agreed to act as a delegate to the Constitutional Con-
vention in May 1787 and was unanimously chosen to
preside over it. He carried out this task punctiliously,
making his views clear on what was needed and, once
the Constitution had been drafted, throwing his influ-
ence and reputation behind it to ensure its acceptance.
He was elected the first president of the United States in
1789 and served two four-year terms until March 1797,
when he retired into private life at the age of 65.
In 1798, Washingon was once again appointed as
commander in chief by President John Adams when war
with France threatened, but this did not come about
and Washington was able, at last, to spend his remain-
ing days in peace. In December 1799, he became ill after
riding around his estate in a heavy storm, and he died on
14 December. After a period of national mourning, he
was buried in the grounds of Mount Vernon.
All too often, Washington’s skillful leadership in
battle has tended to obscure his success in another, more
difficult area. He was facing experienced British gener-
als leading trained regular troops, while his own forces
initially comprised inexperienced and untrained volun-
teers. Further, although fighting for a national cause,
many American soldiers saw the security of their own
state as their primary aim and were reluctant to serve
outside it, while his choice of commanders often led to
resentment. Washington’s achievement in forming these
disparate bodies of soldiers into an efficient and success-
ful fighting force was nothing less than remarkable. His-
torian Michael Lee Lanning writes:
While his stature today results more from his
role as president than as general, Washington
was nevertheless an accomplished military leader.
He simultaneously maintained an army in the
field against a far superior force, kept a divisive
Congress and population satisfied, and solic-
ited military support from other countries....
Although other military leaders such as Napo-
leon, Alexander the Great, and Genghis Khan,
directly accomplished more on the battlefield,
none left a legacy of influence equaling that of
George Washington. Without Washington there
would have been no Continental army; without
the Continental army there would have been no
United States. The American colonies would
have remained a part of the British Empire and
faced a powerless fate similar to that of other col-onies. Washington established the standard for
America that is today the world’s longest-surviv-
ing democracy and its single most influential na-
tion. George Washington more than earned the
honored title “Father of His Country.”References: Bellamy, Francis F., Private Life of George
Washington (New York: Crowell, 1951); Bell, William
Gardner, Commanding Generals and Chiefs of Staff, 1775–
1995: Portraits & Biographical Sketches of the United States
Army’s Senior Officers (Washington, D.C.: United States
Army, Center of Military History, 1997), 48, 62; Brook-
hiser, Richard, Founding Father: Rediscovering George
Washington (New York: The Free Press, 1996); Cunliffe,
Marcus, George Washington: Man and Monument (Boston:
Little, Brown, 1958); Jackson, Donald, ed., The Diaries of
George Washington, 6 vols. (Charlottesville, Va.: Univer-
sity Press of Virginia, 1976–79); Lanning, Michael Lee,
“George Washington,” in The Military 100: A Ranking
of the Most Influential Military Leaders of All Time (New
York: Barnes and Noble Books, 1996), 3–7.Wellington, Arthur Wellesley, first duke of
(Arthur Wesley, Baron Douro of Wellesley) (1769–
1852) British general, prime minister
Arthur Wellesley was born Arthur Wesley (he changed
the name in 1798) in Dublin, Ireland, on 29 April 1769,
the fourth son of Garret Wesley, first earl of Mornington,
and his wife Anne Hill, daughter of the first viscount
Dungannon. Wellesley attended school in Chelsea and
went briefly to Eton, the famed British private school, in- He later studied at a private military academy in
Angers, France, for a short period, finishing his educa-
tion in 1786. A year later, in 1787, he entered service
in the British army, receiving a commission in the 73rd
Regiment of Foot. From 1787 to 1793, he served as
aide-de-camp to two lords lieutenant of Ireland, the earl
of Westmoreland and Earl Fitzwilliam. In 1790, he was
elected to the Irish parliament from Trim.
In 1794, with the rank of colonel, Wellesley saw
his first military action when, as the commander of the
33rd Regiment of Foot, he fought the French army in
Holland with the duke of York. In 1796, he was sent to
India and spent time in the area of the city of Mysore. He
again saw action here, fighting Tipu (or Tippoo) Sahib,
the sultan of Mysore. Wellesley distinguished himself at
the second battle of Seringapatam (6 April 1799) in the
wellington, ARthuR welleSley, FiRSt Duke oF