1, He was a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses and of the Continental Congress before he took command of the American Revolutionary army.

2, Image: Patrick Henry Before the Virginia House of Burgesses by Peter F. Rothermel –Thomas Jefferson is seated.

3, In 1619, Virginia set up the House of Burgesses, the first elected legislative assembly in America.

4, From 1759 to the outbreak of the American Revolution, Washington managed his lands around Mount Vernon and served in the Virginia House of Burgesses.

5, By 1770 he was an experienced leader—a vestryman, a justice of the peace, and a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses.

6, He became a councilor and sat as a member of the House of Burgesses.