Papers of George Washington Volume 35

Celebrations of victory over the British quickly yielded to business as Gen. George Washington traveled to Philadelphia and became immersed in painstaking policy discussions with members of Congress and the heads of the new executive structure of the central government. Washington saw signs of public lethargy grounded in a belief that the victory at Yorktown had ended the conflict. He urged preparations for continued aggressive operations, as Virginia leaders seethed with anger upon being pushed for additional recruits, money, and other resources. In their view, they had already given enough during the Yorktown campaign. With a relatively quiet military situation in both the northern and southern departments, as well as overseas, Washington found time for correspondence regarding land interests and ongoing issues at Mount Vernon, including the recovery of another planter’s enslaved laborers believed to have escaped on departing French ships. He hoped that the war would end soon, but he acted on the premise that much hard work and sacrifice remained for the United States to win its independence. He stood ready to lead all who would follow in the struggle for the final success of the revolutionary cause.