George Washington

Prerevolutionary military and
political career of George
Washington
Early military career
Traditions of John Washington’s feats as Indian
fighter and Lawrence Washington’s talk of
service days helped imbue George with military
ambition. Just after Lawrence’s death, Lieut.
Gov. Robert Dinwiddie appointed George
adjutant for the southern district of Virginia at
£100 a year (November 1752). In 1753 he
became adjutant of the Northern Neck and
Eastern Shore. Later that year, Dinwiddie found
it necessary to warn the French to desist from
their encroachments on Ohio Valley lands
claimed by the crown. After sending one
messenger who failed to reach the goal, he
determined to dispatch Washington. On the day
he received his orders, October 31, 1753,
Washington set out for the French posts. His
party consisted of a Dutchman to serve as
interpreter, the expert scout Christopher Gist as
guide, and four others, two of them experienced
traders with the Indians. Theoretically, Great
Britain and France were at peace. Actually, war
impended, and Dinwiddie’s message was an
ultimatum: the French must get out or be put
out.

The journey proved rough, perilous, and futile.

Washington’s party left what is now
Cumberland, Maryland, in the middle of
November and, despite wintry weather and
impediments of the wilderness, reached Fort
LeBoeuf, at what is now Waterford,
Pennsylvania, 20 miles (32 km) south of Lake
Erie, without delay. The French commander was
courteous but adamant. As Washington
reported, his officers “told me, That it was their
absolute Design to take possession of the Ohio,
and by God they would do it.” Eager to carry this
alarming news back, Washington pushed off
hurriedly with Gist. He was lucky to have gotten
back alive. An Indian fired at them at 15 paces
but missed. When they crossed the Allegheny
River on a raft, Washington was jerked into the
ice-filled stream but saved himself by catching
one of the timbers. That night he almost froze in
his wet clothing. He reached Williamsburg,
Virginia, on January 16, 1754, where he hastily
penned a record of the journey. Dinwiddie, who
was labouring to convince the crown of the
seriousness of the French threat, had it printed,
and when he sent it to London, it was reprinted
in three different forms.
The enterprising governor forthwith planned an
expedition to hold the Ohio country. He made
Joshua Fry colonel of a provincial regiment,
appointed Washington lieutenant colonel, and
set them to recruiting troops. Two agents of the
Ohio Company, which Lawrence Washington
and others had formed to develop lands on the
upper Potomac and Ohio rivers, had begun
building a fort at what later became Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania. Dinwiddie, ready to launch into
his own war, sent Washington with two
companies to reinforce this post. In April 1754
the lieutenant colonel set out from Alexandria
with about 160 men at his back. He marched to
Cumberland only to learn that the French had
anticipated the British blow; they had taken
possession of the fort of the Ohio Company and
had renamed it Fort Duquesne. Happily, the
Indians of the area offered support. Washington
therefore struggled cautiously forward to within
about 40 miles (60 km) of the French position
and erected his own post at Great Meadows,
near what is now Confluence, Pennsylvania.
From this base, he made a surprise attack (May
28, 1754) upon an advance detachment of 30
French, killing the commander, Coulon de
Jumonville, and nine others and taking the rest
prisoners. The French and Indian War had
begun.
When George Washington’s father died in 1743,
there was little money left to support the formal
education of 11-year-old George.
Washington’s formal schooling ended by the time
he was 15, but his pursuit of knowledge continued
throughout his life. He read to become a better
soldier, farmer, and president; he corresponded
with authors and friends in America and Europe;
and he exchanged ideas that fed the ongoing
agricultural, social, and political revolutions of
his day.
With men and officers being shot down all
around him, George Washington rode forward to
take charge of the collapsing lines at the Battle of
the Monongahela on July 9, 1755.
While riding along the ranks looking to steady the
men, Washington had two horses shot out from
under him and four bullet holes shot through his
coat.
At the Battle of Princeton (January 3, 1777),
Washington rode forward on his white charger as
he led his soldiers in a successful counter-attack
against the British. At one point Washington was
no more than 30 yards from the British line and
was an easy target.
Despite the widespread fears that he would be
shot down at any moment, Washington was heard
to say to his troops, “Parade with me my fine
fellows, we will have them soon!”
After a series of stinging defeats in New York and
