George Washington to Burwell Bassett, 19 June 1775

Writing from Philadelphia on June 19, 1775, George Washington announces to his wife Martha's brother-in-law Burwell Bassett that he has just been unanimously elected by the colonies as Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army. Washington eloquently expresses, "I am now Imbarkd on a tempestuous Ocean from whence, perhaps, no friendly harbor is to be found." He has humbly accepted this responsibility and states, "I can answer but for three things, a firm belief of the justice of our Cause - close attention in the prosecution of it - and the strictest Integrety." Washington concludes by expressing his concern about his wife's loneliness during his absence.

Gift of Mrs. Neville Mitchell Smith, 1935; Conservation courtesy of the Roller-Bottimore Foundation [W-714]