George Washington was appointed commander-in-chief of the Continental Army during the American Revolution.
The Second Continental Congress selected Washington on June 14, 1775, shortly after the Battles of Lexington and Concord began the armed conflict. Washington was a Virginia planter and veteran of the French and Indian War, and his military experience and regional standing helped make him acceptable to delegates from different colonies.
He commanded the army throughout the Revolutionary War, including the campaign that culminated in the British surrender at Yorktown in 1781. The war formally ended with the Treaty of Paris in 1783.
Washington's later presidency sometimes overshadows his wartime role. Before becoming the first U.S. president under the Constitution, he spent years leading an army that had to fight, supply itself and maintain cooperation among thirteen newly independent states.