General George Washington's decision in 1783 to resign his military commission defied precedent, history and human nature itself.
It was a truly revolutionary act at the end of the Revolutionary War. An act that defied precedent, history and human nature itself. When General George Washington resigned his commission on December 23, 1783, in front of the Continental Congress in Annapolis—America's capitol at the time—he did what no conquering general had done since Cincinnatus back in ancient Rome: He returned to civilian life.
That was no small task, given the circumstances, Arnn added."Congress wasn't paying them because it didn't have any money. And it didn't have any money because the states wouldn't give it any money, although they promised to. So most of Washington's career in the Revolutionary War was a tremendous mess."
The fighting finally ended when British General Charles Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown in October of 1781. But the official treaty between the United States and Britain—with John Adams, Benjamin Franklin and John Jay doing the negotiating—would not be signed until September 1783. "It's this final action by him that makes him the most respected general in history, at least for me," explained Lieutenant Colonel Sean Scully, academy professor and American division chief at the United States Military Academy at West Point.
American military commander General George Washington leads the Continental Army in the Battle of Princeton during the American Revolutionary War, in Princeton, New Jersey, on January 3, 1777.Perhaps no writer has written more—and better—about our nation's founding than David McCullough. He has provided some great insight into the importance of Washington resigning from the heights of military power.
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