George Washington served as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army during the American Revolution.
The Second Continental Congress appointed Washington to lead the Continental Army in June 1775, before the Declaration of Independence was adopted. He had military experience from the French and Indian War and was a Virginia delegate to Congress. His leadership helped keep the revolutionary army operating through severe shortages, defeats, and long winters.
Washington’s army won important victories at Trenton and Princeton, and his forces played a central role in the Yorktown campaign. French military and naval support was essential to the British surrender at Yorktown in 1781, but Washington remained the senior American commander.
After the war, Washington became the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. He is therefore connected both to the military struggle commemorated by America250 and to the federal government that followed independence.