In 1755, however, he accepted a position as aide on General Braddook's staff and passed through the ill-fated eompaign of that year with great Mat. His personal bravery under fire was conspicuously shown in the disastrous battle of the Monongahela, July 90, in which he displayed the greatest gallantry, and it was recognized that Draddoek's defeat was largely due to neglect of Washington's wise counsel. The duty now fell to Washington of reorganizing the provincial troops. and he retained the command of them until the close of the campaign of 1758, when he resigned his commission and retired to private life. But he did not resign before he had made a brief visit to Governor Shirley at Boston ( Feb ruary, 1756) to settle unpleasant questions of preeedenee het WPC/1 and crown mili tary oilicers—a trip that enlarged his knowledge of men and of his native country—or before be had seen Fort Duquesne occupied I November 25, 1758). See l'irrsifrio,.
On January Ii, 1759, Washington married Mrs. Martha Curtis, a young widow with two chil dren. John and Martha Parke t'ustis, said wealthy in her own right. The management of her large estate, combined with that of his own, now occupied most of his time, at least until about 1763. Having been elected to the House of Ifurgesses of Virginia shortly before his mar riage, he now began to appear prominently in public affairs, attending regularly every meeting of the Assembly, and, though seldom speaking, taking care to be thoroughly informed upon every prominent publie question. lie moved much in society; was also an enthusiast ie hunter; practiced a generous hospitality at Mount Vernon; associated constantly with the leading men of the colony; and soon, and imper ceptibly, gained a recognized position as a man of great ability and marked personal influence. At this time he was frequently made the depositary of important trusts, and was very often chosen to act as arbitrator in disputes arising among the colonists. His devotion to business and affairs was untiring. his industry extraordinary. He personally took charge of all his numerous ac counts and business records, conducted his large and increasing correspondence, and drafted all his own contracts and deeds. At the outbreak of the Revolution Ile was recognized as the leading man in the Colony of Virginia, and was certainly one of the wealthiest in the colonies.
When the disputes between the colonies and England began, Washington held that arms should he the last resort. This respect for lawful authority made hint dread any rupture; neverthe less, he drew up in 1769 a non-importation agree ment. which was signed by the House of Bur gesses, and at the provincial convention at Wil liamsburg, August 1, 1774, lie was among the foremost in asserting the right of the colonies to self-government. It was at this time that he made one of the few impulsive speeches recorded of him. Touched by the sufferings of Boston, resulting from the enforcement of the Boston Port Bill (q.v.1. he exclaimed: "I will raise a thousand men, subsist them at my own expense. and march with them. at their head, for the relief of Boston." Tie was one of the six Virginia dele gates appointed to the first Continental Congress, -tvhieh met in September, 1774: and on -Tune 15, 1775. was chosen by that holy eommander-in chief of the Continental Army, his nomination having been formally made by Thomas Johnson of Maryland and warmly seconded by Adams. Ile accepted with great modesty. refused any pay for his serviees. and asked only that his expenses, be refunded to him after the war. For this important position his previous education had singularly adapted hint. Not only was he competent in military affairs and skilled by pre cept and experience in the art of war, hut his extensive knowledge of the geographical char acter of the country, and his familiarity with the characteristics and qualifications of the royal army. made him certainly the most dangerous antagonist, as a commanding officer, with whom that army could have to cope in the colonies.
Washington left Philadelphia on June 21st, joined the army at Cambridge. and assumed com mand on July 3. 1775. This army numbered about 16,000 men, all told, including the sick. It was in want of everything that could make it an effective fighting force—arms. ammuni tion, accoutrements, and. worse than all. esprit dr corps. The course pursued by Congress in making its appointments had occasioned much discontent among the general officers; the or ganization was defective; a commissary and adjutant-general were more needed than a brave warrior or a skillful tactician. in Washington, fortunately for the country, were combined all three. He proceeded at once to complete an ef fective organization of his army, by forming it into six brigades of six regiments each. keeping together the troops from each colony, as fat' as practicable, and placing them under a commander from their colony. lle maintained a constant co'respondenc•e with Congress. pressing his views earnestly upon that body, and, though slowly, with marked success. All the offieers were com missioned anew by Congress, and gradually a Continental army was formed. Washington cor responded with the beads of the different colonial governments, and afterwards with the Governors of the several States, and succeeded at length, not only in creating the American Army, but in becoming the sole ehannel of communication be tween it and the mmwrous and complicated depositories of authority in the United States. But all this was accomplished amid embarrass ments innumerable. The army itself became diminished by the expiration of terms of enlist ment; there were cabals among the officers, and disagreements with the civil authorities; yet, despite all opposing influences, the British were closely besieged in Boston during the winter of 1775-76, and until a new army could be collected, and arms and ammunition supplied. On .)larch 4, 177G. the Americans took possession of Dorches ter Heights, and on the 17th the British evacuated Boston. and their fleet put to sea; whereupon Washington at once proceeded to New York, with the design of preventing a landing. In this he was foiled, partly through the insufficiency of the forces at his disposal, partly on account of the royalist strength in New York. The landing
