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According to the British, George Washington was just some guy. General Thomas Gage, commander of British troops in America in the early days of the Revolution, made a point of not addressing George Washington by his rank, and made sure that no one else did either. In one of their earliest exchanges after the siege of Boston in 1775, Washington sent a letter to Gage about the treatment of American prisoners in British custody. He pointed out that the captives were being indiscriminately treated, with no regard for their rank, and warned Gage that if the treatment of American prisoners did not improve, he would treat British prisoners the same way: “If severity and hardship mark the line of your conduct, your prisoners will feel its effects.” Gage’s response included a line which told the tale of how he felt about the opposing army and the ranks of the American officers: “I acknowledge no rank which is not derived from the King.” Game on, Gage. In the days leading up to the Battle of New York in 1776, the British attempted peace overtures. Admiral Lord Howe sent a Lieutenant Brown under flag of truce with a letter addressed to “George Washington, Esq.” He was met by Joseph Reed, Washington’s adjutant. “I have a letter, sir, from Lord Howe to Mr. Washington,” Brown said. “Sir,” Reed replied. “We have no person in our army with that address.” Brown asked how Washington preferred to be addressed. Reed told him, “You are sensible, sir, of the rank of General Washington in our army,” and sent him packing. Brown returned three days later with a letter addressed to “George Washington, Esq, etc, etc.” Not good enough. Brown was sent back. The admiral upped his game, sending a Colonel Paterson to meet with Washington. Paterson told Washington that Lord Howe didn’t mean to “derogate the respect or rank" of Washington, but brought out the same letter addressed to “George Washington, Esq, etc, etc.” Washington let it lie on the table. Paterson suggested that the “etc, etc” implied an acknowledgement of Washington’s rank. “It so does,” Washington told him, “and anything.” He told Paterson that if he was not addressed by his rank, the letter from Howe couldn’t be important military business; that it was just private correspondence, and he would not accept it. Washington and Lord Howe, it would seem, were not friends. Paterson tried another tactic, suggesting that all this quibbling over rank was getting in the way of conducting important business, namely the offer of pardons from the British to the rebels. “Those who have committed no fault want no pardon,” Washington told him, and sent him back across the British lines. Shortly thereafter, the Continental Congress ordered that no communication from the British that did not address General Washington by his rank would be accepted. The British kept up this farce all the way to the end of the war. After the siege at Yorktown, when it came time to surrender, the British officer sent to do the deed tried to surrender to the senior French officer, Marshal Rochambeau, who shook his head and pointed to Washington. After the surrender, Washington hosted a dinner for the American, French and British officers, who finally acknowledged that they were all members of the same military caste. Washington was even addressed as “General.” For more about this, check out History’s Trainwrecks Podcast Episode 5 - “Washington? Never Heard Of Him.”