His Excellency Sparknotes

His Excellency is a novel written by Joseph Ellis detailing George Washington’s life between 1730 and 1800. In 1730, the thirteen colonies of British North America still existed and by 1800 America was independent from Britain and even had its own system of governance. Needless to say, several key changes occurred that allowed this dramatic shift in direction. At the epicenter of all these changes was Washington himself. So, this novel details Washington’s experiences as a participant in the French and Indian War, commander of the Continental Army, and the first president of the United States.

Throughout his novel, Ellis explores how Washington became the man that he was and how this affected his actions. After all, before Washington was the

He was a veteran of the French and Indian War so many soldiers joining the army looked to him as a source of inspiration. Militarily, he was not the most competent leader. For example, in the Battle of Long Island, Washington’s desires to be revered by future progeny led to him risking the whole Continental Army against the superior forces of the British (Henretta, et al. 184). In all fairness, after the disaster at Long Island, Washington devoted himself to Fabian military tactics in which he and his army would coerce the British into mild skirmishes but would avoid decisive battles (Ellis 101). Excluding the final battle, the war can be summed up in two instances: Washington’s crossing of the Delaware and victory at Saratoga. In the former, around 1,000 Hessian troops were captured even though Washington was eventually forced to retreat (Henretta, et al. 184). In the latter, 5,000 or so British troops were captured by General Horatio Gates and his troops of militiamen, ensuring French’s involvement in the War of Independence on the side of the colonies and restoring faith in the revolutionary cause (Henretta, et al. 187). Then, Washington and the French navy trapped British troops in the decisive Battle of Yorktown. This led to Britain’s capitulation to American

He writes that Washington now “sits squarely in front of us: vulnerable, exposed, even talkative at last” (Ellis xi). This draws the reader into his novel because it shows that Washington was human and made mistakes just as easily as anyone else. It also subverts the belief that Washington was either the greatest man in history or the worst that many people fall victim to. In a way, this compels the reader to continue reading on in order to discover the truth behind George Washington, a man deemed untouchable by most of American society. While describing Washington’s experiences, the author becomes a historian, dedicated to revealing the good and the bad in America’s first president. During the War for Independence, Ellis includes how Washington was so “[e]namored… with the prospects for a quick American victory” that he “presented Howe with the opportunity to destroy the Continental army” (Ellis 92, 95). By that same turn, Ellis also writes how Washington overcame his own desires for a quick decisive battle by adopting Fabian military strategies that ensured the army was preserved (Ellis 109). Throughout, Ellis fairly presents Washington as a multi-faceted person, including his greatest achievements and mistakes. This marks Ellis as a historian presenting history objectively so the audience can decide for themselves what kind of person Washington truly