1From George Washington to the Officers of Five Virginia Independent Companies, 20 June 1775 (Washington Papers)
I am now about to bid adieu to the Companies under your respective commands, at least for a while—I have launched into a wide & extensive field, too boundless for my abilities, & far, very far beyond my experience—I am called by the unanimous voice of the Colonies to the command of the Continental army: an honour I did not aspire to—an honor I was sollicitous to avoid upon full conviction of...
2From George Washington to John Augustine Washington, 20 June 1775 (Washington Papers)
I am now to bid adieu to you, & to every kind of domestick ease, for a while. I am Imbarked on a wide Ocean, boundless in its prospect & from whence, perhaps, no safe harbour is to be found[.] I have been called upon by the unanimous Voice of the Colonies to take the Command of the Continental Army—an honour I neither sought after, nor desired, as I am thoroughly convinced; that it requires...