George Washington
George Washington was the United States revolutionary leader available to the British and Dutch in The WarChiefs and The Asian Dynasties. In other Age of Empires III contexts he also appears as a campaign character and a Definitive Edition AI personality; this page covers only his old revolution choice.
Version & availability
Choosing Washington increases Gatling Gun hit points by 25%. The bonus supports a Gatling Gun army but does not itself grant a shipment of guns.
Revolution bonus
In The WarChiefs or The Asian Dynasties, choose this path when Gatling Guns are part of the intended composition. Definitive Edition no longer uses Washington as this revolutionary-leader option.
Appearances across the campaign timeline
George Washington appears in several different roles across the Age of Empires III series, and the version shown depends on the scenario. In Act II: Ice of the original campaign, he is a British colonial officer during the French and Indian War. He and his men eventually reject General Warwick after discovering his connection to the Circle, then support John Black’s forces. In The WarChiefs campaign, Act I: Fire presents Washington as commander of the Continental Army during the American Revolution. He meets Nathaniel Black after Bunker Hill, and the player assists him in later episodes including Trenton and Valley Forge. These appearances are fictionalized campaign scenes that place the Black family alongside real historical figures. The Definitive Edition’s Fort Duquesne Historical Battle uses Washington as an opposing leader, while skirmish games can use a Washington-inspired American AI personality.
Colonel Washington unit profile
Colonel Washington is a British hero used in Act II: Ice. The listed profile has 800 hit points, 40% ranged resistance, a movement speed of 5.0 and a line of sight of 24. He attacks with an officer’s saber: the hand attack deals 14 damage at a 1.5-second rate, and his special attack deals 14 damage at range 6 with a 3.0-second rate. He can claim treasures and regenerates, but does not have the Explorer’s ability to build Trading Posts or Town Centers. When reduced to zero hit points, he collapses rather than being permanently killed. Once he has regenerated at least 100 hit points, a nearby friendly unit or building can revive him. Keep him with supporting troops; his hero durability and treasure utility make him valuable, but his listed attack profile is not a substitute for an army.
General Washington unit profile
General Washington is the campaign hero associated with Nathaniel Black’s forces in Act I: Fire. His listed profile has 1,200 hit points, 40% ranged resistance, speed 5.0 and line of sight 24. The saber’s hand attack deals 28 damage every 1.5 seconds; the special attack also deals 28 damage at range 6 with a 3.0-second rate. Like Colonel Washington, he can collect treasures, regenerates and collapses at zero hit points instead of disappearing. The General can receive Home City shipments in the campaign, making shipment timing part of the mission’s progression. The two Washington unit profiles are separate campaign variants with different hit points and damage, so do not combine the Colonel’s 800 hit points with the General’s 28-damage attack when describing one unit.
Biography and historical context
The game draws on Washington’s real biography while adapting events to its campaign fiction. He was born in Virginia in 1732 and served in the British military before becoming a central figure in the American Revolution and the first president of the United States. The campaigns use that transition to connect the earlier French and Indian War setting with the later revolution. The fictional Circle and Black family are narrative devices, not historical organizations or people. Washington’s scenes combine real battles and political events with invented dialogue and character relationships. A player looking for the historical sequence should separate the game’s dramatized story from the actual chronology; a player following mission objectives should instead focus on the scenario’s units, starting position and scripted events.
Washington as an AI personality
In Definitive Edition skirmish play, the American civilization can use a George Washington AI personality. Its in-game description presents a flexible opponent that may seek military, economic or technological advantages. That is a broad personality profile rather than a promise that every match uses one build order. Difficulty, map generation and the opponent’s available Home City cards affect the forces it fields. Scout its production and resource gathering to determine whether it is preparing infantry, cavalry or artillery. If it establishes forward Outposts, defend the threatened resource area and attack from another route when possible. Treat its dialogue and general tendencies as flavor and useful context, not as a replacement for observing the actual army.
