Biographical Sketches Of The Generals Of The Continental Army Of The Revolution

Biographical Sketches OF THE GENERALS OF THE CONTINENTAL ARMY OF THE REVOLUTION.

PRINTED FOR SALE AT MOUNT VERNON. 1889. University Press: John Wilson and Son, Cambridge ....

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A LIST OF THE GENERAL OFFICERS OF THE REVOLUTIONARY ARMY,

And Dates of their Appointment by the Continental Congress, from June 17, 1775, to the close of the war. I. GEORGE WASHINGTON, Commander-in-Chief , Appointed June 17, 1775. II. MAJOR-GENERALS. (Ranked in order as given below.) III. BRIGADIER-GENERALS. (The following-named officers of the above were Major-Generals in commission at the end of the war.) IV. MAJOR-GENERALS AT THE CLOSE OF THE WAR....

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PREFACE.

New York , Oct. 5, 1888. Dear Mrs. Leiter ,—According to promise, I have sent you by express to-day a list of the general officers in the Revolution who were commissioned by the Continental Congress. There were others, not in the list, and well known as generals who served through the Revolution, but they held their commissions in the State Militia. The list is made in the order of the date of commission, and their rank was determined by this date. The collection of portraits I have sent you for

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GEORGE WASHINGTON.

George Washington, born at Pope’s Creek, near Bridge’s Creek, Westmoreland County, Virginia, on the 22d of February, 1732, was the son of Augustine Washington and his second wife Mary Ball. His earliest known ancestor in this country was John Washington, who came to Virginia from England in 1657. Augustine Washington died when George was but twelve years of age, leaving to his widow the care of five children and a large property. George’s education was such as was afforded by the local schools,

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ARTEMUS WARD.

Artemus Ward, born in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, in 1727, graduated at Harvard College in 1748. Soon after, he entered public life as a representative in the Colonial Assembly, and later was a delegate in the first Provincial Congress, and justice of the peace in his native town in 1752. Having gained some reputation for military ability during the French and Indian War, he was appointed commander-in-chief of the Massachusetts troops on the 19th of May, 1775, and held that rank until the arrival

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CHARLES LEE.

Charles Lee, born in 1731 at Dernhall in Cheshire, England, was destined by his parents, from his earliest youth, to the profession of arms; his education, therefore, was such as to further that purpose. In 1758, he came to New York with the British forces designed for the conquest of Louisburg, and served with distinction during the French and Indian War. Returning to England at the close of the war, he threw himself with characteristic ardor into politics; but finding this too tame a pursuit,

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JOHN PHILIP SCHUYLER.

John Philip Schuyler, born at Albany on the 22d of November, 1733, was of Dutch origin. He was the second son of John Schuyler, who was the nephew of Peter Schuyler,—a native of Albany, born in 1657. At the age of twenty-two he received the appointment of commissary under Lord Howe, and rendered valuable service throughout the French and Indian War. In 1755, he recruited a company for the army and was commissioned its captain, taking part in the battle of Lake George. His health failing, he was

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ISRAEL PUTNAM.

Israel Putnam, born at Salem, Massachusetts, on the 7th of January, 1718, was a lineal descendant of one of the Puritan Pilgrims. Even as a boy, he displayed that fearlessness and resolution that in later years characterized his military career. A fierce wolf was causing much loss of life among the sheep, and great annoyance to the farmers in the neighborhood, while cunningly eluding all their efforts to kill her. Putnam tracked her to her den, and descending into its gloomy recesses, shot her b

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RICHARD MONTGOMERY.

Richard Montgomery, born in Ireland, on the 2d of December, 1736, educated at Trinity College, Dublin, entered the British army at eighteen as ensign. He performed good service during the French and Indian War, taking an active part in the siege of Louisburg and at the storming of Quebec under Wolfe. At the close of the war, he obtained permission to return to Europe; but in 1772, he resigned his commission in the British army and came to New York, being fully in sympathy with the colonies in th

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JOHN THOMAS.

John Thomas, born in Marshfield, Massachusetts, in 1725, was a successful medical practitioner, entering the British army first as a surgeon, in 1746. He took a prominent part in the French and Indian War, but at its close devoted himself to his profession. He was, however, among the first to counsel resistance to British oppression, and having raised a regiment of volunteers, was appointed brigadier-general by the Provincial Congress on the 9th of February, 1775, and afterward received the same

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HORATIO GATES.

Horatio Gates, born in Malden, Essex County, England, in 1728, was the godson of Horace Walpole. Entering the military service of Great Britain at an early age, he soon rose to the rank of major. After the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle he was stationed with his regiment at Halifax. At the breaking out of the French and Indian War, he joined General Braddock’s army in the expedition against Fort Duquesne, and received in that battle a severe wound that prevented his taking an active part again until

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WILLIAM HEATH.

William Heath, born on the 2d of March, 1737, was the son of a farmer living in Roxbury, Massachusetts. Delighting in military exercise, he joined the militia company of his town. In 1765, he became a member of the “Ancient and Honorable Artillery” corps of Boston, subsequently becoming its commander. In 1770, he contributed a series of articles to a Boston newspaper, urging the importance of military training, etc. In 1774, he received an appointment in the Provincial army of Massachusetts, and

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JOSEPH SPENCER.

