Military career of George Washington The military career of George Washington spanned over forty years of service . Washington ' s service can be broken into three periods ( French and Indian War , American Revolutionary War , and the Quasi - War with France ) with service in three different armed forces ( British provincial militia , the Continental Army , and the United States Army ) . Because of Washington ' s importance in the early history of the United States of America , he was granted a posthumous promotion to General of the Armies of the United States , legislatively defined to be the highest possible rank in the US Army , more than 175 years after his death . Background . Born into a wealthy Virginia family near Fredericksburg in , Washington was schooled locally until the age of 15 . The early death of his father when he was 11 eliminated the possibility of schooling in England , and his mother rejected attempts to place him in the Royal Navy . Thanks to the connection by marriage of his half - brother Lawrence to the wealthy Fairfax family , Washington was appointed surveyor of Culpeper County in 1749 ; he was just 17 years old . Washington ' s brother had purchased an interest in the Ohio Company , a land acquisition and settlement company whose objective was the settlement of Virginia ' s frontier areas , including the Ohio Country , territory north and west of the Ohio River . Its investors also included Virginia ' s Royal Governor , Robert Dinwiddie , who appointed Washington a major in the provincial militia in February 1753 . French and Indian War service . In 1753 the French began expanding their military control into the " Ohio Country " , a territory also claimed by the British colonies of Virginia and Pennsylvania . These competing claims led to a world war 1756 – 63 ( called the French and Indian War in the colonies and the Seven Years ' War in Europe ) and Washington was at the center of its beginning . The Ohio Company was one vehicle through which British investors planned to expand into the territory , opening new settlements and building trading posts for the Indian trade . Governor Dinwiddie received orders from the British government to warn the French of British claims , and sent Major Washington in late 1753 to deliver a letter informing the French of those claims and asking them to leave . Washington also met with Tanacharison ( also called " Half - King " ) and other Iroquois leaders allied to Virginia at Logstown to secure their support in case of conflict with the French ; Washington and Half - King became friends and allies . Washington delivered the letter to the local French commander , who politely refused to leave . Governor Dinwiddie sent Washington back to the Ohio Country to protect an Ohio Company group building a fort at present - day Pittsburg , Pennsylvania . Before he reached the area , a French force drove out the company ' s crew and began construction of Fort Duquesne . With Mingo allies led by Tanacharison , Washington and some of his militia unit ambushed a French scouting party of some 30 men , led by Joseph Coulon de Jumonville ; Jumonville was killed , and there are contradictory accounts of his death . The French responded by attacking and capturing Washington at Fort Necessity in July 1754 . He was allowed to return with his troops to Virginia . The episode demonstrated Washington ' s bravery , initiative , inexperience and impetuosity . These events had international consequences ; the French accused Washington of assassinating Jumonville , who they claimed was on a diplomatic mission similar to Washington ' s 1753 mission . Both France and Britain responded by sending troops to North America in 1755 , although war was not formally declared until 1756 . Braddock disaster 1755 . In 1755 , Washington was the senior American aide to British General Edward Braddock on the ill - fated Monongahela expedition . This was at the time the largest ever British military expedition to the colonies , and was intended to expel the French from the Ohio Country . The French and their Indian allies ambushed Braddock , who was mortally wounded in the Battle of the Monongahela . After suffering devastating casualties the British retreated in disarray but Washington rode back and forth across the battlefield , rallying the remnants of the British and Virginian forces to an organized retreat . Commander of Virginia Regiment . Governor Dinwiddie rewarded Washington in 1755 with a commission as " Colonel of the Virginia Regiment and Commander in Chief of all forces now raised in the defense of His Majesty ' s Colony " and gave him the task of defending Virginia ' s frontier . The Virginia Regiment was the first full - time American military unit in the colonies ( as opposed to part - time militias and the British regular units ) . Washington was ordered to " act defensively or offensively " as he thought best . In command of a thousand soldiers , Washington was a disciplinarian who emphasized training . He led his men in brutal campaigns against the Indians in the west ; in 10 months units of his regiment fought 20 battles , and lost a third of its men . Washington ' s strenuous efforts meant that Virginia ' s frontier population suffered less than that of other colonies ; Ellis concludes " it was his only unqualified success " in the war . In 1758 , Washington participated in the Forbes Expedition to capture Fort Duquesne . He was embarrassed by a friendly fire episode in which his unit and another British unit thought the other was the French enemy and opened fire , with 14 dead and 26 wounded in the mishap . In the end there was no real fighting for