under the command of lieutenant colonel thomas gage, washington, still very ill, rallied the survivors and formed a rear guard, allowing the remnants of the force to disengage and retreat. during the engagement, he had two horses shot from under him, and his hat and coat were bullet-pierced. his conduct under fire redeemed his reputation among critics of his command in the battle of fort necessity, but he was not included by the succeeding commander (colonel thomas dunbar) in planning subsequent operations. the virginia regiment was reconstituted in august 1755, and dinwiddie appointed washington its commander, again with the rank of colonel. washington clashed over seniority almost immediately, this time with john dagworthy, another captain of superior royal rank, who commanded a detachment of marylanders at the regiment's headquarters in fort cumberland. washington, impatient for an offensive against fort duquesne, was convinced braddock would have granted him a royal commission and pressed his case in february 1756 with braddock's successor as commander-in-chief, william shirley, and again in january 1757 with shirley's successor, lord loudoun. shirley ruled in washington's favor only in the matter of dagworthy; loudoun humiliated washington, refused him a royal commission and agreed only to relieve him of the responsibility of manning fort cumberland. in 1758, the virginia regiment was assigned to the british forbes expedition to capture fort duquesne. washington disagreed with general john forbes' tactics and chosen route. forbes nevertheless made washington a brevet brigadier general and gave him command of one of the three brigades that would assault the fort. the french abandoned the fort and the valley before the assault was launched; washington saw only a friendly fire incident which left 14 dead and 26 injured. the war lasted another four years, and washington resigned his commission and returned to mount vernon. under washington, the virginia regiment had defended 300 miles (480 km) of frontier against twenty indian attacks in ten months. he increased the professionalism of the regiment as it increased from 300 to 1,000 men, and virginia's frontier population suffered less than other colonies. some historians have said this was washington's "only unqualified success" during the war. though he failed to realize a royal commission, he did gain self-confidence, leadership skills, and invaluable knowledge of british military tactics. the destructive competition washington witnessed among colonial politicians fostered his later support of a strong central government. marriage, civilian, and political life (1755–1775) colonel george washington, a portrait by charles willson peale (1772) martha washington in a 1757 portrait by john wollaston on january 6, 1759, washington, at age 26, married martha dandridge custis, the 27-year-old widow of wealthy plantation owner daniel parke custis. the marriage took place at martha's estate; she was intelligent, gracious, and experienced in managing a planter's estate, and the couple created a happy marriage. they raised john parke custis (jacky) and martha parke custis (patsy), children from her previous marriage, and later jacky's children eleanor parke custis (nelly) and george washington parke custis (washy). washington's 1751 bout with smallpox is thought to have rendered him sterile, though it is equally likely that "martha may have sustained injury during the birth of patsy, her final child, making additional births impossible." the couple lamented not having any children together. they moved to mount vernon, near alexandria, where he took up life as a planter of tobacco and wheat and emerged as a political figure. the marriage gave washington control over martha's one-third dower interest in the 18,000-acre (7,300 ha) custis estate, and he managed the remaining two-thirds for martha's children; the estate also included 84 slaves. he became one of virginia's wealthiest men, which increased his social standing. at washington's urging, governor lord botetourt fulfilled dinwiddie's 1754 promise of land bounties to all-volunteer militia during the french and indian war. in late 1770, washington inspected the lands in the ohio and great kanawha regions, and he engaged surveyor william crawford to subdivide it. crawford allotted 23,200 acres (9,400 ha) to washington; washington told the veterans that their land was hilly and unsuitable for farming, and he agreed to purchase 20,147 acres (8,153 ha), leaving some feeling they had been duped. he also doubled the size of mount vernon to 6,500 acres (2,600 ha) and increased its slave population to more than a hundred by 1775. washington's political activities included supporting the candidacy of his friend george william fairfax in his 1755 bid to represent the region in the virginia house of burgesses. this support led to a dispute which resulted in a physical altercation between washington and another virginia planter, william payne. washington defused the situation, including ordering officers from the virginia regiment to stand down. washington apologized to payne the following day at a tavern. payne had been expecting to be challenged to a duel. as a respected military hero and large landowner, washington held local offices and was elected to the virginia provincial legislature, representing frederick county in the house of burgesses for seven years beginning in 1758. he plied the voters with beer, brandy, and other beverages, although he was absent while serving on the forbes expedition. he won the election with roughly 40 percent of the vote, defeating three other candidates with the help of several local supporters. he rarely spoke in his early legislative career, but he became a prominent critic of britain's taxation policy and mercantilist policies towards the american colonies starting in the 1760s. by occupation, washington was a planter, and he imported luxuries and other goods from england, paying for them by exporting tobacco. his profligate spending