General George Washington by Edward G. Lengel

When Washington was six his family moved to Ferry Farm, across the Rappahannock River from Fredericksburg. After the death of his first wife, Augustine Washington married Mary Ball, whose first child was George. (By the Julian, or Old Style, calendar, in effect in England until 1752, he was born on February 11.) His father, Augustine Washington, owned nearly 3,000 acres of tobacco land (including the site of Mount Vernon, overlooking the Potomac River) and properties containing iron ore, while managing an iron furnace for an English company. Washington as a Young ManWashington was born on February 22, 1732, at Popes Creek farm in Westmoreland County on the Northern Neck.

By the middle of the war, he was already hailed as the “Father of His Country.” His enormous prestige after the war led to his being chosen to lead the Constitutional Convention and to his election as first president. As commander in chief, he led American forces for the entire eight-year war, losing more battles than he won but managing to keep the army together under the most difficult circumstances. Increasingly restive under British taxation and trade restrictions, Washington took a leading role in the nascent revolutionary movement after British regulars killed colonists and seized private property at the battles of Lexington and Concord in Massachusetts in April 1775. Marriage to Martha Custis brought him great wealth. He held positions of command at a remarkably young age. Long months on the frontier as a surveyor toughened the young Washington, preparing him for service in Virginia’s militia during the French and Indian War (1754–1763). Thanks to his half-brother’s marriage into the wealthy Fairfax family, Washington acquired social polish, a taste for aristocratic living, and connections to Virginia‘s political elite. Born to a family of middling wealth, Washington’s formal education ended when he was about fifteen. George Washington served as commander in chief of the Continental army during the American Revolution (1775–1783), as president of the United States Constitutional Convention (1787), and as first president of the United States (1789–1797).

General George Washington by Edward G. Lengel