On this day in 1759, George Washington, then a 26-year-old rising young officer in the colonial British army, married Martha Dandridge Custis, a wealthy and educated mother of two. Washington adopted Martha's children -- he and Martha had no offspring of their own, raising suspicions that Washington may have been sterile -- and the couple was married for 40 years until Washington's death in 1799. Here's an interesting fact you may not know: Historical documents suggest Martha may not have been the love of George's life. Before and even during his marriage to Martha, the future U.S. president wrote passionate letters to Sally Fairfax, the wife of his friend George Fairfax. Still, he resigned his British military commission to marry Martha, with whom he lived a gentile aristocratic lifestyle. While George doted on his adopted children and respected his wife's parenting choices, Martha was a devoted wife, frequently accompanying Washington to headquarters during ...