The very next year the king ordered more soldiers to go to Boston and put in force the Boston Port Bill and other unjust laws. The colonies saw the danger, and sent their best men to hold the first Continental Congress at Philadelphia. Virginia sent George Washington, Patrick Henry, Richard Henry Lee, and other great men. Washington, however, was not an orator, and made no speech in the Congress, as others did. He was a man of deeds. His time had not yet come. [Sidenote: =A youthful colonel=] Many persons were surprised to find him so young, for twenty years before they had heard of his deeds against the French, and how he had saved the broken pieces of Braddock's army. A member of Congress declared that "if you speak of solid information, and of sound judgment, Colonel Washington is unquestionably the greatest man on the floor." The Congress, among other things, resolved to stand by Boston, if General Gage should make war on that town. Washington knew what that meant. He was not at home many months before he was busy drilling his brave Virginians, many of whom had been with him in the French and Indian War. [Illustration: WASHINGTON DRILLING HIS VIRGINIANS] [Sidenote: =In Congress again=] [Sidenote: =What John Adams said=] =70. Washington Made Commander of the American Armies.= In the last days of April, 1775, the news of the fight at Lexington and Concord was spreading rapidly southward. Washington, dressed in the buff and blue uniform of a Virginia colonel, hurried to Philadelphia to the meeting of the second Continental Congress. His day had come. It was now a time for deeds. The American army that surrounded Gage in Boston must have a head. John Adams arose in Congress and said that for the place of commander he had "but one gentleman in mind--a gentleman from Virginia--whose skill and experience as an officer, whose independent fortune, great talents, and excellent universal character would command the approbation of all America, and unite the colonies better than any other person in the Union." [Sidenote: =What Washington said to Congress and wrote to his wife=] Before all these words were spoken, Washington, much moved, had left the room. Congress elected him unanimously to be commander in chief of its armies. When he accepted the honor, he said: "I beg it may be remembered by every gentleman in this room, that I this day declare, with the utmost sincerity, I do not think myself equal to the command I am honored with." Washington wrote immediately to his wife: "You may believe me, my dear Patsey, that so far from seeking this appointment, I have used every endeavor in my power to avoid it, not only from my own unwillingness to part from you and the family, but from the consciousness of its being a trust too great for my capacity." Great men are often the most modest. [Sidenote: =On the way to take command=] [Sidenote: =News from Bunker Hill=]