GENERAL WASHINGTON.
General Washington was great-grandson to John Washington, a gentleman of respectable family, who had emigrated from England about the middle of the preceding century, and had settled at Potomac, in Westmoreland county, in the colony of Virginia. At this place the general was born, and after receiving a plain education, he learned something of the business of land-surveying, and was in the eighteenth year of his age appointed surveyor of the western part of the territory of Virginia, by Lord Fairfax, the proprietor of that country. After this, however, he embraced the profession of arms, and distinguished himself in the Canadian war, and especially on the day of Braddock’s defeat, when, at the head of the provincial militia, he covered the retreat of the British troops, and saved them from destruction. Subsequently, when the French were driven from Canada and the war was over, Washington quitted the army, and began his political life as a member of the general assembly, to which honour his valour had been the chief instrument of raising him. Shortly after his retirement he married a young lady, who brought him a large fortune, and for sixteen years his attention was principally divided between the management of his estates and his duties as a member of the provincial legislature. When the quarrel first commenced between America and the mother country he took no decided part, and when it became serious, he was one of those who still hoped to preserve the ties of allegiance which bound the colonies to the parent state unbroken. When the rupture became inevitable, however—when the sword had been drawn and blood had been shed, Washington stood forward as the champion of independence. Perhaps he was the more induced to take this step from an innate love of rank and power. He had joined the first congress at Philadelphia, and his high character and the conspicuous part he had borne in the Canadian war, caused him then to be appointed on all committees where military knowledge was requisite. Doubtless he foresaw that should matters be brought to extremities he would be called upon to take a prominent part in the strife. And in this view he was not mistaken. As before related, at the second general congress, when it was necessary to select a commander, he was unanimously chosen by his colleagues to the high office. It is said that he accepted the command with great diffidence, and it is certain that he did so in the spirit of a true patriot, for he declined all compensation beyond his actual expenses.
The choice which congress made of a commander was favourable to the cause of American independence. At this time Washington was in the prime and vigour of life, and his fame and deportment were such that he could command reverence even from the most fanatical part of the American troops, who were disposed to own no other leader except “the Lord of Hosts.” His bravery was proverbial, and his after operations sustained his fame. It was immediately after the battle of Bunker’s Hill that he was appointed commander-in-chief, and when he arrived at head-quarters in Cambridge, he found the blockading army considerably discouraged by the defeat sustained, and otherwise in no very satisfactory condition. Much had been done, but still more remained to be done. Complaining of his numerous deficiences, he thus wrote to congress:—“We have no store of ammunition, no tools for intrenching, no engineers to direct the construction of military works; we have no money, and want clothing: there is a total laxity of discipline; and the majority is not to be depended on in another action.” If the English had, at this time, made a general assault, the Americans must inevitably have been driven from all their positions, and the war would soon have been over. After the battle of Bunker’s Hill, however, the same listless inactivity prevailed as before, as though the capture of that hill was a full and final triumph. Thus favoured, Washington set about remedying his defects in good earnest. During the summer and autumn, he was occupied in organising his troops, collecting his military stores, and concentrating his forces. Perceiving that it would be madness to attempt an assault on the positions of the British troops, as some advised, he directed the formation of entrenchments and works to defend his own from attack. In order to give consistency to his lines he contracted them: the centre, including the reserve, and under his own command, being at Cambridge; the right wing, commanded by General Ward, resting on Roxburghe; and the left, under General Lee, near the Mystic river. The British troops were thus completely blockaded by land, and cruisers being fitted out by congress for the purpose of intercepting military stores and supplies destined for the British forces, considerable distress soon began to prevail among them; yet nothing was done to rescue them from their perilous situation. During the rest of the year the bands played “God save the King,” and the Americans, as if in the spirit of mockery, responded to the national anthem, by playing “Yankee Doodle.” In the midst of this inactivity, on the 10th of October, General Gage was recalled, and the command of the British troops devolved on General Howe.
GEORGE III. 1775—1776.
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