The Military Career of George Washington Essay -- American America His

The Military Career of George Washington Most people today think of George Washington as the first President of the United States. Perhaps they may remember that he was also the commanding general of the Continental Army. However, George Washington had much experience in the military before the Revolutionary War. Because of his experience, he was ideal for the responsibility of leading the new nation to victory over the British. In 1752, George Washington was 20 years old. He had no military experience, but his brother Lawrence had served in the British militia and this motivated George to join up (George 74b). Before the Revolutionary War, George Washington actually worked for the British. He showed his natural leadership right away. At the age of twenty, he was assigned to train militias in Virginia. The young Major Washington showed he was brave and ambitious. In 1753, he heard that a man named Robert Dinwiddie, who was the acting governor of Virginia, planned to send a message to the French troops that they needed to withdraw from the Ohio River Valley. The French wanted to hunt and trap there, but the British wanted the land for farming. Washington went to Dinwiddie to volunteer to be the messenger. Dinwiddie had enough confidence in the young soldier to let him go. Washington did not go by himself. He took a frontier guide, an interpreter, and four frontiersmen. It was dangerous wilderness and it was the middle of November. The group traveled until the middle of December. It was a long and cold journey. The French rejected the British instructions. Washington had to make the journey back to Virginia in the bitter winter weather. Indians and other dangers surrounded him. He finally returned in the middle of Ja... ...and had my commission taken from me, or in other words, my command reduced, under pretense of an order from home†¦I have been on the losing order ever since I entered the service†¦"(George 74d). However, as a result of Washington’s early military career, he learned many skills and strategies that he would later need. He also won the respect and admiration of the colonists. When he resigned his commission in 1759, the House of Burgesses passed a resolution to grant Colonel Washington the "thanks of the House†¦for his brave and steady behavior" (Fleming 34). He was well on his way to becoming "first in war†¦and first in the hearts of his countrymen." Works Cited Fleming, Thomas, Liberty! The American Revolution, Viking, 1997. Sellers, Charles and May, Henry, A Synopsis of American History, Rand McNally & Company, _ _ 1963. The World Book Encyclopedia. 1994.