His Excellency: George Washington

Washington is born on February 22, 1732, near the banks of the Potomac River in Virginia, the descendent of a family that has been in the colony since 1657. His father dies when George is 11, and George is subsequently raised by his half-brother Lawrence. Lawrence’s marriage into the aristocratic Fairfax family will influence George in several ways. In 1748 the Fairfax patriarch, William, gives George his first job, as a land surveyor. After Lawrence dies, George, a tall and robust young man, seeks and obtains a position in the Virginia militia, thus launching his military career. As a 21-year-old soldier, Washington is sent on an expedition to the wilderness of what is now western Pennsylvania. His task is to negotiate with French forces encamping on the Ohio River and thus encroaching on British territory. With the help of an American Indian ally, Tanacharison, Washington leads an attack on a French military camp, killing the commander de Jumonville. The massacre becomes the parting shot in the French and Indian War.

Accompanied by over 1,000 French soldiers and American Indian allies, De Jumonville’s brother, the commander Louis de Villiers, retaliates with an attack on the British-held Fort Necessity. After inflicting severe casualties on Washington’s troops, Villiers calls a truce and allows the vanquished to escape the fort with their honor intact. Washington unwittingly signs a capitulation document that implies that he assassinated Jumonville and thus started the French and Indian War. Despite the failure at Fort Necessity, Washington is acclaimed in Virginia for his bravery.

General Edward Braddock arrives from England to capture Fort Duquesne and defeat the French. Braddock alienates both the Indians and the colonial governments with his imperious commands. The battle near the Monongahela River is a disastrous defeat for the British, with over 900 casualties, including Braddock himself, and with many of the victims being scalped by the Indians. Again, Washington is acclaimed as a hero despite the defeat.

At age 23, Washington becomes the commander of the Virginia Regiment. This position will provide him with “his most direct and intensive schooling in military leadership prior to his command of the Continental army” (24). As commander, Washington instills in his troops a combination of the strict discipline and polish of British regulars with the “tactical agility and proficiency” (24) of American Indian warriors, and recruits Indians as allies. He designs the troops’ blue uniforms himself, earning his troops the nickname “Virginia blues.” In addition to negotiating with the Virginia governors Dinwiddie and Fauquier, Washington tries to curry favor with British authorities like Lord Loudoun, the new commander of the British forces in North America, but proves awkward at navigating aristocratic protocol. Even more, Washington hopes to ingratiate himself with, and eventually join, the elite planter society of Virginia.

On November 12, 1758, Washington and the new British commander John Forbes again attack Fort Duquesne and are successful at capturing it. Washington successfully proposes marriage to Martha Dandridge Custis, “probably the wealthiest widow in Virginia” (35). However, he also nourishes a secret passion for the married Sally Fairfax, with whom he exchanges several love letters. In the end, Washington recognizes Sally as a “forbidden temptation” (39) and manages to master and control his passion for her. Frustrated over his British superiors’ failure to recognize his accomplishments and provide him with a promotion, Washington resigns his commission in December 1758 in order to move back to Mount Vernon with his new wife, Martha.