The Life of George Washington. John Marshall

      THE LIFE OF GEORGE WASHINGTON

      This book is published by Liberty Fund, Inc., a foundation established to encourage study of the ideal of a society of free and responsible individuals.

      The margin notes in the Liberty Fund print edition have been inserted into the main text of this eBook.

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      © 2000 by Liberty Fund, Inc.

      Margin notes have been moved from the margin of the paragraph in the print edition to precede the paragraph in this eBook, in a smaller font.

      This eBook edition published in 2011.

      eBook ISBN: E-PUB 978-1-61487-132-3

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      CONTENTS

Foreword

Table of Maps

Principal Events of Washington’s Life

Note on this Edition

      THE LIFE OF GEORGE WASHINGTON

Part One: Commander in Chief of the Revolution

1. “The Favorite Soldier of Virginia”: Early Years; the French and Indian War (1732 to 1759)

2. “The Soldier of America”; Victory at Boston (September 1774 to April 1776)

3. War in Canada and the North (June 1775 to November 1776)

4. War in the South; the Declaration of Independence (November 1775 to July 1776)

5. Defeat and the Restoration of “Native Courage”: Command in New York (June to September 1776)

6. “Unyielding Firmness”: Retreat and Attack in New York and New Jersey (October 1776 to January 1777)

7. The Army and Independence Maintained (January to July 1777)

8. Battle and a Wise Determination to Avoid Battle: The Struggle for Philadelphia (July to September 1777)

9. A Stubborn Contest in the Middle Colonies (September to December 1777)

       10. Defeat, then Victory, in the North: Ticonderoga, Bennington, Saratoga (November 1775 to November 1777)

       11. “The Character of Washington”: Preserving Army and Command at Valley Forge (December 1777 to May 1778)

       12. “On His Own Responsibility”: A New Army at Monmouth (March to June 1778)

       13. “Temperate Measures”: Disappointment with the French, Stalemate with the British (July to December 1778)

       14. Diplomacy; Frontier Attacks; Congress’s Grand Plan (June 1778 to February 1779)

       15. The British Shift the Front: War in Georgia, South Carolina, Virginia (November 1778 to June 1779)

       16. Near-Mutinies and Calming Influence; Skirmishes; the Allies Fail at Savannah (May to December 1779)

       17. Disasters and Misjudgments in South Carolina (January to August 1780)

       18. Governing Without Teeth: Mutiny; Failures of Supply; a French Force Stalls (January to September 1780)

       19. Arnold’s Treason; Faction and Army Policy in Congress (August to December 1780)

       20. “Abilities, Fortitude, and Integrity”: Greene and His Lieutenants in the South (August 1780 to April 1781)

       21. Mutiny Parried and Quelled; the “Miserably Defective” Structure of Congress; Lafayette Checks Cornwallis (November 1780 to July 1781)

       22. “The Total Incompetency of the Political System”; Victory at Yorktown (May to December 1781)

       23. The Deep South Regained; the Prudence of Greene (April 1781 to January 1782)

       24. Peace; Pacifying the Army; the “Virtuous Moderation” to Bid Farewell (December 1781 to December 1783)

       Part Two: Father and President of the New Republic

       25. Private Statesmanship: Agriculture, Improvements, Union (1783 to 1785)

       26. Political Imbecility; Constituting a Government (1784 to 1789)

       27. Conciliating the Public: Election, Inauguration, and First Appointments (1789)

       28. Defense, Finance, Foreign Affairs—and the First “Systematic Opposition” (1790 to 1791)

       29. Democratic Rebellion; Indian War; the French Model (March 1791 to March 1793)

       30. Reelection; Furor over Neutrality; the Extraordinary Citizen Genêt (November 1792 to December 1793)

       31. “The Path of Duty”: Averting War, Maintaining Independence (December 1793 to June 1794)

       32. Executive Vigor Confronts War, Rebellion, and Treaty-making (January 1794 to June 1796)

       Part Three: The First of Americans

       33. Last Farewell; Final Duty; Legacy and Character (1796 to 1799)

       Appendix A: Note on Further Reading and Editorial Sources

       Appendix B: Important Writings of Washington

       Index

       Notes

FOREWORD

      WHILE THERE ARE other good biographies of George Washington, some recent, this Life by Chief Justice John Marshall probably should be read first. It is the first serious biography, appearing within eight years