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Virginia Farmer to Lead Continental Army

Pennsylvania State House

I beg it may be remembered by every gentleman in the room, that I this day declare with the utmost sincerity, I do not think myself equal to the Command I am honored with.

George Washington

To Members of Congress

June 16, 1775

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: June 16, 1775. Many followers of the Second Continental Congress were surprised today when delegates announced their choice to head the newly formed Continental Army. Although George Washington was on the short list, his chances seemed remote. Washington’s military experience is not as extensive or as successful as other candidates, including two fellow Virginians, Charles Lee and Horatio Gates. Lee, Gates and Philip Schuyler, Commander of the New York militia, were appointed Major Generals and will accompany their new leader to rebel headquarters in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Washington’s appointment was made after Massachusetts delegate, Dr. Benjamin Church, pleaded with Congress to accept responsibility for the militia around Cambridge, which have been characterized as a mob without uniforms, living in crude huts and fed by local farmers.

Many in Congress feel that a commander from Virginia will pull the southern colonies into what John and Samuel Adams, two outspoken delegates from Massachusetts, have declared an enviable war with England. They campaigned for Washington’s appointment. General Washington belongs to a southern landed gentry of plantation owners, crippled financially by recent acts of Parliament.

Washington led several Virginia expeditions against the French in the Ohio Valley. He and Horatio Gates served under British General Braddock in the unsuccessful campaign at Fort Duquesne. Washington took command when Braddock was killed in an ambush.

He is credited with leading Braddock’s army safely back to Richmond, where at the age of 23 he was awarded the rank of full colonel and given command of all Virginia militia.

In other news, the Pennsylvania Assembly relinquished to the Continental Congress the ground floor of their magnificent State House, considered by many to be the finest building in the colonies. After seating themselves, the delegates elected John Hancock, a 38-year-old merchant from Boston, as President. Hancock is considered an outlaw by British authorities.