George Washington truly lived up to being an American hero during his career as General of the Continental Army. Washington was unanimously elected as General and Commander in Chief of the Continental Army on June 15, 1775.
During the Revolutionary War George Washington’s military record became highly credible. With a troop of nearly 14,000, his first success came on March 17, 1776 when the British evacuated Boston after he and his men had kept them surrounded for eight months. Washington’s next move occurred in New York during the second half of 1776 where he and his troops were strongly out-numbered by British forces. Washington and his troops managed to escape with a retreat into Pennsylvania. Even though they suffered severe losses, this was still documented as an achievement due to the successful retreat.
After the setback in New York, George Washington and the Continental Army crossed the Delaware River on the night of Christmas and attacked the predominantly Hessian army. A large success for Washington and his men, they captured 1,000 men in all. Next Washington led his troops to Princeton and routed the British there on January 3, 1777.
On October 17, 1777, General John Burgoyne surrendered his 5,000 men at Saratoga, which was a very large victory for Washington and the Continental Army. In 1778 France recognized the American idea of independence and made allies with the Continental Army. Soon British forces realized it would be to difficult to defeat the Continental Army in New Jersey and Pennsylvania so they decided to head southbound where most of the remaining loyalists lived. In 1781 British forces invaded Virginia, but it turned out to be detrimental where Washington and his men, along with French allies struck a blow that virtually ended the Revolutionary War. General Charles Cornwallis surrendered his some 7,000 men on October 19th and although the British still had large forces in America, weariness of 6 years of losses and failure, they decided to surrender. America had officially become independent from the British due to the tremendous amount of strength, effort, and bravery shown by the Continental Army and their commander in chief, George Washington.