General Washington Takes Command: 250 Year Milestone

On July 3, 1775, General George Washington formally assumed command of the Continental Army during the siege of Boston. From his headquarters in Cambridge, Washington published his first order on July 3, 1775. The order specifically dealt with three items: Administration, logistics, and discipline. Washington wanted to know the condition of each regiment under his command. How many people were present for duty? How many were sick, on leave, or absent? In terms of logistics, Washington wanted to know how much ammunition each regiment possessed. Finally, the last part of the order dealt with a discipline issue involving a soldier who stole two horses. [1]

The first general order struck a tone and focus that would dominate most of the general orders throughout the next eight and half years that Washington served as commander-in-chief. While there were many battles from 1775-1783, most of the time was dedicated to building, maintaining and holding the Continental Army together. After a campaign in the summer or fall, the armies would go into winter quarters until the spring then mobilize for the next season of fighting.  

When Washington arrived during the siege of Boston, the bulk of the fighting had already occurred in April during the Battles at Lexington and Concord and during the Battle of Bunker Hill on June 17, 1775. In fact, the Battle of Bunker Hill was two days after the Second Continental Congress formally selected Washington to be commander-in-chief of the new army that had been established on June 14. Finally, it is worth understanding that Washington’s arrival in Boston was almost one year prior to the American colonies declaring their independence from Great Britain through the signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776.

The question is how did General Washington know what to do when he arrived in Boston? Where did he receive his training and military education? There were no formal schools or professional military education courses. Today, officers go to school as prerequisites for career progression. None of those existed in colonial America. There was no U.S. Military Academy at West Point. What experience did George Washington have and how did he get it?

By July 3, 1775, George Washington had been out of uniform for over 15 years. Most of his time in service was from 1753-1758 during the French and Indian War. Washington’s first military mission was in 1753 when he was a Major in the Virginia militia. His mission was a combination of intelligence gathering and diplomacy. Washington was tasked by Virginia Lieutenant Governor Robert Dinwiddie with delivering a message to the French, who were making incursions into the Ohio River Valley. A handful of British colonists including Dinwiddie were investors in a venture known as Ohio Company. The company claimed nearly half a million acres of fertile land west of the Alleghany Mountains. George was 21 years old when he received his orders in 1753.

Washington’s preparation for the 1753 mission was several years in the making. We can attribute Washington’s earliest military education to one of the most underappreciated people in George Washington’s life, his older half-brother, Lawrence Washington. Lawrence and George were related through their father, Augustine. Augustine’s first wife, Jane Butler, died in 1730. Augustine and Jane had four children, including Lawrence, who was born in 1718. Augustine re-married a woman named Mary Ball. Their first child was George Washington, who was born in 1732. Lawrence was fourteen years older than George. [3]

At the age of 22, Lawrence was commissioned as a Captain in a Virginia Regiment that was called into service in a war between Britain and Spain. Captain Lawrence Washington spent the next two years of service in the West Indies as part of the Cartagena Campaign. He served under the command of British Admiral Edward Vernon. When Augustine Washington, Lawrence and George’s father, died in 1743, Lawrence inherited his ~2,500-acre property along the Potomac River and named it in honor of Admiral Vernon. Thus, George Washington’s "Mount Vernon" was christened after Lawrence’s commanding officer from the Cartagena Campaign. [4]

George was 10 years old when his brother returned from his two years of service. Since Lawrence named his home after his commanding officer, we know that he had no reservations talking about his military experience. Thus, George Washington would have heard stories about military service from his brother. We can confidently say that George’s military education began when he was 10 years old under the tutelage of his older brother.

