Revolutionary War Generals

This general volunteered service following the Battle of Lexington, and joined Ethan Allen in the attack on Fort Ticonderoga. He was appointed by Washington to capture Quebec, severely wounded in the failed December 1775 assault. He attacked the British forces at Valcour Island, on an armed flotilla. Passed over for promotion, Washington personally persuaded him not to resign. Won a victory at Ft. Stanwix after reconsidering resignation, and commanded advance battalions at Saratoga, where he was wounded. He was sent to command Philadelphia and lived extravagantly among Loyalists. After marrying Peggy Shippen, he made overtures to the British, planning to betray his command of West Point. When his contact, Major John Andre was captured. Later, as part of the British army, he raided New London, Connecticut, and Virginia.

This general was known as "Gentleman Johnny" due to his cultural tastes, and he was also a playwright. He began his Revolutionary War career under Gage, returning to England after ineffectiveness. He was sent to reinforce Canada, and formulated a plan to isolate New England with help of Barry St. Leger and William Howe. The plan worked as far as capturing Fort Ticonderoga, but met resistance when he sent his Hessians to attack Bennington. His troops met trouble at Saratoga. Repulsed at Freedman's Farm, and forced to surrender after Bemis Heights. Paroled on the condition to return to England, he was later appointed commander-in-chief of Ireland.

This general was an aristocrat and ensign in 1756, and found in the battle of Minden. By the end of the Seven Years' War, he was a captain. Made aide-de-camp to George III, he made colonel and was promoted to major general before being sent to the U.S. After a failed assault on Charleston, he served under Sir Henry Clinton in the battle of Long Island, but made his mark in fighting at Manhattan and pursued Washington across the Hudson, being outmaneuvered by Washington at Princeton (01/03/1777). Follow that, he directed the main attack on Brandywine Creek, and reinforced Germantown as part of the plan to capture Philadelphia. Led the Battle of Monmouth before returning home to attend his sick wife. Sent South in 1780 to capture Charleston, he bested Horatio Gates at Camden SC and Nathanael Greene at Guilford Courthouse the latter a pyrrhic victory that likely led to his failed attempts to contain Lafayette in Virginia. Following this, he occupied Yorktown where he was surrounded by American and French forces, and forced to surrender. Following the war, he was appointed governor-general of India.

This general was wounded in the French and Indian War attack on Fort Duquesne, it was there he first met George Washington. Recommended by Washington to be adjutant general of the army at the revolution, he organized the army around Boston into an effective force. Promoted to major general in 1776, he was assigned to command troops in New York, originally intended to invade Canada. Briefly put in charge of Philadelphia, he then directed the defense of New York against Burgoyne's invasion attempt, leading to victory at Saratoga. Then, he became involved in the Conway cabal, an attempt to replace Washington. Placed in command of the South over Washington's objections by Congress, he lost the battle of Camden to Cornwallis and was replaced by Nathanael Greene. Washington then accepted him back as his deputy, the position he held until the end of the war.

Irish-born, he led grenadiers across the Plains of Abraham in the 1759 siege of Quebec under close friend General James Wolfe. He became governor of Quebec in 1768; the time of the Intolerable Acts where he sent troops from Canada to reinforce the British military in Boston. After the outbreak of war, he repulsed Montgomery and Arnold's attempt to seize Quebec City. In 1776, hid naval forces defeated Arnold again at Valcour Island in Lake Champlain. He resigned as governor after John Burgoyne arrived in Canada to lead the British expedition that met disaster at Saratoga. Sent back to Europe in June 1778, he sat out all but the end of the war, returning in 1782 as commander-in-chief after Cornwallis' surrender.

Prominent Rhode Island politician prior to the revolution, he raised a militia company but was no elected captain due to his partial lameness. Following his work in the siege of Boston, he marched his army to Long Island where they helped in battles around New York. After the loss of Fort Washington, he led forces into victory at the Battle of Trenton, and then distinguished himself by protecting Washington's force at the Battle of Brandywine. He then led the main force at Germantown, and led evacuation positions along the Delaware River. His logistical talents led Washington to appoint him quartermaster general, a position only accepted if he were allowed to retain field troops. Then led those troops as the right wing in the Battle of Monmouth. His position led to conflicts with the Continental Congress, and he resigned in 1780. Appointed to command to replace the traitorous Benedict Arnold, he was sent South after Gates' loss at Camden. Joining with Daniel Morgan, he retreated from Cornwallis' forces for 2 months until a counterattack at Guilford Courthouse, which gave victory to the British. Until the end of the war, he led an offensive against Lord Rawdon's-- and later Duncan Stuart's-- forces, besieging Augusta and Ninety-Six, and establishing headquarters in Charleston following Washington's victory at Yorktown.

A veteran of the siege of Louisbourg, and the leader of the ascent to the Plains of Abraham, he was dispatched as second-in-command to Gage. After directing the attack on Bunker Hill, he succeeded Gage as commander, and coordinated a strategic retreat from Boston to Halifax. In Halifax, he coordinated a joint army-navy attack resulting in a campaign which allowed the British to control New York City. After attempting to secure peace to no avail, he led the attack on Philadelphia, defeating Washington at Brandywine. Afterwards, he wintered in Philadelphia, waiting for acceptance of his resignation. May 25th, 1778 he relinquished command to Sir Henry Clinton and returned home.

After receiving military training in native Poland and France, he resigned his commission due to poor advancement prospects. Offering assistance to the Americans, he helped fortify the Delaware River in 1776. That winter, he planned the building of Fort Mercer, and the next spring headed north with General Gates, becoming the engineering advisor to the northern army and building fortifications that helped win the battle of Saratoga. In 1780 he worked on building defenses for West Point, then headed South when Gates was appointed command of the Southern Department. Serving under Nathanael Greene, he distinguished himself in the Race to Dan River, and at Charleston, but mishandled the siege of Ninety-Six. Following the war, he was granted American citizenship but returned home to Poland.

Approached by the U.S. Minister to France, Silas Deane, he arrived in April 1777 with Baron de Kalb. First seeing action at Brandywine, his primary early action was in supporting Washington during the winter at Valley Forge. After participating at the battles of Barren Hill, Monmouth, and Newport, he returned to France, raising support for an expeditionary force. Returning to America a colonel, he served on the board that sentenced Major Andre to death, and then faced Andre’s confederate Benedict Arnold in battle in 1781. Working in Virginia, he evaded Cornwallis’ forces, until reinforcements arrived in June. Coordinating with Anthony Wayne, the two combined forces against Cornwallis in the battle of Green Spring. Pursuing Cornwallis to Yorktown, Lafayette helped the siege there until Cornwallis’ surrender.

A Scotsman who had fled Britain after killing two people, he added a last name to his given name to hide from law enforcement. At the outbreak of conflict, he was commissioned to outfit the Alfred, which he then used to help capture New Providence in the Bahamas. The next month, April 1776, he led the Alfred against the HMS Glasgow, leading him to promotion and command of the Providence. Ordered to raid until his provisions were expended, he sank and captured ships in operations along the Atlantic coast. Commissioned captain of the Ranger, he sailed to France to acquire new ships, and captured the HMS Drake. Leaving Europe in August 1779, he met the British ship Serapis in battle on September 23, 1779.