Perseverance in Leadership: What we can learn from General Washington and his relentless band of freedom-seekers

What does it mean to persevere in the face of adversity? In the 21st century, life is pretty convenient and this isn’t something that we hear discussed much, but everyone will face times of trouble, worry, and fear. Do we quit when times get tough or do we marshal our resources until the job gets done? As leaders, are we looking for excuses or are we being a beacon of strength for those who follow us?

I recently completed David McCullough’s excellent book 1776, which was a recounting of the most critical period of the American Colonies’ seven-year struggle for freedom. With our 242nd Independence Day nearing and our nation full of internal strife, I wanted to refresh my memory on what it meant to be able to say I am an American by placing myself in the events of that era. It was a time of great uncertainty, and those dreaming of being free citizens risked everything and were met with initial success before the momentum turned and there were some very dark days. As the tide ebbed back and forth and the arduous process continued over many years, success was finally achieved due to extraordinary leadership and the men who continued to follow.

Taking a risk: The beginning and success

It’s easy to think our freedom began and ended with the signing of the Declaration of Independence. What we forget is the peril those men who placed their signatures on that document put themselves in immediately upon doing so. There had been a growing dissatisfaction among the Colonies that hit a turning point with the British Parliament’s enactment of the Stamp Act. At this point, the Colonies were still loyal to King George III but they were unhappy with having no representation among the Parliament as decisions were being made that effected their lives.

Once the tax on tea rolled around, the colonists had enough which led to the infamous Boston Tea Party. Between this event and the firing upon an unarmed group of people in Boston, the fuse was lit. There followed the Battle of Bunker Hill where the British won but took such a beating that it felt like a loss. This battle preceded by several days the formation of the Continental Army and George Washington being named as its commander-in-chief. Washington’s army laid siege to Boston eventually driving the British out of the city for the first significant victory. By this time, the colonies had begun dreaming of freedom and it began to spread rapidly. As Washington’s army marched to New York to set up camp and await the British army’s return, the Continental Congress finally declared their intent to form their own nation.

The courage it took to take this step in the face of the world’s most powerful military force is not to be taken for granted. They put their life, their liberty, and their possessions at risk. Considering they were all accomplished, successful men, this was a significant step for everyone involved.

The tide turns and obstacles abound

Washington’s army was a citizen army. They were common men who largely were farmers and shopkeepers with little training and few supplies. The problem with their position in New York was that it was surrounded by water. The British, with the world’s most dominant navy, had their way with things as the Americans had to guard the East River, the Hudson River, and the bay. They were able to place troops down anywhere they wanted and the tide soon turned against the upstart Americans. Several battles raged where the loss of life was significant, and combined with the capture of a strategic fort and 3,000 Continental Army soldiers, things looked bleak.

Washington deftly retreated several times under cover of night to avoid the next day’s obliteration of his army, but ultimately he was on his heels. In letters home, it was at this point that the British soldiers were writing to their families with the expectation they would be home by Christmas because the fight was gone from the Americans and they were about to wrap up the campaign.

Darkest night: The end is near

Washington’s army was cold, exhausted, dispirited, and had few options. Many didn’t have shoes, and they lost most of their supplies in their hasty retreats. The army continued to dwindle in number as disease, desertions, and battle thinned the ranks. Throughout all of this, the one constant was General Washington. He was the key person in the field holding the war effort together and he was imperturbable in front of his troops. Privately, he lamented the situation he was in. His army was untrained and lagging in spirit. McCullough writes, “Washington was a man of exceptional, almost excessive self-command, rarely permitting himself any show of discouragement or despair, but in the privacy of his correspondence with Joseph Reed, he began now to reveal how very low and bitter he felt, if the truth were known.”

Reed was Washington’s closest friend and confidante and in an act of disloyalty, Reed later wrote to General Charles Lee about Washington’s indecisiveness and how he had lost his trust in him. Washington found out about this treachery through a letter given to him by a courier with the general’s response to Reed. “Possibly, Washington was more hurt than angry. Later he would tell Reed, ‘I was hurt not because I thought my judgement wronged by the expressions contained in it [the letter], but because the same sentiments were not communicated immediately to myself.’ Possibly the charge of ‘fatal indecision of mind’ also hurt deeply, because Washington knew it to be true.”

