Films

Commanding an Army

Generals Washington and Cornwallis convey why they chose to accept command of an army.

Highlights

  • The British army was large, highly trained and competent.
  • Though sympathetic to the American colonies, Lord Charles Cornwallis dutifully accepted a command as a British general.
  • The Continental Congress created the Continental Army and commissioned George Washington as commander-in-chief.
  • At first, the Continental Army was inexperienced, untrained and disorganized.
  • More history
Image from Wikimedia Commons; Source: HistoricalPortraits.com Licensing information: This work is in the public domain in the United States, and those countries with a copyright term of life of the author plus 100 years or fewer.

Portrait of George III of the United Kingdom, Allan Ramsay, 1762, public domain


King George III, from the studio of Allan Ramsay, Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation

King George III, from the studio of Allan Ramsay, Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation