ipl-logo

Why Is George Washington Important

1408 Words6 Pages

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 …show more content…

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

Show More
Related
779 Words | 4 Pages

Richard Howe could be considered the most successful general, when compared to William Howe and George Washington. The bases of this argument are mainly; the military experience of each general and the number of recorded mistakes made by each general during their military expeditions. One of the main reasons, Richard Howe was the most successful general was because of his vast experience in military leadership or command. In hindsight Richard Howe had far more experience of being a military leader than William and Washington as he was enlisted in the Royal Navy in 1739 and then became Admiral, the rank of the highest naval officers, in 1775. He was also serving as commander in chief, “the officer holding supreme command of the forces in an area or operation”, of a Mediterranean fleet.

Read More
379 Words | 2 Pages

Washington's administration contributed to the victory of the American Revolution since his victories at Trenton and Princeton made further men join the fight for independence. Georgia Washington was defeated in New York because Britain had more manpower with 45,000 soldiers and the America's 28,000. The morale of the Patriots was small because of the defeat. George Washington's victory at Trenton and Princeton gave much more power of New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the Western, which helped boost the morale of the army. Washington was pulling two victories after those failures, it gave them faith again, maintaining to bring in new soldiers.

Read More
396 Words | 2 Pages

His actions were later on revealed and was reported to Washington. In the other hand, George Washington was appointed Major General and Commander-in-Chief of the colonial forces against Great Britain. Washington 's training and experience were primarily in frontier warfare involving small numbers of soldiers which was known as the Continental Army. But he was courageous and determined and smart enough to keep one step ahead of the enemy. According to the website (http://www.shmoop.com/american-revolution/george-washington.html), “In September 1778, he sent General John Sullivan and an expedition force of 4,000 soldiers out towards western New York, to see that the Iroquois country be "not merely overrun but destroyed."

Read More
432 Words | 2 Pages

Before America could have any Founding Fathers, the country needed Sons of Liberty to stand up to the British government. These men harnessed the outrage that had spread following Parliament 's Stamp Act of 1765, which levied an internal tax on the colonies. Though the Stamp Act was repealed, the disagreement over "taxation without representation" wouldn 't go away, resulting in events like the Boston Massacre and the Boston Tea Party. The History Channel miniseries Sons of Liberty takes a dramatic look at the men who led the protests and upheavals that eventually resulted in revolution and independence.

Read More
495 Words | 2 Pages

Washington was a genius on the battlefield and came up with helpful tactics. He also obtained the ability to keep his struggling army together. Washington not only lead his army, but guided, directed and motivated them to persevere and keep going.

Read More
232 Words | 1 Pages

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.

Read More
744 Words | 3 Pages

There was no way that the rebels could have handled Britain and France, considering France was almost a deciding factor in the revolutionary war. Hamilton would also always have the manners of a soldier. It was said he always moved and stood just like a soldier and that so were his ideas and thoughts though like a soldier. Hamilton also judged the people around by the same aspect to which he judged himself. In the history books, George Washington was considered a great man because he was calm in battle.

Read More
783 Words | 4 Pages

Fortunately for Washington, he was given the honorary rank of colonel and joined General Braddock’s army in Virginia in 1755. The British forces had devised a plan to attack three different French forts. However, the plan proved to be unsuccessful; the French and their Indian allies ambushed Braddock’s forces leaving Braddock mortally wounded and Washington severely injured. In August f 1755, George Washington was promoted to commander of all Virginia’s troops. At age 23, he was sent to the frontier to patrol and protect roughly 400 miles and nearly 700 colonial troops.

Read More
768 Words | 4 Pages

Without Washington leading the troops, the battle at Yorktown could have easily had a different outcome. Because Washington pulled such a great execution at Yorktown he ended up influencing the country and government that we have today. “People knew that Washington was a great leader. So, he was elected as the first president of the United States.” (George Washington).

Read More
182 Words | 1 Pages

He also set up the Cabinet which then included only 5 members. He was highly admired, even thought of as God for all the work he had done fighting for and leading the country. Washington did a lot for our first president, even though he did not know how to run a democracy he was active

Read More
573 Words | 3 Pages

General Robert E. Lee, the General-in-Chief of the Confederate army was one of the greatest generals in history because he was an expert in traditional warfare, showed innovation and tact on the battlefield, and remained an honorable man. Through protecting his troops, using successful military tactics and his desire to communicate with his commanders, Lee outshined all opposing generals. Lee brought new views and tactics into the militay world. Although success was not always the outcome, Lee was an expert at understanding the abilities of his own force. Robert E. Lee demonstrated many traits and actions of a successful american general through his strategies, expertise and ideals.

Read More
446 Words | 2 Pages

Secondly, his excellence is one of the other ways that George Washington is a defining character of arete. Even though he lost more battles than he won he employed a winning strategy that included signal victories at the

Read More
483 Words | 2 Pages

Soldiers that would endure the hardships and fight for the independence of themselves and their families were vital to America prevailing over the British. Washington had fought with the British in the French and Indian War. He knew the landscape and the tactics of the British Army. This proved important to the success of the

Read More
592 Words | 3 Pages

Washington most likely wouldn’t have won the battle without Espionage. Espionage (spying) during the Revolutionary War was important because they used the Culper Spy Ring, both sides used it, and there are a lot of famous spies. In the Revolutionary War, they had spies that used the Culper Spy Ring. The ring was used for sending private messages to Washington about the British army.

Read More
425 Words | 2 Pages

Out of the three that are listed here I think that his part in the American Revolution was the most important. Without him we wouldn’t have a leader, nor would we have continued to fight on. This was the first step to our new nation and without him we would have given up/still be under British rule. People like Washington have given people a voice and has motivated them throughout the years. He had kept our hopes up whenever we felt the need to give up and because of his role/actions we are our own

Read More

More about Why Is George Washington Important

Related Topics

Open Document