General George Washington: A Military LifeMuch has been written in the past two centuries about George Washington the statesman and “father of his country.” Less often discussed is Washington’s military career, including his exploits as a young officer and his performance as the Revolutionary War commander in chief. Now, in a revealing work of historical biography, Edward Lengel has written the definitive account of George Washington the soldier. Based largely on Washington’s personal papers, this engrossing book paints a vivid, factual portrait of a man to whom lore and legend so tenaciously cling. To Lengel, Washington was the imperfect commander. Washington possessed no great tactical ingenuity, and his acknowledged “brilliance in retreat” only demonstrates the role luck plays in the fortunes of all great men. He was not an enlisted man’s leader; he made a point of never mingling with his troops. He was not an especially creative military thinker; he fought largely by the book. He was not a professional, but a citizen soldier, who, at a time when warfare demanded that armies maneuver efficiently in precise formation, had little practical training handling men in combat. Yet despite his flaws, Washington was a remarkable figure, a true man of the moment, a leader who possessed a clear strategic, national, and continental vision, and who inspired complete loyalty from his fellow revolutionaries, officers, and enlisted men. America could never have won freedom without him. A trained surveyor, Washington mastered topography and used his superior knowledge of battlegrounds to maximum effect. He appreciated the importance of good allies in times of crisis, and understood well the benefits of coordination of ground and naval forces. Like the American nation itself, he was a whole that was greater than the sum of its parts–a remarkable everyman whose acts determined the course of history. Lengel argues that Washington’s excellence was in his completeness, in how he united the military, political, and personal skills necessary to lead a nation in war and peace. At once informative and engaging, and filled with some eye-opening revelations about Washington, the war for American independence, and the very nature of military command, General George Washington is a book that reintroduces readers to a figure many think they already know. |
Contents
5 | |
25 | |
Fort Necessity January October 1754 | 33 |
Braddock JanuaryJuly 1755 | 51 |
The Virginia Regiment July 1755January 1759 | 65 |
Call to Arms 17591775 | 85 |
Boston June 1775 March 1776 | 103 |
New York March August 1776 | 133 |
Princeton December 1776January 1777 | 195 |
Philadelphia December 1776 September 1777 | 211 |
Germantown SeptemberOctober 1777 | 243 |
Valley Forge December 1777 May 1778 | 266 |
Monmouth MayJune 1778 | 284 |
The Dark Before the Dawn 1778 1781 | 307 |
Victory September 1780 December 1783 | 324 |
Old Soldier 1784 1799 | 353 |
Retreat September December 1776 | 153 |
Redemption Trenton December 1776 | 177 |
First in War? | 365 |
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Common terms and phrases
advance American army artillery attack August Battle Battle of Princeton Battles of Trenton Boston Braddock Brandywine brigade British army camp campaign cannon Captain civilians Clinton Colonial Series command commander-in-chief Continental Army Cornwallis Creek December defeat Delaware Diary Duquesne enemy expedition fight fire Forbes force Ford Fort Duquesne Fort Necessity French garrison George Washington German Germantown Greene guns GW to John Henry Henry Knox Hill Horatio Gates horses Howe's Hudson ibid Indians infantry ington Jersey John Hancock Jonathan Trumbull Joseph Reed July June Knox Lafayette letter Library of Congress lieutenant colonel Long Island loyalists major March Maryland miles military militia militiamen Monmouth muskets Nathanael Greene October officers Ohio ordered Pennsylvania Philadelphia Princeton Quoted redcoats retreat Revolutionary War Series River road Robert Dinwiddie September soldiers Sullivan supply Tanacharison tion took Trenton troops Valley Forge victory Virginia Virginia Regiment Wash Washington Papers Wayne William wrote York Yorktown