George Washington: A True Hero
In this day and age, George Washington’s name is so acclaimed and reputable, it holds a significant amount of meaning in itself. Not much has changed in the 239 years since he became a national hero to the people of a land who yearned to be free from British oppression. Far back into the past, becoming a hero may have meant committing dangerous and magnificent feats, and that still holds somewhat true today. George Washington, however, is especially known for his battle strategies, military tactic and leading America to freedom. For Washington, a few of the most dominant traits of heroism his personality encompasses include wisdom in guiding others, loyalty to his people and land, and courage when facing various
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Throughout his years leading the Continental Army, there are scores of examples of his courage, both big and small. Arguably one of the greatest instances was his gift of providing courage for those around him as well as for himself. Even through the bleakest of circumstances for himself and his army, he was able to provide strength and courage for them all. In a British attack on New York, “Washington’s army was routed and suffered the surrender of 2,800 men. He ordered the remains of his army to retreat across the Delaware River into Pennsylvania” (“George Washington Biography”). Washington could have surrendered with the vast majority of his army, but instead he showed courage and decided to fight another day. Washington and his army faced affliction and suffering particularly during the harsh winters they had to undergo. Conditions were horrible due to various reasons: disease outbreaks; frostbite because of lack of housing; and rarely enough food, ammunition, or clothing. Many men deserted the army, but miraculously Washington was able to show courage and bravery in order to keep his army together. With his sheer will and determination, “the soldiers felt perfect confidence in the wise leadership of the Commander in Chief, and his splendid courage, foresight, and marvelous ability to endure won the final liberty of the long-suffering Colonies” (“George Washington: The Commander In Chief”). Finally, under his rule and his valor, the army captured British soldiers at Yorktown, Virginia. “Washington was declared a national hero” (“George Washington”). Washington not only exhibited amazing courage in battles, but he also showed deep courage in simply becoming president. There had never before been a president to the new country, therefore he had no previous examples or precedents. In records of
McCullough describes washington as a leader of many qualities in which makes him successful. After making the British evacuate from Boston, washington is praised for being such a courageous and smart leader, therefore lifting morale around American troops. The war most likely would not have been won without George Washington's help most likely due to his incredible leadership skills. The colonies are virtually nothing without George Washington because he keeps them together by asking congress to support them and as McCullough describes, is relentless about doing so as we're Knox and Greene later on. George Washington was so important that even the loyalists plotted to assassinate him with hopes to derail the American rebellion. However, the colonies success wasn't just off George washington. Mccullough describes the average british soldier as strong and more fit compared to the colonial soldier, superior and overall well trained.The fact that the colonies were untrained made the British cocky, Making them think they didn't have to use their superior weaponry thinking the Americans would surrender out of free will. McCullough gives us an insight to how the Americans tried new things using their resources making great things with what little they
had an opportunity to read a fascinating book called 1776 by David McCullough; this is his tenth Book he has written on the subject. In this endearing novel he describes several significant issues that George Washington had to overcome to secure his ultimate victory in 1783. The book also describes the first year of the American Revolution, especially the triumph of Boston and the failure at New York. The author details the challenges and struggles of creating and maintaining an army and then developing and drilling the militia that will be disciplined in the field of battle. He also writes that there were several problems that George Washington faced while leading the continental army. The first problem was that the militia had poor discipline and had no experience with the military, and the
Washington's selection to be the leader of the Continental Army was the wisest choice that the newly formed Continental Congress could have made. Washington's selection as Commander of the Continental Army did more to win the Revolutionary war than any other decision made during the conflict. His personal character epitomizes perfectly the five traits required in a successful general: wisdom, sincerity, humanity, courage, and strictness. (Sun Tzu p. 65) These five crucial traits will become apparent and Washington's strategy to win the War of Independence is elaborated on further
Opening to the first page, George Washington is quoted, “perseverance and spirit have done wonders in all ages.” setting the stage for David McCullough’s book, “1776”, a historical narrative that avoided academic debates. His thesis being a tight narrative focused around the Continental Army and their leader George Washington. McCullough continued his popular writing techniques of character building by tracing the roads, reading the books, and seeing the houses of his key characters as they would have in their lifetimes. These techniques can be seen in his many list of books such as: “Path between the Seas”, “Truman”, and “John Adams”. His books have been written in ten languages and are all still in print today. I feel that McCullough’s book “1776” was an adequate companion piece, not only because of its popularity or author, but because of its quality references and resources.
It was a good year for a revolution, 1776. But it didn't start off quite as well as the colonists would have liked. When George Washington agreed to take command of the American forces in 1775, he probably didn't realize what he was truly getting himself into. Washington took command of an army made up of old men and young boys that had either come from their farms or the street. The army was short on weapons and gunpowder, lacked uniforms, and was racked by disease and drunkenness. Washington understood that what lies ahead would be difficult, considering he would be facing the most powerful country in world. But he probably didn't expect his worst problems to come from his own army, which was an undisciplined and untrained group that would eventually tamper with his great patience. Through it all he would stay determined and always try to stay one step ahead of the enemy.