the French abandoned the fort and the British scored a major strategic victory , gaining control of the Ohio Valley . Upon his return to Virginia , Washington resigned his commission in December 1758 , and did not return to military life until the outbreak of the revolution in 1775 . Although Washington never gained the commission in the British army he yearned for , in these years he gained valuable military , political , and leadership skills , and received significant public exposure in the colonies and abroad . He closely observed British military tactics , gaining a keen insight into their strengths and weaknesses that proved invaluable during the Revolution . He demonstrated his toughness and courage in the most difficult situations , including disasters and retreats . He developed a command presence — given his size , strength , stamina , and bravery in battle , he appeared to soldiers to be a natural leader and they followed him without question . Washington learned to organize , train , and drill , and discipline his companies and regiments . From his observations , readings and conversations with professional officers , he learned the basics of battlefield tactics , as well as a good understanding of problems of organization and logistics . He developed a very negative idea of the value of militia , who seemed too unreliable , too undisciplined , and too short - term compared to regulars . On the other hand , his experience was limited to command of about 1 , 000 men , and came only in remote frontier conditions . American Revolutionary War service . As political tensions rose in the colonies , Washington in June 1774 chaired the meeting at which the " Fairfax Resolves " were adopted , which called for , among other things , the convening of a Continental Congress . In August , Washington attended the First Virginia Convention , where he was selected as a delegate to the First Continental Congress . As tensions rose further in 1774 , he assisted in the training of county militias in Virginia and organized enforcement of the boycott of British goods instituted by the Congress . Boston . After the Battles of Lexington and Concord near Boston in April 1775 , the colonies went to war . Washington appeared at the Second Continental Congress in a military uniform , signaling that he was prepared for war . Congress created the Continental Army on June 14 , 1775 . Nominated by John Adams of Massachusetts , who chose him in part because he was a Virginian and would thus draw the southern colonies into the conflict , Washington was then appointed Major General and Commander - in - chief . Washington assumed command of the colonial forces outside Boston on July 3 , 1775 ( coincidentally making July 4 his first full - day as Commander - in - chief ) , during the ongoing siege of Boston . His first steps were to establish procedures and to weld what had begun as militia regiments into an effective fighting force . When inventory returns exposed a dangerous shortage of gunpowder , Washington asked for new sources . British arsenals were raided ( including some in the West Indies ) and some manufacturing was attempted ; a barely adequate supply ( about 2 . 5 million pounds ) was obtained by the end of 1776 , mostly from France . In search of heavy weapons , he sent Henry Knox on an expedition to Fort Ticonderoga to retrieve cannons that had been captured there . He resisted repeated calls from Congress to launch attacks against the British in Boston , calling war councils that supported the decisions against such action . Before the Continental Navy was established in November 1775 he , without Congressional authorization , began arming a " secret navy " to prey on poorly protected British transports and supply ships . When Congress authorized an invasion of Quebec , Washington authorized Benedict Arnold to lead a force from Cambridge to Quebec City through the wilderness of present - day Maine . As the siege dragged on , the matter of expiring enlistments became a matter of serious concern . Washington tried to convince Congress that enlistments longer than one year were necessary to build an effective fighting force , but he was rebuffed in this effort . The 1776 establishment of the Continental Army only had enlistment terms of one year , a matter that would again be a problem in late 1776 . Washington finally forced the British to withdraw from Boston by putting Henry Knox ' s artillery on Dorchester Heights overlooking the city , and preparing in detail to attack the city from Cambridge if the British tried to assault the position . The British evacuated Boston and sailed away , although Washington did not know they were headed for Halifax , Nova Scotia . Believing they were headed for New York City ( which was indeed Major General William Howe ' s eventual destination ) , Washington rushed most of the army there . Defeated at New York City . Washington ' s success in Boston was not repeated in New York . Recognizing the city ' s importance as a naval base and gateway to the Hudson River , he delegated the task of fortifying New York to Charles Lee in February 1776 . Despite the city ' s poor defensibility , Congress insisted that Washington defend it . The faltering military campaign in Quebec also led to calls for additional troops there , and Washington detached six regiments northward under John Sullivan in April . Washington had to deal with his first major command controversy while in New York , which was partially a product of regional friction . New England troops serving in northern New York under General Philip Schuyler , a scion of an old patroon family of New York , objected to