When Lawrence took over Mount Vernon, he had neighbors that lived on a property south of Mount Vernon. His neighbor was Colonel William Fairfax, who was the land agent of his cousin, Lord Thomas Fairfax, 6^th Baron of Cameron. Lord Fairfax was in possession of a vast proprietorship of 5.2 million acres that had been consolidated from several land grants, one of which dated back to his maternal grandfather Lord Cumberland. Fairfax appointed his cousin, Colonel William Fairfax, as land agent in 1734. Colonel Fairfax initially moved to Westmoreland County, Virginia and then re-settled further up the Potomac River and built Belvoir Manor. While Belvoir Manor no longer exists, the location is currently the U.S. Army’s Fort Belvoir. It is approximately 15 miles south of Alexandria, Virginia. The Washington and Fairfax property was separated by Dogue Creek where several years later George built a gristmill followed by the construction of a distillery after his presidency in 1797. However, most of the Fairfax land stretched from Virginia’s Northern Neck peninsula west through the Shenandoah Valley and into modern day West Virginia. [5]

Lawrence married Anne Fairfax, who was the daughter of Colonel William Fairfax. This marriage was important not only for Lawrence but also for George. Through his brother’s connection to the Fairfax family, George spent time at Belvoir Manor and Colonel Fairfax became a mentor, patron, and surrogate father to George. Colonel Fairfax hired George as a surveyor in 1748. It was George’s first job. Unlike John Adams, who went to Harvard College, and Thomas Jefferson, who went to The College of William and Mary, George was not college educated. He was schooled on the frontier and his first education was in March 1748 when he went on a survey expedition for Colonel Fairfax with George William Fairfax, who became a close friend to George. Washington had just turned sixteen. [6] [7] 

For the next five years of Washington’s life, he worked exclusively as a surveyor. His surveys included learning the trade by drawing survey maps of Alexandria both in 1748 and when the town was formally established in 1749. Lawrence and Colonel Fairfax were founders of Alexandria, which was a town that played a significant role in George’s military education during the French and Indian War.

George’s surveying experience taught him how to read terrain, draw maps, and endure hardships of the western frontier. Modern military training includes extensive lessons in land navigation. In the United States Marine Corps, for example, learning how to read a map and navigate with a compass is part of education for both enlisted and officers, especially in the infantry. As a surveyor, Washington also had interactions with Indian tribes, which began his education in diplomacy.

In 1751, George Washington also had an experience that would be critical to his military success. He traveled outside of America for the first and only time in his life when he went to Barbados with his brother. Lawrence was sick with Tuberculosis, and he sought a warmer climate as a way of healing. While in Barbados, George Washington contracted smallpox. As unpleasant as it may have been in 1751, Washington was fortunate to recover and was effectively immunized against the disease. Smallpox was the leading cause of death during the Revolutionary War. There were more deaths from disease during the war than there were from action on the battlefield. As a result, Washington implemented an inoculation policy specifically for smallpox in early 1777. [8] [9]

By the end of his life, Lawrence had been serving as Adjutant General in the Northern Neck, which was one of four military districts in Virginia. When Lawrence died from Tuberculosis in 1752, George Washington became Adjutant General in his place. Biographer Joseph Ellis correctly states that Colonel William Fairfax “used his influence to assure Dinwiddie” that George Washington “was up to the task.” However, Ellis incorrectly states that Washington had “no qualifications for the job.”  By 1752, George Washington had been surveying for six years, which made him exceptionally qualified for the job. The skills he acquired as a surveyor were important and contributed strongly to his ability to serve as Adjutant General. Unfortunately, Ellis’s historical interpretation is part of an overall historic narrative to deconstruct Washington and downplay his own actions that contributed to his success. Colonel Fairfax did not lobby for Washington simply because George was related to his son-in-law. Washington was hard working, tough, and had excelled as a surveyor. He did his duty and earned the backing of the Fairfax family through his own effort and ability. [10]

It is true though that Washington was not formally trained as a soldier. Not many of his peers in Virginia had formal military training. Washington’s first military action was in 1753 with his mission to the Ohio Country. Along with Governor Dinwiddie, there were several investors in the Ohio Company, including Colonel Fairfax and Lawrence Washington until he died. Another investor was George Mason of Gunston Hall, who was also a neighbor of the Fairfax’s and would be Washington’s friend until they split over the Constitution in 1787.

