Although on the surface it appeared as a positive for Washington, it quickly turned sour as the leader of the Iroquois tribe killed many of the unarmed French prisoners. The killing of an unarmed prisoner was considered a war crime and though fair or not this extreme negative fell back on Washington. As a result he was demoted by the British army to a lower inferior level much to his dismay. Leadership role was stripped and he served as a provisionary officer for most of the remaining major battle conflicts. It was through this demotion where Washington took advantage of this porous situation and made it a positive. His skills as a leader were reformed as he learned how to correctly lead a military unit, drill his recruits, and maintain discipline within his unit. .
It was on June 14th 1775, when Washington was officially named general of the Continental Army. His vision was for the war was civilian rule; Washington tried to imitate the ways of Oliver Cromwell. Washington had military brilliance in the field of battle but this was not the limitation of his brilliance. His brilliance came from with within his own army in regard to motivation. He not only had to fight the enemy British but had to fight the will of his own men. From the beginning all the way through the end there was a constant pitch from Washington to continue their efforts throughout the war. Even after decisive victories there was a growing amount of resistance against continuing. Soldiers discouraged by lack of financial support and regular pay, openly discussed openly wanton disbandment. The peak of this displeasure occurred after the decisive victory at Yorktown in October of 1781. Washington heard word of what was called "Newburg Conspiracy" through a printed camp circular. The commander challenged his soldiers going as far as too question where their loyalty in regards to the country. He also refused to let anyone meddle in his affair as leader.