawn to head to the course each morning.Their descriptions of Bedminster’s long reliance on illegal workers are bolstered by a newly obtained police report showing that the club’s head of security was told in 2011 about an employee suspected of using false identification papers — the first known documentation of a warning to the Trump Organization about the legal status of a worker.Other supervisors received similar flags over the years. A worker from Ecuador said she told Bedminster’s general manager several years ago that she entered the country illegally.Eric Trump, a son of the president who runs the Trump Organization along with his brother Donald Trump Jr., declined to comment on the accounts by the former workers. Bedminster managers did not return requests for comment.The company’s recent purge of unauthorized workers from at least five Trump properties contributes to mounting evidence that the president benefited for years from the work of illegal laborers he now vilifies.[Trump’s golf course employed undocumented workers — and then fired them amid showdown over border wall]It remains unclear what measures Trump or his company took to avoid hiring such workers, even after he launched a White House bid built on the threat he says they pose to Americans.Amid Trump’s push for a border wall, there has been little public discussion of how U.S. employers — including the president himself — have generated demand for unlawful workers.White House officials did not respond to requests for comment.Eric Trump has said he and other senior Trump Organization executives did not know the company hired illegal workers, noting that the employees used falsified documents.“We have tens of thousands of employees across our properties and have very strict hiring practices,” the company said in a statement in December. “If any employee submitted false documentation in an attempt to circumvent the law, they will be terminated immediately. We take this issue very seriously.”People wait on the roof of the Bedminster club for the arrival of President-elect Donald Trump on Nov. 18, 2016. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)President Trump speaks during a meeting with business leaders at the Bedminster club in August. (Carolyn Kaster/AP)'It's been a very open secret'Over the years, the network from Costa Rica to Bedminster expanded as workers recruited friends and relatives, some flying to the United States on tourist visas and others paying smugglers thousands of dollars to help them cross the U.S.-Mexico border, former employees said. New hires needed little more than a crudely printed phony green card and a fake Social Security number to land a job, they said.Some workers described Bedminster as their launchpad to buy homes and start businesses. Others remembered it as grueling labor under bosses who were demanding, even bigoted — and who at times used the workers’ illegal status against them.After the New York Times in December reported about two housekeepers without legal status who worked at Bedminster, the Trump Organization fired at least 18 employees at five golf courses in New York and New Jersey, part of what Eric Trump has said is “a broad effort” to identify unauthorized workers. An additional undisclosed number were fired from Bedminster, former employees said.[Purge of undocumented workers by the president’s company spreads to at least 5 Trump golf courses]“Our employees are like family, but when presented with fake documents, an employer has little choice,” Eric Trump told The Post last month.“This situation is not unique to Trump Organization — it is one that all companies face,” he added. “It demonstrates that our immigration system is severely broken and needs to be fixed immediately.”As president, his father has repeatedly called for a crackdown on illegal immigration.“No issue better illustrates the divide between America’s working class and America’s political class than illegal immigration,” Trump said during his State of the Union address Tuesday. “Tolerance for illegal immigration is not compassionate — it is cruel.”But the lax hiring practices at Bedminster and other Trump properties described by former employees — including some who said their supervisors discussed their fake documents — stand in sharp contrast with Trump’s rhetoric.Trump meets with state leaders at the Bedminster club in August. (Carolyn Kaster/AP)While other top-tier U.S. golf courses adopted the federal government’s E-Verify system to check the immigration status of potential hires, the Trump Organization is only now planning to implement it throughout its properties — even though then-candidate Donald Trump claimed in 2016 he was using it across his company.Of 12 Trump golf courses in the United States, three of them — in North Carolina, Southern California and Doral, Fla. — are enrolled in the E-Verify system, according to a federal database. Eric Trump said that “a few” other clubs, including a Trump course in the Bronx, use a private vendor to screen new applicants.