George’s mission to the Ohio Country was successful insofar as he delivered Dinwiddie’s message to the French. He returned the French answer to Dinwiddie in January 1754. He also wrote an after-action report called The Journal of Major George Washington. This document detailed Washington’s experience and became a critical piece of intelligence. In later years, George Washington as commander-in-chief prioritized intelligence gathering through spy networks. His service in 1753 was an early lesson in reconnoitering the enemy, gathering intelligence, and organizing it into a readable document. Again, his experience as a surveyor contributed to his abilities to study terrain and draw a map based on his observations. Map making and map reading are foundational elements of military planning and preparation. Whether it is the British trying to determine the location of French forts in 1753 or America trying to determine the location of Iranian nuclear facilities in 2025, all planning begins on a map. [11]

Several months after Washington’s first mission to the Ohio Country, he was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel in the Virginia Regiment and given a mandate from Dinwiddie to use force on his next mission. Alexandria became Washington’s staging area in 1754 and a town where he would recruit, train, and equip his militia. The merchant class in Alexandria were some of America’s first military contractors. One of Alexandria’s leading merchants, John Carlyle, was appointed head of the commissary by Dinwiddie. Washington relied on Carlyle for the vital supplies needed to sustain his militia. Washington’s letters to Carlyle speak to the frustrations with the military supply chain and the challenge of logistics in an army. [12]

The mission in 1754 culminated at Fort Necessity in western Pennsylvania. Ironically, Washington surrendered the fort to the French on July 4, 1754. The humbling defeat taught Washington an important tactical lesson in siege warfare and proper defenses. It was a lesson that he carried with him to Boston in 1775 and informed his thinking about how to drive the British from Boston, which ultimately was achieved in March 1776. [13]

In the year 1755, the British sent a large army under Major General Edward Braddock to Alexandria in March. Braddock’s mission was first to take Fort Duquesne located at the forks of the Ohio River, which is the present-day location of Pittsburgh. George Washington was recruited to serve under Braddock as a volunteer aide-de-camp. While Washington did not receive a Royal commission, Washington’s service to Braddock was critical as he had vast knowledge of the western frontier and had personally reconnoitered much of the area of operations in the Ohio Country. [14]

Much of the historical interpretation of Braddock is that he was a bumbling, haughty, buffoon, whose arrogance led to one of the worst defeats in British military history. Overlooked in the caricature of Braddock is the education that Washington received from him. It was Washington’s first close-up glimpse of a professional officer. He saw how a seasoned military officer organized an army. Braddock’s frustrations involved the financing of the campaign, which induced him to gather five Royal Governors at a conference in Alexandria in April 1755. The conference included governors from Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New York, and Massachusetts. One of the conclusions of the conference was that parliament would need to tax the colonists to properly fund Braddock’s campaign and any subsequent campaigns. Thus, some of the earliest high-level discussions about “taxation without representation” took place in Washington’s hometown of Alexandria and presumably within earshot of him. [15]

Braddock’s anger with resistant colonies, inadequate supply chains, and undisciplined provincial soldiers foreshadowed Washington’s own challenges two decades later. As commander-in-chief of the Continental Army, Washington, like Braddock, had to play politics with state governments and governors. He worked tirelessly to establish discipline in the ranks as the first order in Boston from July 3, 1775, illustrates. Washington dealt with the flakiness of the militia which were not the full-time Continental soldiers. The difference is equivalent to today’s active-duty Army units versus reservists in the Army National Guard.

Braddock’s Campaign culminated in disaster after his army crossed the Monongahela River on July 9, 1755. His forces were ambushed by the French and their Indian allies. Casualties mounted quickly. British soldiers panicked and many fired indiscriminately which caused friendly fire incidents. The atrocities and war crimes committed by both the French and Indians were chilling. The Indians especially scalped men alive, burned prisoners, and even practiced cannibalism. The horror from the campaign was seared into the memory of Washington and the survivors of the Braddock Campaign, many of whom would serve years later and fought on both sides of the Revolutionary War. Washington was lucky to survive as he had two horses shot from under him and four bullet holes in his coat. Washington was never hit. [16]

After Braddock’s defeat, chaos erupted on the frontier. Washington’s mission was to secure over three hundred miles of frontier from attacks by the French and Indians. This mission was not only difficult but nearly impossible given limitations in resources and manpower. Nevertheless, that was the focus of Washington’s relentless efforts over the next three years until leaving service at the conclusion of the Forbes Campaign in 1758.

