George Washington essays

George Washington essays George Washington was born in Virginia in 1732. His father owned a plantation farm and he inherited it in 1753 when his elder brother died. Washington served in the British army from 1752 to 1758. He resigned from the army in 1758 and married a rich widow named Martha Dandridge and was elected to the Virginian Assembly. In 1774 he represented the Assembly in the Continental Congress. IN June 1775 when the Congress decided to form an army they chose him as its commander. The Americans were already besieging General Gage's troops in Boston. Washington set out to lead them but before they he had arrived the Americans were defeated in the Battle at Bunker Hill. Washington wanted to drive the British from Boston. In March 1776 he bombarded the city with cannon fire. The British realised that they couldn't hold out and left Boston on the night of 17 March. On the 4 July 1776, the congress issued the Declaration of Independance. Thomas Jefferson wrote it. It raised American spirits but in 1776 and 1777 the war went bacly for them. In September 1776 the British captured New York and in 1777 they captured Philadalphia where the Congress met. Americans were forced to retreat to a wild and lonely place called Valley Forge. They spent the winter of 1777-8 in horrible conditions. While Washington and his men were suffering at Valley Forge, another American army defeated the British at Saratoga. When the French king, Louis XVI, heard of this he decided that the Americans might win. He declared war on Britain. The French troops were useful but the navy was even more important. It prevented the British from bringing guns, ammunition and fresh soldiers to equip the British in America. The final event of the war wwas the battle of Yorktown. The Americans captured a British army under Lord Cornwallis. A French fleet arrived in the harbour and prevented them from escaping. They had no choice but to surrender...