On June 15, 1775, Washington was appointed Major General and Commander-in-Chief of colonial forces. Washington was the colonies’ best choice because he had experience, had been advising the congress, and the biggest factor that went into it was that if he had not been given the job Virginia, a key colony in the resistance, would have backed out. Washington’s troops were not very successful and they lost many battles, but they were victorious in March of 1776 when they forced the British to withdraw from Boston. He then moved his troops to New York City where they fought in the largest battle of the revolution. The british army launched an attack that killed 2,800 men. Washington ordered what was left of his army to retreat across the Delaware