The song begins after Hamilton has been promoted by George Washington to a command position in the Continental Army. Washington tells Hamilton the story of his first command, when his ineptitude led to a massacre of his men. Washington reveals his deep regret over this failure, his fear that history is both judging his actions and will hold him in contempt for his mistakes. Hamilton is told that because of his increasingly important role in the events of the war, history will now be judging his actions in the same vein as Washington's.