George washington biography revolutionary war

Retrieved January 12, Archived from the original on March 7, Retrieved April 2, November 5, USA Today. Archived from the original on March 20, The Papers of George Washington. University of Virginia. Archived from the original on July 22, George Washington's Mount Vernon. Mount Vernon Ladies' Association. Archived from the original on July 13, Retrieved July 13, Archived from the original on April 30, Archived from the original on April 24, November 17, Archived from the original on December 11, Siena College Research Institute.

February 13, Archived from the original on July 19, Presidential Historians Survey. Archived from the original on August 22, Army Center of Military History. Archived from the original on May 29, Retrieved November 1, The New York Times. Archived from the original on December 31, Oxford University Press. Archived from the original on June 9, Foreign Policy.

Archived from the original on August 18, Archived from the original on August 15, National Park Service. Archived from the original on November 30, Retrieved December 24, Face to Face. National Portrait Gallery. Archived from the original on May 3, Archived from the original on March 22, Retrieved July 1, Archived from the original on June 12, Retrieved June 13, GW Libraries.

Archived from the original on September 14, Retrieved August 19, Washington University in St. Archived from the original on April 8, United States Mint. July Archived from the original on September 7, For a selected list of published works treating Washington, see Bibliography of George Washington. George Washington at Wikipedia's sister projects.

Library resources about George Washington. Resources in your library Resources in other libraries. James Wilkinson. Alexander Hamilton. Thomas Jefferson. Richard Terrick. George Washington. Washington, D. Links to related articles. Presidents of the United States. Grant — Rutherford B. Hayes — James A. Garfield Chester A. Roosevelt — Harry S.

Truman — Dwight D. Eisenhower — John F. Kennedy — Lyndon B. Bush — Bill Clinton — George W. Washington J. Adams McKinley T. Roosevelt Truman Eisenhower Kennedy L. Bush Clinton G. Bush Obama Trump Biden. Category List. Continental Association. Peyton Randolph. John Sullivan Nathaniel Folsom. Stephen Hopkins Samuel Ward. National Archives Rotunda for the Charters of Freedom.

Constitution of the United States. Convention to propose amendments State ratifying conventions. John Langdon Nicholas Gilman. Nathaniel Gorham Rufus King. William Samuel Johnson Roger Sherman. George Read Gunning Bedford Jr. James McHenry Daniel of St. Thomas Jenifer Daniel Carroll. John Blair James Madison. William Few Abraham Baldwin.

William Jackson. American Revolutionary War. Origins of the American Revolution. Related British Acts of Parliament. Continental Congress Army Navy Marines. Campaigns and theaters. Involvement by colony or location. Prisoners The Turtle. Washington family. Lawrence Washington — Coat of arms of the Washington family. John Washington. Augustine Washington Bailey Washington.

Lawrence Washington — Augustine Washington Jr. Lund Washington. Washington Peter Grayson Washington. Washington Eugenia Washington. After the early death of his father, a young George Washington only seven years old at the time learned the ways of farming and planting as he became the primary owner of his family's plantation farm. He stayed at home throughout his early teenage years, helping his mother run the family's estate.

At the age of fifteen, George became a surveyor. He was able to land this prestigious job through vital connections that his older brother, Lawrence Washington, possessed. Lawrence Washington was close partners with the wealthy Colonel William Fairfax, a very wealthy Virginian politician and landholder. After receiving a good word from the influential Colonel Fairfax, George Washington not only became a successful surveyor, but also was placed in a position to gain land and political positions.

Upon the death of his brother Lawrence, George achieved his first political position in Virginia's Northern District. Furthermore, Colonel Fairfax took the young Washington under his wing as a role model and a sort of surrogate father, fostering in the ambitious George Washington a yearning to also learn about the art of war. Following a failed attempt to enter the British Royal Navy thwarted, in part, by George's mother , Washington finally got his chance to serve in the militia.

