George Washington: Founding Father, Demigod, and War Strategist - Research Paper

Introduction

George Washington came from the farmlands of Mount Vernon, Virginia, and was a great leader in United States history (Weems and Mason, 33). Washington was the United States' first president, who was regarded as the demigod as well as the father of the nation. During his lifetime, he consummated numerous achievements for the country. Washington was a great strategist and had unmatched military tactics, which made him lead America through the revolution war successfully. He led the nation through a severe war of Revolution to gain its independence from the colonization of the British Monarchy (Weems and Mason, 97). This paper will discuss various victories attained by George Washington and the role he played in America's revolutionary war.

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War With Lexington and Concord

Despite Washington being a youth, he had a significant part in borderline wars of the French as well as the Indians in the 1750s and 1760s (Philbrick and Nathaniel, 234). When the war with Lexington and Concord started in April 1775, he was appointed by Congress to be the very first commander in chief for the newly formed Continental Army (Philbrick and Nathaniel, 236). His task was very complicated, as it involved regional demands balance, junior competition as well as constant necessities for resources for feeding, equipping, and arming the Army. He was not controlling many state parts of the militia at the time.

British Goods Boycott

Towards the end of 1758, Washington resigned in the military commissions, and for the next 16 years, he was a very wealthy man in Virginia (Shi and David,180). Despite him opposing the 1765 stamp Act, he never took the lead in the then developing colonial resistance (Shi and David,184). He introduced a proposal where he called all the residents of Virginia to boycott all the British goods up to repealed time. After that, Washington chaired a meeting that called many things, among them the convening of the Continental Congress. He was later nominated as an envoy for the foremost Continental Congress. He helped to train the county militias in Virginia and also planned the implementation of the boycott of the British goods, which was inaugurated by the Congress (Bordewich and Fergus,190).

During the occurrence of the war between French and Indian, Washington played a crucial role. He gained significance military, political as well as leadership skills hence receiving significant public exposure in all the colonies abroad. He observed the military tactics of the British, thus attaining the knowledge of their strong and weak points that were very irreplaceable in the Revolution war (Reich and Jerome, 58). He proved his tough and courageous nature in hard situations like in disasters and retreats. He had stamina and strength, appearing as a natural leader to soldiers hence followed him without hesitation. He learned how to train, drill, and organize as well as disciplining his regiments.

Boston Siege

Washington designed an overall strategy of organizing the war as well as cooperating with Congress. His goal was to attain independence. In the very first years of the revolution war, Washington was basically in the centre of action where he directed the Boston Siege up to its successful end. However, he, at the same time, lost New York City and almost lost New Jersey. He astoundingly won decisive triumphs in Trenton and Princeton towards the end of the campaign season in 1776 (Bordewich and Fergus,197). In the same year, he had to deal with the enlistments that were now expiring because Congress's authorization was that the Army would exist only for a single year.

Success Over Philadelphia

However, there was the formation of a stronger and more permanent army in 1777(Weems and Mason, 88). During this time, a three-year enlistment of the military was introduced. Despite the difficulty of getting hard currency and all types of supplies, Washington was able to build an army troop that was stable and experienced. In defense of Philadelphia, Washington was defeated. He, however, offered critical and robust support to Horatio Gates, which facilitated Burgoyne's defeat. As a result of the entry of France into war by 1778 and a challenging winter in Valley Forge, Washington pursued the British Army since it had withdrawn Philadelphia and gone back to New York (Weems and Mason, 107).

Cornwallis Defeat

Washington did more diplomatic and organizational activities between the years 1778 and 1780 (Randall and Sterne, 162). At this time, his Army stayed out of New York as it watched the Army of Sir Henry Clinton, which had already taken the city. Washington used the French to strategize on to cooperate well in the battle against the British, and he tried to dislodge them from Newport and Georgia. After the campaigns in the South, Cornwallis went to Virginia, which gave Washington an excellent opportunity for striking. Washington's Army, together with the French Army, faced Cornwallis. The duo disrupted the British successfully, and the entrapment of Cornwallis was completed. Cornwallis surrendered after Yorktown siege in 1781 (Randall and Sterne, 144). Despite the victory over Yorktown, the British were still in New York as various cities. Washington's task was that of maintaining his military in the time of penniless Congress and troops

