I am accordingly ready; I have pressed as many Cabinet papers into trunks as to fill one carriage; our private property must be sacrificed, as it is impossible to procure wagons for its transportation.
Meaning of the quote
Dolley Madison was ready to leave the White House quickly. She packed as many important government documents as she could into trunks to fill up a carriage. She had to leave behind her own personal belongings because there were no wagons available to transport them. Sacrificing her private property was necessary since the situation was urgent and she needed to get the important government papers to safety.
About Dolley Madison
Dolley Madison, the wife of the 4th US president, was a pioneering social innovator who helped create the role of the First Lady. She famously saved a portrait of George Washington when the White House was burned by the British, and later struggled with poverty and her son’s mismanagement of their plantation. Historians consistently rank her among the most highly regarded First Ladies.
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More quotes from Dolley Madison
It is one of my sources of happiness never to desire a knowledge of other people’s business.
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Disaffection stalks around us.
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At this late hour a wagon has been procured, and I have had it filled with plate and the most valuable portable articles, belonging to the house.
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And now, dear sister, I must leave this house or the retreating army will make me a prisoner in it by filling up the road I am directed to take.
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When I shall again write to you, or where I shall be tomorrow, I cannot tell.
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Our private property must be sacrificed.
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Two messengers covered with dust come to bid me fly, but I wait for him.
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It is done… the precious portrait placed in the hands of the gentlemen for safe keeping.
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I am accordingly ready; I have pressed as many Cabinet papers into trunks as to fill one carriage; our private property must be sacrificed, as it is impossible to procure wagons for its transportation.
First Lady of the United States from 1809 to 1817