| July 8 |  |
Editor says, what if John Forbes had lived? In this timeline we assume that by the mid 1770s Washington was a Brigadier General in the British Army. Please note that the opinions expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect the views of the author(s). This story was published in the August 2012 edition of Changing the Times Magazine.
| Share this Article on: |  Facebook |  Twitter |
In 1759, on this day George Washington was rewarded with a commission in the British army in recognition of his military service in the explusion of French Forces from the Ohio Country.
Brigadier General Washington
By Ed, Scott Palter and Jeff ProvineAs the Colonel of the Virginia Regiment and Commander in Chief of all forces now raised in the defense of His Majesty's Colony he was the professional head of the first full-time American military unit in the colonies (as opposed to part-time militias and the British regular units). Nevertheless, his promotion was entirely due to the influence of his commanding officer John Forbes whose personal patronage overcame normative attitudes. Incredibly, Forbes was forced to choose Washington as an aide to service in order to ensure that he was not overlooked by British commanders who were reluctant to promote what they saw as a colonial.
Of course Washington benefitted immensely from the valuable military, political, and leadership skills that he had gained in the French and Indian Wars. The key was that those skills were not lost to the British forces in North America because Washington was on the verge of resigning from the Virginia Regiment and returning to private life. And perhaps more importantly, at a time when British and American relations were becoming increasingly strained, Forbes had made a principled statement about colonial unity that would resonate in the future.
Entry posted by Todayinah Editor
© Alternate Historian, 2004-.Story Tags
Permalinks: Post, Day. Browse Thread: Generals Source: Wikipedia Labels: George Washingon, John Forbes, French and Indian War, America, Virginia. Editor says, in reality Forbes's health, which had been poor for much of the campaign, began a rapid decline during his occupation of Fort Pitt. On 3 December 1758, now gravely ill, Forbes began the arduous journey back to Philadelphia leaving Colonel Hugh Mercer in command of Fort Pitt. General Forbes died in Philadelphia on 11 March 1759. He was buried in Christ Church in Philadelphia. In authoring this article we have repurposed content from Wikipedia.
~ This might have made Washington a better commander. In OTL, he was, at least at first, an amateur up against professionals, and his men suffered for it.
~ And what was that statement about colonial unity? It sounds intriguing.
~ Indeed, since it would present Washington with a conundrum about where his true loyalties lay. A George Washngton who decided they were with England would not have supported, and indeed would have fought against, a colonial drive for independence.
Ironically, he might have ended up "president" anyway, after a fashion, in this timeline. Had he played a substantial role in putting down a colonial rebellion, Washington might have been considered later on for the position of governor-general. Of course, he might then occupy roughly the same position in American memory that Benedict Arnold does in our history.
~ Offers a lot of interesting possibilities...
~ Sorry, the only Forbes I know is the guy who runs that business magazine. :D
~ Just left more room for Benedict Arnold to save the colonies from British oppression...
~ I believe that, without Washington, the colonies would have won the War for Independence anyway. Washington was a much better President than general. However, I don't know how the office of the President would look today had he not been the first man to hold the office.
~ If this TL's Congress is as slow to respect effort as OTL, Arnold might swap over to Britain and be applauded for it. Washington vs Gates would be a fun fight with Washington's use of surprise tactics and Gates' shock at them (as seen in his route at the Battle of Camden).
~ This seems to be another path leading to another very intriguing recent series: What if George Washington had stayed loyal to the British and Benedict Arnold had become a national hero?
comments powered by Disqus
Related posts from the same era that you may also like
 Benjamin Franklin calls for a "Plural Executive" |  Birth of Three-Term President "Monroe" |  Birth of Vice President "Roger Sherman" |
 Passing of President "Franklin" |  British general Jeffrey Amherst triggers "Great Indian War" |  "John Adams" killed during AmRev |
 Baron of Ohio, "George Washington" |  "Aaron Burr" arrested for treason |  Fighting the AmRev with "Guns and Bows and Arrows" |
 Birth of "John Hancock", Redux |  President "John Hancock" celebrates his fifty-seventh birthday | Passing of America's First President "Benjamin Franklin" |
© Today in Alternate History, 2013-. All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
