the right age for
entering upon the supreme command in what might be a long war. He had
distinguished himself by helping to rescue Braddock's defeated army in
1755, and he had taken a more or less prominent part in the subsequent
campaigns which ended in driving the French out of Canada. This military
education and experience seemed slight, and not equal to that of the
British officers who would be opposed to him. But it was American
experience, no colonist was any better equipped, and he was of a larger
intelligence than Putnam, Ward, and other Americans who had served in
the French War.

His strong character and personality had impressed themselves upon his
fellow-delegates in the Congress. It was this impressive personality
which made his career and brought to him grave responsibility without
effort on his part to seek office or position. When he was only
twenty-one the governor of Virginia had sent him through the wilderness
to interview the French commander near Lake Erie, a mission which
required the hardihood of the hunter and some of the shrewd intelligence
of the diplomat.

But much to the surprise of travelers and visitors, Washington never
appeared to be a brilliant man. He was always a trifle reserved, and
this habit grew on him with years. His methods of work were homely and
painstaking, reminding us somewhat of Lincoln; and the laborious
carefulness of his military plans seemed to European critics to imply a
lack of genius.

But it was difficult to judge him by European standards, because the
conditions of the warfare he conducted were totally unlike anything in
Europe. He never commanded a real army with well-organized departments
and good equipment. His troops were usually barefooted, half-starved,
and for several years incapable of performing the simplest parade
manoeuvre. Brilliant movements, except on a small scale, as at
Princeton, were rarely within his reach; and large complicated movements
were impossible because he had not the equipment of officers and
organization for handling large bodies of men spread out over a great
extent of country. He was obliged to adopt the principle of
concentration and avoid making detachments or isolated movements that
could be cut off by the British. To some of his contemporaries it
therefore seemed that his most striking ability lay in conciliating
local habits and prejudices, harmonizing discordant opinions, and
holding together an army which seemed to the Bri