[Trump’s company plans to expand check of employees’ legal status following report that it hired undocumented workers for years]The government has offered employers electronic verification services since 1997 and introduced the E-Verify system in 2007 to allow companies to screen new hires online. Nearly 750,000 U.S. employers are enrolled in the program, according to the latest government figures.ClubCorp, the nation’s largest operator of private golf and country clubs, has used E-Verify for all new hires since 2012, according to company executives.Trump last year proposed making the E-Verify program mandatory nationwide, calling it one of his immigration policy priorities.What Trump has said about E-VerifyPresident Trump’s company now plans to institute E-Verify after repeatedly calling for employers to use to program in 2016. (Taylor Turner, JM Rieger/The Washington Post)Employers have an obligation to verify an employee’s eligibility to work in the United States and can face a range of civil and criminal penalties for hiring illegal workers, according to immigration lawyers. When an employee submits documents such as a permanent resident card or Social Security card, employers have a responsibility to examine those documents.If an employer pays payroll taxes for an employee whose name does not match their Social Security number, the Internal Revenue Service or the Social Security Administration may send the employer what’s called a “no-match” letter.Such a letter does not trigger any immigration proceedings or require the employer to fire the employee. Instead, it alerts the employer to ask the employee to resolve the problem by correcting the government record, said Anastasia Tonello, president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association.In Bound Brook, a majority-Hispanic town where many of the area’s blue-collar workers live, the presence of illegal workers on Trump’s staff was widely known, according to people in the community.“It was far more systematic than two or three housekeepers,” said Joyce Phipps, executive director of Casa de Esperanza, a legal aid organization for immigrants, who said she has had several clients who were Bedminster employees. “It’s been a very open secret.”Costa Rica native Marco Gamboa Fallas, during his time as a groundskeeper at the Bedminster club. (Courtesy of Marco Gamboa Fallas)Marco Gamboa Fallas stands in front of his home in San Jose, Costa Rica. (Carolyn Van Houten/The Washington Post)Answering the callSanta Teresa de Cajon is little more than a ribbon of road set amid coffee farms and cattle pastures on the flank of 12,500-foot Mount Chirripo. Young men zip along on dirt bikes, running errands up and down the mountain.For those growing up here, as elsewhere in Central America, the risky trip north to the United States can mean seed money for a decent life.Juan Carlos Zuñiga left Santa Teresa to make that journey in 2002. At the U.S.-Mexico border, he said, he scaled a 10-foot fence and jumped into Nogales, Ariz. He bought his first fake documents in Las Vegas — adopting the name Juan Lara — and hopped on a flight to New Jersey.Zuñiga had a cousin who worked on a horse farm in genteel Bedminster Township. A nearby property needed workers, his cousin told him.Trump had purchased the 520-acre Lamington Farm, with its brick manor house and rolling horse pastures. The estate was once owned by John DeLorean, an automobile engineer who invented the namesake sports car.“This is a special place,” Trump told a crowd of some 100 people gathered in October 2002 for the groundbreaking ceremony, according to the Courier News.At the time, the Newark Star-Ledger reported that Trump was lavishing money on the project, “flying in masons, carpenters, landscapers and bulldozer operators from around the world and housing them on-site.”Some of the first Costa Ricans hired to build Trump National Golf Club Bedminster — Zuñiga, Angulo, and their Santa Teresa neighbor Abel Mora, among others — remember it as punishing work. They labored from dawn until late evening, seven days a week, raking and hauling mountains of earth moved by heavy machinery and shaping it into golf holes.Construction is in progress at Trump National Golf Club Bedminster. (Courtesy of Juan Carlos Zuñiga)The clubhouse of Trump National Golf Club Bedminster on Nov. 18, 2016. (Carolyn Kaster/AP)“It was rake, rake, rake, the whole day,” Zuñiga said.There was also seeding, watering, mowing, building the sand traps and driving bulldozers, mini-excavators and loaders — all while they earned about $10 an hour or less, they said.Around that time, a licensed heavy equipment operator in central New Jersey would have received an average of $51 to $55 per hour in wages and benefits, according to union officials at the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 825 in the nearby town of Springfield.As the golf course took shape, more hands were needed. Bosses told Zuñiga and his friends to bring workers. The town of Santa Teresa answered the call.Donald Trump wields a golden shovel at the 2002 groundbreaking of Trump National Golf Club Bedminster. (Zuma Press/Alamy)Mariano Quesada, an early greenskeeper at the club from the village, rented out a duplex in Bound Brook to several other Costa Ricans. His wife, Angela, said she would wake up before dawn to cook breakfasts and lunches for as many as 22 people on the Bedminster maintenance staff.The laborers were coming not only from Santa Teresa de Cajon, but also from other parts of Costa Rica and around Latin America. Before long, so many were working on the course — more than 100, by workers’ estimates — that Zuñiga’s cousin began charging workers for rides to Bedminster. He had two vans in circulation morning and night. When that wasn’t enough, he bought a used school bus, Zuñiga said.“For me, moving to the U.S. wasn’t a very drastic change,” said Mauricio Garro, 36, who worked in maintenance at the golf course for five years until he returned to Santa Teresa in 2010. “My whole town practically lived there.”To get a job at Trump National, the Costa Ricans — as well as Guatemalans, Salvadorans and Mexicans who were employed by the club — would purchase fake green cards and Social Security numbers in Bound Brook and neighboring towns.These were easy to come by. Sandra Diaz, a housekeeper from Poas de Aserri, Costa Rica, got photos taken at Walgreens and paid a friend of hers $50 for fake papers. Ana Vasquez, an immigrant from El Salvador who bused tables in the club’s restaurant, went to neighboring Plainfield to buy her phony Social Security card alias, “Yohana Pineda.”Before going to her interview, Vasquez asked a friend if the club would hire people who used fake documents.