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A Good Soldier
If Thomas Jefferson, Patrick Henry, Samuel Adams and Benjamin Franklin conceived
the framework of a new nation, George Washington navigated it through its greatest
crisis. Few know how well he shouldered the heavy task that fell on him in 1775.
by Bruce Gore
The news of April 18, 1775, dashed any hope
of peacefully settling differences between Great Britain and the American colonies.
Maj. John Pitcairn of the British Army had fired upon the American militia assembled
in Lexington, Massachusetts. Americans from towns and villages in every direction
lay among the dead and wounded.
Word quickly spread. The almost-hourly appearance of armed men from far and near
soon resulted in a ragtag but determined army gathered around Boston.
The new Congress quickly moved to adopt the army, calling it the Continental Army.
It was essential that the troops be given a leader--a commander in chief--for the
inexperienced, newly formed Continental Army of the 13 colonies.
Opinions varied on whom to choose. Several were ambitious for the post. Massachusetts
representative John Adams rose to nominate George Washington, a colonel of the Virginia
forces. Citing Washington's talents and unquestioned character, Adams made the motion
to appoint him commander in chief of the armed forces of the American colonies.
Support for his appointment was unanimous. Washington accepted, refusing compensation
other than the reimbursement of his expenses. He asked "every gentleman in the
room," however, to remember his declaration that he did not believe himself
equal to the command and that he accepted it only as a duty made imperative by the
unanimity of the vote.
To the day of his death, as evidenced by letters to family members, he was the greatest
skeptic of his fitness for his military and leadership duties.
Forging a Leader
Little hint of greatness was to be found in the early years of this wealthy landowner,
whose time was largely occupied with his large holdings. Washington was slow to endorse
independence from the mother country, doing so only when it seemed no other course
could work. In a letter to a neighbor, he tended toward peaceful resistance yet faced
the reality that force might ultimately prove necessary. He was present when Patrick
Henry delivered his powerful speech against the Stamp Act.
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