Joseph Spencer, born at East Haddam, Connecticut, in 1714, was an officer of militia, with the rank of colonel, during the French and Indian War. He was appointed brigadier-general on the 22d of June, 1775, by the Continental Congress, and major-general on the 9th of August, 1776. When the British fleet appeared off the coast of New England, in December of that year, he was sent with Arnold to take charge of the militia in that section. Spencer was in command at Rhode Island in 1778. Admiral Sir

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JOHN SULLIVAN.

John Sullivan, born in Berwick, Maine, on the 17th of February, 1740, was of Irish parentage, his father having emigrated to this country in 1723. He was public-spirited, and hating oppression, as a zealous advocate of American rights proved himself so able a partisan that in 1772 he was commissioned major of the militia. In 1774, he became a member of the Continental Congress, but resigned his seat to enter the army, being appointed a brigadier-general, on the 22d of June, 1775. Employed for a

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NATHANIEL GREENE.

Nathaniel Greene was born at Potowomut, within the jurisdiction of Warwick, Rhode Island, on the 6th of June, 1742. His ancestors, of good English extraction, were among the first settlers on the banks of Providence River. Having a natural aptitude for study, he spent his extra earnings for books, which trained and developed his mind, as physical toil and out-door sports had strengthened his body. In 1770, being elected to the General Assembly of Rhode Island, he acquitted himself with credit. F

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LORD STIRLING.

William Alexander, or according to his title, the Right Honorable William, Earl of Stirling, better known in history as Lord Stirling, was born in New York City, in 1726. His father, James Alexander, a native of Scotland, fled to this country in 1716 after the wars of the Pretender. Having been appointed Surveyor-General of New Jersey and New York, he was able to give much personal supervision to the education of his only son, and dying in 1756, left him an ample fortune. Thoroughly trained in m

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THOMAS MIFFLIN.

Thomas Mifflin, a descendant of one of the first settlers of Pennsylvania, was born in Philadelphia in 1744, and educated for the business of a merchant, which occupation he followed with much success. In 1772 and the year following, he represented Philadelphia in the Colonial Legislature, and in 1774 was one of the delegates for Pennsylvania to the first Congress. After the battle of Lexington he engaged promptly in enlisting and disciplining troops, being appointed major. July 4, 1775, Washing

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ARTHUR ST. CLAIR.

Arthur St. Clair, born in Edinburgh in 1734, graduated at the university of that city, and began the study of medicine. His ardent temperament, however, could ill brook the quiet monotony of a doctor’s life, so enlisting in the British army, he came to this country in 1755. He was present at the battle on the “Heights of Abraham,” and after the peace of 1763 was given command of Fort Ligonier in western Pennsylvania. During the next ten years, he purchased a tract of land, married, engaged in th

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ADAM STEPHEN.

Adam Stephen, born in Virginia about 1730, served first as captain, then colonel, under Washington throughout the French and Indian War, aiding materially in bringing that struggle to a close. At the beginning of the Revolution, Virginia gave him command of one of her seven regiments, and Sept. 4, 1776, Congress appointed him brigadier-general in the Continental army, promoting him to major-general Feb. 19, 1777. He was at the battle of Brandywine; but at Germantown his division became involved

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BENJAMIN LINCOLN.

Benjamin Lincoln, born Jan. 24, 1733, at Hingham, Massachusetts, led the life of a farmer; but warmly espousing the cause of the colonists when troubles began with Great Britain, was intrusted with various military offices, and after two years of active service with the Massachusetts troops, was commissioned major-general in the Continental army on the 19th of February, 1777. In the following October, he received a severe wound which lamed him for life, and prevented his rejoining the army until

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BENEDICT ARNOLD.

Benedict Arnold, born Jan. 14, 1741, in Norwich, Connecticut, ran away from home at the age of fifteen, and entered the military force of his native State, then marching to Albany and Lake George, to resist the French invasion. Growing weary of discipline, he deserted, returned home alone through the wilderness, and became a druggist’s clerk, afterward skipper of a New England schooner trading with the West Indies, and at times a horse-dealer. His spirit of adventure and his early taste of war l

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MARQUIS DE LAFAYETTE.

Marie Jean Paul Roch Yves Gilbert Motier, Marquis de Lafayette, was born at Chavagnac, in the province of Auvergne, France, on the 6th of September, 1757. He was educated at the military college of Duplessis, in Paris; graduating at sixteen, although offered a high position in the royal household, he preferred the career of a warrior, and at nineteen had risen to the rank of captain of dragoons. During the summer of 1776 his interest in the American colonies in their struggle for independence be

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BARON DE KALB.

Johann, Baron de Kalb, born in Hüttendorf, Bavaria, on the 29th of July, 1721, had gained in the armies of France the reputation of being a brave and meritorious officer. At the close of the Seven Years War, he married the daughter of a Holland millionnaire. In 1768, he came to this country as a secret agent of the French Government, and had already attained to the rank of brigadier-general in the French army, when he entered into an agreement with Silas Deane and Benjamin Franklin to join the C

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PHILIPPE CHARLES JEAN BAPTISTE TRONSON DU COUDRAY.

