Biographies

all  |  people you should know

Artists  |  British  |  Colonials  |  Enslaved People  |  French  |  Germans  |  Natives  |  Spanish  |  Others

A

  • Abigail AdamsWife of John Adams, mother of John Quincy Adams
  • John AdamsSigner of the Declaration of Independence, diplomat, second President
  • John Quincy AdamsDiplomat, senator, sixth President, congressman
  • Samuel AdamsBoston revolutionary leader, signer of the Declaration of Independence
  • William Alexander, Lord StirlingContinental Army general — one of Washington’s best
  • Ethan AllenFarmer, businessman, patriot, politician, founder of the state of Vermont
  • John AndréBritish officer, hung for his involvement in Benedict Arnold’s treason
  • Benedict ArnoldTalented Continental Army general who defected to the British

B

C

D

  • Silas DeaneMerchant, Continental congressman, diplomat to France
  • John DickinsonLawyer, politician, writer, signer of the Declaration of Independence
  • Carl Emil von DonopGerman general; died at the Battle of Fort Mercer.

E

  • Ralph EarlAmerican painter, principally of portraits
  • William EllerySigner of the Declaration of Independence from RI
  • comte d’EstaingFrench admiral, unsuccessful against British fleet at Newport

F

  • Benjamin FranklinPhiladelphia printer, writer, scientist, inventor, diplomat to France
  • William FranklinRoyal Governor of NJ, Loyalist, son of Benjamin Franklin

G

  • Thomas GageBritish general, Royal Governor of MA, ordered troops to Concord
  • Horatio GatesContinental Army general, won the Battles of Saratoga
  • King George IIIKing of Great Britain in 1760, at age 22, until 1820
  • George GermainBritish lord; American Secretary, 1775—82
  • Elbridge GerrySigner of the Declaration of Independence, vice president under Madison
  • comte de GrasseFrench Admiral, defeated British fleet at Chesapeake Capes
  • Nathanael GreeneContinental Army general; key to winning the war in the South

H

I

  • Ralph IzardFinancier, Continental congressman, U.S. senator

J

  • John JayLawyer, diplomat, Continental congressman, first Chief Justice
  • Thomas JeffersonLawyer, polymath, drafter of the Declaration of Independence, third President
  • John Paul JonesNaval commander for the U.S.
  • Ona JudgePersonal attendant to Martha Washington
  • Jupiter (Evans?)Slave of Thomas Jefferson, both born in 1743

K

L

M

  • James MadisonConstitutionalist, congressman, Secretary of State, fourth President
  • John MarshallSoldier, lawyer, politician, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court
  • George MasonPolitician, author, political philosopher, Anti-Federalist
  • James MonroeSoldier, lawyer, VA governor, diplomat, fifth President
  • Richard MontgomeryIrish-born Continental Army general, formerly a British officer
  • Daniel MorganMilitia soldier, military tactician, Continental Army general
  • Gouverneur MorrisMerchant, financier; helped draft then stylized the Constitution
  • Robert MorrisSigner of the Declaration of Independence, “Financier of the Revolution”

N

O

P

R

S

  • Philip SchuylerContinental Army general, U.S. Senator for NY
  • Roger ShermanLawyer and politician from CT; signer of the Declaration of Independence
  • Arthur St. ClairContinental Army general, surrendered Fort Ticonderoga to the British
  • Baron von SteubenContinental Army general from Prussia, drilled the troops at Valley Forge
  • Richard StocktonLawyer, signer of the Declaration of Independence
  • Gilbert StuartAmerican painter of quintessential portraits, including George Washington
  • John SullivanContinental Army general, Continental Congress delegate, NH governor
  • Thomas SullyBritish-born painter, mainly of portraits

T

  • Banastre TarletonBritish officer of the cavalry, notorious for his exploits in the South
  • Tench TilghmanAide-de-camp to Washington throughout the Revolutionary War
  • John TrumbullAmerican artist, soldier at the Battle of Trenton

V

W

  • Joseph WarrenBoston doctor, revolutionary, militia general
  • Mercy Otis WarrenPlaywright, historian, sister of James Otis, Jr., wife of James Warren
  • George WashingtonCommander-in-chief of the Continental Army; first President
  • Martha WashingtonWife of George Washington, First Lady; 1731—1802
  • Anthony WayneContinental Army general, defeated the British at Stony Point
  • Benjamin WestAmerican-born painter who moved to England in 1763
  • James WilsonLawyer, signer of the Declaration of Independence, Supreme Court justice
  • John WitherspoonCollege of NJ president, signer of the Declaration of Independence
  • George WytheLawyer, teacher, scholar, signer of the Declaration of Independence

Washington’s courage thrilled his men. But he was not an enlisted man’s general. He did not interact personally with them, and would not let his officers do so either. Officers under his command who supped or slept in enlisted men’s headquarters were routinely punished. To Washington’s mind, discipline and hierarchy were central to maintaining unit cohesion and integrity. No warm, outgoing person, notes one historian, Washington bound men to him by his own sense of justice and dedication. Yet how his troops viewed him, and in what ways their opinions may have changed over time, is uncertain. Although nineteenth-century history books and old soldiers’ memoirs resonate with references to the commander-in-chief’s inspirational presence, diaries and other accounts written in wartime rarely mention him.

Edward G. Lengel
General George Washington: A Military Life (2005)