George Washington: Gentleman Warrior
Stephen Brumwell
Quercus (2013)
“I often say of George Washington that he was one of the few in the whole history of the world who was not carried away by power.” Robert Frost
George Washington: Gentleman Warrior
George Washington: Gentleman Warrior
by Stephen Brumwell
Edition: Hardcover
Price: $19.89
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5.0 out of 5 stars “George Washington was one of the few in the whole history of the world who was not carried away by power.” Robert Frost, January 3, 2015
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This review is from: George Washington: Gentleman Warrior (Hardcover)
Whenever appropriate, I read two or three books in combination if they share several subjects in common and that is certainly true of this book, read with Jack Kelly’s Band of Giants: The Amateur Soldiers Who Won America’s Independence and Edward Larson’s The Return of George Washington: 1783-1789. I highly recommend all three.
As Stephen Brumwell explains, “George Washington’s military experiences fell into two distinct phases separated by a long interlude in which he retired from soldiering to follow the life 0of a gentleman farmer and politician. During the first phase, Washington was a soldier of the king, often fighting alongside units of the British Army but failing in his quest to secure a Crown commission in a regular regiment; during the second, he led the armed struggle against the same military institution that had apparently spurned him, seeking to exploit all that he had earlier learned of its strengths and weaknesses. This book reflects the pattern. It argues that whatever else he might have been – surveyor, farmer, politician, elder statesman – and despite appearances, George Washington was first and foremost a soldier; his colossal status rested upon the twin pillars of his character, the gentleman and the warrior.”
Here is an abbreviated timeline of possible interest and value to those who read this review:
1732 February 22: George Washington born in Popes Creek Plantation, Westmoreland County, Virginia
1749 Appointed official surveyor for Culpeper County, Virginia
1753 Left Mount Vernon to serve with rank of major in Virginia regiment during French & Indian War (1754-58)
1776: July: Declaration of Independence; Washington appointed General and Commander-in-chief of Continental Army.
1779 August 14: A peace plan is approved by Congress stipulating independence and British evacuation of America
1781 October 19: The British army surrenders at Yorktown – a devastating effect on the British
1783 February 4: England officially declares an end to hostilities in America
o September 3: The Treaty of Paris is signed by the United States and Great Britain.
o November 2: George Washington delivers farewell address to the army.
o December 23: Washington resigns his commission as commander-in-chief to the Congress of the Confederation.
1784 January 14: The Treaty of Paris is ratified by Congress and the American Revolutionary War officially ends.
1787 May 25: Elected President of the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia
1789 Unanimously Elected first President of the United States
1793 Re-elected President of the United States
1797 March: Washington returned to Mount Vernon
1798 July 4: Commissioned Lieutenant General and Commander in Chief of the new United States Army to serve as a warning to France, with which war seemed imminent.
1799 December 14: Died at Mount Vernon at the age of 67. He arranged for his slaves to be freed in his last will and testament.
These are among the hundreds of passages that caught my eye:
o Artistic portrayal of George Washington (Pages 5-8 & 178-179)
o French & Indian War (49-82, 83-117, & 122-153)
o George Washington: Colonel of (original) Virginia Regiment (57-66 & 84-119)
o Monongahela River massacre (77-81)
o George Washington’s letters to/from Sally Fairfax (137-138 & 428-429)
o American colonies move toward war with Britain (179-189)
o Siege of Boston (223-225)
o Revolutionary War: New York (226-249)
o Trenton-Princeton Campaign (272-296)
o Battle of Princeton (290-296)
o Revolutionary War: Pennsylvania (297-312 & 316-321)
o Valley Forge (322-325)
o British abandon Philadelphia and head for New York (339-342)
o Revolutionary War: Virginia (386-411)
o British surrender at Yorktown (405-409)
o Final stages of Revolutionary War (411-418)
Brumwell also discusses Washington’s relationships that include those with Colonel/Brigadier General/Major General Benedict Arnold (363-366), Major General Edward Braddock (71-72), Robert Dinwiddie, Lieutenant Governor of Virginia (116-117), Brigadier/Major General Horatio Gates (317-318, 329-332, & 414-415), John Hancock, (209-210), Lafayette (314-315 & 364-365), Major/Colonel Henry (Light Horse Harry) Lee (342-343), John Campbell, Earl of Loudoun (104-109), wife Martha (120-122, 137-138, & 153-154), and Sally Fairfax (74-75 & 137-138). These and other political, military, and personal relationships increase and enrich our understanding of a man, albeit an exceptional man, in human terms as a gentleman warrior rather than as a Rushmorean.
