On the tenth of May, 1775, the Continental Congress again assembled. The means of defence for all the colonies was taken under consideration. Washington took the principal part in these deliberations, as he had been chosen chairman of all the committees on military affairs. The situation now called for the appointment of a commander-in-chief. There were able men in Congress who had served as officers in the British army and one or another of them rather expected to be chosen for the position. In the first battles—the pursuit of the British and the bloody battle of Bunker Hill—able leaders had also arisen. There were a few who made great efforts to get the appointment, while Washington refrained from influencing any one in his own behalf, as indeed was his custom under like circumstances throughout his life.  
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At last, on the fifteenth of June, a vote was taken, and when the votes were counted it was found that Washington, with the exception of his own vote, had been unanimously elected. He expressed his thanks to the members for the confidence they had shown in him and promised to serve his country faithfully, but added that he feared the task would be too great for him. In closing he said: “Lest some unlucky event should happen unfavorable to my reputation, I beg it may be remembered, by every gentleman in this room, that I this day declare, with the utmost sincerity, I do not think myself equal to the command I am honored with.” He looked upon his election as a providential call which it would be very wrong to refuse; it was his intention to exert his powers to the utmost, his hope that God would lend him aid. In accepting this appointment he made a great personal sacrifice to his country, for he was not spurred by ambition and he comprehended clearly the magnitude of the task which was set before him. His tastes inclined toward the delights of peaceful domestic life, the activities of the garden and fields, and now he was selected to conduct military operations which, he must have known, would, even under the most favorable circumstances, keep him away from his family and his home for a long time to come. But piety and a strong sense of duty filled his manly soul and only a slight tinge of sadness marks the letters which he wrote immediately after the appointment. He wrote to his wife, whom he loved tenderly: “You may believe me when I assure you, in the most solemn manner, that so far from seeking this appointment, I have used every endeavor in my power to avoid it, not only from my unwillingness to part from you and the family, but from a consciousness of its being a trust too great for my capacity; and I should enjoy more real happiness in one month with you at home than I have the most distant prospect of findi............