Military Leader By the 1750s France and Great Britain controlled large portions of North America While Washington was beginning his military career France and Britain fought over the area west of the Appalachian Mountains These hostilities escalated into the French and Indian War which pitted France and its American Indian allies against Britain Starting in the spring of 1755 Washington fought in the Ohio Valley serving as a volunteer aide-de-camp or assistant to British major general Edward Braddock The young officer quickly learned that the British army’s American Indian opponents did not follow the European style of battle They avoided large battles preferring instead surprise and stealth in small-scale attacks Washington Washington on horseback takes command of the regiment after British major general Edward Braddock center is injured in the Battle of Fort Duquesne on July 9 1755 12
encouraged Braddock to use similar strategies but the general refused to abandon the traditional European rules of war His stance cost him his life when the French and American Indians defeated the British in a battle near Fort Duquesne After the general’s death Washington led Braddock’s remaining troops out of the Ohio Valley He was hailed as a hero for his courage and was given command of his own regiment In 1758 he was part of another attack on Fort Duquesne that resulted in British victory This painting shows Washington in his uniform as part of the Virginia Regiment during the French and Indian War Following this major military achievement Washington retired from military life He returned to Mount Vernon where in January 1759 he married Martha Dandridge Custis a wealthy widow with two children With his marriage George gained control over though not ownership of Martha’s property including 18,000 acres 7,284 hectares of Custis land For sixteen years Washington lived a profitable life as a landowner He grew tobacco and other crops on his lands and he owned more than a hundred slaves to do the backbreaking work of tending those crops All his life he would be an active manager of his estate and would think of himself as a farmer above all else 13
Washington met Martha Dandridge Custis in March 1758 Martha was a wealthy young widow with two children The couple center married on January 6 1759 Entry into Politics Even as Washington took an avid interest in the expansion of his plantation a political career soon brought him back into public service He was elected to the Virginia legislature also known as the House of Burgesses in 1758 One of his first challenges as a lawmaker arose in 1764 when the British Parliament imposed the first of a series of taxes on the colonists to help pay for the costs of the French and Indian War Many colonists were outraged Although they elected representatives to their own colonial legislatures which taxed them they did not elect any representatives to Parliament Colonists felt that because they had no voice in the British government Parliament had no right to force them to pay taxes The Virginia House of Burgesses along with other colonial legislatures sent a petition to Parliament arguing against the taxes Some colonists participated in public 14
protests and boycotts of British goods Washington supported the boycotts but for many years did not speak out against the British government The turning point came in May 1769 when he proposed the latest boycott of British goods in the House of Burgesses In July 1774 he wrote to a friend Parliament hath no more Right to put their hands into my Pocket without my consent than I have to put my hands into yours for money Rather than repealing the taxes the British government imposed harsh new laws to enforce their policies In September 1774 delegates from twelve North American British colonies met at the First Continental Congress in Philadelphia to discuss the growing tensions with Great Britain Washington served as a delegate from Virginia Many delegates including Washington Patrick Henry addresses delegates at the First Continental Congress in September 1774 Both Washington and Henry attended the Congress as delegates from Virginia 15
