Gano Chapel at William Jewell College has a painting showing George Washington being baptized by John Gano, a Baptist pastor who was serving as a chaplain during the Revolutionary War.
There are several versions; the most cogent is probably by Charles Koller:
There are some other garbled versions, some of which say the painting depicts a baptism in the Potomac.
This is appears to be incorrect; Gano was a chaplain for New Yorkers and the time referenced would make the baptism, if it happened, as occurring in the Hudson.
But does anyone know the original source? I have not been able to find the story corrobrated by Gano or his descendants; the best I can find is a reference that attributes the story to Washington's "landlord" while he was a Newburg.
Thomas Armitage spends a good deal of time with Gano in his
A History of the Baptists, but doesn't mention the story.
J. M. Holliday, in his The Baptist Heritage, also gives this account which goes back to Koller. Only difference is that it was evidently published previously in February, 1946 in The Northern (probably a publication of the Northern Baptist Theological Seminary in Chicago). If that paper could be found (assuming it is the first time Koller published the article), perhaps it would give some source.
I've also found a reference to the February 14, 1946, edition of the Texas
Baptist Standard. Circumstantial evidence would be that the
Standard was commenting on a recently published work.
I still haven't found the original, though. Thanks for the help.
Glad to see you are reading the LSB e-mails.
I do not know a great deal more about this story other than what you already know.
I do know that Ben Bogard and Bobby Sparks wrote a book entitled "President George Washington - A Baptist".
This book was published by Bogard Press (The publishing arm of the American Baptist Association), but is now out of print.
I have not yet read it.
Also the Particular Baptist Press (http://www.pbpress.org/) recently published Volume 1 of the "Life and Ministry of John Gano".
Volume 2 is to be published in the future and will continue some information on this story.
I have also heard a Baptist preacher who visited First Baptist Church of New York City say that this painting of John Gano baptizing George Washington hangs in their historical room.
Our church history teacher in Seminary made a very astute observation about this question:
if Washington was ever a Baptist he wasn't a very good one because no one knows for sure whether he was or not.