Congress resolved today “that a General be appointed to command all the continental forces, raised, or to be raised, for the defence of American liberty” (JCC description begins Worthington Chauncey Ford et al., eds. Journals of the Continental Congress, 1774-1789. 34 vols. Washington, D.C., 1904–37. description ends , 2:91). GW, nominated by Thomas Johnson of Maryland, was unanimously elected. For a discussion of GW’s election and the reasons behind it, see FREEMAN description begins Douglas Southall Freeman. George Washington: A Biography. 7 vols. New York, 1948–57. description ends , 3:432–40; ADAMS [1] description begins L. H. Butterfield, ed. Diary and Autobiography of John Adams. 4 vols. Cambridge, Mass., 1961. description ends , 3:321–23.

The committee which occupied GW all the evening was the one on drafting army regulations.