was effected; the Americans were defeated in the battle of Long Island (q.v.), August 27, and Washington was forced to abandon New York to its fate and retreated northward. After ()Noosing the British in the northern part of Manhattan Island and north of the liarlem 1:iver, notably at White Plains (q.v.), October 28t1), he crossed the Hudson early in November only about 6000 men under his immediate command. Ile was hotly pursued through New Jersey by the British, and when he crossed the Delaware into Pennsylvania had less than 3000 weary, half-starved, dispirited soldiers under his convIIM MI. Three weeks later (December 260) be captured more than 1000 Hessians at Trenton (q.v.), and stole away from the superior forces of Cornwallis, defeating his reserve at Princeton and then went into winter quarters at Morristown. N. .1. ll• Mareh 1, 1777, not a British or Hessian :soldier was to lie found in New Jersey, save a small detachment at New Brunswick and Perth Amboy. By his brilliant movements between December 25, 1776, and Janu ary 4, 1777. Washington had not only saved his small army, but had inspired the almost despair ing colonists with renewed confidence and hope. In the mean time Congress had seen the necessity of enlisting a regular army of men for a longer period than a year, which had been its previous practice; and it now conferred for a period of six months almost dictatorial powers on Wash ington. The campaign of 1777 in this theatre of the war opened about the middle of .June, and was disastrous to the .Amerieans from the begin ning. They were defeated in the battle of the Brandywine (September llth), and the British entered Philadelphia two weeks later. On Octo ber 4th the patriots were again defeated at Ger mantown. and about the middle of December Washington and his half-clothed and worn-out command went into winter quarters at Valley Forge (q.v.) in a fortified encampment. During the winter Washington and his troops were sub jected to the severest privations. To add to his embarrassment, a conspiracy among some of his own general officers nearly resulted in deposing him from his command in favor of General Gates, whose victory over Burgoyne at Saratoga had been, as Thomas Paine soon showed, rendered possible by Washington's admirably conceived and executed mancenvres; hut it was fortunately frustrated, and only added to Washington's in fluence. ( SZee CONWAY Camay,.) -Meanwhile, the men suffered for lack of food and proper cloth ing; the quartermaster's and commissariat de partments were deranged and inadequate; and the patriot cause was at the lowest ebb of its fortunes. But Congress took up the question of properly recruiting and providing the arum•: a treaty with France was ratified, May 4, 1777, with great rejoicing on the part of the Ameri cans; and the British, although only 20 miles distant from the American camp, permitted the winter and spring to pass without any offensive movement. All these circumstances combined enabled Washington to open the campaign of 1778 in somewhat better condition, and with an army in good spirits and rendered more efficient through the energetic drilling of Steuben. Sir henry Clinton. who had replaced Howe as eom mander-in-chief of the British forces in America on 18th, evacuated Philadelphia on June 18th, and Washington crossed the Delaware with his whole army, attacking the enemy at Mon mouth (q.v.) on June 28tii, when they retreated, after a sharp engagement, which, but for the insubordination of General Charles Lee (q.v.), would probably have resulted in a victory for the Americans. Washington continued his march to the 'Hudson. which he crossed, and encamped, July 20th, near White Plains. He now distrib uted his troops in a line of cantonments around New York and in New Jersey. extending from Long Island Sound to the Delaware; arranged for the defense of New England: and in Decem ber went into winter quarters. During the whole of 1779 Washington retained his position in the Highlands of the Hudson, and remained on the defensive. In 1780 the French Government sent out Count i:oc•hannbeau, who arrived at Newport, IL I., July 10th, with an expedition; and com bined operations were concerted, blot not carried out, on account of the naval superiority of the British. The features of importance of this year were the discovery of the treason of Benedict Arnold, followed by the execution of Major Andr6, and the success of the British in the South, where, however. in the next year they were foiled by Washington's most reliable subordinate. The year 17s1 found Wash ington hampered by a vacillating and unreliable Congress,. doubtful of its (ST powers, and, al though] he had now every hope that, hr would be strongly supported by the French auxiliary fleet. he was unable to utilize this advantage to the necessary extent. In August and September Washington, greatly strengthened by a From,' reinforcement under Rochambeau (q.v.), trans ferred his troops to the South and invested Lord Cornwallis at Yorktown, Va.. a French fleet under De Grasse (q.v.) shuttling MI any assistance which might have come to the British by sea and preventing C'ornw•allis's escape. Iht Getober 17th the British commander proposed it cessation of hostilities, and two days later he capitulated with his whole army. (See Yonwrowx.) This practically concluded the active operations of the war. Washington now exerted himself in en deavoring to obtain from Congress a settlement of the claims of his officers. it is probable that, had Washington so desired, lie could at this time have founded a monarchy, sustained by his army. He took the course, on the con trary-, of quelling this disposition on the part of his soldiers whenever it showed itself. On June 8, 1783, he issued his splendid letter to the Governors of the States with regard to the neces sity of establishing a firm and dignified Federal Government, On November 25, 17S3, the British evacuated New York; on December 4th Washing ton delivered his farewell address to the army; and on December 23d, at Annapolis, he resigned his commission to Congress and retired to private life. For further details concerning his services during the Revolution, see the article UNITED STMTS. and the articles on the various battles.