Although it might seem a bit late, in this song we finally learn a bit about Washington's past. The song attempts to mimic the contents of a letter what Washington had written to Hamilton to bring him back to the front lines.
Even before the American Revolutionary War, Washington had a rich military history, primarily in the French and Indian War. In 1752, as the age of just 20, Washington was appointed a major in the Virginia militia.
2 years later in July 1954, Washington's small force was surrounded by French troops at Fort Necessity, leading to a massacre of his men, hence the lines "I led me men straight into a massacre/I witnessed their deaths firsthand".
An illustration of Fort Necessity
While telling George's story, it also serves as a warning for Hamilton, who has a rash and impulsive personality, that he has "no control who lives, who dies, who tells your story". Hamilton wants to take to the battlefield and wouldn't even mind dying as a martyr, but at the end of the day, he might be still alive, while all his men are dead, and thus he would be hailed as an incompetent officer rather than a hero. Hamilton is no doubt a genius at both writing and fighting, but in order to be successful, he needs to be mindful of his own life and his men's, because no matter what he does, he will be remembered in history, because "history has its eyes on you".
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