005 - Washington? Never Heard of Him

George Washington was just some guy the British never heard of.

General Thomas Gage, commander of British troops in America in the early days of the Revolution, made a point of not addressing George Washington by his rank, and made sure that no one else did either. Although he was following official British military policy of not giving validity to anyone in rebellion against the Crown, General Gage did it with a kind of insufferable arrogance all out of proportion to the situation at hand.

I wonder why?

Well. Maybe it’s because George Washington once saved his life. After the father of our country started the French and Indian War.

This may be a bit awkward.

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Sources for this episode:

De Fonblanque, Edward Barrington, 1821-1895. "Political And Military Episodes In the Latter Half of the Eighteenth Century: Derived From the Life And Correspondence of the Right Hon. John Burgoyne, General, Statesman, Dramatist". London: Macmillan and co., 1876. (around page 200 for letters to Washington)

Ellis, Joseph J. "His Excellency: George Washington". Vintage, 2005.

Marshall, John. "The Life of George Washington". Derby & Jackson, 1857.

McCullough, David, “1776” Simon & Schuster, 2006.

Wikipedia. “Thomas Gage.” 2021.

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