List of military leaders in the American Revolutionary War

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Template:Short description Template:More citations needed Template:US Revolutionary War

The list of military leaders in the War of American Independence includes those in the forces of the United States; those in the forces of Great Britain, which fought without European allies, but with German mercenaries; and, as the war widened to an international conflict after 1778 to a war between European powers, the list includes leaders in the forces of the U.S. ally France, and France's ally Spain. This is a compilation of some of the most important leaders among the many participants in the war, including Native Americans. The British counted on the colonists Loyalists fighting in the American Revolution to aid the king's cause, but the numbers were below what they had expected.

In order to be listed here an individual must satisfy one of the following criteria:

  • Was a nation's top civilian responsible for directing military affairs
  • Held a commission of at least brigadier general or rear admiral in an organized military during the conflict
  • Was the highest-ranking member of a given nation's force that participated in the conflict (if that rank was not at least major general)
  • Was the highest-ranking member of a given state/colonial militia
  • Was a provincial or territorial governor who is documented to have directed a military action
  • Was a Native American tribal leader who had a documented leadership position in military action

Some individuals held concurrent positions in more than one organization, and a number of Continental Army generals also held high-ranking positions in their state militia organizations. Many U.S. combatants were militiamen, not regular troops. Militia are defined as being a part of the organized armed forces of a country liable to call only in emergency or a body of citizens organized for military service.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

United States

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Second Continental Congress appoints George Washington commander-in-chief of the newly established Continental Army
Seal of the Board of War and Ordnance, the administrative entity appointed by the Continental Congress to oversee the Continental Army

When armed hostilities began between colonial insurgents and the British Army began outside of Boston, Massachusetts in April 1775, there was no unified colonial army, but rather local militias in each colony. The Second Continental Congress, the elective body from each of the Thirteen Colonies, established the Continental Army in June 1775. It appointed Virginian George Washington as commander-in-chief. The Continental Congress established a standing committee, the Board of War and Ordnance, to function like the British Ministry of War. The board's official seal has military symbolism but also the Phrygian cap of freedom. The Continental Army was established as a regular standing army, with regiments recruited from each state (former colonies), with artillery and cavalry regiments with men from different states.<ref>Cox, Caroline. "The Continental Army" in The Oxford Handbook of the American Revolution. New York: Oxford University Press 2013, 162</ref>

General and Commander-in-chief

Name Period of service in the rank, promotions and previous military experience. Termination of service Commentary
George Washington June 15, 1775 to Dec. 23, 1783.<ref name=Heitman/> Member of the Second Continental Congress. Former Colonel of the Virginia Regiment in the French and Indian War.<ref>Fitzpatrick 1936, pp. 511, 514.</ref>
Resigned at the end of the war.<ref>Chernow 2011, p. 455.</ref> 		George Washington was the commander-in-chief of the Continental Army, reporting to the Second Continental Congress. His activities, including command of the Main Army, the direction of the overall war effort on behalf of the United States, and administration of the entire army, were overseen by the Board of War, established in June 1776. He held the rank of general during the war. He was subsequently appointed lieutenant general in 1798 and was posthumously promoted to General of the Armies of the United States in 1976.