“I thought, ‘This is a place with a very famous owner,’ ” she recalled. “My friend said there was nothing to worry about. She told me, ‘They don’t care.’ ”'We don't have good papers'Several former workers said that managers in housekeeping and maintenance were well aware their documents were fraudulent — but hired them anyway. Housekeeper Gilberta Dominguez said her manager filled out her application in 2016 because she didn’t speak English.“And I said, ‘Listen, we don’t have good papers,’ ” Dominguez, of Oaxaca, Mexico, recalled telling her manager. “She said, ‘It doesn’t matter; don’t talk about that.’ ”In 2005, Zuñiga said, he decided that it was better to be working at Bedminster under his own name in case he got hurt on the job. He purchased new fake documents and turned those in to his supervisors. Juan Lara was suddenly Juan Carlos Zuñiga. His bosses didn’t flinch, he said.“They were making jokes about the Social Security cards in the office, because they looked so fake,” he recalled. “They would joke that my name was Juan Lara at the beginning.”In 2011, Hank Protinsky, then the club’s head of security, was warned by local police that an employee could be using fake papers, according to a police report obtained by The Post through a public records request.The worker’s status was discovered when the Bedminster Township Police Department investigated a hit-and-run accident on the course and questioned a man identified as the driver: a club employee working under the name Reinaldo Villareal.When Officer Thomas Polito spoke to Villareal, he “told me that his real name was Fredis Otero and that he was working under a false name and social security numbers,” Polito wrote.Otero, a native of Colombia, told police that he had arrived in the United States as a cabin steward on a cruise ship and walked off the ship when it docked in Miami in 2010. He obtained a three-month vacation visa, then bought a fake Social Security card and U.S. permanent resident card and used them to get hired at Trump’s course, according to the report.Polito wrote in the police report that he told Protinsky his employee “may be using a false name and government documentation.”The head of security gave the police officer a copy of Villareal’s employment application, which showed that while his resident card listed his first name as “Reynaldo,” his application spelled it “Reinaldo,” the report said.Police arrested Otero and contacted U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement about his case. ICE confirmed Friday that it took custody of Otero and that he left the United States in August 2011.The Trump Organization did not respond to a request for comment. Protinsky — who has since left the course — declined to comment.Other former workers said their jobs at Bedminster, along with Trump’s popularity with local law enforcement agencies, afforded them a degree of protection despite their immigration status.One former kitchen staffer from Ecuador still carries an ID card with her name and photo that says she is a “supporter” of a foundation that provides scholarships to the children of New Jersey State Police. She said she got the card at a golf tournament the charity held at Bedminster. The foundation did not respond to a request for comment.Mariano Quesada, then a greenskeeper, drives at Trump National Golf Club Bedminster. (Courtesy of Mariano Quesada)Quesada poses for a portrait near Santa Teresa de Cajon in January. (Dalton Bennett/The Washington Post)At times, rifts between legal employees and those without papers were occasionally laid bare in front of the managers.Emma Torres, a housekeeper from Ecuador, said that in mid-2015, she complained to the club’s general manager, David Schutzenhofer, about a supervisor who blocked her from taking a lunch break and frequently berated her for not speaking English.During the meeting, she said Schutzenhofer asked her if she was going to file a complaint with the state labor department. Torres told him that would be impossible.“I told him no, because I didn’t have papers,” she said.Trump had recently launched his presidential campaign, vowing to build a border wall. Torres said she asked Schutzenhofer why Trump spoke so harshly about immigrants.“This is just politics,” he said.Torres stayed at the club but was reassigned to the kitchen.The Post contacted Schutzenhofer and two dozen current and former managers at Bedminster — including those identified by the workers as their supervisors — and asked if they were aware that the club employed people without legal status. Most either declined to comment or did not respond.One former groundskeeping manager responded only by sending The Post an animated image of Trump saying, “I have great relationships with the Mexican people.”Another former manager, who confirmed working closely with both Zuñiga and Garro, said, “I think everyone was in the dark. We all assumed they were legal.” That manager spoke on the condition of anonymity to preserve relationships in the golf industry.Ed Russo, an environmental consultant who worked on the Bedminster project and was remembered by one of the Costa Ricans as a supervisor, declined to address whether he was aware illegal workers were hired for the project.“Are you documented?” Russo asked a reporter. “You’re not going to get anything from me.”Over the years, Trump family members have emphasized their deep involvement in properties that carry their name.