"Was Washington ever in hand to hand combat" Topic

Did Washington ever come into close combat during the french indian war?. he was a big guy so he could probably handle himself well. how good was he with a sword?

Don't know, but the film that they show at Mount Vernon does show him rallying the troops with lots of hacking and whacking as Gen B bleeds out.

He was very athletic and a superb rider. But I've never heard of actual hand to hand. Got shot at plenty of times, though. As a Virginia gentleman he probably had at least basic instruction in swordsmanship.

Read Steve Brumwell's book about his 'early days' on the frontier. I am sure he will have been very close to hand to hand.

Sure he was involved in HtH. He slew many werewolves and Vampires. No wait. That was Lincoln. Never mind.

He was bullet proof. The only mounted British officer at the Monongahela who wasn't shot. I forget the number of bullet holes in his uniform. A platoon volley at close range missed him at Princeton.

When he took command of the Continental Army surrounding Boston, Washington came upon a brawl between two colonial militiamen. He strode in, grabbed one man in each hand, lifted them both bodily off the ground, stopping the fight right then and there and putting the fear of God into every man present.
So I'd say, yes, he knew how to handle himself in a scrap, and had done so before.

My brother, when he was a high school principal, said the closest he ever came to getting killed was on a school bus breaking up a knife fight between two girls with the same boyfriend.

Back in the 90's I broke up a fight between two women on a city bus. It was just a fistfight, no knives.

Washington took on Napoleon in one of those History Channel shows. Won inside three rounds. Much longer reach than his Corsican opponent.

He wore a +2 Ring of Bullet Protection that he got from a Paladin.

He turned me into a newt!

According to Col. Fergusson, he was nearly shot out of his saddle by Col. Fergussuon with one of the Col's Breechloading rifles , but the fairminded Brit didn't want to shoot the Yank in the back.

Thanks gentlemen. Made my day. And it wasn't even April.

Well it is now, but great replies!

To be fair I suspect quite a few of the rank and file in the 18th century didn't ever engage in hand to hand combat either.

And the officers, glove to glove…

The closest recored was that an Indian shot at him from about 15 yards away, he and his guide tackled the shooter before he could reload. That was in 1753.

It was reported he had four bullet holes in his coat from Braddock's defeat.

3rd date with Martha.

>When he took command of the Continental Army surrounding >Boston, Washington came upon a brawl between two colonial >militiamen. He strode in, grabbed one man in each hand, lifted >them both bodily off the ground, stopping the fight right then >and there and putting the fear of God into every man present.

There's a hokey looking print of that incident, including a bunch of guys who look like Davy Crockett/Grizzly Adams. I wonder what the provenance for that story is?

Just read a portion from Brunwell's book where Washington and two others rode right through an Indian ambush (1756), but the Indians didn't fire at them. Instead, they ambushed two other riders who came through right after. Close, but no cigar on hand to hand.