Revolutionary Commanders

Admiral Sir Thomas Graves KB RN (1747 – 1814), admiral, third son of The Rev. John Graves of Castle Dawson, County Londonderry, by his wife Jane Hudson. He was a nephew of Admiral Samuel Graves…

Samuel Graves was born into a distinguished naval family. he married Elizabeth Sedgwick, daughter of John Sedgwick of Staindrop (County Durham). After Elizabeth’s death in 1767 he married again in 1769, his second wife being…

Brunswick Lieutenant Colonel Friedrich Baum (1727–1777) was a Brunswick dragoon Lieutenant Colonel in British service during the American Revolutionary War. Baum served under Major General Friedrich Adolf Riedesel commanding the Dragoon Regiment Prinz Ludwig in support of…

Major Patrick Ferguson (1744 – October 7, 1780) was a Scottish officer in the British Army, early advocate of light infantry and designer of the Ferguson rifle. Patrick Ferguson was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, on May…

Francis Rawdon-Hastings, 1st Marquess of Hastings KG PC (9 December 1754 – 28 November 1826), styled The Honourable Francis Rawdon from birth until 1762 and as The Lord Rawdon between 1762 and 1783 and known…

General Sir Banastre Tarleton, 1st Baronet, GCB (21 August 1754 – 16 January 1833) was a British soldier and politician. He is today probably best remembered for his military service during the American War of Independence….

Admiral Mariot Arbuthnot (1711 – 31 January 1794) was a British admiral, who commanded the Royal Navy’s North American station during the American War for Independence. A native of Weymouth, England, Arbuthnot was the son of Robert…

General Sir Archibald Campbell, KB (21 August 1739 – 31 March 1791) was a British Army officer who fought in the Seven Years War, the American Revolutionary War and later served as a colonial governor in…

General John Burgoyne (24 February 1722 – 4 August 1792) was a British army officer, politician and dramatist. He first saw action during the Seven Years’ War when he participated in several battles, mostly notably…

Thayendanegea or Joseph Brant(1743 – 24 November 1807) was a Mohawk military and political leader who was closely associated with Great Britain during and after the American Revolution. He was perhaps the most well-known North…

John was born to Walter Butler and Deborah Ely, née Dennison, in New London, Connecticut in 1728.[1] His family soon moved to the frontier in the Mohawk Valley near modern Fonda, New York. In 1752,…

2nd Baronet of New York (5 November 1741 – 4 January 1830) was a loyalist leader during the American Revolution. He was the son of the Superintendent of Indian Affairs, Sir William Johnson, 1st Baronet,…

Lt. Col. Charles Mawhood was the British commander at The Battle of Princeton. Born 23 December 1729 Military service began with purchase of a cornetcy in 1st Dragoon Guards (1 August 1752). Served in the…

Early life and career Rall was probably born as a so-called “soldier child” ca. 1725. He was a son of Captain Joachim Rall from Stralsund, who served in the regiment of Major General Donop. The…

Wilhelm Reichsfreiherr[1] zu Innhausen und Knyphausen (1716 – 1800) was a Hessian general during the American Revolutionary War. In the army of Hesse-Kassel (or Hesse-Cassel), Knyphausen was a lieutenant general. With 42 years of military…

Lieutenant-General Hugh Percy, 2nd Duke of Northumberland, FRS (14 August 1742 – 10 July 1817), born Hugh Smithson, was the eldest son of the 1st Duke of Northumberland. He assumed the surname of Percy by…

John Pitcairn (December 28, 1722 – June 17, 1775) was a British Marine who was stationed in Boston, Massachusetts at the start of the American Revolutionary War. Pitcairn was born in late 1722 in Dysart,…

Major-General Francis Smith (1723-1791), was the British commander during most of the Battle of Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts on April 19, 1775. The battle ignited the Revolutionary War that would see America become a separate…

Overview Guy Carleton, 1st Baron Dorchester, KB (Strabane, Co. Tyrone, Ireland, September 3, 1722 – November 10, 1808 Stubbings, Maidenhead, Berkshire), known between 1776 and 1786 as Sir Guy Carleton, was an Irish-British soldier who…

Overview Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis (31 December 1738 – 5 October 1805) was a British military commander and colonial governor. In the United States, he is best remembered as one of the leading British…

