George Washington: “Every citizen owes to his country and to the laws.”

To be prepared for war is one of the most effectual means of preserving peace.

I must not conceal from you my earnest wish that the choice had fallen upon a man less declined in years and better qualified to encounter the usual vicissitudes of war.

Satisfied, therefore, that you have sincerely wished and endeavored to avert war, and exhausted to the last drop the cup of reconciliation, we can with pure hearts appeal to Heaven for the justice of our cause.

I have finally determined to accept the commission of Commander in Chief of the armies of the United States.