section_path: Commander in chief (1775–1783)
section_name: Commander in chief (1775–1783)
paragraph_text: Commander in chief (1775–1783)
  
  On June 14, 1775, Congress created the Continental Army and John Adams nominated Washington as its commander-in-chief, mainly because of his military experience and the belief that a Virginian would better unite the colonies. He was unanimously elected by Congress the next day. Washington appeared before Congress in uniform and gave an acceptance speech on June 16, declining a salary, though he was later reimbursed expenses.
  
  Washington was commissioned on June 19 and officially appointed by Congress as "General & Commander in chief of the army of the United Colonies and of all the forces raised or to be raised by them". He was instructed to take charge of the Siege of Boston on June 22, 1775.
  
  Congress chose his primary staff officers, including Major General Artemas Ward, Adjutant General Horatio Gates, Major General Charles Lee, Major General Philip Schuyler, and Major General Nathanael Greene. Henry Knox, a young bookkeeper, impressed Adams and Washington with ordnance knowledge and was subsequently promoted to colonel and chief of artillery. Similarly, Washington was impressed by Alexander Hamilton 's intelligence and bravery. He would later promote him to colonel and appoint him his aide-de-camp.
  
  Washington initially banned the enlistment of blacks, both free and enslaved, into the Continental Army. The British saw an opportunity to divide the colonies, and the colonial governor of Virginia issued a proclamation, which promised freedom to slaves if they joined the British. Desperate for manpower by late 1777, Washington relented and overturned his ban. By the end of the war, around one-tenth of Washington's army were blacks. Following the British surrender, Washington sought to enforce terms of the preliminary Treaty of Paris (1783) by reclaiming slaves freed by the British and returning them to servitude. He arranged to make this request to Sir Guy Carleton on May 6, 1783. Instead, Carleton issued 3,000 freedom certificates and all former slaves in New York City were able to leave before the city was evacuated by the British in late November 1783.