Overview General Sir Henry Clinton KB (April 16, 1730 – December 23, 1795) was a British army officer and politician who is best known for his service as a general during the American Revolutionary War,…

Overview William Howe, 5th Viscount Howe, KB, PC (10 August 1729 – 12 July 1814) was a British General who was Commander-in-Chief of British forces during the American Revolutionary War, one of the three Howe…

John Sevier (23 September 1745 – 25 September 1815) served four years (1785–1789) as the only governor of the State of Franklin and twelve years (1796–1801 and 1803–1809) as Governor of Tennessee, and as a U.S….

William Campbell (1745 – August 22, 1781) was a farmer, pioneer, and soldier in western Virginia. In 1775 he was one of the 13 signers of the Fincastle Resolutions, the earliest statement of armed resistance to…

Colonel James Johnston was born (ca.1742 and died on July 23, 1805) in North Carolina. He was the son of Henry Johnston of Scottish descent. He was married to Jane Eward, the daughter of Robert Ewart. James…

Charles Armand Tuffin, Marquis de la Rouërie (April 1751 – January 1793), also known in the United States as Colonel Armand, was a Breton cavalry officer who served under the American flag during the American War…

Johann von Robaii, Baron de Kalb (June 19, 1721 – August 19, 1780), born Johann Kalb, was a German soldier who served as a major general in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. Not…

Benjamin Lincoln (January 24, 1733 – May 9, 1810) was an American army officer. He served as a major general in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. He is notable for overseeing the largest…

Robert Magaw (1738-1790) was a lawyer from Carlisle, Pennsylvania who served as a colonel in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. Robert was born in Strabane, County Tyrone, Ireland and brought to Maryland…

Life Alexander was an educated, ambitious and bright young man and was proficient in mathematics and astronomy. He joined his mother in a successful provisioning business and, in 1747, married Sarah Livingston, the daughter of…

Overview Daniel Morgan (c. 1736 – July 6, 1802) was an American pioneer, soldier, and United States Representative from Virginia. One of the most gifted battlefield tacticians of the American Revolutionary War, he later commanded…

Early life Putnam was born in Salem Village (now Danvers), Massachusetts, to Joseph and Elizabeth Putnam, a prosperous farming family of Salem witch trials fame. His birthplace, Putnam House, still exists. In 1740, at the…

Life Prescott was born in Groton, Massachusetts to Benjamin Prescott (1696–1738) and Abigail Oliver Prescott (1697–1765). He married Abigail Hale (1733–1821) on April 13, 1758, and they had one son, also named William, in 1762….

Overview Ethan Allen was a farmer, businessman, land speculator, philosopher, writer, and American Revolutionary War patriot, hero, and politician. Allen was an early American revolutionary and guerrilla leader who, before the war, fought against the…

Overview Benedict Arnold V was a general during the American Revolutionary War who originally fought for the American Continental Army but switched sides to the British Empire. While he was still a general on the…

Dr. Joseph Warren (June 11, 1741 – June 17, 1775) was an American doctor and soldier, remembered for playing a leading role in American Patriot organizations in Boston and for his death as a volunteer private…

William Heath (March 7, 1737 – January 24, 1814) was an American farmer, soldier, and political leader from Massachusetts who served as a major general in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. Heath…

History is not always as simple and factual as it often appears. Such is the case of North Bridge hero John Buttrick and his epochal role on 19 April 1775. By October 1774, the Provincial…

Colonel James Barrett was one of the primary figures in the events surrounding the first battle of the American Revolution. The chief objective of the British march through Middlesex County on April 19, 1775, was…

John Parker (July 13, 1729 – September 17, 1775) was an American farmer, mechanic, and soldier, who commanded the Lexington militia at the Battle of Lexington on April 19, 1775. Parker was born in Lexington…

Early life Montgomery was born in Swords, Ireland. His father, Thomas Montgomery, was a former British Army Officer and a representative of Irish Parliament. He spent most of his childhood near Donegal, where he learned…

George Washington (February 22, 1732 – December 14, 1799) served as the first President of the United States of America, (1789–1797), and led the Continental Army to victory over the Kingdom of Great Britain in the…