George Washington: A President's President; A General's General

Born in Virginia, on February 22nd, 1732, George Washington was the eldest son of Augustine and Mary Ball Washington, both of whom were wealthy Southern gentry of English descent. Washington spent his early years close to nature, taking walks on the family’s Pope’s Creek estate along the Potomac River. As a member of the gentry, his early education was conducted through private tutorial, and included arithmetic, surveying, classic literature, and “rules of civility.” After his father died in 1734, George went to live at the Potomac Plantation of his older half-brother Lawrence who became a surrogate father to George.
Although George’s desire was to sail the high seas, his mother effectively thwarted this desire, so instead he began a career as a surveyor. With the help of Lawrence’s influential in-laws, in 1749, George was able to land a prominent position surveying the Shenandoah Valley, helping to lie out the Virginia town of Alexandria. In 1752, Lawrence fell ill with tuberculosis and George accompanied him to Barbados in hope for a cure. Lawrence, however, died while in Barbados and upon his return to Virginia, George inherited his half-brother’s Mount Vernon Estate.
By 1773 tension broke out between the British and the French over control of the Ohio Valley, and in 1754 escalatedinto the French Indian War creating new opportunities for young Washington. Although hewas only 22 years old and inexperienced, Washington fast learned the ropes of management rectifying problems with recruitment, supplies, and desertion with a mixture of brazenness and inborn talent that soon earned him respect from both his inferiors as well as his superiors. In April 1754 while on his way to Forks, Ohio, Washington learned that the French were preparing to attack. Washington immediately set about erecting fortifications known as Fort Necessity and marched to intercept the advancing French troops. Successful in their attack, Washington’s men killed the French Commander and captured most of his men. Several days later however, in a rain-drenched, all-day battle, the French overwhelmed Fort Necessity, resulting in Washington surrendering to French forces and capitulating to their demands. Washington retained the right of marching his men with dignity back to Williamsburg, Virginia.
Dispirited by his defeat, put off by internal military politics which effected enlisted men, and dissatisfied with the low pay he received as a soldier, in 1754 Washington resigned from the military. However, the following year (1758), due to fear of another French attack, Washington rejoined the military and, based onhis previous battlefield experience, likeability, and remarkable statesmanship and leadership ability was promoted to the position of Commander-in-Chief of the Virginia militia at only 23 years old.
Washington once again left military life in 1758 with the hope of settling down and turning his attention to his Mount Vernon plantation. The following year he married Martha Dandridge Custis, a wealthy widow with two small children of her own.
In June of 1775, following the military skirmishes at Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts having commenced against the British, Congress unanimously voted Washington as commander-in-chief of the Continental army. On July 3rd of that year, Washington took command of an undisciplined, amateur army of 14,000 men with insufficient ammunition and short of other needed supplies to confront the profession soldiers of the British army. In March of 1776, using a captured British cannon hauled over 200 miles from Fort Ticonderoga, NY, Washington maneuvered a contingent of his men up Dorchester Heights from where he outflanked the British forces ensconced in Boston below and opened a surprise attack handing the British their first defeat and forcing theirretreat.
Washington then moved to defend New York City. Initially, hetook up a position in Brooklyn that he was unable to defend and after suffering a significant defeat, skillfully engineered a series of dramatic retreats to the middle of Manhattan, thence to Washington Heights. White Plains and finally crossing the Hudson River to Fort Lee, New Jersey. From there he continued to retreat across New Jersey, and later into Pennsylvania. The purpose of these strategic retreats was to avoid confrontations with the superior British forces until the right opportunity could open up for a successful fight. Meanwhile his men were starving and freezing, supplies were of the essences, and more men where deserting every day. It was all Washington could do to maintain both his morale as well as the morale of his men.
Colonial morale was briefly revived while on December 24th1776, Washington and his men stealthily crossed the Delaware River and attacked the British in a brilliantly conceived surprise attack near Princeton, New Jersey. The ensuing military operations created a stalemate in New Jersey. Meanwhile, the Southern Colonial Forces through the leadership of Southern Generals Nathaniel Greene, Daniel Morgan, and Charles Lee were making steady headway in their advances against the British. Eventually, theseseasoned Southern Generalswere now able to devote more of their attention to the Northern Front, forcing the British to relinquish their control over the colonies..
After the war Washington returned to his plantation, which had suffered losses in his absence. While working the plantation, Washington experimented with crop rotation, business ventures, and traveled west to examine his land holdings near the Ohio River.
After the first attempt at forming a government of the united colonies failed, there were suggestions that Washington be appointed “monarch” for life. Washington declined the entreaty, but on April 30th, 1789, allowed himself to be sworn in as the first President of the United States of America in New York City. While in office, Washington acted decisively to build a lasting executive structure that would be at both strong enough to whether opposition and setbacks while being malleable enough to accommodate change.
In 1789, when Washington retired fromoffice after serving two terms, leaving the nation’s economy and infrastructure in asolid position, and significantly reducing Indian threats from over the Mississippi River. Almost 10 years later, in mid-December of 1798 Washington contracted an infection and died December 14th of that year.
From Washington’s life we learn (1) that at times a retreat from a small battle can lay the foundation towards winning the larger war; (2) that even when necessary to retreat, we can do so with dignity; and, (3) the value of civility—treating everyone with value and respect. Although Washington was gifted in many areas and blessed with grace and good favor in the eyes of his fellow man, it was his common decency and integrity that has ultimately earned him the good name and reputation he continues to have today.

Binyamin Klempner, MSW is a psychotherapist and life coach. He lives in Ramat Beit Shemesh Aleph with his wife and two children. He can be reached for consultations and appointments at 02-9999-764.

*Information for this article was gathered from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Washington and http://sc94.ameslab.gov/TOUR/gwash.html.