History Alexandria Virginia

George Coryell. 206 Duke Street. The current brick house, probably built around 1850, replaced a frame house built around 1794 by George Coryell (1759-1850), son of Cornelius Coryell of Coryell’s Ferry, New Jersey. According to tradition, the senior Coryell was George Washington’s guide in the New Jersey area during the Revolutionary War, and the Coryell family rowed Washington across the Delaware for the surprise attack on the Hessians on Christmas Night 1776. During Washington’s first term as President, George Coryell lived in Philadelphia, where he built a gate for Benjamin Franklin. Washington was so impressed by the gate that he induced Coryell to move to Alexandria, where he became a merchant and assessor. He also did some repair jobs on Washington’s town house. At Washington’s funeral, during the transfer of the remains from the mansion to the tomb, Coryell relieved a lieutenant, who was not strong enough for the weight of the coffin, as one of the bearers of the bier.
In modern times, this was the home of General Carl “Tooey” Spaatz (1891-1974), who headed the strategic bombing effort in Europe during World War II and was the first Chief of Staff of the Air Force when the Air Force became an independent Service.

(Adapted from Robert Madison’s Walking with Washington, available in Alexandria museum gift shops.)