[384] They continued the process of bloodletting to approximately five pints, but Washington's condition deteriorated further. Dr. Dick proposed a tracheotomy, but the other physicians were not familiar with that procedure and therefore disapproved.[385] Washington instructed Brown and Dick to leave the room, while he assured Craik, "Doctor, I die hard, but I am not afraid to go."[386]
Washington's death came more swiftly than expected.[387] On his deathbed, out of fear of being entombed alive, he instructed his private secretary Tobias Lear to wait three days before his burial.[388] According to Lear, Washington died between 10 p.m. and 11 p.m. on December 14, 1799, with Martha seated at the foot of his bed. His last words were "'Tis well", from his conversation with Lear about his burial. He was 67.[389]
Congress immediately adjourned for the day upon news of Washington's death, and the Speaker's chair was shroud in black the next morning.[390] The funeral was held four days after his death on December 18, 1799, at Mount Vernon, where his body was interred. Cavalry and foot soldiers led the procession, and six colonels served as the pallbearers. 