British surrender at Yorktown 405–9
Brooklyn Heights 240
Camden 361
capture of Philadelphia 307
conflicting feelings about his task 194
Congress authorizes expansion and reorganization of Continental Army 249–53
Congress grants full power over operation of war 268, 285–86, 296
Congress orders commemorative medal for 311
considers abandoning New York 242–43, 244
considers armed resistance against British 179, 180, 181–82, 187–88
councils of war 210, 222, 237, 244, 255, 258, 261, 274, 276, 287, 289, 299, 308, 328–29, 341
Cowpens and Guilford Court House 375–76
criticism of his leadership 263–64, 265, 269, 274, 299–300, 328–34, 344
crossing of the Delaware 278–79
declaration of American independence 232
in demand to lead Virginian troops (1775) 188
demands British acknowledgement of his rank 234–35
errors made by 238, 242, 244, 245, 256, 261, 263, 295
execution of André 365–69
fall of Charleston 359–60
farewell address to army 419
fears for Philadelphia 267
fears war is all but lost 269
feelings about victory at Saratoga 316, 317
formal resignation to Congress 420
Fort Washington 259–63, 264
foundations for victory laid by 411
frustration over amateur part-timers 209–10, 218
Germantown 308–9, 314
Harlem Heights 247–49, 253–54
Hartford summit 362, 364, 393
headquarters at Cambridge 199
heads Congressional committees 192–93
highpoint of military career 295
Howe attempts peace negotiations with 234–35, 241
instructions from Congress 195, 229
lobbies for permanent standing army 242, 249, 251, 253, 334–36, 413, 417, 420–21, 423
manpower issues 199, 208–9, 211, 213–14, 215, 217–18, 220–21, 228, 241–42, 247, 249, 263, 267–68, 269–70, 273, 282, 283–84, 286, 287, 308, 316–17, 318, 325–28, 334–35, 371, 379–80, 384–85, 396
militiamen 217, 242–43, 258, 293, 360–61, 379–80
Monmouth Court House 342–45
New York campaign plans (1781) 382–86, 389, 393–94
New York and New Jersey campaign 225, 227–70, 411
offensive against Iroquois 351–56
officers’ role and remuneration 219–20, 250–51, 334–36, 417
opposes invasion of Canada (1778) 348
orders to troops 199–200, 201, 218, 232, 236, 237, 283, 284, 303, 316, 320, 343, 357, 360, 364–65, 398, 415, 418, 419
organizes Continental Army 199–203
paperwork 208
patriotic speeches to men 284–85
Peace of Paris 418
Pennsylvania campaign 297–313, 316–21
powers of 285–86
presence on front lines at Yorktown 403–4, 405
Princeton 290–95, 296
promotes common American cause 236
pursuit of Clinton’s army in New Jersey 341–42
reaction to Newburgh Addresses 414–15
recapture of Boston 223–25
reception at Newport 376, 377
referred to as “His Excellency” 202
regroups in Pennsylvania 273
relations with French allies 345–48, 377, 382–82
reorganization of Continental Army 214, 218, 250–52
retreat from New York 255–56, 264–266
returns Howe’s dog 310
shortage of munitions 206, 215–16, 222
shortage of supplies 323–24, 356–58, 371
siege of Boston 210–11, 215
southern campaign 382, 385, 386–411
support for his men 280, 324–25
symbol and defender of American liberty 308, 329
training of troops 337–39
treason of Arnold 363–65, 368–69
Trenton 276–82, 283
Trenton-Princeton campaign 271–96, 410–11
unrest among troops 371–75, 411–18
at Valley Forge 321, 323–25, 328, 334, 336, 337–40
wants speedy resolution of hostilities 210
wants to take a stand at Princeton 266
weary of his role 253
Wethersfield conference 381–82
White Plains 256–57
Yorktown campaign 392–411
sources on 9–11
Washington, Jane (half sister) 17, 21
Washington, John Augustine (“Jack”) (brother) 21, 56, 76, 229, 261, 269, 302
Washington, Colonel John (great-grandfather) 14, 15–16, 40
Washington, John (uncle) 16
Washington, Lawrence (grandfather) 16
Washington, Revd Lawrence (great great-grandfather) 14
Washington, Lawrence (half-brother) 17, 21, 315–16, 430
as adjutant general for Virginia 34–35
in Barbados 32–34
captains Virginian company in American Regiment 22, 23–24, 25–26, 50, 121
death of 34, 119
inheritance and estates 26, 32
marriage 28
tuberculosis 32, 33, 34
Washington, Lund (cousin) 217, 252–53, 267, 270, 326, 394
Washington, Martha (wife)
at Mount Vernon 160
children by first marriage 122
correspondence with husband 156, 194
courtship 120–22, 137–38, 156
fortune and estates 121, 156
lifestyle and hospitality 173
marriage 153–54, 156
relationship with husband 156, 429
visits husband in camp 217
Washington, Mary (née Ball) (mother) 17–18, 27, 28, 29, 66–67
character 27
Washington, Mildred (aunt) 16, 17
Washington, Richard 109, 122, 154
Washington, Samuel (brother) 21, 204
Washington, Sarah (niece) 67
Washington, Captain/Colonel William 279, 281, 399–400
Washington’s Camp 149–51
Waterloo, Battle of 426
Wayne, Brigadier General/Major General Anthony 306, 310, 318, 328–29, 341–42, 345, 350, 372–73, 387, 388, 399, 423–25
weaponry
breech-loading rifles 1
cannon fire 401–3
Continental Army 398–400
espontoons 398–99
howitzers 70–71
rate of fire 70
technological advances 1, 70–71
twelve- and six-pounders 70–71
Webb, Thomas 188
Weedon, General George 247, 423
Weems, Parson 26
Weiser (Indian agent) 59
Wellford, Dr. Robert 425
Wentworth, Brigadier General Thomas 23, 24–25
West, Benjamin 6, 7
West, Christopher 165
West Indies see Caribbean
West Point 347–48, 350, 364, 420
Westchester County 364