New Jersey, the Continental Army and the patriot
cause seemed near extinction by December 1776.
Most generals would have slipped away to the
safety of winter quarters, but Gen. Washington
had an entirely different plan in mind.
His bold counterstroke across the ice-choked
Delaware River on December 25, 1776, led to
three successive battlefield victories and a
stunning strategic reversal which bolstered
American morale and saved the new nation.
With the Revolution once again on the brink of
defeat in early 1781, Washington embarked on a
risky march south to surround and attack Lord
Cornwallis’ British army at Yorktown, Virginia.
Washington’s victory at Yorktown in October 1781
proved to be the decisive battle of the war.
While Washington is best known for the positions
he held, both as a general and president, it is his
willingness to surrender power that may be his
most important legacy.
On December 23, 1783, Washington strode into
the Maryland State House in Annapolis and
surrendered his military commission to Congress
– thereby affirming the principle of civilian
control of the military.
When King George III heard that Washington
would surrender his commission, he reportedly
said that if "He did [this] He would be the
greatest man in the world."
As president, in a time when there were no term
limits and many would have supported a lifetime
role, Washington stepped down as president after
the end of his second term – setting an important
precedent that lasted until the middle of the 20th
century.
Some have claimed that George Washington was
the richest president in American history.
Washington owned more than 50,000 acres in the
western portions of Virginia and what is now
West Virginia, as well as in Maryland,
Pennsylvania, New York, Kentucky, and the Ohio
country.
Long before Lewis and Clark set forth on their
journey westward, Washington had a keen
appreciation for how an expansion into western
territory would not only enrich the new nation,
but also help to better knit the country together.
By linking the headwaters of the west-flowing
Ohio and the east-flowing Potomac, Washington
envisioned a continental transportation system
that would allow the future produce of the Ohio
Valley to flow easily to Atlantic ports.
Even Washington’s choice placing the national
capital along the banks of the Potomac was
designed to reinforce this westward-looking
view.
Many see Washington as a stoic and
unapproachable figure, but in reality he was a
man who loved entertainment and the company
of others.
There are many accounts of his dancing late into
the night at various balls, cotillions, and parties.
He loved theater and attended plays of all sorts
throughout his life.
And during a time where stiff 18th-century
formality pervaded relations between the sexes,
Washington was known as an interested and
engaged communicator with women.
During the American Revolution, George
Washington witnessed firsthand the serious
shortcomings of the Articles of Confederation.
In 1787, Washington traveled to Philadelphia to
attend a convention assembled to recommend
changes to the Confederation. He was
unanimously chosen to preside over the
Constitutional Convention, a job that took four
months.
He spoke very little in the convention, but few
delegates were more determined to devise a
government endowed with real energy and
authority. And as the president of the convention,
Washington was given the privilege of being the
first to add his name to this governing document.
Washington’s leadership during the Revolution
and Constitutional Convention, unimpeachable
character, and his demonstrated willingness not
to abuse power, made him the ideal presidential
candidate.
Even his lack of biological children eliminated
the concerns of some who worried about the
establishment of an American monarchy.
During the first election in 1789, Washington won
the electors of all ten eligible states. In 1792,
Washington received all 132 electoral votes,
winning each of the fifteen states.
Throughout his life, Washington exhibited a keen
interest and eye for useful technologies of all
sorts.
He established himself as an innovative farmer,
who switched from tobacco to wheat as his main
cash crop in the 1760s. In an effort to improve his
farming operation, he diligently experimented
with new crops, fertilizers, crop rotation, tools,
and livestock breeding.
Leveraging a fine donkey sent to him as a gift
from the King of Spain, Washington became one
of the foremost breeders and promoters of the
American mule.
As president, Washington signed the patent for a
new automated mill technology. Intrigued by the
design, Washington had the Oliver Evans
automated mill technology installed in his
gristmill.
He also found time to design a new 16-sided, twostory
threshing barn that greatly improved the
process of separating wheat from chaff.