You Never Forget Your First: A Biography of George Washington

by Alexis Coe

If the American Revolution had not taken place, Washington would probably be remembered today as the instigator of humanity’s first world war, one that lasted seven years.

But from the outset, Washington was well aware of his own limitations and anxious about those of his officers; even the Thigh Men acknowledge that Washington “lost more battles than any victorious general in modern history.”

To pigeonhole him as a military leader is to underestimate how much the fledgling government needed Washington as a diplomat and political strategist. His ability to manage large-scale combat while also running spy rings and shadow and propaganda campaigns in enemy-occupied areas is a significant—and often overlooked—part of the Revolutionary War.