his aristocratic style , and their Congressional representatives lobbied Washington to replace Schuyler with Horatio Gates . Washington tried to quash the issue by giving Gates command of the forces in Quebec , but the collapse of the Quebec expedition brought renewed complaints . Despite Gates ' experience , Washington personally preferred Schuyler , and put Gates in a role subordinate to Schuyler . The episode exposed Washington to Gates ' desire for advancement , possibly at his expense , and to the latter ' s influence in Congress . General Howe ' s army , reinforced by thousands of additional troops from Europe and a fleet under the command of his brother , Admiral Richard Howe , began arriving off New York in early July , and made an unopposed landing on Staten Island . Without intelligence about Howe ' s intentions , Washington was forced to divide his still poorly trained forces , principally between Manhattan and Long Island . In August , the British finally launched their campaign to capture New York City . They first landed on Long Island in force , and flanked Washington ' s forward positions in the Battle of Long Island . Howe refused to act on a significant tactical advantage that could have resulted in the capture of the remaining Continental troops on Long Island , but he chose instead to besiege their positions . In the face of a siege he seemed certain to lose , Washington then decided to withdraw . In what some historians call one of his greatest military feats , executed a nighttime withdrawal from Long Island across the East River to Manhattan to save those troops . The Howe brothers then paused to consolidate their position , and the admiral engaged in a fruitless peace conference with Congressional representatives on September 11 . Four days later the British landed on Manhattan , scattering inexperienced militia into a panicked retreat , and forcing Washington to retreat further . After Washington stopped the British advance up Manhattan at Harlem Heights on September 16 , Howe again made a flanking maneuver , landing troops at Pell ' s Point in a bid to cut off Washington ' s avenue of retreat . To defend against this move , Washington withdrew most of his army to White Plains , where after a short battle on October 28 he retreated further north . This isolated the remaining Continental Army troops in upper Manhattan , so Howe returned to Manhattan and captured Fort Washington in mid November , taking almost 3 , 000 prisoners . Four days later , Fort Lee , across the Hudson River from Fort Washington , was also taken . Washington brought much of his army across the Hudson into New Jersey , but was immediately forced to retreat by the aggressive British advance . During the campaign a general lack of organization , shortages of supplies , fatigue , sickness , and above all , lack of confidence in the American leadership resulted in a melting away of untrained regulars and frightened militia . Washington grumbled , " The honor of making a brave defense does not seem to be sufficient stimulus , when the success is very doubtful , and the falling into the Enemy ' s hands probable . " Counterattack in New Jersey . After the loss of New York , Washington ' s army was in two pieces . One detachment remained north of New York to protect the Hudson River corridor , while Washington retreated across New Jersey into Pennsylvania , chased by General Charles , Earl Cornwallis . Spirits were low , popular support was wavering , and Congress had abandoned Philadelphia , fearing a British attack . Washington ordered General Gates to bring troops from Fort Ticonderoga , and also ordered General Lee ' s troops , which he had left north of New York City , to join him . Despite the loss of troops due to desertion and expiring enlistments , Washington was heartened by a rise in militia enlistments in New Jersey and Pennsylvania . These militia companies were active in circumscribing the furthest outposts of the British , limiting their ability scout and forage . Although Washington did not coordinate this resistance , he took advantage of it to organize an attack on an outpost of Hessian s in Trenton . On the night of December 25 – 26 , 1776 , Washington led his forces across the Delaware River and surprised the Hessian garrison , capturing 1 , 000 Hessians . This action significantly boosted the army ' s morale , but it also brought Cornwallis out of New York . He reassembled an army of more than 6 , 000 men , and marched most of them against a position Washington had taken south of Trenton . Leaving a garrison of 1 , 200 at Princeton , Cornwallis then attacked Washington ' s position on January 2 , 1777 , and was three times repulsed before darkness set in . During the night Washington evacuated the position , masking his army ' s movements by instructing the camp guards to maintain the appearance of a much larger force . Washington then circled around Cornwallis ' s position with the intention of attacking the Princeton garrison . Hugh Mercer , leading the American advance guard , encountered British soldiers from Princeton under the command of Charles Mawhood . The British troops engaged Mercer and in the ensuing battle , Mercer was mortally wounded . Washington sent reinforcements under General John Cadwalader , which were successful in driving Mawhood and the British from Princeton , with many of them fleeing to Cornwallis in Trenton . The British lost more than one quarter of their force in the battle , and American morale rose with the victory . These unexpected victories drove the British back to the New York City area , and gave a dramatic boost to Revolutionary morale . During