Lawrence Washington

Lawrence Washington (1718 – 1752) was a British planter, half-brother of George Washington, and a Master Templar of the British Rite of the Templar Order, operating in the Northern American colonies.

Early life
Lawrence Washington was born in Virginia in 1718 to Augustine Washington and Jane Butler. In 1729, Lawrence and his younger brother, Augustine, Jr., were taken to England by their father and educated there. During this time, Lawrence was recruited into the Templar Order by the British Grand Master, Reginald Birch.

Search for the Grand Temple
In 1738, Lawrence returned to Virginia after having been named Master Templar of the Northern colonies by Birch. He received a letter from the Grand Master, in which he revealed that he had obtained the journal of the Assassin Edward Kenway. The journal suggested that the First Civilization Grand Temple was located somewhere in the New World.

Although he was unsure of its contents, Birch made the Temple the Order's highest priority. As the Grand Master's eyes and ears in the colonies, Lawrence was tasked with locating the Grand Temple as well as any Precursor relics in the region.

At the same time, Lawrence oversaw his father's tobacco plantation at the. He also acted as a mentor of sorts to his younger half-brother, George. After the death of their father, George looked up to Lawrence as a role model, and the two loved each other dearly.

Military career
In 1739, the British Parliament created an infantry regiment for the American colonies to be used in the West Indies against Spain in what became known as the. Arriving in Jamaica in 1741, Lawrence saw action in expeditions against, , Cuba and Panama.

During these conflicts, many soldiers died of tropical diseases. Because he had arrived in the region early, Lawrence was able survive these fevers. In late 1742, Lawrence returned to Virginia and became a militia commander at the rank of Major.

Master Templar and other activites
After inheriting his father's plantation, Lawrence renamed it Mount Vernon, in honor of his commanding officer in the Royal Navy, Vice Admiral. In 1743, he married Anne Fairfax, the eldest daughter of Colonel. The Colonel would go on to exert a great deal of influence on George.

Three years later, Lawrence wrote to his subordinate, Christopher Gist. In his letter, he adressed Gist on the Colonial Templars' need for one or a series of companies to double as a communications network. Lawrence noted that William Johnson had recently been appointed Colonel of the Warriors of the Six Nations, was well-established and held good relations with the Kanien'kehá:ka. He suggested to Gist that they start making friendly appeals to Johnson. Lawrence also mentioned that he planned on influencing his in-laws to create a trading company closer to his base of operations.

Lawrence's plans came to fruition, and he successfully recruited Johnson into the Templar Order. Together, they worked to build an infrastructure for the Order in the colonies. In 1747, Lawrence began working with his father-in-law and other prominent businessmen, and created the with the intent of opening trade to the interior of the American continent.

The following year, Lawrence introduced George to Lord Thomas Fairfax, the cousin of Lawrence's father-in-law. Thomas took a liking to the young George, hiring him as a surveyor.

In 1750, Lawrence received another letter from Birch, who was highly displeased with the former's lack of progress in discovering Precursor artifacts and sites, as well as the founding of a Colonial Assassin Brotherhood. Claiming that Lawrence was "busy building a postal service", Birch transferred his agent, George Monro, to the colonies in order to assist him in his mission. Although Monro would serve as Lawrence's subordinate, Birch claimed that the former was "[his] better in every way".

Stealing the artifacts
"By the time you receive this, I will already be on my way back to Virginia. Prepare yourself. Our true work begins now. Upon my return, we’ll be able to share the glad news with the Grand Master in London. Perhaps my leadership in the colonies will finally be recognized."

- Lawrence in his letter to Gist, 1751.

Around this time, Lawrence was diagnosed with tuberculosis. In an attempt to heal himself, he traveled to Barbados with George in 1751. Knowing that an Assassin Brotherhood existed in Saint-Domingue, he sought to claim any Pieces of Eden in their possession. As George caught a minor case of smallpox, Lawrence was granted an opportunity to travel to Port-au-Prince while he recovered. He was relieved that George would survive, and also hoped to spare his brother from any Templar business.

Upon arriving, he tracked down the Assassins and learned that they were lead by a one-armed Maroon named François Mackandal, whose demeanor disgusted him. Lawrence tracked Mackandal's man Vendredi to the entrance of a cave. He planned to ambush Vendredi as the latter left the cave, but an earthquake struck after the Assassin had unintionally disturbed Precursor technology in the cave.

Vendredi's legs were crushed beneath the debris as he attempted to escape, and Lawrence offered to free the Assassin in exchange for Mackandal's location. Vendredi complied, although Lawrence slit his throat afterwards. While Lawrence wished to have explored the cave, the entrance was obliterated.

Under the cover of the earthquake, Lawrence infiltrated Mackandal's camp, and stole two Pieces of Eden in his possession; the Precursor box and Manuscript. Returning to George in Barbados, Lawrence wrote to Gist and relayed the events to him. The Master Templar expressed to his subordinate that their true work was about to begin, and that Birch would perhaps finally recognize his leadership in the colonies upon learning of the events in Port-au-Prince.

While sailing back to Virginia, Lawrence was pursued by the legendary Assassin Adéwalé. The Assassin eventually lost track of him, however. Back in the Thirteen Colonies, Lawrence entrusted the Precursor box and Manuscript to his subordinates Samuel Smith and James Wardrop, respectively.

Death
By July 1752, Lawrence had retired to Mount Vernon, dying of tuberculosis. Around this time, a prototype air rifle was sent to him. The Colonial Assassin Mentor Achilles Davenport charged Shay Cormac with interrogating Lawrence about the stolen artifacts and assassinating him. He tailed the air rifle shipment to Mount Vernon, and stole the weapon.

While Shay watched from nearby at Lawrence's garden party, the latter assured George that he was in fine condition. As Jack Weeks, Smith and Wardrop approached, he bid George fetch a bottle of wine for them. With George away, Lawrence requested that his fellow Templars keep his younger brother out of Templar business. He then inquired on their progress in discovering the purpose of the artifacts, to which Smith and Wardrop replied that they were fully occupied with doing so.

After sending his fellow Templars away, Lawrence walked the grounds of his mansion and spoke to the guests. Shay hid in the crowd and assassinated the Templar with his Hidden Blade. In his dying moments, Lawrence claimed that Shay was too late, his own death having given his men time to escape. Thanking the Assassin for giving him a quick death, Lawrence passed away.

As Shay escaped, he told his fellow Assassin Liam O'Brien of his displeasure in killing the already dying Lawrence, and his suspicion that his death had little impact on the Templars. Liam claimed that Lawrence would simply have wanted him to believe so. Following the death of his brother, a grief-stricken George inherited Mount Vernon.