General George Washington: A Military Life

For those who admire George Washington, this is a must read. It is a comprehensive and even-handed account of the military career of perhaps the single most important American soldier ever. The author delivers a compelling and honest assessment of Washington's strengths and weaknesses. This gives the reader a full and balanced look at his career that other books rarely provide. Well-written and enjoyable.

2008-06 - General George Washington: A Military Life by Edward G. Lengel. 2005. 450 pages.

This book covers the military career of George Washington from his days as a youth watching the adventures of his brother through the Seven Years War/French and Indian War, the Revolution, The whisky Rebellion and ends with the former President of the United States (POTUS) Washington still on duty at the end of his life.

This book is primarily concerned with Washington the military man. It provides a good history of his military career and some historical evaluation. The author is not a military man or military scholar; rather he is involved with the George Washington Papers Project. The author’s lack of military experience however does not impact his selection of material or his evaluation of Washington the soldier.

While Washington’s exploits during the Seven Years War and the Revolution are fairly well known some of the details and the scope of these exploits are often not understood. This lack of understanding is partly the result of our distance from the way things were in the 18th century and partly because Washington was a unique and extraordinary leader and man. In many ways he was much more akin to our modern sensibilities than he was to those of the military establishments of his time. Though he himself operated firmly in an 18th century frame of reference.

Washington was a one man staff system who directed his logistics both on the practical side and on the political side, always wary to avoid burdening the populace and maintaining civilian control and a sense of proper order in the army. Washington was heavily involved in conducting his own intelligence and agitory propaganda work to a degree which modern commanders do not do because much of these functions are delegated to dedicated and specially trained staff.

Peeling back the aspects of Washington’s organization and activities which today are handled by a staff we come to the issue of Washington in the traditional sense of a military man as we commonly think of them. Washington was by all accounts of friend and foe a very physically brave man on par even with Hernando Cortez. Washington’s ability to lead men was remarkable for a man with little education. He was, compared to his 18th century peers, a very modern leader reinforcing the positive and challenging his men to meet his expectation rather then the blunt bully who used the vine stave.

At a tactical level Washington’s forces failed more often than they succeeded. Too often the failure was a result of an overly complicated plan. Though Washington was seemingly always itching for a fight he tended towards plans of such intricate timing and advance that they were often doomed. On the operational and strategic level Washington’s talents were much more evident. Though he maintained a fixed obsession with New York City he quickly understood the tie between the revolution and its promise to the country and world and the need to keep his army in the field defying the British.

The notion that Washington was a Fabian in his tactics does not strictly hold water. Washington though recognizing the need to maintain the army as a whole in the field in order to preserve the revolution routinely risked the entire main army in battle. The campaigns in New York City, Brandywine, Germantown, even Monmouth showed a desire for that one decisive action which would decide the issue. The author does understand this.

Washington is so far the only sitting POTUS to, as Commander in Chief, command troops in the field, in uniform as President. This occurred during the Whiskey Rebellion though the mere presence of Washington contributed to the end of the rebellion with out a full scale national conflagration. Washington, in a little known tidbit, also returned to military service after his final term as POTUS. He, at the behest of POTUS John Adams, accepted a commission to ready the American military for potential conflict with France. When Washington died he did so under commission and therefore still technically as a serving military officer in the armed forces of the United States.

This book reads quickly, the prose not being a millstone to the material, and does a fine job of presenting this aspect of Washington to the reader.

Not my favorite Founding Father, but a fascinating life!

I was ok with this until the author ranked Robert Lee as obviously a better general. They actually were remarkably similarin their abilities, but Washington was a vastly better man. And of course, he won.

I've always been fascinated with Revolutionary War-era history and military history, in general. By focusing on Washington's history through the glass of his military life, the author's able to color and explain all of his decisions in his ultimate roles throughout the revolution and his presidency. It's an illuminating and well-written look at a man who is the most deserving of any historical American figure to be studied.

Analysis of Washington’s generaling was sharp and fair. I wanted more—this could easily have been thousands of pages long, and I would have eaten it all up!

A great biography of his military life. You always think of George being flawless and successful. Not true in his military career. As he learned his craft, he made mistakes along the way and they are all documented here. The descriptive battle scenes are disturbing but realistic.

A dry but informative history of George Washington's military career. I got tired by the third DVD so obviously it didn't work for me.

OVERALL GRADE: C minus.