the winter , Washington , based in winter quarters at Morristown , New Jersey , loosely coordinated a low - level militia war against British positions in New Jersey , combining the actions of New Jersey and Pennsylvania militia companies with careful use of Continental Army resources to harry and harass the British and German troops quartered in New Jersey . Washington ' s mixed performance in the 1776 campaigns had not led to significant criticism in Congress . Before fleeing Philadelphia for Baltimore in December , Congress granted Washington powers that have ever since been described as " dictatorial " . The successes in New Jersey nearly deified Washington in the eyes of some Congressmen , and the body became much more deferential to him as a result . Washington ' s performance also received international notice : Frederick the Great , one of the greatest military minds , wrote that " the achievements of Washington [ at Trenton and Princeton ] were the most brilliant of any recorded in the history of military achievements . " Loss of Philadelphia . In May 1777 , the British resumed military operations , with General Howe attempting without success to draw Washington from his defensive position in New Jersey ' s Watchung Mountains , while General John Burgoyne led an army south from Quebec toward Albany , New York . Following Burgoyne ' s capture of Fort Ticonderoga without resistance in early July , General Howe boarded a large part of his army on transports and sailed off , leaving Washington mystified as to his destination . Washington dispatched some of his troops north to assist in Albany ' s defense , and moved most of the rest his forces south of Philadelphia when it became clear that was Howe ' s target . Congress , at the urging of its diplomatic representatives in Europe , had also issued military commissions to a number of European soldiers of fortune in early 1777 . Two of those recommended by Silas Deane , the Marquis de Lafayette and Thomas Conway , would prove to be important in Washington ' s activities . Lafayette , just twenty years old , was at first told that Deane had exceeded his authority in offering him a major general ' s commission , but offered to volunteer in the army at his own expense . Washington and Lafayette took an instant liking to one another when they met , and Lafayette became one of Washington ' s most trusted generals and confidants . Conway , on the other hand , did not think highly of Washington ' s leadership , and proved to be a source of trouble in the 1777 campaign season and its aftermath . General Howe landed his troops south of Philadelphia at the northern end of Chesapeake Bay , and turned Washington ' s flank at the Battle of Brandywine on September 11 , 1777 . After further maneuvers forced Washington to retreat away from the city , British troops marched unopposed into Philadelphia on September 26 . Washington ' s failure to defend the capital brought on a storm of criticism from Congress , which fled the city for York , and from other army officers . In part to silence his critics , Washington planned an elaborate assault on an exposed British base in Germantown . The October 4 Battle of Germantown failed in part due to the complexity of the assault , and the inexperience of the militia forces employed in it . Over 400 of Washington ' s troops were captured , including Colonel George Mathews and the entire 9th Virginia Regiment . It did not help that Adam Stephen , leading one of the branches of the attack , was drunk , and broke from the agreed - upon plan of attack . He was court martialed and cashiered from the army . Historian Robert Leckie observes that the battle was a near thing , and that a small number of changes might have resulted in a decisive victory for Washington . Meanwhile Burgoyne , out of reach from help from Howe , was trapped and forced to surrender his entire army on October 17 , ten days after the Battle of Bemis Heights . The victory made a hero of General Gates , who received the adulation of Congress . While this was taking place Washington presided from a distance over the loss of control of the Delaware River to the British , and marched his army to its winter quarters at Valley Forge in December . Washington chose Valley Forge , over recommendations that he camp either closer or further from Philadelphia , because it was close enough to monitor British army movements , and protected rich farmlands to the west from the enemy ' s foraging expeditions . Valley Forge . Washington ' s army stayed at Valley Forge for the next six months . Over the winter , 2 , 500 men ( out of 10 , 000 ) died from disease and exposure . The army ' s difficulties were exacerbated by a number of factors , including a quartermaster ' s department that had been badly mismanaged by one of Washington ' s political opponents , Thomas Mifflin , and the preference of farmers and merchants to sell their goods to the British for hard currency instead of the nearly worthless Continental currency . Profiteers also sought to benefit at the army ' s expense , charging it 1 , 000 times what they charged civilians for the same goods . Congress authorized Washington to seize supplies needed for the army , but he was reluctant to use such authority , since it smacked of the tyranny the war was supposedly being fought over . During the winter he introduced a full - scale training program supervised by Baron von Steuben , a veteran of the Prussian general staff . Despite the hardships the army suffered , this program was a remarkable success , and Washington ' s army emerged in the spring of 1778 a much more disciplined force . Washington himself