Winning Over Yorktown

Furthermore, Washington gave leadership to the Army against the British forces. Though he lost several battles, he did not surrender his military in the time of war, and he continuously and relentlessly fought the British until the end of the war. He worked hard in thriving an espionage system for detecting British points as well as their plans. He formed the Culper Ring in 1778 for spying the movements of the enemy in New York City (Bordewich and Fergus,196). The intelligence system of the British was fooled in 1781 without the knowledge that Washington and French armies moved secretly to Yorktown, Virginia (Bordewich and Fergus,211).

Training of the Army

Washington also had a significant role in selecting as well as guiding the generals. Congress attempted in 1776 to run the war by use of the Board of War and Ordnance committee, which was successful from his guidance (Bordewich and Fergus,170). Washington also took the responsibility of training his Army as well as providing the supplies to the tents. He conscripted the troop and also assigned Baron Steuben, who was a Prussian staff veteran. He trained them and transformed the Army, which became disciplined and also an instrumental force. Washington pressurized the Congress to provide the essentials like supplies to the troops (Bordewich and Fergus,170).

Another essential role in the Revolution war, played by Washington, was an embodiment of the resistance army to the Crown (Randall and Sterne, 122). He served as the representative person of the ongoing Revolution. He had a lasting strategy for sustaining an army without giving up. And it worked. The massive political and personal nature and skills maintained the Army, Congress, and the French militia as well as the states in pointing towards the common goal they had for independence.

The Civilian Supremacy

He also established a permanent principle referred to as the civilian supremacy in all the affairs of the military when he voluntarily resigned his directive and disbanded his Army the moment the war was won. By doing so, he was able to help to overcome the standing army distrust due to his frequent reiteration of the importance of well-disciplined professional soldiers. Washington is characterized that he many times complained about the undisciplined militia forces, although he knew they had a crucial role in defense of the nation. He had a vital contribution as the commander in chief by establishing a precedent of electing civilian officials instead of military officers (Bordewich and Fergus,170).

Intelligent Leadership

Washington was also a very skilled manager who was full of intelligence. He used his knowledge to use the agents behind the lines of the enemy and recruited Tory and Patriot sources. He also questioned the voyagers to get intelligence material as well as launching various scores of agents in the missions of intelligence. He was adept in deceptive operations as well as a very skillful propagandist. Through his intelligence, he was able to practice comprehensive operational security missions. Being an intelligent manager, Washington insisted on the employment terms of the agents. He used to advocate for the written reports instead of verbal ones and demanded the expedition of the reports concerning intelligence and security. He saw the need for scrutinizing reports from different sources to ensure accuracy through comparison.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Washington was the greatest enemy for the Britain military. He was a debut president who led the people to fight and win against the British colonization. Washington was a firm believer in his values, dignity, and ability. He had significance military, political as well as leadership skills hence receiving significant public exposure in America. He demonstrated his robust and spirited nature in hard situations like in disasters and retreats. Washington was also a very skilled manager who was full of intelligence. Washington was an inordinate strategist and had consummate military maneuvers, which helped him to lead America through the tough period of revolution war and successfully winning at the end.

Bibliography

Bordewich, Fergus M. The First Congress: How James Madison, George Washington, and a Group of Extraordinary Men Invented the Government. New York, Simon and Schuster press,.2017.

Philbrick, Nathaniel. Valiant Ambition: George Washington, Benedict Arnold, and the Fate of the American Revolution. Vol. 2. Cambridge, Penguin press, 2016.

Randall, Willard Sterne. Unshackling America: How the War of 1812 Truly Ended the American Revolution. Washington, St. Martin's Press,2017.

Reich, Jerome R. British Friends of the American Revolution. New York, Routledge,2015.

Shi, David E., and George Brown Tindall. America: A narrative history. Washington Norton & Company,2016.

Weems, Mason L. The life of Washington. Routledge, Washington,2015.