It was a cold, wet December day in Virginia.  The kind of cold that seeps through layers of clothes and settles as a deep ache within your bones.  George Washington had spent most of the morning and afternoon riding on his plantation Mount Vernon.  Washington was a precise, methodical man who lived by routine.  It was his habit to ride along the extensive property and record anything of note.  That day he recorded the weather: snow, rain, and hail and some trees on his property that would have to be cut down.  He finally came into the house shortly before dinner but even though his riding clothes were soaked through and his hair was damp and stiff did not want to impede his meal schedules to change his clothes. He sat down for his usual dinner on his estate with his wife Martha on time despite his appearance.

It wasn’t long after he retired to bed that he woke up with a sore throat.  His wife quickly fetched the usual herbs that colonists had relied on to soothe his raw larynx.  However it quickly grew worse, swelling to the point that his speech was garbled and it was difficult to breathe.  His wife grew worried and immediately sent for a doctor.

A mixture of molasses, vinegar, and butter was given but he could not swallow a drop and when attempted, he appeared to be distressed, convulsive, and almost suffocated. Later he tried to use a gargle of vinegar and sage tea but in attempting to gargle, he almost suffocated and when the gargle came back from the throat some phlegm followed. At eleven a.m., his swallowing had not improved. After the last bleeding it was noted that the blood came “slow and thick” but there was no fainting (his physicians had ordered that he be bled a number of times in the course of his illness and an incredible amount about eighty two ounces or about five pints or units of blood were removed from him). At half past four o’clock, Washington gave directions about his will and at about five he again tried sitting up but remained so only half an hour.

His primary symptoms in the order of their occurrence were – severe sore throat; hoarseness; cough, chills, difficulty with breathing; difficulty with swallowing; expectoration (spitting-? drooling); fever; loss of voice-, and suffocation.

What disease killed George Washington in less than 48 hours?

The Suspects 

Laryngeal diphtheria

Diphtheria is an infection caused by the bacterium Corynebacterium diphtheriae. Diphtheria causes a thick covering in the back of the throat. It can lead to difficulty breathing, heart failure, paralysis, and even death

Quinsy

inflammation of the throat, especially an abscess in the region of the tonsils.

Ludwig’s Angina

is a rare skin infection that occurs on the floor of the mouth, underneath the tongue. This bacterial infection often occurs after a tooth abscess, which is a collection of pus in the center of a tooth. It can also follow other mouth infections or injuries.

Unknown illness

A mysterious colonial illness that we may be unaware existed