had to face discontent at his leadership from a variety of sources . His loss of Philadelphia prompted some members of Congress to discuss removing him from command . They were prodded along by Washington ' s detractors in the military , who included Generals Gates , Mifflin , and Conway . Gates in particular was viewed by Conway and Congressmen Benjamin Rush and Richard Henry Lee as a desirable replacement for Washington . Although there is no evidence of a formal conspiracy , the episode is known as the Conway Cabal because the scale of the discontent within the army was exposed by a critical letter from Conway to Gates , some of whose contents were relayed to Washington . Washington exposed the criticisms to Congress , and his supporters , within Congress and the army , rallied to support him . Gates eventually apologized for his role in the affair , and Conway resigned . Washington ' s position and authority were not seriously challenged again . Biographer Ron Chernow points out that Washington ' s handling of the episode demonstrated that he was " a consummate political infighter " who maintained his temper and dignity while his opponents schemed . French entry into the war . The victory at Saratoga ( and to some extent Washington ' s near success at Germantown ) were influential in convincing France to enter the war openly as an as an American ally . French entry into the war changed its dynamics , for the British were no longer sure of command of the seas and had to worry about an invasion of their home islands and other colonial territories across the globe . The British , now under the command of General Sir Henry Clinton , evacuated Philadelphia in 1778 and returned to New York City , with Washington attacking them along the way at the Battle of Monmouth ; this was the last major battle in the north . Prior to the battle Washington gave command of the advance forces to Charles Lee , who had been exchanged earlier in the year . Lee , despite firm instructions from Washington , refused Lafayette ' s suggestion to launch an organized attack on the British rear , and then retreated when the British turned to face him . When Washington arrived at the head of the main army , he and Lee had an angry exchange of words , and Washington ordered Lee off the command . Washington , with his army ' s tactics and ability to execute improved by the training programs of the previous winter , was able to recover , and fought the British to a draw . Lee was court martialed and eventually dismissed from the army . The war in the north was effectively stalemated for the next few years . The British successfully defended Newport , Rhode Island against a Franco - American invasion attempt that was frustrated by bad weather and difficulties in cooperation between the allies . British and Indian forces organized and supported by Sir Frederick Haldimand in Quebec began to raid frontier settlements in 1778 , and Savannah , Georgia was captured late in the year . In response to the frontier activity Washington organised a major expedition against the Iroquois in the summer of 1779 . In the Sullivan Expedition , a sizable force under Major General John Sullivan drove the Iroquois from their lands in northwestern New York in reprisal for the frontier raids . Washington ' s opponent in New York was also active . Clinton engaged in a number of amphibious raids against coastal communities from Connecticut to Chesapeake Bay , and probed at Washington ' s defenses in the Hudson River valley . Coming up the river in force , he captured the key outpost of Stony Point , but advanced no further . When Clinton weakened the garrison there to provide men for raiding expeditions , Washington organized a counterstrike . General Anthony Wayne led a force that , solely using the bayonet , recaptured Stony Point . The Americans chose not to hold the post , but the operation was a boost to American morale and a blow to British morale . American morale was dealt a blow later in the year , when the second major attempt at Franco - American cooperation , an attempt to retake Savannah , failed with heavy casualties . Difficult times . The winter of 1779 – 80 was one of the coldest in recorded colonial history . New York Harbor froze over , and the winter camps of the Continental Army were deluged with snow , resulting in hardships exceeding those experienced at Valley Forge . The war was declining in popularity , and the inflationary issuance of paper currency by Congress and the states alike harmed the economy , and the ability to provision the army . The paper currency also hit the army ' s morale , since it was how the troops were paid . The British in late 1779 embarked on a new strategy based on the assumption that most Southerners were Loyalists at heart . General Clinton withdrew the British garrison from Newport , and marshalled a force of more than 10 , 000 men that in the first half of 1780 successfully besieged Charleston , South Carolina . In June 1780 he captured over 5 , 000 Continental soldiers and militia in the single worst defeat of the war for the Americans . Washington had at the end of March pessimistically dispatched several regiments troops southward from his army , hoping they might have some effect in what he saw as a looming disaster . Washington ' s army suffered from numerous problems in 1780 : it was undermanned , underfunded , and underequipped . Because of these shortcomings Washington resisted calls for major expeditions , preferring to remain focused on the principal British presence in New York . Knowledge of discontent within the ranks in New Jersey prompted the British in New York to make two