During this time, George Washington also dealt with issues that related to the proper chain of command. This was part of his controversy with Captain John Dagworthy over whether Washington outranked Dagworthy or vice versa. Washington made his first trip to Boston to petition Massachusetts Royal Governor William Shirley and settle the question of authority. Shirley did confirm that Washington’s rank superseded that of Dagworthy. As a result, the French and Indian War prepared Washington for challenges to authority and political backbiting that occurred throughout Washington’s eight years and a half years as commander-in-chief during the Revolutionary War. One of the most notable challenges to his command was in 1777-1778 during the infamous Conway Cabal. This challenge came specifically from General Horatio Gates, a fellow veteran of the Braddock Campaign.  

During the French and Indian War, Washington’s command was also challenged by negative press from the Virginia Centinel over the conduct of his Virginia Regiment. Due to the bad press, Washington considered resigning his commission. However, his friend, William Ramsay, and an aide-de-camp, John Kirkpatrick, both merchants from Alexandria, talked him out of it. What Washington learned especially during the French and Indian War was the importance of building a strong political and military network that would support him and his mission. He relied on aides also known as his “military family.” During the Revolutionary War, he built a military family that consisted of 32 total aides-de-camp throughout his time as commander-in-chief. Washington learned the value of having dependable aides during the French and Indian War. Kirkpatrick from Alexandria was one of his best and consistently acted as secretary and intelligence officer to Washington. [17]

George Washington’s leadership was not through oratory or lengthy political treatises. Washington was a man of action. He consistently led by example. No action speaks to this more than his time away from home and his personal sacrifice in military service. Two years after Lawrence died, his widow, Anne Fairfax Washington, re-married and leased Mount Vernon to George beginning in 1754. Throughout George’s service during the French and Indian War, he tried to manage the Mount Vernon property. He remained close friends and neighbors with the Fairfax’s of Belvoir. They were able to help him with the first addition that he made to the Mount Vernon mansion house in 1758. [18]

During the French and Indian War, Washington got used to being away from his home at Mount Vernon. He had to learn how to have people, including hired overseers, manage the property in his absence. He would face the same personal challenge during the Revolutionary War while he was gone nearly the duration of the war with only a brief return to Mount Vernon on his way to Yorktown in 1781.

The 250-year milestones that will be critical to the celebration of America in 2026 have kicked off with the start of 250-year-old milestones during the Revolutionary War. The military component of the war began over a year before the signing of the Declaration of Independence. George Washington’s assumption of command as commander-in-chief is a significant milestone and one to celebrate. It is also an opportunity to reflect on how he gained his experience and the confidence to assume command. In considering his military training specifically, we can trace it back to his childhood and into his 20s during the French and Indian War. Despite the fact that George Washington did not have decades of service like generals in today’s military, his early professional endeavors and service in the French and Indian War instilled in him knowledge and experience that made him eminently qualified to assume command on July 3, 1775.       

Sources | Works Cited

1. Image Credit: Charles Willson Peale (American, 1741-1827). George Washington, 1776. Oil on canvas, 44 x 38 5/16 in. (111.7 x 97.3 cm).

2. “General Orders, 3 July 1775,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/03-01-02-0025.

3. https://www.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/digital-encyclopedia/article/lawrence-washington

4. https://www.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/digital-encyclopedia/article/lawrence-washington

5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Fairfax

6. https://www.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/digital-encyclopedia/article/surveying

7. https://www.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/digital-encyclopedia/article/surveying

8. https://www.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/digital-encyclopedia/article/lawrence-washington

9. https://www.battlefields.org/learn/articles/washington-inoculates-army

10. Ellis, Joseph J. His Excellency: George Washington. Alfred A. Knopf, 2004.

11. https://www.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/digital-encyclopedia/article/the-journal-of-major-george-washington

12. https://www.novaparks.com/parks/carlyle-house-historic-park/history

13. https://www.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/digital-encyclopedia/article/fort-necessity

14. Preston, David L. Braddock’s Defeat: The Battle of the Monongahela and the Road to Revolution. Oxford University Press, 2015.

15. Ibid.

16. Ibid.

17. “To George Washington from William Ramsay, 22 September 1756,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/02-03-02-0356.

18. “To George Washington from John Kirkpatrick, 22 September 1756,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/02-03-02-0355.