George Washington served as commander in chief of the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War commemorated by America250. The Continental Congress appointed him to the position in June 1775.
Washington had military experience from the French and Indian War, but his revolutionary command also depended on diplomacy, endurance, and the support of the states. His army survived major defeats, supply shortages, and harsh winters before the British surrender at Yorktown in 1781.
Washington did not become president during the Revolution. He became the first president of the United States under the Constitution in 1789, after presiding over the Constitutional Convention in 1787. His wartime leadership and voluntary resignation of his military commission helped shape the new republic’s political culture.