Battles & Wars › Revolutions & Napoleon › American Revolutionary War
George Washington
1732–1799· Person· Americas
Well documentedSolid records, physical evidence or scientific consensus.
Virginia planter who commanded the Continental Army through eight years of war, then became the first U.S. president.
See it on the Battles & Wars map →What happened
A surveyor and militia officer, Washington had fought for Britain against the French in the 1750s. Congress made him commander in 1775. He lost more battles than he won, including New York in 1776, but kept his army intact. His surprise crossing of the icy Delaware River to win at Trenton that December revived the cause. He held the army together through the hard winter at Valley Forge and, with French forces, forced the British surrender at Yorktown in 1781.
Why it matters
He showed that keeping an army alive can matter more than winning battles. By resigning his command in 1783 and leaving the presidency after two terms, he made civilian rule the norm.
Legacy and how we know
Tens of thousands of his letters and orders survive and are published in full. He owned over 100 enslaved people at Mount Vernon; his will freed them after his wife's death.
Still debated
Historians debate his skill as a battlefield general compared with his political leadership, and how far his views on slavery changed late in life.
Connections (2)
▸George Washington commanded the Continental Army in American Revolutionary WarWell documented
The connection
Congress chose Washington as commander in June 1775, partly because a Virginian could tie the South to New England's cause. For eight years he kept a poorly supplied, short-term army in the field, avoided battles that could destroy it, struck when chances came, and deferred to Congress's civilian authority.
When and how
Appointed in Philadelphia, June 1775; took command at Cambridge, Massachusetts, in July; resigned at Annapolis, Maryland, in December 1783.
How we know
Congress's journals record his appointment; his orders and letters, and those of his officers, document his command day by day.
Debates and open questions
Historians weigh how much the outcome owed to Washington's leadership versus French aid and British mistakes.
▸George Washington led the Franco-American victory at Siege of YorktownWell documented
The connection
In August 1781 Washington learned that a French fleet under de Grasse would sail to the Chesapeake. He and Rochambeau left a screen to fool the British in New York and marched their armies to Virginia in just over a month. He commanded the combined army through the siege, and his deputy, Benjamin Lincoln, received the British surrender.
When and how
Yorktown, Virginia, September–October 1781; Washington, Rochambeau, de Grasse and Lafayette against Cornwallis.
How we know
Washington's diary and orders, the Articles of Capitulation he signed, and French officers' journals record his command.
Debates and open questions
Washington had wanted to attack New York instead; how much the plan was Rochambeau's and de Grasse's rather than his own is debated.