The army's difficulties were exacerbated by a number of factors, including a quartermaster's department that had been badly mismanaged by one of Washington's political opponents, Thomas Mifflin , and the preference of farmers and merchants to sell their goods to the British for hard currency instead of the nearly worthless Continental currency.

Congress authorized Washington to seize supplies needed for the army, but he was reluctant to use such authority, since it smacked of the tyranny the war was supposedly being fought over. During the winter he introduced a full-scale training program supervised by Baron von Steuben , a veteran of the Prussian general staff. Despite the hardships the army suffered, this program was a remarkable success, and Washington's army emerged in the spring of a much more disciplined force.

Washington himself had to face discontent at his leadership from a variety of sources. His loss of Philadelphia prompted some members of Congress to discuss removing him from command. Biographer Ron Chernow points out that Washington's handling of the episode demonstrated that he was "a consummate political infighter" who maintained his temper and dignity while his opponents schemed.

The victory at Saratoga and to some extent Washington's near success at Germantown were influential in convincing France to enter the war openly as an American ally. French entry into the war changed its dynamics, for the British were no longer sure of command of the seas and had to worry about an invasion of their home islands and other colonial territories across the globe.

The British, now under the command of Major General Henry Clinton , evacuated Philadelphia in and returned to New York City, with Washington attacking them along the way at the Battle of Monmouth ; this was the last major battle in the north. Prior to the battle Washington gave command of the advance forces to Charles Lee, who had been exchanged earlier in the year.

Lee, despite firm instructions from Washington, refused Lafayette's suggestion to launch an organized attack on the British rear, and then retreated when the British turned to face him. When Washington arrived at the head of the main army, he and Lee had an angry exchange of words, and Washington ordered Lee off the command. Washington, with his army's tactics and ability to execute improved by the training programs of the previous winter, was able to recover, and fought the British to a draw.

Lee was court martialed and eventually dismissed from the army. During the comparatively mild winter of —, Washington and Congress discussed options for the campaign season. The possibility of a Franco-American campaign against Quebec, first proposed for , had a number of adherents in Congress, and was actively supported by Lafayette in Washington's circle.

This was approved, and in the summer of a sizable force under Major General John Sullivan made a major expedition into the northwestern frontier of New York in reprisal for the frontier raids. Washington's opponent in New York, however, was not inactive. Clinton engaged in a number of amphibious raids against coastal communities from Connecticut to Chesapeake Bay , and probed at Washington's defenses in the Hudson River valley.

George washington biography revolutionary war

When Clinton weakened the garrison there to provide men for raiding expeditions, Washington organized a counterstrike. General Anthony Wayne led a force that, solely using the bayonet, recaptured Stony Point. American morale was dealt a blow later in the year, when the second major attempt at Franco-American cooperation, an attempt to retake Savannah , failed with heavy casualties.

The winter of —80 was one of the coldest in recorded colonial history. New York Harbor froze over, and the winter camps of the Continental Army were deluged with snow, resulting in hardships exceeding those experienced at Valley Forge. The paper currency also hit the army's morale, since it was how the troops were paid. The British in late embarked on a new strategy based on the assumption that most Southerners were Loyalists at heart.

General Clinton withdrew the British garrison from Newport, and marshaled a force of more than 10, men that in the first half of successfully besieged Charleston, South Carolina. In June , he captured over 5, Continental soldiers and militia in the single worst defeat of the war for the Americans. Camden saw the ignominious defeat of General Gates, who had been appointed to the southern command by Congress without Washington's advice or knowledge beforehand.

Washington's army suffered from numerous problems in it was undermanned, underfunded, and underequipped. Knowledge of discontent within the ranks in New Jersey prompted the British in New York to make two attempts to reach the principal army base at Morristown. These attempts were defeated, with significant militia support, in battles at Connecticut Farms and Springfield.

