George Washington and his mythical status
Many generals helped the Continental Army defeat the British, but why do we always think of George Washington when thinking of a general in this war? George Washington is most famously known for being the army 's Commander in Chief and for helping them defeat the British in the American Revolution. Washington showed leadership, was practical and clever in battles, and was a good humane person. In addition, he has made some mistakes.
Washington has shown leadership throughout the war. He has made appearances on the battlefield more than once, which is something generals do not normally do. Generals normally watch from a distance. He took control of the
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To many, Washington was known for his lightning campaign and timely guerilla actions, which completely unhinged the British at times (“George Washington”). He was extremely clever and tactical and was able to think of well thought out plans. Washington also had barely any experience in commanding a large army but brought many strengths to his position (“Ten facts about George Washington in the Revolutionary War”). His only experience before was during the French and Indian War. He was able to take his untrained and small army and commanded them to defeat the British.One of Washington 's smartest moves was actually off the battlefield. Almost half of Washington 's army had been infected by smallpox so he resulted to variolation, where healthy soldiers got pus from smallpox into small wounds on their arms (“How Smallpox Vaccine Helped Win the American Revolution”). It was reported that deaths dropped from 17% to an unbelievably low of 1% (“Ten facts about George Washington in the Revolutionary War”). If Washington had not done this, many of his troops could have died. The Continental army was already outnumbered by the larger British army and having less soldiers would have lowered their chances of winning. Also even if the soldiers didn 't die right away from being infected, it would be easy to defeat an army full of sick, weak