Continental Army

Major generals in chronological order

Name Period of service in the rank, promotions and previous military experience. Termination of service Commentary
Artemas Ward June 17, 1775 to April 23, 1776.<ref name=Heitman>Heitman 1914, pp. 9-10.</ref> General and Commander-in-Chief of the Massachusetts troops.<ref>Heitman 1914, p. 568.</ref>
Resigned officially due to "want of health", but really did not want to leave Boston after the British evacuation.<ref>Tarbox 1876, p. 109.</ref> 		The first overall leader of the assembled militia forces outside Boston after the war began, and ranked second in seniority to Washington in the Continental Army. He commanded the Eastern Department, which was largely responsible for containing the British at Newport, until 1777, when he resigned due to poor health
Charles Lee June 17, 1775 to January 10, 1780.<ref name=Heitman/> Half-pay Lieutenant Colonel in the British Army, formerly of the 103rd Foot.<ref>Adams 1933, p. 98.</ref>
Dismissed by Congress.<ref>Chernow 2011, p. 436.</ref> 		An experienced British military officer, Lee had hoped to be appointed commander-in-chief instead of Washington. He was a somewhat difficult subordinate of Washington's, delaying execution of orders or deliberately flouting them at times. During the retreat across New Jersey from New York, Lee was captured by the British in a surprise raid. Quickly exchanged, he participated in the Philadelphia campaign. After he was convicted by a court martial for disobeying orders during the Battle of Monmouth, he resigned from the army in 1780.
Philip Schuyler June 19, 1775 to April 19, 1779.<ref name=Heitman/> Member of the Second Continental Congress.<ref>Krout 1934, p. 478.</ref>
Resigned due to a dispute with Horatio Gates.<ref>Tucker 2018, vol. 4, p. 626.</ref> 		As head of the Northern Department, Schuyler planned the 1775 invasion of Quebec, but was prevented from leading it by an illness. He was active in the defense of New York in 1777, but the withdrawal from Ticonderoga led Congress to replace him with Horatio Gates. He was also active in Indian relations, cultivating the neutrality or support of tribes in New York.
Israel Putnam June 19, 1775 to June 3, 1783.<ref name=Heitman/> Promoted from colonel of the 3rd Connecticut Regiment.<ref>Heitman 1914, p. 455.</ref>
Resigned officially at the end of the war. However, his active service ended in December 1779 due to a stroke.<ref>Hubbard 2017, p. 173.</ref> 		Active from the first days of the revolution, Putnam led the forces in the field at the Battle of Bunker Hill. After performing poorly in the Battle of Long Island, Washington assigned him to do primarily recruiting in the Highlands Department. He suffered a stroke in 1779, which ended his military career.
Richard Montgomery Dec. 9, 1775 to Dec. 31, 1775. (Brigadier General June 22, 1775).<ref name=Heitman/> Former Captain in the 17th Foot.<ref>Adams 1934, p. 98.</ref>
Killed in action during the Battle of Quebec.<ref>Shelton 1994, p. 149.</ref> 		Leading the Invasion of Canada in 1775 as a brigadier, Montgomery was killed in the Battle of Quebec, without knowing that he had been promoted to major general following the Siege of Fort St. Jean.
John Thomas March 6, 1776 to June 2, 1776. (Brigadier General June 22, 1775).<ref name=Heitman/> Lieutenant General of Massachusetts Militia.<ref>Heitman 1914, p. 548.</ref>
Died from smallpox during the retreat from Canada.<ref>Kohn 2008, p. 317.</ref> 		Active from the beginning of the war in Boston, Thomas commanded the besieging forces at Roxbury. Sent to take over the forces besieging Quebec City, he died of smallpox during the army's retreat in June 1776.
William Heath Aug. 9, 1776 to Nov. 3, 1783. (Brigadier General June 22, 1775).<ref name=Heitman/> Major General of Massachusetts Militia.<ref>Heitman 1914, p. 284.</ref> Having a prominent role training troops in the early days of the war at the Siege of Boston, Heath spent most of the war leading the Highland Department, since Washington was apparently not confident of his ability in the field.Template:Citation needed
