Betty Washington Lewis was more than just the only sister of George Washington to survive to adulthood; she was also a Patriot. Betty Lewis and her husband, Fielding, contributed a considerable amount of their wealth and time toward the American Revolutionary War. Their devotion and loyalty to the wartime effort and its leader, George Washington, inadvertently led them to financial hardship.

Betty and Fielding Lewis were strong supporters of the American Revolutionary War, and their loyalty to the cause cost them financially. The Lewis’s owned a store, which originally belonged to Fielding’s father. During the war, Fielding supplied salt, flour, bacon, and clothing to Patriot forces. Herbs and other produce from Betty’s gardens became teas and ointments that Fielding also supplied to the army. In July 1775, the Virginia assembly passed an ordinance providing for a “Manufactory of Small Arms in Fredericksburg, Virginia.” and named Fielding Lewis and four other men as its commissioners. Appropriations of £25,000 were distributed and the land was secured near Hunter’s Forge for the construction and operation of the gunnery. However, the appropriations ran out, and Betty and Fielding Lewis used £7,000 from their accounts to maintain the gunnery. They later borrowed between £30,000 and £40,000 to provide saltpeter, sulfur, gunpowder, and lead for the manufacture of ammunition during the war. Kenmore was heavily mortgaged to meet the costs of these patriotic endeavors.