George Washington was fighting a two-front war: The war against the British in Valley Forge, and the war against his own Continental Congress

George Washington (February 22, 1732 – December 14, 1799) is one of the most important people in the history of the United States. He was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of the Continental Army, Washington led the Patriot forces to victory in the American Revolutionary War and served as the president of the Constitutional Convention of 1787, which created the Constitution of the United States and the American federal government.

While fighting the war against the British in Valley Forge, Washington also had to fight the war against his own Continental Congress. With the loss of Philadelphia, the capital of the rebelling colonies, and the success of the northern Continental forces under General Horatio Gates, a few delegates in the Continental Congress started to think a change in overall leadership was needed. Congress instituted a Board of War, with a few of Washington’s detractors as members. Through back channels, including his aide, John Laurens, who happened to be the son of the president of Congress, Henry intermediaries, and political maneuvering, Washington solidified his hold on the army and silenced most of his critics. The “Conway Cabal” was a part of this larger picture.

Only Washington's vastly underrated political instincts allowed him to deftly outmaneuver the near-treasonous Gates cabal and assert himself as the best chance America had to win its independence.