As Stephen Brumwell concludes in the Epilogue, “Washington was as indispensable to America during these middle years [i.e. 1783-1789] as before or after them. During that pivotal phase of the country’s development, he laid the foundation for the Constitution, the government, and the sacred union of states and people that has lasted for more than 225 years and promises to continue long into the future.”
Here is an abbreviated timeline of possible interest and value to those who read this review:
1732 February 22: George Washington born in Popes Creek Plantation, Westmoreland County, Virginia
1749 Appointed official surveyor for Culpeper County, Virginia
1753 Left Mount Vernon to serve with rank of major in Virginia regiment during French & Indian War (1754–58)
1776: July: Declaration of Independence; Washington appointed General and Commander-in-chief of Continental Army.
1779 August 14: A peace plan is approved by Congress stipulating independence and British evacuation of America
1781 October 19: The British army surrenders at Yorktown – a devastating effect on the British
1783 February 4: England officially declares an end to hostilities in America
o September 3: The Treaty of Paris is signed by the United States and Great Britain.
o November 2: George Washington delivers farewell address to the army.
o December 23: Washington resigns his commission as commander-in-chief to the Congress of the Confederation.
1784 January 14: The Treaty of Paris is ratified by Congress and the American Revolutionary War officially ends.
1787 May 25: Elected President of the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia
1789 Unanimously Elected first President of the United States
1793 Re-elected President of the United States
1797 March: Washington returned to Mount Vernon
1798 July 4: Commissioned Lieutenant General and Commander in Chief of the new United States Army to serve as a warning to France, with which war seemed imminent.
1799 December 14: Died at Mount Vernon at the age of 67. He arranged for his slaves to be freed in his last will and testament.
These are among the hundreds of passages that caught my eye:
o Artistic portrayal of George Washington (Pages 5-8 & 178-179)
o French & Indian War (49-82, 83-117, & 122-153)
o George Washington: Colonel of (original) Virginia Regiment (57-66 & 84-119)
o Monongahela River massacre (77-81)
o George Washington’s letters to/from Sally Fairfax (137-138 & 428-429)
o American colonies move toward war with Britain (179-189)
o Siege of Boston (223-225)
o Revolutionary War: New York (226-249)
o Trenton-Princeton Campaign (272-296)
o Battle of Princeton (290-296)
o Revolutionary War: Pennsylvania (297-312 & 316-321)
o Valley Forge (322-325)
o British abandon Philadelphia and head for New York (339-342)
o Revolutionary War: Virginia (386-411)
o British surrender at Yorktown (405-409)
o Final stages of Revolutionary War (411-418)
Brumwell also discusses Washington’s relationships that include those with Colonel/Brigadier General/Major General Benedict Arnold (363-366), Major General Edward Braddock (71-72), Robert Dinwiddie, Lieutenant Governor of Virginia (116-117), Brigadier/Major General Horatio Gates (317-318, 329-332, & 414-415), John Hancock, (209-210), Lafayette (314-315 & 364-365), Major/Colonel Henry (Light Horse Harry) Lee (342-343), John Campbell, Earl of Loudoun (104-109), wife Martha (120-122, 137-138, & 153-154), and Sally Fairfax (74-75 & 137-138). These and other political, military, and personal relationships increase and enrich our understanding of a man, albeit an exceptional man, in human terms as a gentleman warrior rather than as a Rushmorean.
Stephen Brumwell suggests in the final chapter, “George Washington’s extraordinary reputation as one of the most celebrated men of his own age, or of any other, can be traced back unerringly to his ambition to become both a gentleman and a warrior: it was the gradual fusion of those traits that ultimately forged such a formidably balanced fighter.”