Edward G. Lengel is Professor and Editor-in-Chief of the Papers of George Washington, a documentary editing project dedicated to the transcription and publication of original documents, at the University of Virginia. His books include General George Washington: A Military Life (2005); This Glorious Struggle: George Washington's Revolutionary War Letters (2008), Inventing George Washington: America’s Founder in Myth and Memory (2011), and many others. Lengel is a columnist for Military History magazine and has appeared in documentaries about Washington on The History Channel.

"[T]he collection contains an admirable mixture of sturdy, predictable, but necessary chapters intermixed with refreshingly original chapters on less-studied aspects of Washington's career. ...It promises to be, as other volumes in the Blackwell Companions to American History series aspire to be, the standard one-volume reference on its subject."  (Journal of American History, 1 September 2013"Scholars of the American Revolution should encourage their libraries to consider adding this title to their collections and should certainly consult it when needed."  (Journal of Military History, 1 May 2013)

• List of Figures viii Notes on Contributors ixIntroduction xvi1. The Youth of George Washington 1Jessica E. Brunelle2. The Unlikely Success of a Provincial Surveyor: George Washington Finds Fame in the American Frontier, 1749–1754 15Jason E. Farr3. Treating American Indians as ‘Slaves’, ‘Dogs’, and Unwanted Allies: George Washington, Edward Braddock, and the Influence of Ethnocentrism and Diplomatic Pragmatism in Ohio Valley Military Relations, 1753–1755 32John K. Rowland4. A Provincial Goes to War: George Washington and the Virginia Regiment, August 1755–January 1759 53Peter C. Luebke5. Entrepreneur 70Dennis J. Pogue6. George Washington and His Family 86Patricia Brady7. Washington and Slavery 104L. Scott Philyaw8. “What Manner of Man I Am”: The Political Career of George Washington before the Revolution 121Taylor Stoermer9. George Washington and the Siege of Boston 137Robert J. Allison10. George Washington at New York: The Campaign of 1776 153Barnet Schecter11. The Crossing: The Trenton and Princeton Campaign of 1776–1777 173Stuart Leibiger12. George Washington and the Philadelphia Campaign 1777 190Thomas J. McGuire13. Washington at Valley Forge 209Mary Stockwell14. The Politics of Battle: Washington, the Army, and the Monmouth Campaign 226Mark Edward Lender15. “The most unlimited Confidence in his Wisdom & Judgement”: Washington as Commander in Chief in the First Years of the French Alliance 245Benjamin L. Huggins16. Washington, Rochambeau, and the Yorktown Campaign of 1781 266Robert A. Selig17. “High Time For Peace”: George Washington and the Close of the American Revolution 288William M. Fowler, Jr.18. George Washington’s Navy 302John B. Hattendorf19. Washington’s Irregulars 320John W. Hall20. George Washington Spymaster 344John A. Nagy21. Administrator in Chief 358Cheryl R. Collins22. George Washington: America’s First Soldier 378Thomas A. Rider II23. Revolution and Peace 399James M. Mac Donald24. George Washington and the Constitution 413Whit Ridgway25. George Washington and Republican Government: The Political Thought of George Washington 430Nicholas P. Cole26. One Cause, One Purpose, One Nation: George Washington, the Whiskey Insurrection, and Executive Authority 447Carol S. Ebel27. Securing the Revolution: The American Economy and the Challenge of Independence 471Dana John Stefanelli28. George Washington and the Emergence of Party Politics in the New Nation 490Rosemarie Zagarri29. Foreign Policy in the Presidential Era 506Jeffrey J. Malanson30. George Washington in Retirement 524Alexia Jones Helsley31. George Washington's Mind 542William M. Ferraro32. Religion: George Washington, Anglican Gentleman 558Mary V. Thompson33. George Washington, Death and Mourning 576Meredith Eliassen34. The Washington Image in American Culture 592Scott E. CasperBibliography 612Index 640