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Congratulations to General Washington & The Army PDF Print E-mail
Written by H.S. Toryan   
Monday, 15 June 2009 00:17

   It was June 14, 1775 the Continental Congress commissioned an army, the next day they appointed George Washington as Commander in Chief. Washington was selected over other candidates such as John Hancock based on his previous military experience and the hope that a leader from Virginia could help unite the colonies.

   Washington left for Massachusetts within days of receiving his commission and assumed command of the Continental Army in Cambridge on July 3, 1775. After eight years of war, Washington resigned his commission as Commander in Chief on December 23, 1783.
   In a speech given to the Continental Congress on June 16, Washington accepted the commission and requested that he not receive a salary for his service, only that his expenses be paid at the conclusion of the war. On June 17, the Continental Congress drafted Washington’s commission as commander in chief.
   The following year, he forced the British out of Boston, lost New York City, and crossed the Delaware River in New Jersey, defeating the surprised enemy units later that year. As a result of his strategy, Revolutionary forces captured the two main British combat armies at Saratoga and Yorktown. Negotiating with Congress, the colonial states, and French allies, he held together a tenuous army and a fragile nation amid the threats of disintegration and failure.
   Following the end of the war in 1783, Washington returned to private life and retired to his plantation at Mount Vernon, prompting an incredulous King George III to state, "If he does that, he will be the greatest man in the world."
   With that we agree, which is why he is one of the founding fathers we hold so dear. His work on the Constitution coupled with his tenure as President is a the cornerstone of the American Party and the compass which points us where we, and this country, need to head.
Last Updated on Tuesday, 16 June 2009 18:43
 
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