Philippe Charles Jean Baptiste Tronson du Coudray, born in Rheims, France, on the 8th of September, 1738, was educated to the vocation of a mining engineer, and ranked as one of the best in his native country, when in 1776, he offered his services to Silas Deane and Benjamin Franklin. These commissioners entered into an arrangement with Du Coudray by which, on condition of his furnishing certain military supplies, he was to enter the American service, with the rank and pay of major-general, and

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ROBERT HOWE.

Robert Howe, born in Brunswick County, North Carolina, in 1732, was of English descent. He married young, took his wife to England, and lived for two years with some relatives. Returning to this country, he was appointed in 1766 commander at Fort Johnson in North Carolina. At the beginning of the Revolution, he was a member of the Committee of Safety for his native county, and with General Woodford was in command of Norfolk when that place was attacked and destroyed by Lord Dunmore, on the 1st o

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ALEXANDER McDOUGAL.

Alexander McDougal, born on the island of Islay, Scotland, in 1731, was brought to New York while still a child, by his father. At first Alexander followed the sea, took part in the French and Indian War as commander of two privateers,—the “Barrington” and the “Tiger,”—and then settling in New York City, became one of her successful merchants. Keenly alive to the aggressive steps taken by the home Government in her dealings with her American dependencies, he drew upon himself censure and impriso

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THOMAS CONWAY.

Thomas Conway, born in Ireland on the 27th of February, 1733, was taken by his parents to France when he was but six years of age. Educated in that country, he entered her army, and in 1777 had attained the rank of colonel and the decoration of the Order of St. Louis. Seeing in the American Revolution a chance of rapid promotion, he sought an interview with Silas Deane, and came to this country with his promise that he should be appointed to a high rank in the Continental army. Congress redeemed

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BARON STEUBEN.

Frederick William Augustus Henry Ferdinand von Steuben, known in this country as Baron Steuben, was born in Magdeburg, Prussia, on the 15th of November, 1730. The son of a soldier, his earliest recollections were of the camp. At the age of ten years, returning with his father from a campaign in the Crimea, he was placed in the Jesuit College at Neisse, and later transferred to that at Breslau, distinguishing himself at both as a mathematician. When but fourteen, he served with his father in the

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WILLIAM SMALLWOOD.

William Smallwood, born in Kent County, Maryland, in 1732, was elected colonel of the Maryland battalion on the 2d of January, 1776; and on the 10th of July following, at the head of nine companies he joined Washington in New York. His troops took an active part in the battle of Brooklyn Heights on the 20th of August. Fighting desperately from sunrise until the last gun was fired at night, they lost nearly half their number. Again, on the 18th of October, at White Plains, the Maryland troops fou

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SAMUEL HOLDEN PARSONS.

Samuel Holden Parsons, born in Lyme, Connecticut, on the 14th of May, 1737, graduated at Harvard College in 1756, studied law and began its practice in 1759, was a member of the General Assembly of his native State from 1762 to 1774, was chosen colonel of militia in 1775, and appointed brigadier-general by Congress on the 9th of August, 1776. In 1779, he succeeded Putnam as commander of the Connecticut line of the army, was promoted to the rank of major-general on the 23d of October, 1780, and s

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CHEVALIER DUPORTAIL.

Louis Lebègue Duportail, born in France, was educated at the military school of Mézières, and considered an excellent engineer. When Congress instructed our commissioners in Paris to secure a few good engineers, Duportail was one of the four thus selected; and these were the only ones engaged by the express authority of Congress. On his arrival in this country, he was appointed colonel of engineers and promoted to the rank of brigadier-general on the 17th of November, 1777. He wintered with the

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HENRY KNOX.

Henry Knox, born in Boston in 1750, lost his father at an early age. His mother’s income being a slender one, and his devotion to her being very great, he soon felt the need of personal exertion, and before attaining his majority, had established himself as a bookseller. Having a natural fondness for military tactics, he joined a company of grenadiers, and thus when the smouldering fire of dissatisfaction against taxation without representation burst into the flames of the Revolution, Knox had g

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WILLIAM MOULTRIE.

William Moultrie, born in England in 1731, came of good Scotch ancestry. His education was such as could be gained at that early day in the South Carolina colony to which his family had removed while he was still a child. In 1761, as captain of a company of volunteers, he marched against the Cherokee Indians, and gained much of that military skill that made him such a conspicuous character during the Revolution. In 1775, he was a member of the South Carolina Provincial Congress, and when that bo

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SETH POMEROY.

Seth Pomeroy, born in Northampton, Massachusetts, on the 20th of May, 1706, was an ingenious and skilful mechanic, following the trade of a gunsmith. He entered the military service early in life, ranking as captain in 1744, and as major at the capture of Louisburg by the English in 1745. On the morning of the 17th of June, 1775, he entered Ward’s camp at Cambridge as a volunteer, having heard the artillery at Charlestown and feeling it a personal summons. Borrowing a horse from General Ward, he

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DAVID WOOSTER.

David Wooster, born in Stratford, Connecticut, on the 2d of March, 1710, graduated at Yale in 1738. At the breaking out of the war between England and Spain in 1739, he entered the Provincial army with the rank of lieutenant, but subsequently was given command of a vessel built and equipped by Connecticut for the defence of her coasts. In 1745, he took part in the expedition against Louisburg as commander of the war vessel “Connecticut,” which conveyed the troops to Cape Breton. The next year he

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JOSEPH FRYE.