During the War for American Independence, 78 men were commissioned as general officers into the Continental Army by the Continental Congress. Many of these generals commanded troops with differing levels of competence and success. George Washington is typically seen as most important general, however throughout the war a number of his subordinates were able to distinguish themselves amongst their peers. One such general was Nathanael Greene. At the end of the Revolutionary War, Greene would become Washington’s most important subordinate, as demonstrated by Edward Lengel’s assessment of Greene as “the youngest and most capable of Washington’s generals.” Washington and Greene developed a strong, positive and close relationship between themselves. Greene began his life in the military after having been raised a Quaker. With limited access to literature and knowledge in his younger years, Greene became an avid reader which equipped him with the knowledge necessary to excel as a general during the war. Through his devoted study of military operations, firsthand experience and natural abilities as a soldier, Greene became an excellent military commander. He would become known for his successful southern campaign, during which, he loosened British control of the South and helped lead the war to its climax at Yorktown. Throughout the war, he was involved in a number high profile battles where he built a reputation of being an elite strategist who also understood unconventional warfare, logistics, and the importance of military-civil affairs and had a natural political/social acumen. The thesis of this paper is that Greene’s proven reputation of being a soldier, strategist and statesman would cause him to become the second greates...
Following the Battle of Yorktown, Washington’s strategic leadership would prove vital. The shortcomings of the Continental Congress caused Washington to become frustrated and tested his patience as he struggled to keep his army intact during a two year stalemate for peace negotiations. An illustration of the depth of Washington’s conviction toward his army was captured in a letter to the custodian of his Mount Vernon home, where Washington expressed deep anguish when learning that British soldiers were fed in exchange for sparing his home from being burned down. This is just one example of his authentic leadership, which endeared him to his army. With his army desperate for provisions, his officers called for Washington to overtake the Continental Congress. He refused on the basis that he was obligated to subordinate the military to civilian leadership. To do otherwise would result in serious repercussions for the country. This represented Washington’s was keen awareness that the Continental Congress represented the will of the people and he could not breach that trust as a strategic
George Washington became President in 1789 and since then has been regarded as America’s “Founding Father”(10). This grand and hero-like status is said to have “began gravitating to Washington six months before the Declaration of Independence, when one Levi Allen addressed him in a letter as ‘our political Father.’”(10). The preservation of Washington’s role as a national hero has been allowed by authors and the media omitting his many flaws as if they had either been forgotten or were no longer important. Yet by excluding these human faults, they have projected an almost god-like hero and inflicted him upon the nation as their Father, somebody whose “life still has the power to inspire anyone”(10).
George Washington is known by most as “the first president of the United States” and is often referred to as “the Father of Our Country” (George Washington). Although Washington turned out to be a great, respected leader in his later years, he did not start out with a successful military career. In Washington’s first battle, “he and his men were ambushed and forced to surrender Fort Necessity on the Pennsylvania frontier” (What Made George Washington a Good Military Leader). In another battle, “Washington had two horses shot from under him”, but these failures did not stop Washington or cause him to give up (What Made George Washington a Good Military Leader). By the time the American Revolution came around in 1775, Washington was “a distinguished general”, which prepared him for his next job as “commander in chief of the colonial armies in the American Revolution” (George
The following six years Washington led the 13 colonies together. It was hard as he had to build up an army from untrained and unpaid men and was also appointed unskilled officers. He never had a big enough army to directly attack in battle and sometimes he was close to being defeated. He used skills that would drain the British and then attack and then force them out of the area. Washington had help from the French also that made winning the Revolutionary War possible. In 1781 the fighting was over.
Thesis Statement: George Washington is a hero because he stood up for his ideal that America should be free from England, and create a new form of government which would be fair and equitable. Even in the darkest of times, he never gave up and managed to maintain social and political order within the colonies.
In May 1775 the second Continental Congress is meeting and the American Revolutionary War has already begun. The congress needed to get organized and fast. The militia’s that were fighting the war were very unorganized even though they were holding their own so early on in the war. John Adams proposed that the army that was outside of Boston be named the Continental Army and just five days later they had their general to lead that army. There was really only one choice as who to choose for the position and he was already there at the congressional meeting and his name was George Washington. Washington had experience in military leadership, he was among the top social elite in the colonies and he was a patriot. Those were the main things that made him a great fit for General. Another very important reason that he was chosen was because he was from the South and the delegates from the North knew they need the South to win the war. Making George Washington Commander in Chief was not only the best option to lead the Continental Army, but he was their only hope.
Out of forty three presidents, I think my that my favorite president would have to be the first, and most well known, George Washington. He was a great military leader, and was seemingly impervious to the corrupting influence of power. The man that many refer to as the Father of the United States of America, who served 2 terms, was and still is truly inspirational figure from American history. One of the things that tips the scale of my favor toward Washington is that he believed in the Republic of the United States of America, and that we each had certain inalienable rights that were not up for debate or a vote. If there were more people like him in the U.S. today, we may not be in the condition that we are.
In the history of the American Revolution, the Battle of Long Island (sometimes called the Battle of Brooklyn) in August 1776 is largely glossed over. It was, unfortunately, the first in a series of military defeats for George Washington and the Continental Army, and the eventual outcome of the war predisposes many to focus on the victories, Bunker Hill, Trenton, and Yorktown, which provide a better frame of the narrative. Even the hardships at Valley Forge serve as an indicator of the indomitable American spirit, as opposed to the disorganized chaos of American troops fleeing in the face of the British advance. However, the Battle of Long Island was not only the largest battle of the entire war but served as a crucible of Washington’s leadership, in that he oversaw a massive evacuation that saved his army from destruction, setting the stage for the inevitable victory that would occur five years later.
“I hope I shall possess firmness and virtue enough to maintain what I consider the most enviable of all titles, the character of an honest man.” - (George Washington.) George Washington was a very intelligent and clever man. He was a great leader of the continental army, lead America off on a great foot to win Independence, and became a founding father of the United States of America. His greatest friend was Henry Knox, and James Madison served under Washington and later became his secretary of state. But behind his fighting background, who was he really? Why was he important? Who has he influenced for us today? In this essay, I will be covering these very topics.