Oliver Cromwell (1599-1658) moved from a legitimate to a charismatic role, reversing the course followed by Washington. Yet therewere surface similarities in their careers. Both led military rebellions against English monarchs–Cromwell against Charles I, Washington against George III. Each took local militia–the “train bands” of Cromwell, the colonial levies of Washington–and forged professional armies on a national scale. Each infused a new ethos in his troops–a religious spirit in Cromwell’s case, a post-colonial American identity in Washington’s.
