George Washington’s Armor

Washington’s First Battle

PHOTOGRAPHED BY TAL ATZMON

The year is 1754—more than two decades before George Washington will become Commanderin-Chief of the Continental Army and more than three decades before he’ll serve as the first United States President—and the 22-year-old Washington has recently received his first military commission. The young Lt. Col. of Virginia’s colonial militia is preparing his troops to head into events that will spark the Seven Years’ War between the French and British. Reading the situation as best he can, Washington plans an ambush—while the French do the same. “It’s all about the land, and who’s going to get the land,” said Tammy Lane, who has

embarked on a three-film project to tell the forgotten story of a young Washington who saw God’s hand in the course of his life. Here in this moment, Washington faces his first battle and has to defend himself. “He probably shot somebody. He probably killed somebody. I figure it would be impactful.”

Lane, head of Capernaum Studios, is currently directing the first volume of the “Washington’s Armor” trilogy, with an unflappable perseverance that some of her crew have likened to Washington’s own steadfast faith. “This is real history. It’s all true. It came straight from Washington’s journals and letters—and most people don’t even know about it,” Lane said. Artistic license is taken where there are gaps in the written record, but Lane took on the project with the intention of telling true history. It’s a portrait of a flawed, yet heroic, human being. “He wasn’t perfect. He made mistakes, as all human beings do. But he had a very high, high level of integrity and duty,” Lane said.

‟This is real history. It’s all true. It came straight from Washington’s journals and letters—and most people don’t even know about it.”

TAMMY LANE, PRESIDENT OF CAPERNAUM VILLAGE STUDIOS

LEFT Tammy Lane, president of Capernaum Village Studios, with Willie Mellina, who plays George Washington.

Tammy Lane Studios