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Historic Markers Series SIGN: The General's Highway

What did Gen. George Wasington know about smallpox? This marker is located at the intersection of W. Bel Air Ave. and Rte. 40.

Although Harford county soil never witnessed bloodshed during the Revolutionary War, many notable men of the day passed through here during that time.   and Comte de Rochambeau crossed the Susquehanna into the county while en route to .  Due to the location of the ferries, and the existence of the  when there were few other roads, virtually all major travel came through here.

When General George Washington resigned his commission as Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army in 1783, the route he traveled from NYC to Annapolis from Dec. 4 to Dec. 23 came to be known as, “The General’s Highway.”  He was fifty-one years old and the most famous man in the world.

In order to appreciate what that really meant, we have to look backwards.  Washington was self-taught when it came to military matters and ironically learned from the British Army as a volunteer aide-de-camp to Gen. Edward Braddock during the French and Indian War.  When that war was over, he retired his commission as leader of the Virginia colonial forces to become a private citizen at Mount Vernon for nearly two decades.

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In 1775, as a Representative from Virginia at the Second Continental Congress, Washington found himself being nominated to be the Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army.  John Adams thought Washington would be a, “commander around whom all the colonies might unite.”

The Revolutionary War was largely seen as a northern war. Because Washington was a southern planter, an army under his leadership could unite the south with the north. In his General Orders, issued July 4, 1775, Washington stated, “and it is hoped that all Distinctions of Colonies will be laid aside so that one and the same Spirit may animate the whole.”

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Each state had a militia, but there was no trained, professional army.  Washington had to contend with troops consisting of farmers and businessmen who were only too willing to return home to tend to business after their enlistments were up.  Personnel was constantly coming and going.

The replacements tended to be young, single men who owned no property and were somewhere between being poor and being paupers. They had to basically be bribed to sign up, with enticements including money as well as land.

The army Washington cobbled together was often cold, hungry and unpaid.  As few men, if any, had any military training, discipline was an uphill struggle.  Desertion was common and Washington issued orders on Feb. 27, 1776, stating that if one attempts to retreat or desert that they, “will be instantly shot down.”

What Washington lacked in formal training or cohesive troops was compensated for with his resolve that America would have independence from Britain. Also, he was wise enough to surround himself with educated men from whom he required absolute loyalty.

Because he was aware of how untrained his troops were, large-scale engagements with the British were not possible.  Washington came up with creative ideas, such as sending an advance team on ice skates ahead of the main troops.  His advisors shot down that idea.

One quite notable tactic didn’t involve weapons.  As a smallpox epidemic swept through Cambridge, Mass., Washington quarantined his sick troops and urged inoculation for everyone.  As he’d been exposed to the pox as a child, he was immune.

Eventually, it would be the strategizing of Lafayette and Rochambeau which would lead to the defeat of Cornwallis at Yorktown in 1781.

It wasn’t until after the Treaty of Paris was signed in 1783 that Washington felt his job was completed.  Following the evacuation of British troops from NYC, Washington left the city on Dec. 3 and made his way to the Maryland State House in Annapolis to resign his commission on Dec. 23, 1783.  He drew no salary for his service, and asked only to have his expenses reimbursed.  Rather than ask favor for himself, he asked it for his officers.

From Annapolis, Washington traveled to Mount Vernon and arrived in time for Christmas Eve.  He remained a private citizen until his country again called him.  As the first president of the United States of America in 1789, he served until 1797.  He died in 1799 at the not-so-ripe old age of 67.

Had a man like George Washington not existed, American independence may not have been possible.  Although the story about tossing the gold piece across the Delaware River was a myth, as was his chopping down the cherry tree, they do illustrate his strength of character.  He was incorruptible, even by power, money and fame.

This sign was originally erected in 1932 by the Dorsey Chapter of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution to commemorate the George Washington bi-centennial, along with the Maryland Historical Trust and the Maryland State Highway administration.

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