For three weeks in April 1755, General Edward Braddock used John Carlyle’s newly built Georgian stone mansion as his headquarters. From April 14–16, Braddock convened a council of five colonial governors to strategize the campaign against the French at Fort Duquesne. The decision made during this council—to tax the colonists in order to fund the war—set in motion the chain of grievances that ultimately led to the American Revolution. George Washington, who served as Braddock’s aide, would emerge from the campaign as a key military leader in the conflict.
Through Carlyle’s leadership and hospitality, Alexandria became the site of decisions that changed the course of American and world history. Today, John Carlyle is buried in Alexandria’s Old Presbyterian Meeting House 18th-Century Burial Ground.
