7 The 100 Most Influential World Leaders of All Time 7Prerevolutionary Military Career and Life
Washington began his military career in 1752 as adjutant
for the southern district of Virginia. He participated in
the first action of the French and Indian War (1754– 63)
when a force he led engaged the French in western
Pennsylvania. Besieged by a force of 700 French soldiers,
Washington’s troops were forced to surrender Fort
Necessity on July 3, 1754. As the aide-de-camp to British
General Edward Bradock, Washington distinguished him-
self when a British and colonial force en route to attack
Fort Duquesne was overwhelmed by the French on July 9,
- In August of that year, Washington, at age 23, was
named commander of all Virginia forces. He resigned his
commission in 1758 with the honorary rank of brigadier
general. Frustrated in his attempts to gain a regular com-
mission in the British army, Washington returned to
Mount Vernon somewhat disillusioned. Immediately
upon resigning his commission, Washington married the
well-borne Martha Dandridge, widow of Daniel Parke
Custis, on January 6, 1759. In the process he gained two
stepchildren and thousands of acres of additional valuable
land. Until the eve of the Revolution, he devoted himself
to the duties of a great landholder, varied by several weeks’
attendance every year in the House of Burgesses in
Williamsburg.
Revolutionary Leadership
Washington’s contented life was interrupted by the rising
storm in imperial affairs. The British ministry, facing a
heavy postwar debt, high home taxes, and continued mili-
tary costs in America, decided in 1764 to obtain revenue
from the colonies, resulting in the imposition of the
Stamp Act. Up until that time, Washington had shown