Podcast Episode 55 - The Men Who Would Be Washington, Part VI

As Christmas, 1776 approached, it sure looked like the cause of American liberty was going to find a lump of coal under the tree.

The British had taken New York and had George Washington's army on the run. They had a massive force pointed right at Philadelphia, the American capital. The Continental Congress had placed their hopes in one man to swoop in and save them.

And it was NOT George Washington.

This gave General Charles Lee the idea that he could be the man of the hour, and then take George Washington's job away from him.

Sources

Ellis, Joseph J. “His Excellency: George Washington.” Alfred A. Knopf, 2004. 

George Washington’s Mount Vernon. “The ‘Indispensible Man’: Would the Revolution Have Succeeded Without George Washington?” Retrieved September 23, 2022 from https://www.mountvernon.org/george-washington/the-revolutionary-war/was-washington-the-indispensable-man/would-the-revolution-have-succeeded-without-george-washington/ 

McBurney, Christian M. “Kidnapping The Enemy: The Special Operations to Capture Generals Charles Lee and Richard Prescott.” Westholme Publishing, 2014. 

Papas, Phillip. “Renegade Revolutionary: The Life of General Charles Lee.” New York University Press, 2014.