Joseph Frye, born in Andover, Massachusetts, in April, 1711, was enterprising and intelligent, and at an early age represented his town in the General Court of the county. Entering the army, he was present at the siege of Louisburg and wrote the terms of the surrender. He was a colonel when Montcalm captured Fort William Henry in 1757. Being seized and stripped by an Indian, he was led away to torture; but overpowering and killing his captor, Frye fled into the woods, succeeded in eluding the sa

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JOHN ARMSTRONG.

John Armstrong was born at Carlisle, Pennsylvania, in 1758. He was an aid on General Gates’ staff, and served with him through the campaign against Burgoyne. On the 1st of March, 1776, he was appointed brigadier-general in the Continental service. In February, the following year, he received the appointment of adjutant-general of the Southern army, but in consequence of ill health was obliged to retire from the army for a time. After the war Armstrong was secretary of the State of Pennsylvania.

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WILLIAM THOMPSON.

William Thompson, born in Ireland about 1725, emigrated to the State of Pennsylvania. During the French and Indian War he was captain of a troop of mounted militia, and when in June, 1775, Congress ordered the raising of eight companies of riflemen by the State of Pennsylvania, Thompson was appointed colonel of the battalion. These troops were the first raised on demand of the Continental Congress, and reached the camp at Cambridge before the 14th of August; and on the 10th of November following

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ANDREW LEWIS.

Andrew Lewis, born in Donegal, Ireland, about 1730, was of Huguenot descent, his father coming to this country in 1732, and being the first white resident in Bellefonte, Augusta County, Virginia. In 1754, he joined an expedition to take possession of the lands lying along the Ohio, in which he acquired great reputation by his conduct at Braddock’s defeat in 1755, and for the part he took in all the Indian wars down to the time of the Revolution. He served under Washington in various capacities,

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JAMES MOORE.

James Moore, born in New Hanover, North Carolina, in 1737, was a lineal descendant of the Marquis of Drogheda, Ireland. He was a captain of artillery under Governor Tryon at the defeat of the Regulators at Alamance in 1771, and colonel of the first regiment of North Carolina troops that was raised for the defence of that State. In February, 1776, he was in command of the force a part of which, under Col. John A. Lillington and Col. Richard Caswell, won the first victory in the Revolution, at Moo

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BARON DE WOEDTKE.

Frederick William, Baron de Woedtke, born in Prussia about 1740, was for many years an officer in the army of Frederick the Great, where he attained the rank of major. Coming to Philadelphia with strong letters of recommendation to Benjamin Franklin from friends of America in Paris, he received from Congress a commission as brigadier-general in the Continental army on the 16th of March, 1776, and was ordered to join the Northern army under Schuyler. About three weeks before his death he took par

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JOHN WHITCOMB.

John Whitcomb, born in Lancaster, Worcester County, Massachusetts, in 1720, served with distinction in the French and Indian War. On account of his advanced age, he was not called into service at the beginning of the Revolution; but his soldiers were so much attached to him that they would serve under no other commander. His appeals to their patriotism being unavailing to keep them in the army, he determined to join the ranks as a volunteer; but Colonel Brewster, his successor, learning his will

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HUGH MERCER.

Hugh Mercer, born in Aberdeen, Scotland, in 1720, entered the army of Prince Charles Edward as assistant-surgeon, in 1745. The battle of Culloden, April 16, 1746, resulted in the total defeat of that unfortunate prince, sending him into exile, a proscribed wanderer, and scattering or exterminating his devoted followers. Emigrating to this country the following year, Mercer settled in Franklin County, Pennsylvania, and in 1755 fought his first battle in America under the leadership of John Armstr

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JOSEPH REED.

Joseph Reed, born in Woburn, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, in 1724, served during the French and Indian War. In 1765, he settled at Fitzwilliam, New Hampshire. When news of the battle of Lexington reached this peaceful neighborhood, he volunteered with many of his neighbors, and marched away to the camp at Cambridge, reaching there in time to participate in the battle of Bunker Hill, where with John Stark and the left wing of the army, posted behind a rail-fence, he aided in keeping the Briti

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JOHN NIXON.

John Nixon, born on the 4th of March, 1725, at Farmington, Massachusetts, entered the British army at the age of twenty, taking part in the expedition against Cape Breton and in the French and Indian War. He commanded a company of minute-men at Lexington, and a regiment at the battle of Bunker Hill. On the 9th of August, 1776, he received the appointment of brigadier-general. He was in active service until 1780, when ill health, and the effects of a severe wound received at Bunker Hill, compelle

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JAMES CLINTON.

James Clinton, born on the 13th of August, 1736, at the family residence, in what is now Orange County, New York, received an excellent education under the supervision of his father, paying much attention to the exact sciences, and early evincing that taste for military enterprise which he inherited from his English ancestors. In 1756, he received the appointment of ensign in the militia, and remaining in the army after the peace of 1763, steadily rose by promotion to the rank of lieutenant-colo

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CHRISTOPHER GADSDEN.