Horatio Gates May 16, 1776 to Nov. 3, 1783. (Brigadier General June 17, 1775).<ref name=Heitman/>
Half-pay Major in the British Army, formerly of the Royal American Regiment.<ref>Adams 1931, p. 185</ref> 		Served at first as Washington's adjutant, and then in the Northern Department. He was in command during the pivotal battle of Saratoga in 1777, following which he lobbied Congress as a potential replacement for Washington. He was afterward given command of the Southern Department, where his army was disastrously defeated at Camden in 1780, ending his field leadership.
Joseph Spencer Aug. 9, 1776 to Jan. 13, 1778. (Brigadier General June 22, 1775 from Colonel of 2nd Connecticut Regiment).<ref name=Heitman/><ref>Heitman 1914, p. 511.</ref>
Resigned because Congress had ordered an investigation of his military conduct.<ref>United States Congress 1961, p. 1638.</ref>
John Sullivan Aug. 9, 1776 to Nov. 30, 1779. (Brigadier General June 22, 1775 when member of the Second Continental Congress).<ref name=Heitman/><ref name=USC1674/>
Resigned due to ill health.<ref name=USC1674>United States Congress 1961, p. 1674.</ref> 		Active from the first days of the war, he led a relief column and ended up in command of the invasion of Quebec during its final weeks in 1776. He then served under Washington in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. He led American forces in the failed Battle of Rhode Island, and then led the 1779 Sullivan Expedition, which destroyed Indian villages in New York.
Nathanael Greene Aug. 9, 1776 to Nov. 3, 1783. (Brigadier General June 22, 1775).<ref name=Heitman/> Brigadier General of Rhode Island troops.<ref>Heitman 1914, p. 260.</ref> One of the best strategists in the Continental Army. He served under Washington in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, and served for a time as the army's Quartermaster General. He led the ultimately successful campaign in 1780 and 1781 against the British "Southern Strategy" as commander of the Southern Department, effectively becoming the Continental Army's number two general.
Benedict Arnold Feb. 17, 1777 to Sept 25, 1780. (Brigadier General Jan. 10, 1776 from Colonel of 20th Continental Regiment).<ref name=Heitman/><ref>Heitman 1914, p. 75.</ref>
Deserted to the British.<ref>Chernow 2011, p. 382.</ref> 		A leading force in the early days of the war, participating in the 1775 capture of Fort Ticonderoga and the invasion of Quebec. He played a crucial role in the 1777 Battles of Saratoga, in which he was severely wounded. In 1780, he acquired command of the Highlands Department with the intent of surrendering West Point to the British. The plot was uncovered and he fled to join the British, for whom he served until the end of 1781 as a brigadier general.
William Alexander Feb. 19, 1777 to Jan. 15, 1783. (Brigadier General March 1, 1776 from Colonel of 1st New Jersey Regiment).<ref name=Heitman/><ref>Heitman 1914, p. 66.</ref>
Died in active service.<ref>Alden 1928, p. 175.</ref> 		Spending most of the war with the Main Army under Washington, he was captured during the Battle of Long Island in 1776 and not long after that, exchanged for Montfort Browne. He also served with distinction in numerous battles in New Jersey. He died in 1783 shortly before the end of the war.
Thomas Mifflin Feb. 19, 1777 to Feb. 25, 1779. (Brigadier General May 16, 1776 from Quartermaster General with rank of colonel).<ref name=Heitman/><ref>Heitman 1914, p. 3912.</ref>
Resigned when under investigation by Congress for his actions as Quartermaster General.<ref>Peeling 1933, p. 607.</ref> 		Serving in a variety of roles during and after the American Revolution, several of which qualify him to be counted among the Founding Fathers. He was the first Governor of Pennsylvania, serving from 1790 to 1799; he was also the last President of Pennsylvania, succeeding Benjamin Franklin and serving from 1788 until 1790.