September brought a new shock to Washington. Arnold in began secret negotiations with General Clinton. Arnold pleaded with Washington, who appointed him commander of West Point, the major Patriot strong point in New York. The early months of continued to be difficult for the American cause. Troops mutinied in Pennsylvania , inspiring troops in New Jersey to also do so.

Washington was uninvolved in resolving the Pennsylvania troops' demands, but he sent troops under General Robert Howe that harshly put down the New Jersey mutiny, hanging two men. General Arnold's raiding expedition to Virginia was a notable success, ravaging the countryside and destroying military and economic infrastructure and supplies. He was ineffectually opposed by Virginia militia and Continental recruits under Baron von Steuben.

Destouches was however opposed by the British fleet of Admiral Marriot Arbuthnot at the Battle of Cape Henry in March , and was unable to gain entry to the bay. General Clinton thereafter sent more troops to Virginia under General William Phillips , who resumed raiding operations in central Virginia. In the early months of the French foreign minister, the Comte de Vergennes , realized that the war, now being conducted on a global stage, could not last much longer without decisive action in North America.

France also gave six million livres to the United States to assist in the war effort. In May , Washington and the French army command met at Wethersfield, Connecticut , after the French instructions arrived. They discussed options for joint operations, with Washington arguing for an assault on New York, and Rochambeau for operations in Virginia against General Phillips.

General Clinton had turned over command of the southern army to General Cornwallis. After the defeat of Gates at Camden, he had nominally gained control over South Carolina, although there was significant militia skirmishing, led by partisan fighters like Francis Marion and Thomas Sumter. Kings Mountain in particular proved a decisive blow to further attempts to recruit Loyalists, and force Cornwallis had been instructed to rely upon.

When he finally reached sufficient strength, Greene offered Cornwallis open battle at Hillsboro, North Carolina , in March. Although he lost the Battle of Guilford Court House , Greene inflicted significant casualties on Cornwallis while retaining his own army intact. Cornwallis moved to Wilmington, North Carolina , to regroup, and then made the controversial decision to bring his army into Virginia, which he saw as the supply base for Greene's army.

After a series of confusing and sometimes contradictory suggestions, Clinton in late July issued firm orders to Cornwallis to establish a fortified deep-water port in Virginia. Cornwallis informed Clinton that he would do so at Yorktown. Admiral de Grasse received the dispatches of Washington and Rochambeau in mid-July. He immediately sent dispatches north indicating that he would be sailing for the Chesapeake Bay to assist in operations there.

As part of the march troops appeared to establish camps and other works on the west side of the Hudson, as if preparing for an attack on New York. De Grasse sailed north with his entire fleet 28 ships of the line , while his British counterpart, Admiral Rodney not expecting de Grasse to take his entire fleet sent only 15 ships in pursuit. The French victory was strategically vital, for it denied the British control of the Chesapeake and set the stage for the encirclement of Cornwallis at Yorktown.

Upon his arrival at Yorktown Washington had command of 5, Continentals, 3, militia and 7, French regulars. By the 9th guns had been emplaced on the first parallel, and began firing on the entrenched British camp. Work proceeded rapidly thereafter on the second parallel, only yards m from the British defenses. On the 14th two outer redoubts of the British defenses were stormed, and the entirety of the British camp was with range of the French and American cannons.

After a failed attempt to escape across the York River, Cornwallis opened negotiations on October Two days later terms were agreed, and his 8, men paraded in surrender. The disaster at Yorktown broke the morale of the governing class in London and paralyzed Britain's national will to make war. The war party in Britain lost control of Parliament, and the new government opened peace talks.

These came to fruition in with the Treaty of Paris , in which Britain recognized American independence. Washington, concerned that Congress "may think our work too nearly closed", worked to make sure that the army would be prepared for a campaign in The badge, a purple-colored cloth in the shape of a heart, is a precursor to the modern American Purple Heart.

