The challenge is to create a scenario where a sitting President leads American troops into a serious battle, preferably an extended campaign (so not the Whiskey Rebellion).
I can come up with two possibilities, and I am not excluding others. One is where a foreign power (probably Britain) attacks the US during the Washington Administration, and Washington takes personal command. Another would be if Lincoln had had a military background, and elected to personally command the Army of the Potomac (or, alternately, if a suitably anti-slavery general had been elected President in 1860).
My question is how might the Presidency be viewed differently. I think there might be a "Presidential Uniform", with a special rank insignia, which the President might wear in times of war or crisis. No doubt Bush would have trotted it out after 9/11. If Washington himself had commanded in the field, there might be a stronger tradition of electing Presidents with military experience. I could see John Knox making a serious bid on this basis.
I can come up with two possibilities, and I am not excluding others. One is where a foreign power (probably Britain) attacks the US during the Washington Administration, and Washington takes personal command. Another would be if Lincoln had had a military background, and elected to personally command the Army of the Potomac (or, alternately, if a suitably anti-slavery general had been elected President in 1860).
My question is how might the Presidency be viewed differently. I think there might be a "Presidential Uniform", with a special rank insignia, which the President might wear in times of war or crisis. No doubt Bush would have trotted it out after 9/11. If Washington himself had commanded in the field, there might be a stronger tradition of electing Presidents with military experience. I could see John Knox making a serious bid on this basis.