George+Washington

 = Rachel Cheung and Carl Wagner = __George Washington__ George Washington was born on February 22, 1732 in Pope’s Creek Virginia. Known as the Father of our Country, he led the Continental Army to victory and won the American Revolution in Yorktown, Virginia on October 19, 1781 when General Cornwallis surrendered. Before George Washington became the commander in chief of the Continental Army, he was the lieutenant colonel of the Virginia troops. He was elected the commander in chief of the Continental Army by the Second Continental Congress in May 1775. The Congress agreed he was the perfect and ideal commander and that his popularity would unite the colonies together to defeat Britain.

During the war, George Washington became the chief symbol of what the colonies were fighting for: independence. Troops said he acted like a hero, and didn’t give up even when some of his troops left him. With only 5,000 men with him, he crossed the Delaware River on December 26, 1776 and defeated the Hessian troops in Trenton, New Jersey. Troops began to reenlist after they heard about General Washington’s victory with only 5,000 men.

The last battle George Washington fought in the American Revolution was the Battle of Yorktown. General Washington and his army surrounded the British on September 28, 1781 with the help of the French fleets. They began to fight on October 6, but ended the battle on October 19 when General Cornwallis and his army surrendered to the United States. George Washington had finally led the U.S. to independence. After the war, George Washington helped write the Constitution and became the first president of the United States. He was elected for president in February 1789. He got a total of 69 votes, the largest amount of votes a candidate could get at the time. It was obvious that George Washington was not only the ideal commander in chief, but also the ideal president of the United States. The Father of our Country led the U.S. to independence and helped build the new foundation of our country.

Washington and his spies used lemon juice to get news to his allies before the enemy does the act or gets the paper, reads it, and spoils George’s plans of warning or telling them. Spies were willing to do anything that they could do to intercept a message for a British commander or officer. If you were a spy and were caught, you would either be hung or be a prisoner and hand over the documents. Washington could give the enemy so much false information; the enemy wouldn’t believe its own best spy. When General Washington and Admiral De Grasse’s troops won the Battle of Yorktown, it stirred the question of if they should end the war and leave the colonists alone. Major George Beckwith, head of the British intelligence operations, later noted that “Washington did not really outfight the British, he simply outspied us!”