How to keep the hero useful
Use Washington to support mission objectives that benefit from a mobile, durable hero: uncover terrain, collect a guarded Treasure after clearing its guardians and stay near the units that need his leadership. Avoid leaving him alone under concentrated fire. His collapse-and-revive rule can preserve the hero, but recovery still takes time and an enemy can control the area around the fallen unit. In campaign missions, check whether the scenario allows shipments and which buildings can deliver them. In the Washington AI battle, the human player is the opposing commander and should respond to its actual economy. These roles use the same name but ask for different decisions: protect a campaign hero in one context and read a skirmish opponent in another.
Campaign tactics around Washington
When Washington is a friendly hero, use his durability to anchor a push while ordinary troops remove counter-units and siege. His collapse state can tempt a player to overcommit in the hope of reviving him, but the fallen hero is vulnerable until an ally reaches him and he regenerates enough health. Pull him back before that happens. In Act II: Ice, his British affiliation is part of the plot and should not be mistaken for the American skirmish personality. In Act I: Fire, shipment access changes the available mission tempo; use a shipment to replace losses or bring siege rather than waiting for a standard skirmish deck sequence. Mission objectives and scripted reinforcements take priority over generalized civilization advice.
Character relationships and story role
Washington links the two periods of the Black family campaign. In the earlier colonial story, he serves under Warwick before siding with John Black when the General’s treachery becomes clear. In the later act, Nathaniel Black fights alongside Washington during the Revolution, giving the campaign a bridge between family history and the founding conflict. The game depicts Washington as a decisive commander and later a political leader, but the Circle storyline and the Black family’s involvement are fictional. His historical role as a Virginia officer, Continental commander and first U.S. president supplies the setting; the conversations and personal alliances belong to the game’s narrative. This distinction helps players understand why the same historical character can appear as an ally, unit, AI personality and scenario opponent without those being one continuous gameplay profile.
Unit statistics at a glance
Colonel Washington’s listed values are 800 hit points, 40% ranged resistance, 5.0 speed and 24 line of sight. General Washington is listed at 1,200 hit points with the same resistance, speed and line of sight. Both profiles use a collapse-and-revive rule and have treasure-claiming and regeneration traits. The Colonel’s saber attacks deal 14 damage, while the General’s deal 28; each has a 1.5-second hand-attack interval and a 6-range special strike at a 3.0-second interval. These values describe campaign hero versions and should not be substituted for the American General or other civilization’s hero statistics. Patches and Definitive Edition revisions may alter unit details, so treat the matching game data as authoritative for live multiplayer.
Separate the four game roles
For quick reference, distinguish Colonel Washington as an 800-hit-point British campaign hero, General Washington as a 1,200-hit-point Black Family Estate hero, the historical figure in the story and the American AI personality in Definitive Edition. The Fort Duquesne battle also places Washington in an opposing scenario role. These entries share a name but have different statistics, affiliations and player-facing uses. When linking from another article, specify the relevant campaign or mode so readers know which Washington is being discussed.
The old revolution choice and its limited effect
The revolutionary-leader entry describes a specific option in the original expansion-era rules: British and Dutch players could choose George Washington, and that choice increased Gatling Gun hit points by 25%. It did not deliver Gatling Guns by itself, so the player still needed a source of those units and the resources to field them. The bonus mattered most when the army already planned to use Gatling Guns and could protect them long enough for the added durability to matter. The choice should not be read as a general bonus for every American faction, nor as the profile of the campaign hero. Definitive Edition changed the Revolution system, and Washington is not this selectable leader there. When comparing versions, keep the old leader bonus separate from Colonel Washington in Act II: Ice, General Washington in Act I: Fire, and the American AI personality.
Legacy Revolution choice in The WarChiefs
George Washington was a revolutionary leader available to the British and Dutch in The WarChiefs and The Asian Dynasties. His listed bonus increases Gatling Gun hit points by 25%, supporting a force built around that artillery unit. He does not ship Gatling Guns by himself. In other Age of Empires III contexts, Washington appears as a campaign character or Definitive Edition AI personality; those uses are separate from the earlier Revolution choice.
Version-aware army planning
Choose Washington in the legacy rules when Gatling Guns are already part of the intended composition and their added durability supports the next push. Definitive Edition no longer uses Washington as this revolutionary-leader option, so do not apply the bonus to its current Federal State or Revolution system. Check the expansion and version when reading older build orders. Keep anti-cavalry troops near the guns, since increased hit points do not remove their artillery counters.