In , Washington continued to keep the army ready at Newburgh, although some of his officers made veiled threats to Congress about long-overdue pay. Washington diffused this hint at mutiny with an address to the troops on March 15 recommending patience. Carleton refused to budge and informed Washington, much to his chagrin, that the British had transported 6, formerly enslaved Black people to Nova Scotia and he would refuse to support any effort by Americans to re-enslave their former property.

In response, Congress temporarily relocated to Princeton, and Washington dispatched troops south from New York. After action by Congress addressed their concerns, the mutineers returned to their posts. The Treaty of Paris was signed on September 3, Washington's contribution to victory in the war was not that of a great battlefield tactician. He has been characterized, according to historian Edward G.

Lengel , in many different ways: "charismatic hero, master of guerrilla warfare, incompetent or infallible battlefield commander, strategic genius, nationalist visionary, fanatical micromanager, and lucky dog". On a number of occasions his subordinates convinced him to hold off on plans of attack they saw as rash. Trenton and Princeton were Fabian examples.

By August , however, Washington had rebuilt his strength and his confidence and stopped using raids and went for large-scale confrontations, as at Brandywine, Germantown, Monmouth and Yorktown. Washington is often characterized as complaining about undisciplined militia forces, but he understood that they were a vital part of the nation's defenses, since regular army troops could not be everywhere.

One of Washington's important contributions as commander-in-chief was to establish the precedent that elected civilian officials, rather than military officers, possessed ultimate authority over the military. Throughout the war, he deferred to the authority of Congress and state officials, and he relinquished his considerable military power once the fighting was over.

This principle was especially visible in his handling of the Newburgh conspiracy, and in his "Farewell Orders". After the war Washington chaired the Constitutional Convention that drafted the United States Constitution , and was then elected the first President of the United States , serving two terms. On July 3, he takes formal command of the army in Massachusetts , where the American Revolutionary War — is already underway.

By the time Washington becomes commander-in-chief, colonial militiamen have already begun a siege of British-controlled Boston. During a six-month encampment at Valley Forge , Pennsylvania , Washington and former Prussian military officer Friedrich Wilhelm Baron von Steuben train the Continental Army into a more efficient fighting force. This proves to be a major turning point in the war.

The Battle of Yorktown is the last major battle in the war, though the war formally ends on September 3, with the Treaty of Paris. In December , Washington, who had no previous military experience, was made a commander of the Virginia militia. By , Washington had resigned his commission, returned to Mount Vernon and was elected to the Virginia House of Burgesses, where he served until In January , he married Martha Dandridge Custis , a wealthy widow with two children.

Washington became a devoted stepfather to her children; he and Martha Washington never had any offspring of their own. In the ensuing years, Washington expanded Mount Vernon from 2, acres into an 8,acre property with five farms. He grew a variety of crops, including wheat and corn, bred mules and maintained fruit orchards and a successful fishery.

He was deeply interested in farming and continually experimented with new crops and methods of land conservation. Washington proved to be a better general than military strategist. His strength lay not in his genius on the battlefield but in his ability to keep the struggling colonial army together. His troops were poorly trained and lacked food, ammunition and other supplies soldiers sometimes even went without shoes in winter.

However, Washington was able to give them direction and motivation. His leadership during the winter of at Valley Forge was a testament to his power to inspire his men to keep going. By the late s, Washington had experienced firsthand the effects of rising taxes imposed on American colonists by the British and came to believe that it was in the best interests of the colonists to declare independence from England.

Washington served as a delegate to the First Continental Congress in in Philadelphia. By the time the Second Continental Congress convened a year later, the American Revolution had begun in earnest, and Washington was named commander in chief of the Continental Army. Over the course of the grueling eight-year war, the colonial forces won few battles but consistently held their own against the British.

In October , with the aid of the French who allied themselves with the colonists over their rivals the British , the Continental forces were able to capture British troops under General Charles Cornwallis in the Battle of Yorktown.