Contributed by Bill Julian
George Washington was more than the “father of his country.” He was one of the greatest men who ever lived, certainly the greatest soldier-statesman. His accomplishments in both war and peace make him a man for all seasons and all ages. Starting with untrained and ill-equipped citizen volunteers he won an eight-year war against the super power of the time. Then, as president for eight years, he unerringly guided the fledgling United States through a series of formative and international crises with unmatched judgment and integrity.
Of his many achievements, the most stunning was holding the Continental Army together largely through the force of his personality. Without Washington in command and present continuously in the winter camps, on the march and at most of the key battles, the Continental Army would have dissolved on numerous occasions and England would have won the war. The war was finally won because as long as the Continental Army was in the field England could not win.
No other soldier-statesman in the history of the world accomplished so much starting with so little that has lasted so long, and whose epitaph is “First in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen.”