George Washington: The General On February 22, 1732 in the British Commonwealth of Virginia, Mary Ball Washington gave birth to her first son. Little did she know that her son, George, would later become one of the greatest military leaders of all time, and her countries first president (Virginia.edu). Washington was one of ten children (six by Mary Ball and four by George Washington's father's first wife) in an aristocratic Virginian family. The Washington family was …showed first 75 words of 1127 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1127 total…colonial army to victory, become the father of our country, become our first President in 1789, and set forth what would soon become history's greatest nation. Washington served two terms, managing the affairs of a nation in the debt of war, and refused a third term in 1796. Three years later, he died at Mount Vernon of what physicians today say may have been strep throat. The country mourned, as it never had before (Flexner pp. 400-402).