The Mount Vernon funeral service was restricted mostly to family and friends.[391] Reverend Thomas Davis read the funeral service by the vault with a brief address, followed by a ceremony performed by various members of Washington's Masonic lodge in Alexandria, Virginia.[392] Congress chose Light-Horse Harry Lee to deliver the eulogy. Word of his death traveled slowly; church bells rang in the cities, and many places of business closed.[393] People worldwide admired Washington and were saddened by his death, and memorial processions were held in major cities of the United States. Martha wore a black mourning cape for one year, and she burned their correspondence to protect their privacy. Only five letters between the couple are known to have survived: two from Martha to George and three from him to her.[394]
The diagnosis of Washington's illness and the immediate cause of his death have been subjects of debate since his death. The published account of Drs. Craik and Brown[r] stated that his symptoms had been consistent with cynanche trachealis, a term of the period used to describe severe inflammation of the upper windpipe, including quinsy. 