On this day in 1775, George Washington, who would one day become
the first American president, accepts an assignment to lead the
Continental Army. Washington had been managing his family's
plantation and serving in the Virginia House of Burgesses when
the second Continental Congress unanimously voted to have him
lead the revolutionary army. He had earlier distinguished
himself, in the eyes of his contemporaries, as a commander for
the British army in the French and Indian War of 1754. Born a
British citizen and a former Redcoat, Washington had, by the
1770s, joined the growing ranks of colonists who were dismayed
by what they considered to be Britain's exploitative policies in
North America. In 1774, Washington joined the Continental
Congress as a delegate from Virginia. The next year, the
Congress offered Washington the role of commander in chief of
the Continental Army. After accepting the position, Washington
sat down and wrote a letter to his wife, Martha, in which he
revealed his concerns about his new r