George Washington's Leadership Qualities

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First, let me say that Question No. 3 seems to be a trick question (or an outright mistake) on the part of your high school teacher. George Washington had nothing at all to do with the battles of Lexington and Concord, which occurred in April 1775. He was at his Mount Vernon plantation in Virginia. Washington was not asked by the Continental Congress to become the Commander in Chief of the newly-formed Continental Army until June 1775.

The reasons why the Continental Congress asked him to do that speak to the qualities that made Washington an effective leader, both militarily and later as the U.S.'s first president. First, he had some military experience during the previous French & Indian War. He had fought alongside the British against the French and thus knew how the British military he was going to have to fight now worked. In general, Washington was also conservative and careful about what he did. He realized that the British had superior numbers and training and they could probably destroy his army if he did not pick his opportunities to fight them. Washington as a young man had also been a surveyor so he knew the lay of the land well.

The Battle of Trenton fought on December 26, 1776 is a prime example. After the British had ousted the Continental Army from Long Island and New York City in August 1776, Washington retreated to the ...