Westminster Abbey 164, 245
Wethersfield 381, 382, 385
wheat 160
Whiskey Rebellion 425
White House (New Kent County) 120, 122
White Plains 259, 384, 399
Battle of 10, 256–58
White, Sergeant Joseph 290–91
White Thunder, Chief 41, 44–45
Whitemarsh 320
Wilkinson, James, Captain/Major 10, 214, 288, 289, 293, 330
William III, King 19
Williamsburg 37, 38, 42, 46–47, 55, 62, 63, 64, 71, 74, 89, 98, 103, 120, 159, 160, 173, 184, 387, 394–95, 396, 398, 399
Wills Creek 38, 46, 51, 52, 68, 69, 85, 88, 104, 130
Wilmington 302
Winchester 69, 71, 73, 84, 85, 86, 87, 89, 93
, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100, 103–5, 108, 110, 114, 115–16, 117, 122, 125, 127, 131
Wolfe, Major General James 6, 157, 162–63, 164, 169, 195–96, 198, 220, 257, 262, 276, 398
Wood, James 70
Wood, Sylvanus 198
Woodbridge 298
Woodford, Colonel William 219, 220
woodsmen 84, 87–88, 212
Wright, Joseph 429
Wyandots 141, 148, 171, 422
Wyoming Valley 351
York 307, 330
York River 160, 389, 391, 402
Yorktown 389, 392
campaign (1781) 9, 393–411, 426
Youghiogheny River 52–53, 75
Young, Major William 220
Illustrations
Charles Willson Peale, George Washington, 1772. The earliest known portrait of Washington shows him wearing his uniform as colonel of the Virginia Regiment from 1755 to 1758.
Anonymous, Lawrence Washington, ca. 1740–50. Washington’s much-loved half brother wears the red coat and green waistcoat of the American Regiment in which he served as a captain in the Caribbean from 1740 to 1742.
Duncan Smith, Sarah “Sally” Cary Fairfax. This 1916 copy of a naïve, and now lost, portrait by an anonymous artist suggests the qualities that captivated the young Washington.
Sir Joshua Reynolds, Captain Robert Orme, 1756. This dashing young British officer befriended Washington during the 1755 campaign against Fort Duquesne.
Allan Ramsay, John Campbell, Fourth Earl of Loudoun, 1754. Britain’s commander in chief in North America from mid-1756 to early 1758 failed to afford Washington the patronage he expected.
William Mercer, after James Peale, The Battle of Princeton, c. 1786. Washington rallies his troops at the crisis of the fighting on January 3, 1777.
Xavier della Gatta, The Battle of Germantown, 1782. Early on October 4, 1777, redcoats prepare to defend the Chew House against the Americans, seen advancing in the distance.
Charles Willson Peale, George Washington at Princeton, 1779. This celebrated portrait commemorates Washington’s pivotal victory on January 3, 1777. Hessian standards captured days earlier at Trenton lie at his feet.
Charles Willson Peale, General Nathanael Greene, 1783. Widely regarded as Washington’s most able subordinate, Greene shared his instinctive aggression.
Charles Willson Peale, General Henry Knox, 1783. Washington’s loyal artillery commander, shown wearing the insignia of the newly inaugurated Society of the Cincinnati.
General Sir William Howe, mezzotint published by John Morris, c. 1777. Washington’s brave but sometimes lackadaisical British opponent during the campaigns of 1776 to 1777.
John Smart, Sir Henry Clinton, 1777. Howe’s erratic successor, and Washington’s principal enemy from 1778.
Thomas Gainsborough, Charles Earl Cornwallis, 1783. A deceptively tranquil portrait of the energetic general trapped at Yorktown in 1781.
James Peale, General Horatio Gates at Saratoga, c. 1799. Washington’s colleague and rival at his greatest triumph, the surrender of General Burgoyne’s army on October 17, 1777.
George Romney, Joseph Brant, c. 1776. Society artist Romney painted the charismatic Mohawk leader when Brant visited London.
H. Charles Mcbarron Junior, Washington at Monmouth Courthouse. A modern reconstruction of the battle on June 28, 1778, with Washington berating Charles Lee for retreating. The artist captures the day’s intense heat, and the motley uniforms of the Continental Army.
Major John André, Self–portrait, 1780. Made on the eve of his execution on October 2, 1780, André’s sketch reveals the debonair and carefree demeanor that so impressed his captors.
John Trumbull, Surrender of Lord Cornwallis, 1787–1828. Deputizing for Lord Cornwallis at Yorktown on October 19, 1781, Brigadier General O’Hara capitulates to Major General Lincoln, while Washington looks on.
Louis–Nicolas van Blarenberghe, The British Surrender at Yorktown, 1785. The garrison marches out to lay down its arms, watched by smartly uniformed French troops (left) and ragged Americans.
Gilbert Stuart, George Washington, “Athenaeum type”, 1796. Perhaps the most familiar likeness of Washington, Stuart’s portrait depicts features rendered puffy and distorted by badly–fitting false teeth.
Attributed to Frederick Kemmelmeyer, Washington Reviewing the Western Army at Fort Cumberland, Maryland, after 1794. Against the backdrop of the Allegheny Mountains militia assemble on October 16, 1794 to counter the Whiskey Rebels. Wearing an updated version of his old Revolutionary War uniform, Washington rides a horse of his favorite color.
John Trumbull, George Washington, 1780. The lean and vigorous forty-eight-year-old Washington shadowed by Billy Lee, his slave and constant companion during the Revolutionary War.
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