George Washington was alive in 1775.
French and Indian War . The dispute erupted into violence in the Battle of Jumonville Glen in May 1754 , during which Virginia militiamen under the command of 22-year-old George Washington ambushed a French patrol . George Washington . In that command , Washington forced the British out of Boston in 1776 but was defeated and nearly captured later that year when he lost New York City . Mount Vernon was the plantation house of George Washington , the first President of the United States , and his wife , Martha Dandridge Custis Washington . The mansion is built of wood in a loose Palladian style , and was constructed by George Washington in stages between 1758 and 1778 .