It was also a matter of record that Washington had been retired from military life for fifteen years, during which he had not even drilled a militia company. His only prior experience had been in backwoods warfare – a very different kind of warfare – and most notably in the Braddock campaign of 1755, which had been a disaster. He was by no means as experienced commander. He had never led an army in battle, never before commanded anything larger than a regiment. And never had