Christopher Gadsden, born in Charleston, South Carolina, in 1724, was sent to England at an early age to receive his education. Returning to America in 1741, he was placed in a Philadelphia counting-house, where he acquired methodical and strict business habits. Upon attaining his majority, he revisited England. Returning in a man-of-war, and the purser dying suddenly, the position was offered to him. He accepted the appointment, remained in the navy two years, and resigned to engage in commerci

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LACHLAN McINTOSH.

Lachlan McIntosh, born near Inverness, Scotland, on the 17th of March, 1727, emigrated with his family to America in 1736 and settled in Georgia. His early education was but limited, and at the age of seventeen, being thrown upon his own resources by the death of his father, he removed to Charleston, South Carolina, and entered a counting-house as clerk. After several years, however, he adopted the calling of land surveyor, married, and returned to Georgia, employing his spare time in the study

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WILLIAM MAXWELL.

William Maxwell, though little is known of his personal history, is believed to have been born in Ireland, and brought to New Jersey in his early life. He entered the colonial service in 1758, serving through the French and Indian War, and as colonel of one of the New Jersey regiments, took part in the disastrous campaign of 1776 in Canada. On the 23d of October of that year he was commissioned brigadier-general. He was with Schuyler on Lake Champlain, and later was attached to the main army und

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MATTHIAS ALEXIS ROCHE DE FERMOY.

Matthias Alexis Roche de Fermoy, born in the West Indies in 1737, was the thirty-fourth on the list of Continental brigadier-generals, his commission bearing date the 5th of November, 1776. On coming to this country and offering his services to Congress, Fermoy represented himself to be a colonel of engineers in the French army. While serving under Washington in the Trenton and Princeton campaigns, he was ordered on the 1st of January, 1777, to hold an advanced post on Mile Run, beyond Maidenhea

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ENOCH POOR.

Enoch Poor, born in Andover, Massachusetts, on the 21st of June, 1736, was educated in the common schools of his native place. Removing to Exeter, New Hampshire, he engaged in commercial pursuits until summoned by his country to take up arms in her defence. Immediately after the battle of Lexington, three regiments of militia were raised and equipped in New Hampshire, and the command of one intrusted to Poor. Serving first in New England, then in New York, and afterward joining in the ill-starre

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JOHN GLOVER.

John Glover, born in Salem, Massachusetts, on the 5th of November, 1732, joined the army under Washington in 1775, with a regiment of a thousand men raised in the district about his native town. Being composed almost entirely of Marblehead fishermen, it was known as the “amphibious regiment,” and was one of the finest in the whole Continental service. It was at first the Twenty-first, and after the reorganization of the army the Fourteenth, Massachusetts Regiment. It was this body of men, under

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JOHN PATERSON.

John Paterson, born in New Britain, Connecticut, in 1744, graduated at Yale College in 1762, taught school, practised law, and was justice of the peace in his native town. Removing to Lenox, Massachusetts, he was elected a member of the first Provincial Congress of that State, which met at Salem in October, 1774; and of the second, whose place of meeting was Cambridge, in February, 1775. Deeply interested in the welfare of his country, he busied himself in enrolling and organizing a regiment of

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JAMES MITCHELL VARNUM.

James Mitchell Varnum, born in Dracut, Massachusetts, in 1748, graduated with a high reputation for scholarship in 1769, at the age of twenty, from Rhode Island College, now Brown University. He adopted the law as his profession, was admitted to the Bar, and rapidly acquired an extensive and lucrative practice. Reading the signs of the times aright, and feeling that soon there must be an appeal to arms, he joined the “Kentish Guards,” and in 1774 was made commander. Soon after the battle of Lexi

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ANTHONY WAYNE.

Anthony Wayne, born Jan. 1, 1745, in the township of Easttown, Chester County, Pennsylvania, was of Irish parentage. In boyhood he showed the military bias of his aspirations by his close study of mathematics and engineering, that he might fit himself to enter the army. From his marriage, in 1767, to 1774, his occupation was that of a farmer and land surveyor; in 1774–75 he was a member of the Pennsylvania Legislature, and in the latter year, of the Committee of Public Safety. The oppressive pol

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JOHN PHILIP DE HAAS.

John Philip de Haas, born in Holland about 1735, belonged to an ancient family of northern France. In 1750, he removed with his father to the United States, settling in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. He served as ensign during the French and Indian War, taking part in Bouquet’s battle with the Indians at Bushy Run near Pittsburg, August 5 and 6, 1763. In 1776, he was appointed colonel of the First Pennsylvania Regiment, and assisted in the Canada campaign and at Ticonderoga. After the battle of

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JOHN PETER MUHLENBURG.

John Peter Muhlenburg, born in Trappe, Pennsylvania, on the 1st of October, 1746, was the son of Reverend Henry Melchior Muhlenburg, D.D., the founder of the Lutheran Church in America. At the age of sixteen he was sent to Germany to be educated, but while at Halle enlisted in a regiment of dragoons, from which he was released through the intervention of friends. Returning to this country in 1766, he studied theology with his father, and was for a time pastor of the Lutheran churches in New Germ

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FRANCIS NASH.

