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George Washington

George Washington was the commander in chief of the Continental army during the American Revolution, and later the first president of the United States. He symbolized qualities of discipline, nobleness, military orthodoxy, and persistence in hard times that his contemporaries particularly valued as marks of complete political leadership.

Washington was born on February 22, 1732, in Westmoreland County, Virginia, the eldest son of Augustine Washington, a Virginia planter, and Mary Ball Washington. Although Washington had little or no formal schooling, his early notebooks indicate that he read in geography, military history, agriculture, deportment, and composition and that he showed some aptitude in surveying and simple mathematics. In later life he developed a style of speech and writing that, although not always right, was marked by clarity and force. Tall, strong, and fond of action, he was a awesome horseman and enjoyed the sports and social occasions of the Virginia planter society. At the age of 16 he was invited to join a party to survey lands owned by the Fairfax family west of the Blue Ridge Mountains. He was related to the Fairfax family by marriage. His journey led him to take a lifelong interest in the development of western lands. In the summer of 1749 he was given the job of official surveyor for Culpeper County, and during the next two years he made many surveys for landowners on the Virginia frontier. In 1753 he was given the job of adjutant of one of the districts into which Virginia was divided, with the rank of major.

Washington played an important role in the struggles preceding the outbreak of the French and Indian War. He was chosen by Governor Robert Dinwiddie of Virginia to deliver a strong calling on the French's forces to stop their gradual entrance in the Ohio River Valley. The young messenger was also instructed to observe the strength of French forces, the location of their forts, and the routes by which they might be...