attempts to reach the principal army base at Morristown . These attempts were defeated , with significant militia support , in battles at Connecticut Farms and Springfield . September 1780 brought a new shock to Washington . British Major John André had been arrested outside New York , and papers he carried exposed a conspiracy between the British and General Benedict Arnold . Washington respected Arnold for his military skills , and had , after Arnold ' s severe injuries in the Battles of Saratoga in October 1777 , given him the military command of Philadelphia . During his administration there , Arnold had made many political enemies , and in 1779 he began secret negotiations with General Clinton ( mediated in part by André ) that culminated in a plot to surrender West Point , a command Arnold requested and Washington gave him in July 1780 . Arnold was alerted to André ' s arrest and fled to the British lines shortly before Washington ' s arrival at West Point for a meeting . In negotiations with Clinton , Washington offered to exchange André for Arnold , but Clinton refused . André was hanged as a spy , and Arnold became a brigadier general in the British Army . Washington organized an attempt to kidnap Arnold from New York City ; it was frustrated when Arnold was sent on a raiding expedition to Virginia . Victory at Yorktown . An opportunity for a decisive action against the British finally came in 1781 , after a French naval victory allowed American and French forces to trap a British army in Virginia . The surrender at Yorktown on October 17 , 1781 marked the end of fighting . The Treaty of Paris ( 1783 ) recognized the independence of the United States . Washington ' s contribution to victory in the American Revolution was not that of a great battlefield tactician ; in fact he sometimes planned operations that were too complicated for his amateur soldiers to execute . However , his overall strategy proved to be successful : keep control of 90 % of the population at all times ; keep the army intact , suppress the Loyalists ; and avoid decisive battles except to exploit enemy mistakes ( as at Saratoga and Yorktown ) . Washington was a military conservative : he preferred building a regular army on the European model and fighting a conventional war , and often complained about the undisciplined American militia . Resignation . One of Washington ' s most important contributions as commander - in - chief was to establish the precedent that civilian - elected officials , rather than military officers , possessed ultimate authority over the military . Throughout the war , he deferred to the authority of Congress and state officials , and he relinquished his considerable military power once the fighting was over . In March 1783 , Washington used his influence to disperse a group of Army officers who had threatened to confront Congress regarding their back pay . Washington disbanded his army and announced his intent to resign from public life in his " Farewell Orders to the Armies of the United States . " The document was written at his final wartime headquarters , a house on the outskirts of Princeton owned by the widow Berrien ( later to be called Rockingham ) , but was sent to be read to the assembled troops at the fort of West Point on November 2 . A few days later , the British evacuated New York City , and Washington and the governor took possession of the city ; at Fraunces Tavern in the city on December 4 , he formally bade his officers farewell . On December 23 , 1783 , Washington resigned his commission as commander - in - chief to the Congress of the Confederation . Quasi - War service . In the fall of 1798 , Washington became immersed in the business of creating a military force to deal with the threat of an all - out war with France . President John Adams asked him to resume the post of commander - in - chief and to raise an army in the event war broke out . Washington agreed , stipulating that he would only serve in the field if it became absolutely necessary , and if he could choose his subordinates . Disputes arose over the relative rankings of his chosen command . Washington selected Alexander Hamilton as his inspector general and second in command , followed by Charles Cotesworth Pinckney and Henry Knox . This hierarchy was an inversion of the ranks these men had held during the revolution . Adams wanted to reverse the order , giving Knox the most important role , but Washington was insistent , threatening to resign if his choices were not approved . He prevailed , but the episode noticeably cooled his relationship with Henry Knox , and impaired Adams ' relations with his cabinet . The resolution of this affair brought no opportunity for rest : Washington engaged in the tedious task of finding officers for the new military formations . In the spring of 1799 , the relaxation of tensions between France and the United States allowed Washington to redirect his attention to his personal affairs . Posthumous promotion . George Washington died on December 14 , 1799 , at the age of 67 . Upon his passing he was listed as a retired lieutenant general on the rolls of the US Army . Over the next 177 years , various officers surpassed Washington in rank , including most notably John J . Pershing , who was promoted to General of the Armies for his role in World War I . On January 19 , 1976 , Washington was posthumously promoted to the same rank by congressional joint resolution . The resolution stated that Washington ' s seniority had rank and precedence over all other grades of the Armed Forces , past or present , effectively making Washington the highest ranked U . S . officer of all time .