Francis Nash, born in Prince George’s County, Virginia, on the 10th of March, 1720, was clerk of the Superior Court of Orange County, North Carolina, and holding a captain’s commission also under the crown, helped to defeat the Regulators at the battle of Alamance in 1771. These insurgents had banded together for the avowed purpose of shutting up the courts of justice, destroying all officers of law and all lawyers, and prostrating the Government itself. In August, 1775, he received a commission

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GEORGE WEEDON.

George Weedon, born in Fredericksburg, Virginia, 1730, was an innkeeper in his native town, and a zealous patriot. Entering the army near the beginning of the Revolution in 1776, he held the rank of lieutenant-colonel, and was commissioned brigadier-general by the Continental Congress on the 21st of February, 1777. He took part in the battles of Brandywine and Germantown, in the former co-operating with General Greene in checking the British pursuit, and rallying the retreating American troops.

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JOHN CADWALADER.

John Cadwalader, born in Philadelphia, Jan. 10, 1743, began early in life to take an active part in public affairs. He was a member of the Philadelphia Committee of Safety, and captain of a military organization, half admiringly and half derisively dubbed by the citizens the “Silk Stocking Company,” nearly every member of which subsequently held a commission in the patriot army. On the formation of the city battalions, he was placed in command of one of them. When Washington, after his retreat t

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WILLIAM WOODFORD.

William Woodford, born in Caroline County, Virginia, in 1735, served with credit in the French and Indian War, and was appointed colonel of the second regiment raised by his native State in 1775. Evincing considerable military ability, and gaining a decided victory at the battle of Great Bridge, where he was in command, upon the recommendation of Washington he was made brigadier-general in the Continental army, Feb. 21, 1777. At the battle of Brandywine, he was severely wounded in the hand. Havi

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GEORGE CLINTON.

George Clinton, born on the 26th of July, 1739, in Little Britain, Ulster County, New York, was of English extraction, his father having emigrated to this country in 1729. In early life he evinced his love of enterprise and adventure by leaving home to sail in a privateer. Upon his return he joined the English troops in the French and Indian War; but when peace was restored, he left the army and entered upon the study of the law. Gaining reputation in his profession, he was chosen in 1768 a repr

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EDWARD HAND.

Edward Hand, born in Clyduff, King’s County, Ireland, Dec. 31, 1744, came to this country in 1774 with the Eighteenth Royal Irish Regulars as surgeon’s mate. Upon reaching America, he resigned his position, settled in Pennsylvania, and began the practice of medicine. The following year, however, found him taking part in the great strife, as lieutenant-colonel in Thompson’s Regiment. March 1, 1776, he was promoted to be a colonel, and took part with his regiment in the battles of Long Island and

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CHARLES SCOTT.

Charles Scott, born in Cumberland County, Virginia, in 1733, was in the colonial service as a non-commissioned officer at the time of Braddock’s defeat in 1755. At the beginning of our struggle for independence, he raised and commanded the first company south of the James River. In April, 1777, Congress promoted him from colonel to brigadier-general. At the retreat of Lee from Monmouth, Scott was the last to leave the field. Having been previously employed in the recruiting service in Virginia,

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EBENEZER LARNED.

Ebenezer Larned or Learned, born at Oxford, Massachusetts, on the 18th of April, 1728, served in the French and Indian War as the captain of a company of rangers. At the beginning of the Revolution, he marched to Cambridge at the head of a regiment of eight months’ militia. Arriving after the battle of Lexington, he took part in the conflict at Bunker Hill, and during the siege of Boston unbarred the gates with his own hands, when the British evacuated that city, March 17, 1776. Being wounded sh

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CHEVALIER PRUD’HOMME DE BORRE.

Chevalier Prud’homme de Borre, a French general of thirty-five years’ service in Europe, was appointed brigadier-general in the Continental army on the 11th of April, 1777. His commission was dated Dec. 1, 1776, in accordance with a compact made with him in France by the American commissioner. In July, De Borre captured a Tory under circumstances which warranted, in his judgment, the prisoner’s immediate trial and execution,—a summary proceeding, for which he was severely and justly reprehended

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JEDEDIAH HUNTINGTON.

Jedediah Huntington, born in Norwich, Connecticut, on the 4th of August, 1743, was educated at Harvard, and graduating there when he was twenty, delivered the first English oration ever pronounced in that university. He engaged in commercial pursuits with his father, and at the beginning of the Revolution was an active member of the Sons of Liberty, and first captain, then colonel, in one of the local regiments. Joining the Continental army at Cambridge in April, 1775, he aided in repulsing the

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JOSEPH REED.

Joseph Reed was born at Trenton, New Jersey, on the 27th of August, 1742. After a thorough and comprehensive education in the colonies, he adopted the law as his profession; and his advantages were greatly increased by special training at the Temple in London. Returning to America, he settled in Philadelphia and began to practise, but was keenly alive to all passing events, and gave the British ministry timely warning of what he thought the end would be, should the growing dissatisfaction with t

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COUNT KAZEMIERZ (OR CASIMIR) PULASKI.

Count Kazemierz (or Casimir) Pulaski, born in Podolia on the 4th of March, 1748, received a thorough military education by serving for a time in the guard of Duke Charles of Courland, and enlisting when twenty-one under his father’s banner for the rescue of Poland from her oppressors. Bereft of father and brother by the war, he yet succeeded for a time in baffling all attempts to bring his country into subjection; but at last in 1772 his enemies triumphed and the partition of Poland was the resu

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JOHN STARK.

