“From the Archives” — Aide-De-Camp Colonel John Fitzgerald

Colonel John Fitzgerald, a founder of Saint Mary parish, was an aide-de-camp to General George Washington during the Revolutionary War. Fitzgerald was one of two such aides serving Washington. The other one, like Fitzgerald, was a young Irish Catholic émigré. Both were well- educated, literate gentlemen. Basically, they were the general’s secretaries, responsible for handling his correspondence. To do so, they needed to be especially discreet in handling important military communications with dispatch.

Fitzgerald was charged with writing General Washington’s letters to Congress, describing to the legislators the appalling conditions of the troops at Valley Forge, and begging for assistance for the freezing, hungry troops. At one point during the war, a congressional conspiracy among some members sought to remove George Washington as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army. Fitzgerald provided the necessary evidence to stamp out this nefarious conspiracy,

Fitzgerald and Washington did not always agree. The Irish American Fitzgerald, said to have escaped Ireland for his unpopular anti-monarchist views, believed the United States should support the French Revolution. As president (1789-1797), Washington believed a more careful and thought-out response should be explored before supporting a group that executed their monarch. He wrote Fitzgerald a long letter, later published to Washington’s dismay, explaining his position. Despite this difference, their friendship survived.

At a dinner celebrating Saint Patrick’s Day in 1788 at Fitzgerald’s home (corner of King and Fairfax Streets, now the site of the Burke and Herbert Bank), Washington was reportedly the first person to sign the subscription book to raise funds to build Saint Mary’s first chapel, the first Catholic church in Virginia. According to his journals, Washington frequently stayed with the Fitzgeralds when he was in Alexandria. It’s known that Washington attended Mass at a Catholic church in Philadelphia. Perhaps he also attended Mass at the Fitzgerald home during one of his visits to Alexandria.