Henry Cabot Lodge: “In the very moment of the highest personal glory, the only thought is of the work which he has to do.”

The other idea which had grown in his mind during the weary siege was that the Tories were thoroughly dangerous and deserved scant mercy.

After stating plainly that the army was on the verge of dissolution, he said: "To me it will appear miraculous if our affairs can maintain themselves much longer in their present train.

To put aside a crown for love of country is noble, but to look down upon such an opportunity indicates a much greater loftiness and strength of mind.

It was a difficult thing for men who had been born colonists to rise to a sense of national opportunities, but Washington passed at a single step from being a Virginian to being an American, and in so doing he stood alone.