John Stark, born in Londonderry, New Hampshire, on the 28th of August, 1728, was of Scotch descent, his ancestors having been among the followers of John Knox. His early life was spent in agricultural pursuits, hunting, and trapping,—vocations which, though hazardous and laborious, imparted a wonderful degree of physical power and mental resource. At the age of twenty-five, he was taken prisoner by the St. Francis tribe of Indians while on a hunting expedition, and detained many months; but such

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JAMES WILKINSON.

James Wilkinson, born near the village of Benedict on the Patuxent, Maryland, in 1757, began the study of medicine with an uncle, who, having been a surgeon under Wolfe, told his pupil many anecdotes of the war in Canada. The military bias of his mind was further strengthened by what he saw during his frequent visits to the barracks, while attending the medical school in Philadelphia. Although having returned home to practise his profession, upon hearing the news concerning the battle of Bunker

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CHEVALIER DE LA NEUVILLE.

Chevalier de la Neuville, born about 1740, came to this country with his younger brother in the autumn of 1777, and tendered his services to Congress. Having served with distinction in the French army for twenty years, enjoying the favorable opinion of Lafayette, and bringing with him the highest testimonials, he was appointed on the 14th of May, 1778, inspector of the army under Gates, with the promise of rank according to his merit at the end of three months. He was a good officer and strict d

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JETHRO SUMNER.

Jethro Sumner, born in Virginia about 1730, was of English parentage. Removing to North Carolina while still a youth, he took an active part in the measures which preceded the Revolution, and believed the struggle to be unavoidable. Having held the office of paymaster to the Provincial troops, and also the command at Fort Cumberland, he was appointed in 1776, by the Provincial Congress, colonel in the Third North Carolina Regiment, and served under Washington at the North. On the 9th of January,

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JAMES HOGAN.

James Hogan of Halifax, North Carolina, was chosen to represent his district in the Provincial Congress that assembled on the 4th of April, 1776. Upon the organization of the North Carolina forces, he was appointed paymaster of the Third Regiment. On the 17th of the same month, he was transferred to the Edenton and Halifax Militia, with the rank of major. His military services were confined to his own State, though commissioned brigadier-general in the Continental army on the 9th of January, 177

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ISAAC HUGER.

Isaac Huger, born at Limerick Plantation at the head-waters of Cooper River, South Carolina, on the 19th of March, 1742, was the grandson of Huguenot exiles who had fled to America after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes. Inheriting an ardent love of civil and religious liberty, reared in a home of wealth and refinement, thoroughly educated in Europe and trained to military service through participation in an expedition against the Cherokee Indians, he was selected on the 17th of June, 1775,

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MORDECAI GIST.

Mordecai Gist, born in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1743, was descended from some of the earliest English settlers in that State. Though trained for a commercial life, he hastened at the beginning of the Revolution to offer his services to his country, and in January, 1775, was elected to the command of a company of volunteers raised in his native city, called the “Baltimore Independent Company,”—the first company raised in Maryland for liberty. In 1776, he rose to the rank of major, distinguishing h

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WILLIAM IRVINE.

William Irvine, born near Enniskillen, Ireland, on the 3d of November, 1741, was educated at Trinity College, Dublin. Though preferring a military career, he adopted the medical profession to gratify the wishes of his parents. During the latter part of the Seven Years War between England and France, he served as surgeon on board a British man-of-war, and shortly before the restoration of peace, he resigned his commission, and coming to America in 1764, settled at Carlisle, Pennsylvania, where he

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DANIEL MORGAN.

Daniel Morgan, born in New Jersey about 1736, was of Welsh parentage. His family having an interest in some Virginia lands, he went to that colony at seventeen years of age. When Braddock began his march against Fort Duquesne, Morgan joined the army as a teamster, and did good service at the rout of the English army at Monongahela, by bringing away the wounded. Upon returning from this disastrous campaign, he was appointed ensign in the colonial service, and soon after was sent with important de

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MOSES HAZEN.

Moses Hazen, born in Haverhill, Massachusetts, in 1733, served in the French and Indian War, and subsequently settled near St. Johns, New Brunswick, accumulating much wealth, and retaining his connection with the British army as a lieutenant on half-pay. In 1775, having furnished supplies and rendered other assistance to Montgomery during the Canadian campaign, the English troops destroyed his shops and houses and carried off his personal property. In 1776, he offered his services to Congress, w

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OTHO HOLLAND WILLIAMS.

Otho Holland Williams, born in Prince George’s County, Maryland, in 1749, entered the Revolutionary army in 1775, as a lieutenant. He steadily rose in rank, holding the position of adjutant-general under Greene. Though acting with skill and gallantry on all occasions, his fame chiefly rests on his brilliant achievement at the battle of Eutaw Springs, where his command gained the day for the Americans by their irresistible charge with fixed bayonets across a field swept by the fire of the enemy.

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JOHN GREATON.