combined with low tobacco prices left him £1,800 in debt by 1764, prompting him to diversify his holdings. in 1765, because of erosion and other soil problems, he changed mount vernon's primary cash crop from tobacco to wheat and expanded operations to include corn flour milling and fishing. washington also took time for leisure with fox hunting, fishing, dances, theater, cards, backgammon, and billiards. washington soon was counted among the political and social elite in virginia. from 1768 to 1775, he invited some 2,000 guests to his mount vernon estate, mostly those whom he considered people of rank, and was known to be exceptionally cordial toward his guests. he became more politically active in 1769, presenting legislation in the virginia assembly to establish an embargo on goods from great britain. washington's step-daughter patsy custis suffered from epileptic attacks from age 12, and she died in his arms in 1773. the following day, he wrote to burwell bassett: "it is easier to conceive, than to describe, the distress of this family". he canceled all business activity and remained with martha every night for three months. opposition to the british parliament and crown washington played a central role before and during the american revolution. his distrust of the british military had begun when he was passed over for promotion into the regular army. opposed to taxes imposed by the british parliament on the colonies without proper representation, he and other colonists were also angered by the royal proclamation of 1763 which banned american settlement west of the allegheny mountains and protected the british fur trade. washington believed the stamp act of 1765 was an "act of oppression", and he celebrated its repeal the following year. in march 1766, parliament passed the declaratory act asserting that parliamentary law superseded colonial law. in the late 1760s, the interference of the british crown in american lucrative western land speculation spurred on the american revolution. washington himself was a prosperous land speculator, and in 1767, he encouraged "adventures" to acquire backcountry western lands. washington helped lead widespread protests against the townshend acts passed by parliament in 1767, and he introduced a proposal in may 1769 drafted by george mason which called virginians to boycott british goods; the acts were mostly repealed in 1770. parliament sought to punish massachusetts colonists for their role in the boston tea party in 1774 by passing the coercive acts, which washington referred to as "an invasion of our rights and privileges". he said americans must not submit to acts of tyranny since "custom and use shall make us as tame and abject slaves, as the blacks we rule over with such arbitrary sway". that july, he and george mason drafted a list of resolutions for the fairfax county committee which washington chaired, and the committee adopted the fairfax resolves calling for a continental congress, and an end to the slave trade. on august 1, washington attended the first virginia convention, where he was selected as a delegate to the first continental congress, september 5 to october 26, 1774, which he also attended. as tensions rose in 1774, he helped train county militias in virginia and organized enforcement of the continental association boycott of british goods instituted by the congress. the american revolutionary war began on april 19, 1775, with the battles of lexington and concord and the siege of boston. the colonists were divided over breaking away from british rule and split into two factions: patriots who rejected british rule, and loyalists who desired to remain subject to the king. general thomas gage was commander of british forces in america at the beginning of the war. upon hearing the shocking news of the onset of war, washington was "sobered and dismayed", and he hastily departed mount vernon on may 4, 1775, to join the second continental congress in philadelphia. commander in chief (1775–1783) general washington, commander of the continental army, a 1776 portrait by charles willson peale congress created the continental army on june 14, 1775, and samuel and john adams nominated washington to become its commander-in-chief. washington was chosen over john hancock because of his military experience and the belief that a virginian would better unite the colonies. he was considered an incisive leader who kept his ambition in check. he was unanimously elected commander in chief 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. he was commissioned on june 19 and was roundly praised by congressional delegates, including john adams, who proclaimed that he was the man best suited to lead and unite the colonies. congress appointed washington "general & commander in chief of the army of the united colonies and of all the forces raised or to be raised by them", and instructed him 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, major general nathanael greene, colonel henry knox, and colonel alexander hamilton. washington was impressed by colonel benedict arnold and gave him responsibility for launching an invasion of canada. he also engaged french and indian war compatriot brigadier general daniel morgan. henry knox impressed adams with ordnance knowledge, and washington promoted him to colonel and chief of artillery. at the start of the revolutionary war, washington opposed the recruiting of blacks, both free and enslaved, into the continental army and initially banned their enlistment. 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. siege of boston washington taking command of the continental army just before the siege of boston on april 19, 1775 early in 1775, in response to the growing rebellious movement, london sent british troops, commanded by general thomas gage, to occupy boston. they set up fortifications about the city, making it impervious to attack. various local militias surrounded the city and effectively trapped the british, resulting in a standoff. as washington headed for boston, word