As far as the army and other generals were concerned, he never wavered in the mission and when they looked at him, he inspired loyalty, confidence, and most importantly, hope. During these days, it appeared that the war was all but over, but he continued to outmaneuver the enemy by employing a smart retreat to keep his army alive.

Light at the end of the long tunnel

As the weather turned bitterly cold, General William Howe, the British General, decided the year’s campaigning was over. His army was stuck on one side of the Delaware River, and Washington’s army was camped on the opposite bank in New Jersey. He left with his troops for New York with plans to pick up the war again in the spring. He left a German mercenary force, the Hessians, to keep an eye on Washington over the winter.

On Christmas night, Washington decided he needed some sort of positive event to keep the hope of freedom alive. He had a significant number of soldiers whose enlistments expired on New Year’s Day and after that, he would be in a serious bind. He employed a daring raid in the dead of night. He led his army, with cannon and horses, across a river packed with ice five miles down from the Hessian army. The crossing was difficult, and the timing of the raid was compromised. However, such was the surprise in the morning when a Hessian patrol came upon one segment of Washington’s army that it was a route. The Hessian leader was killed in action, and the Americans won the day in a landslide.

General Howe, upon hearing of the loss of his Hessian mercenary force, sent General Cornwallis back from New York to finish the Americans. Washington immediately followed this up by a second unexpected foray that led to another victory against Cornwallis’s rear guard, and this gave everyone renewed hope and filled the newspapers with glorious accounts of Washington’s daring maneuvers. While there were a few minor skirmishes over the winter, these two successes gave Washington momentum to keep his troops in place and bought him time to replenish those troops that he was scheduled to lose. Those two victories also enabled Benjamin Franklin, who had been in France trying to create an alliance with the French, to build a case that they were worthy allies. Without these late victories, early 1777 would have likely spelled doom for the American dream.

Ultimate success and American victory

Washington’s rag-tag army developed battle experience and their confidence over the ensuing years. Other leaders were developed such as General Nathanael Greene, a young and inexperienced Rhode Islander who had made a massive blunder earlier in the war by allowing Fort Washington in New York to be taken, yet became a formidable leader in his own right. The interesting thing is that due to his previous error, Washington could and probably should have stripped him of command. He gave him a second chance and was rewarded with a man who was his number-two in command and was held in high esteem by the entire army.

As the war raged on for another five years, the other colonies’ governors finally sent their troops to Washington’s aid and along with France sending its naval force to help offset the British navy’s dominance, hostilities were finally ended with the American victory in Yorktown, Virginia in 1781.

250 Years Later: Leading the charge to victory

The American Revolution was not the glorious affair that children frequently learn about in school. It was an effort full of disease, discouragement, and death. While George Washington wasn’t perfect, he had a dogged determination to see the effort through to a successful conclusion or die in the attempt. He never gave up and was always a beacon of hope to the men he led. Without his strategic retreats and daring raids, the cause would have been wiped out soon after it started. As it stands, it was likely the most improbable military victory the world has ever seen. As citizens of this great nation, we need to remember that things would have been quite different had we not had a stout-hearted commander in charge of the army and a congress of fearless men who sought freedom with every fiber of their being.

As we continue to live our lives, raise our families, and earn our fortunes nearly 250 years later, we still encounter hardships, although thankfully not of the same kind. Will you be a leader who stands amidst the chaos and leads the charge to victory, or will you be someone who believes the struggle you are facing today is too much to handle? We each have it in us to be strong. Align yourself with people who are willing to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with you and develop those who can help carry the burden.

We owe a great deal to General Washington and his relentless band of freedom-seekers. It is because of their sacrifice against insurmountable odds that we can be what we want to be, believe what we want to believe, worship the way we wish, and live in peace with our countrymen. There has been much talk in the news these days about privilege. I happily acknowledge that I am among the privileged, as are you, dear reader. For you see, due to the perseverance of those who came before us, we are Americans.