John Greaton, born in Roxbury, Massachusetts, on the 10th of March, 1741, was an innkeeper prior to the Revolution, and an officer of the militia of his native town. On the 12th of July, 1775, he was appointed colonel in the regular army. During the siege of Boston, he led an expedition which destroyed the buildings on Long Island in Boston Harbor. In April, 1776, he was ordered to Canada, and in the following December he joined Washington in New Jersey, but was subsequently transferred to Heath

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RUFUS PUTNAM.

Rufus Putnam, born in Sutton, Massachusetts, on the 9th of April, 1738, after serving his apprenticeship as a millwright, enlisted as a common soldier in the Provincial army in 1757. At the close of the French and Indian War, he returned to Massachusetts, married, and settled in the town of New Braintree as a miller. Finding a knowledge of mathematics necessary to his success, he devoted much time to mastering that science. In 1773, having gone to Florida, he was appointed deputy-surveyor of the

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ELIAS DAYTON.

Elias Dayton, born in Elizabethtown, New Jersey, in July, 1737, began his military career by joining Braddock’s forces, and fought in the “Jersey Blues” under Wolfe at Quebec. Subsequently he commanded a company of militia in an expedition against the Indians, and at the beginning of the Revolution was a member of the Committee of Safety. In July, 1775, he was with the party under Lord Stirling that captured a British transport off Staten Island. In 1776, he was ordered to Canada; but upon reach

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COUNT ARMAND.

Armand Tuffin, Marquis de la Rouarie, born in the castle of Rouarie near Rennes, France, on the 14th of April, 1756, was admitted in 1775 to be a member of the body-guard of the French king. A duel led to his dismissal shortly after. Angry and mortified, he attempted suicide, but his life was saved; and in May, 1777, he came to the United States, where he entered the Continental army under the name of Count Armand. Being granted leave to raise a partisan corps of Frenchmen, he served with credit

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THADDEUS KOSCIUSKO.

Thaddeus Kosciusko, born near Novogrodek, Lithuania, on the 12th of February, 1746, was descended from a noble Polish family. Studying at first in the military academy at Warsaw, he afterward completed his education in France. Returning to his native country, he entered the army and rose to the rank of captain. Soon after coming to America, he offered his services to Washington as a volunteer in the cause of American independence. Appreciating his lofty character and fine military attainments, W

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STEPHEN MOYLAN.

Stephen Moylan, born in Ireland in 1734, received a good education in his native land, resided for a time in England, and then coming to America, travelled extensively, and finally became a merchant in Philadelphia. He was among the first to hasten to the camp at Cambridge in 1775, and was at once placed in the Commissariat Department. His face and manners attracting Washington, he was selected March 5, 1776, to be aide-de-camp, and on the 5th of June following, on recommendation of the commande

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SAMUEL ELBERT.

Samuel Elbert, born in Prince William parish, South Carolina, in 1743, was left an orphan at an early age, and going to Savannah, engaged in commercial pursuits. In June, 1774, he was elected captain of a company of grenadiers, and later was a member of the local Committee of Safety. In February, 1776, he entered the Continental army as lieutenant-colonel of Lachlan McIntosh’s brigade, and was promoted to colonel during the ensuing September. In May of the year following, he was intrusted with t

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CHARLES COTESWORTH PINCKNEY.

Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, born at Charleston, South Carolina, on the 25th of February, 1746, was educated in England. Having qualified himself for the legal profession, he returned to his native State and began the practice of law in 1770, soon gaining an enviable reputation and being appointed to offices of trust and great responsibility under the crown. The battle of Lexington, however, changed his whole career. With the first call to arms, Pinckney took the field, was given the rank of cap

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WILLIAM RUSSELL.

William Russell, born in Culpeper County, Virginia, in 1758, removed in early boyhood with his father to the western frontier of that State. When only fifteen years of age, he joined the party led by Daniel Boone, to form a settlement on the Cumberland River. Driven back by the Indians, Boone persevered; but Russell hastened to enter the Continental army; and he received, young as he was, the appointment of lieutenant. After the battle of King’s Mountain in 1780, he was promoted to a captaincy,

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FRANCIS MARION.

Francis Marion, born at Winyah, near Georgetown, South Carolina, in 1732, was of Huguenot descent; his ancestors, fleeing from persecution in France, came to this country in 1690. Small in stature and slight in person, he possessed a power of endurance united with remarkable activity rarely surpassed. At the age of fifteen, yielding to a natural love of enterprise, he went to sea in a small schooner employed in the West India trade. Being shipwrecked, he endured such tortures from famine and thi

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THOMAS SUMTER.

Thomas Sumter, born in Virginia in 1734, served in the French and Indian War, and afterward on the Western frontier. Establishing himself finally in South Carolina, he was appointed in March, 1776, lieutenant-colonel of the Second Regiment of South Carolina Riflemen, and sent to overawe the Tories and Loyalists in the interior of the State. The comparative immunity from war secured to South Carolina during the first years of the Revolution deprived Sumter of any opportunity for distinguishing hi

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ADDENDA.

Prior to the adoption of the “federal Constitution,” partisan feeling ran high on this side of the Atlantic,—indeed, it was no unusual thing for a man to speak of the colony in which he was born as his country . When the struggle for American independence began, though men were willing to fight in defence of their own State, there was great difficulty in filling the ranks of the Continental army,—not only because of the longer time for which they were required to enlist, but also because once in

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