page_title: George Washington in the French and Indian War
section_title: Command, rank, and defense
hierarchical_section_title: George Washington in the French and Indian War / Command, rank, and defense
caption_attribution_description: Virginia colonial governor Robert Dinwiddie This set of images was gathered by User:Dcoetzee from the National Portrait Gallery, London website using a special tool. All images in this batch are listed as "unknown author" by the NPG, who is diligent in researching authors, and was donated to the NPG before 1939 according to their website.
context_page_description: George Washington's military experience began in the French and Indian War with a commission as a major in the militia of the British Province of Virginia. In 1753 Washington was sent as an ambassador from the British crown to the French officials and Indians as far north as present-day Erie, Pennsylvania. The following year he led another expedition to the area to assist in the construction of a fort at present-day Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Before reaching that point, he and some of his men, ambushed a French scouting party. Its leader was killed, although the exact circumstances of his death were disputed. This peacetime act of aggression is seen as one of the first military steps leading to the global Seven Years' War. The French responded by attacking fortifications Washington erected following the ambush, forcing his surrender. Released on parole, Washington and his troops returned to Virginia.
  In 1755 he participated as a volunteer aide in the ill-fated expedition of General Edward Braddock, where he distinguished himself in the retreat following the climactic Battle of Monongahela.
context_section_description: Governor Dinwiddie had designated Fort Cumberland the regimental headquarters, even though it was located in Maryland. Washington learned that it was commanded by Captain John Dagworthy, who led a company of Maryland militia but also held a royal commission and would thus outrank him.  After a brief visit to Fort Cumberland in September 1755, Washington left, and chose to base himself at Winchester instead. He then embarked on recruiting expeditions to fill out the regiment, traveling often to Williamsburg. There, he complained bitterly to Dinwiddie about serving under Dagworthy. When Dagworthy refused to let the Virginians draw supplies from Fort Cumberland (which, despite its location, had been paid for and provisioned by Virginia), Dinwiddie came to agree with Washington. He wrote to Massachusetts Governor William Shirley, who was acting as commander in chief after Braddock's death, requesting royal commissions for Washington and other Virginia officers. When Shirley did not respond in a timely manner, Dinwiddie authorized Washington to travel to Boston to renew the request in person. Washington spent some time visiting in all of the major towns on the way, but his mission was ultimately only partially successful.  After receiving Washington, Shirley issued a decree that Virginia's officers outranked Dagworthy and other British officers of lower rank.
  In his first year in command of the Virginia Regiment, Washington shaped the unit into one of the best provincial military units in the colonies. He rigorously enforced military discipline, often punishing transgressions with the lash, but also sometimes hanging those convicted of serious offenses like desertion.  The latter was a particular problem: many of the recruits were either foreigners or from Virginia's lower classes, and had little at stake in the conflict.  He developed detailed guidelines for frontier warfare, was personally responsible for organizing the supply and equipment of the regiment, and even designed the regimental uniforms.  He was also a voracious reader of military treatises of all sorts, from Julius Caesar's Commentaries to recent British training manuals.  Despite all of his work, Virginia's frontier was ravaged by raiding parties, and he lost one third of his men in eighteen months.  Washington's relationship with Dinwiddie deteriorated again over these difficulties and ongoing complaints about pay that was inadequate compared to British regimental standards.
  In 1757 Washington renewed attempts to cultivate relations in the army in the hopes of getting a commission. He wrote flattering letters to the new commander in chief, the Earl of Loudoun, and even named one of Virginia's frontier forts after him. However, Loudoun was only in command for one year, and was recalled after a failed expedition against Fortress Louisbourg.  Later in the year, Washington again suffered a serious bout of dysentery; he was bedridden for much of the winter of 1757–58, and even suggested to the Virginia Burgesses that he be replaced since he could not properly do his duty as colonel of the regiment.
caption: Washington had a sometimes difficult relationship with Virginia Governor Robert Dinwiddie
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