When the Second Continental Congress named George Washington to organize and lead the Continental Army, they made an excellent choice. Never having had the advantages of a formal education as his half-brothers did, he was a self-taught man. With an intense interest in self-improvement and correct manners, he was also a “hands on” person who at the age of 16 took on the task of surveying wilderness areas in western Virginia. In 1755, at the age of 21, he was appointed Adjutant for the Southern District of Virginia by Governor Robert Dinwiddie, and shortly after was named as special envoy (Links to an external site.) to deliver a message to the French commander in the Ohio region.
With the onset of the French and Indian War, Washington saw first hand General Braddock’s crack British Regulars thrown into panic at the tactics employed by the Indians and their French allies. Throughout the remainder of the war, whether as commander-in-chief to the forces of Virginia, or as a subordinate officer to British generals, he watched, learned, made do with little support and few supplies, and gained insight and experience into the ways of war in the Americas.
George Washington leading the troops in battle
As Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army, Washington used his French and Indian War experience to best advantage. He had to. He was facing a country which had the largest navy in the world and one of the best trained armies as well. He knew that head to head combat would destroy his small, untried army and meager resources, so he drew upon the tactics that had successfully defeated General Braddock in 1755--guerrilla (Links to an external site.) warfare.
By hitting the British where they were weak or where they least expected attack, Washington, with his excellent commanders, despite poorly trained troops, meager supplies, and minimal funding, won battles. Certainly not all, for there were some terrible defeats, but despite the hardship and suffering throughout the colonies, the Americans and the drive for independence maintained.
The surrender of General Burgoyne and his army of 6,000 troops at Saratoga, New York, provided to the French proof that the Americans were capable of defeating the British. It was this American victory that persuaded them to provide men, ships and supplies to the new United States of America.
The surrender of Lord Charles Cornwallis
During the next four years of fighting, the British were the victors of numerous battles, but at terrible cost. The final confrontation of the war took place in October 1781, when a combined American-French force, plus the French fleet blockading by sea, trapped and forced the surrender of British lieutenant general Charles Cornwallis at Yorktown, Virginia. The defeat at Yorktown drew the British to the peace table. Negotiations in Paris between Benjamin Franklin and John Jay, and British representatives carried on for over a year before American demands of independence, withdrawal of British troops and a western boundary at the Mississippi River were agreed to. The battle for American independence officially concluded with the signing of the Treaty of Paris, September 3, 1783.