Congress Appoints Washington Commander in Chief
A Virginian takes command of a New England army to make the rebellion continental
Quick facts
- Location
- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Date
- 15 June 1775
- Nominated by
- John Adams of Massachusetts
- Age at appointment
- 43
What happened
On 15 June 1775, the Second Continental Congress, meeting in Philadelphia, appointed George Washington as General and Commander in Chief of the newly created Continental Army, which absorbed the New England militia then besieging British-held Boston. John Adams of Massachusetts nominated Washington, reasoning that a Virginian commanding an army made mostly of New Englanders would make the fight look like a continental cause rather than a New England rebellion. Washington's commission, still preserved, vested him with full power to direct the war and "repel every hostile invasion." Washington told Congress he felt "great distress from a conscience that my abilities and military experience may not be equal to the extensive and important trust," but accepted, and left for Massachusetts within days.
Why it matters
The choice bound Virginia, the wealthiest and most populous colony, firmly to a war that had so far been fought only in Massachusetts, and it put a commander with real combat experience from the French and Indian War in charge of an army that badly needed discipline and organization. Washington would hold that command for the entire eight-year war.
How we know
Washington's original commission, naming him "General and Commander in chief," survives and is digitized by the American Battlefield Trust; Mount Vernon's Digital Encyclopedia lays out Congress's reasoning for the choice.
Sources
- American Battlefield Trust. Washington's Commission · Primary source (author-declared)battlefields.org · Cited as a "primary" source (no stronger domain match). · Link is live and its text matches the event's key terms (Jul 2026)
- George Washington's Mount Vernon. Appointment as Commander in Chief · Reputable sourcemountvernon.org · The domain "mountvernon.org" is on our Reputable source registry.
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