1776

General Nathanael Greene was the son of a wealthy Rhode Island Quaker who had little use for education, so Greene educated himself. One of the many topics he educated himself on was warfare. Though he was a Quaker, he was ready to serve when the call went out. Because he had a stiff leg, he was at first deemed unworthy to command troops, so he joined the infantry instead. His natural intelligence and talent were so high, however, that his superiors overlooked the leg and made him the commander of the Rhode Island Army of Observation.

At that time the generals knew they were woefully underprepared. They had very little gunpowder, and the army was wretched. Even without qualified engineers, however, Washington built bigger and bigger fortifications.

The men, mostly New Englanders, knew little but drinking, carousing, and whoring. Their tents were in disarray. They had no uniforms. They would go home to their families—or elsewhere—without official leave and without even asking. Some of their reasons were understandable, like checking on their families and helping to harvest the crops, but it displayed a concerning lack of discipline all the same. Then diseases, like typhoid and dysentery, gripped the camps. This was mostly due to a lack of cleanliness, particularly their habit of defecating in nearby fields and open sewers, and their refusal to wash their clothes because it was women’s work. Washington, however, brought discipline to the camp. Men were flogged, whipped, and even run out of town.

Their uniforms varied in color and fabric, but all were disheveled. Officers were indistinguishable from the men. Their arms were equally varied, but most were shotguns and flintlock muskets. These proved another point of indiscipline. Since the men owned their own guns, they saw no reason not to fire as they pleased. To distinguish officers from the men, Washington had them wear ribbons across their shoulders—a different color for each rank.

Most of the men were actually craftsmen who were used to hard work and hard times, but the ranks also held drifters and tavern lowlife. Every skin color, manner of speech, ethnic group, and age was represented. Washington did not want African soldiers, but when things got tight, they fought too. Many of the men were scarred from illnesses like small pox, had old wounds, or were otherwise afflicted.

Old Put was all the men’s hero. A veteran of Bunker Hill and other wars, he was scarred but undeterred. Another example of a “soldier” was a 10-year-old boy whose father brought him to work with the cooks.

In mid-summer the Scotch-Irish began showing up with tomahawks at their belts and long-barreled rifles. At first this seemed like a boon, but they quickly proved just as unreliable as the New Englanders.

Skirmishes with the British often caused casualties on both sides. In one battle, the head of one of Greene’s Rhode Island men was blown off. The British liked to bomb for lengthy periods of time early in the morning. They were at no loss for supplies, but British deserters often came across the line.

Washington and the men wondered why the British did not attack if they wanted to put down the rebellion. Late summer was near, and the men were getting restless. The army rested largely because winter would soon follow. The means for making war, namely money, were getting increasingly scarce, and Washington’s disgust with his ragtag New Englanders was growing.

In Cambridge, Washington chose to live in a large mansion that had belonged to a loyalist who had fled. There he lived like European gentry, with beautiful furnishings and well-established guests coming and going. He purchased fine food and liquor to serve his guests. As he had in Virginia, he had a young African American boy who rode with him as he inspected the defenses.

Washington was striking to look at: six foot two with reddish-brown hair and gray-blue eyes, but with some small pox scars and a few bad teeth. He rode his horse like a Virginia gentleman. John Adams, who had nominated him for the position, said he would be one of the most important men in the world.

Born in 1732, Washington’s grandfather emigrated from in England in 1657. His father died when Washington was 11. Because of the family’s financial straits, he educated himself after seven or eight years of private tutoring. He studied neither Latin nor Greek, as others of his age did, but he learned to write in a bold hand and to dance. One of the guiding principles of his life was decorum, but he was a self-made man. At 16 he learned to survey and followed a senior surveyor on an expedition beyond the Blue Ridge Mountains. Later, in 1753, he traveled at the behest of the governor to Western Pennsylvania to challenge French claims to the Allegheny River Valley. He encountered fighting there and made his mark as a leader under Edward Braddock.

Washington made his fortune when he married a widow, Martha Dandridge Custis from Williamsburg, Virginia, and began living like a country gentleman. Most of his belongings, including the coach that he commissioned, came from England. Washington loved architecture and order. As he doubled the size of his dwelling, he chose and executed many of the details himself. He also loved theater, riding, and foxhunting. He had the reputation for being very rich, though he was not the richest man in America.

The popular stories around Washington’s strength, fortitude, and wealth caused his men to look up to him and give their all, since he was giving his. One mark against Washington, however, was his lack of military experience. Fully aware of this, he accepted the generalship with humility. The Continental Congress knew Washington’s strengths, however, which were political. Coming from the richest of the colonies, Washington had experience dealing with the Virginia legislature—something very useful for his position.

Early in September Washington decided to attack the British in Canada, and Colonel Benedict Arnold led the command. He also decided to strike at Boston after learning that the British did not intend to attack until they received reinforcements. On September 11, a war council was held.

After a mutiny broke out and was squelched, the war council met. One of the most interesting men of the company was Major General Charles Lee, Washington’s second in command. Formerly an officer in the French and Indian War, Lee was an interesting character with a hooked nose and bony face. Unkempt, he was very different from Washington. He had been married to an Indian woman and had served in Europe with the British army. He was the only military man present. A second man present contrasted with Lee: Major General Artemas Ward, a boring but good New Englander.

Washington assembled his brigadiers realizing that Thomas, Sullivan, and Greene were the best among them. Though they and Washington planned an all-out amphibious assault on Boston, the war council rejected their ideas due to the chance of massive casualties.

While the men initially felt they were fighting for justice, they began calling to fight for independence from England.

On October 24, news came from Maine that the British had attacked the small town of Falmouth. The citizens had been given ample warning to escape, but their homes were burned down and, with winter coming on, they had no place to stay. Meanwhile, animosity brewed between the New Englanders and the richer Virginians.

Colonel Henry Knox, who was orphaned at a young age and self-educated, impressed Washington even in his twenties. He first suggested going after the canon at Fort Ticonderoga on Lake Champlain.

In November both sides were suffering with little to eat, and the British were taken by small pox. There were many deserters on both sides.

Even as the independence propaganda lifted the American men’s spirits, they were going home and not re-enlisting. Out of 10,000, only 1,000 agreed to remain.

The war council changed its mind about Boston, now believing the city should be taken—even if the entire city was burned.

On New Year’s Day, Washington gave the army a name—the Continental Army—and with a 13-gun salute, they raised a new flag. The flag had 13 red-and-white stripes and the St. Andrew’s cross of the English flag. The British in Boston first took it as a sign of surrender.