“People think of Trump as being just a face, just a brand,” Eric Trump said in a 2011 promotional video about the company’s golf courses. “We design every single tee, every fairway. . . . We pick the carpets. We pick the chandeliers. There is not one element of these clubhouses which we don’t know about it. You name it — we’re involved.”Franklin Mora, who said he worked without legal status at the Bedminster club, poses for a portrait near Santa Teresa de Cajon in January. (Carolyn Van Houten/The Washington Post)A hat worn by a former worker at Trump National Golf Club Bedminster is displayed in a home in San Jose, Costa Rica. (Carolyn Van Houten/The Washington Post)A former Bedminster worker in San Jose, Costa Rica, holds golf tees from the club. (Carolyn Van Houten/The Washington Post)Abel Mora, a former greenskeeper, is pictured in Santa Teresa de Cajon. (Carolyn Van Houten/The Washington Post)'We had to be invisible'Donald Trump himself was an imperious but mostly distant figure for the illegal workers, who in the early years at Bedminster would be told to make themselves scarce when “the big boss” would arrive by helicopter.Groundskeepers would stay inside a converted horse barn used to store tools and machinery or go into the woods to wait, they said.“When he arrived, we had to hide,” said Alan Mora, a former greenskeeper who helped build the driving range and who now works as a security guard at a resort hotel in Santa Teresa. “We had to be invisible.”On days Trump dined in the club’s restaurant, Vasquez said she and five other Spanish-speaking women working illegally at the club in 2004 and 2005 were sent upstairs by their supervisor to fold napkins and buff the glassware, and kept out of sight.“They would tell us it was because the restaurant was hosting an important event, and only the workers who could speak English could be there,” she said.Trump was also known for his occasional largesse. The housekeepers who cleaned his villa noted neat stacks of $20, $50 and $100 bills on his bedside table, which Trump would dole out as tips as he golfed or strolled the grounds. He would sometimes warmly greet employees and compliment them as he inspected their work.Trump’s election did not bring any added scrutiny to his workers’ immigration status, former employees said. Torres said superiors kept her name and those of other workers without legal status off a list of people to be vetted by the Secret Service before a Trump visit to the club in 2016.Another former employee who arrived in the United States in 2018 on a tourist visa and worked as a groundskeeper said his manager only asked for his nationality in preparation for a Trump visit. He told him that he was from Costa Rica.Groundskeepers were given a general warning not to bring drugs, weapons or explosives to work, a request he found amusing.“It was very light security, very normal,” said the employee, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he hopes to return to the United States. “Here in Costa Rica, to enter someone’s home, they would ask for more. They want you to identify yourself. Over there, that didn’t happen.”Former Bedminster worker Dario Angulo rides his motorbike to visit another former employee of the club who lives in Santa Teresa de Cajon. (Carolyn Van Houten/The Washington Post)Many of the Bedminster workers from Costa Rica lived in Bound Brook, N.J., piling into vans each morning for the 30-minute drive to the course. (Carolyn Van Houten/The Washington Post)A divided workforceThe long-standing presence of unauthorized workers at Bedminster created a culture in which employees were stratified by immigration status and English-language proficiency, former employees said.At the top were the professional staff and senior managers who spoke little or no Spanish. Below them were mid-level supervisors who were often immigrants themselves and able to converse in both languages.Many without legal status told The Post they did not receive health benefits, while they heard other colleagues did.Groundskeepers would work through storms, snow and glaring sun with little protection.One rainy day in 2007, Zuñiga said, he and other greenskeepers staged a one-day strike, refusing to leave a maintenance building until supervisors agreed to pay them for sick days.The maintenance manager eventually conceded and offered rain jackets to the greenskeepers. Some of the longer-serving staff members were offered health insurance, too.“This was the first protest by the Hispanics,” Zuñiga said.Franklin Mora, who quit after a year on the grounds crew, said that his manager would mock his limited English and spoke harshly to the Hispanic employees. The manager required them to set their mowers at a pace that required them to jog to keep up in a fashion he viewed as humiliating.“They treated us like slaves,” he said.The experience left Mora so bitter he said he wouldn’t return to the United States even as a tourist.Still, others remain hopeful they will get to go back to Bedminster as part of a seasonal workforce that swells every spring.In Santa Teresa de Cajon, some former Trump workers recall their New Jersey years as a rite of passage — not unlike military service or leaving home for college. They learned to cook their own meals, clean up after themselves and endure freezing winters and homesickness.“The golf course is the best thing that has happened in my life,” said Angulo, who now earns his living raising cattle.He said he didn’t care much for Bound Brook or other U.S. cities he visited, but he loved tending to the golf course and dreams of going back one day to see the place “that taught me how to work hard.”This time, he said, he would like to go as a tourist.Dario Angulo said his Bedminster experience “taught me how to work hard.” (Carolyn Van Houten/The Washington Post)The entrance to Trump National Golf Club Bedminster in January. (Carolyn Van Houten/The Washington Post)Alice Crites and Jonathan O’Connell in Washington; Lori Rozsa in West Palm Beach, Fla.; Kim Kavin in Bedminster, N.J.; and Ismael Lopez in Costa Rica contributed to this report.