General George Washington had his headquarters in Cambridge during the Siege of Boston from July 1775 to April 1776. The 281st anniversary of Washington's birth on February 22, 2013 will be celebrated at the Longfellow House - Washington's Headquarters National Historic Site in Cambridge with Washington themed tours of the first floor every 30 minutes between 1:00 and 4:00.
In February of 1856, Massachusetts was the first state to officially celebrate Washington’s birthday as a holiday. Chapter 5 of the Resolves of 1856, “Resolves Relative to the observance of the Birthday of Washington” commemorates Washington with a resolution that the General Court read George Washington’s “Farewell Address.” The United States Senate began a similar tradition on February 22, 1862 in the midst of the Civil War.
