Washington's Final Statement as Commander in Chief

On December 23, 1783, in Annapolis, Maryland, George Washington addressed his officers and members of the army and Congress with the following statement:

In his own words....

The great events on which my resignation depended having at length taken place, I have  now the  honor of offering my sincere congratulations to Congress, & of presenting myself before them to surrender into their hands the trust committed to me, and to claim the indulgence of retiring from the service of my Country.

Happy in the confirmation of our Independence & Sovereignty, & pleased with the opportunity afforded the United states of becoming a respectable Nation, I resign with satisfaction the appointment I accepted with diffidence; a diffidence in my abilities to accomplish so arduous a task, which however was superseded by a confidence in the rectitude of our cause, the support of the Supreme power of the Union, and the Patronage of Heaven.

The Successful termination of the War has verified the most sanguine expectations, & my gratitude for the interposition of Providence, & the assistance I have received from my Countrymen, increases with every review of the momentous Contest.

While I repeat my obligations to the army in general, I should do injustice to my own feelings not to acknowledge in this place the peculiar services & distinguished merits of the Gentlemen who have been attached to my person during the war.  It was impossible the choice of confidential officers to compose my family ,should have been more fortunate; permit me, Sir, to reconmmend in particular, those who have continued in Service to the present moment, as worthy of the favorable notice & patronage of Congress.

I consider it an indispensable duty to close this last solemn act of my official life, by commending the interests of our dearest Country to the protection of  Almighty God, & those who have the superintendence of them, to his holy keeping.

Having now finished the work assigned me, I retire from the Great Theatre of Action; & bidding an affectionate farewell to this August Body under whose orders I have so long acted, I here offer my Commission & take my leave of all the employments of public life.

At the close of his address, Washington drew from his pocket the commission he had received in 1775 and handed it to the president of Congress.  He was no longer Commander in Chief but simply George Washignton, Virginia planter.  His horse was waiting when he left Congress shortly after noon.  He rode hard the rest of that day and most of the next, and turned into the driveway of Mount Vernon well before the early winter twilight of Christmas Eve had fallen. 

Taken from George Washington, A biography in his own words, edited by  Ralph K. Andrist, Published in 1972.  Newsweek.