Arthur St. Clair Feb. 19, 1777 to Nov. 3, 1783. (Brigadier General Aug. 9, 1776 from Colonel of 2nd Pennsylvania Battalion).<ref name=Heitman/><ref>Heitman 1914, p. 516.</ref> Leading troops during the Quebec, New York, and New Jersey campaigns, and then put in command of Fort Ticonderoga, where he made the critical decision to retreat before Burgoyne's advancing army. Publicly criticized for this step, which saved his army, he held no more field commands, but served as an aide to Washington for the rest of the war.
File:Flag of None (square).svg Adam Stephen Feb. 19, 1777 to Feb. 25, 1777. (Brigadier General Sep. 4, 1776 from Colonel of 4th Virginia Regiment).<ref name=Heitman/><ref>Heitman 1914, p. 517.</ref>
Court-martialed and cashiered for drunkenness and firing on friendly troops at the battle of Germantown.<ref>Hannings 2008, p. 223.</ref> 		Leading forces under Washington in the New York, New Jersey, and Philadelphia campaigns. Following a misstep in the Battle of Germantown in which, against orders, he advanced his troops to a point where they accidentally exchanged friendly fire with forces of Anthony Wayne, Stephen was court martialed and cashiered out of the army.
File:General Benjamin Lincoln-restored.jpg Benjamin Lincoln Feb. 19, 1777 to Oct. 29, 1783.<ref name=Heitman/> Commissioned from major general of Massachusetts Militia.<ref>Robinson 1933, p. 260.</ref> Present at three major surrenders during the war. Active in the New York campaign, Washington sent him to assist Horatio Gates in the Northern Department, where he was wounded after the Battle of Bemis Heights. Next he was put in command of the Southern Department, he was forced to surrender his army to Sir Henry Clinton when they were surrounded in Charleston in 1780. Exchanged later that year, he was present at the Siege of Yorktown where, as second-in-command to Washington, he accepted Cornwallis' sword, which Cornwallis had sent his second-in-command to deliver. From 1781 to 1783 he served as Secretary at War.
File:Marquis de Lafayette 2.jpg Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette July 31, 1777 to Nov. 3, 1783.<ref name=Heitman/> Captain in the French Régiment de Noailles dragons.<ref>Monaghan 1933, p. 536.</ref> Serving with Washington in the Philadelphia campaign, he fought in the Battle of Rhode Island, and successfully resisted significant engagements with British forces in Virginia before the armies of Washington and Rochambeau arrived. He was a favorite of Washington's, who treated him like a son.
File:Flag of None (square).svg Philip De Coudray Aug. 11, 1777 to Sept. 15, 1777.<ref name=Heitman/> Chef de brigade in the French Corps-Royal d'artillerie.<ref name=Tucker>Tucker 2018.</ref>
Died in a riding accident.<ref name=Tucker/>
File:Johann de Kalb.jpg Johann de Kalb Sept. 15, 1777 to Aug. 19, 1780.<ref name=Heitman/> Former Captain and lieutenant colonel by brevet in the French Régiment d'Anhalt.<ref>Kapp 1862, p. 34.</ref>
Died of wounds received in the battle of Camden.<ref>Monaghan 1933a, p. 253.</ref> 		Serving under Washington at Valley Forge, he was sent to the Southern Department with Horatio Gates when he took over that department.
File:MajGenRobertHoweOval.jpg Robert Howe Oct. 20, 1777 to Nov. 3, 1783. (Brigadier General March 1, 1776 from Colonel of 2nd North Carolina Regiment).<ref name=Heitman/><ref>Heitman 1914, p. 304.</ref> Commanding the Southern Department, he led a campaign against East Florida that failed due to disagreements with state militia commanders, and was forced to surrender Savannah. He then served under Anthony Wayne in the Highlands Department, seeing action at Stony Point, and under Washington in the Main Army, where he put down a mutiny in 1781.
File:AlexanderMcdougall.jpg Alexander McDougall Oct. 20, 1777 to Nov. 3, 1783. (Brigadier General Aug. 9, 1776.)<ref name=Heitman/> Former Colonel of 1st New York Regiment).<ref>Heitman 1914, p. 368.</ref> Active in the New York and Philadelphia campaigns, he spent most of the war in the Highlands Department under William Heath.
File:Thomas Conway (cropped).jpg Thomas Conway Dec. 13, 1777 to April 28, 1778. (Brigadier General May 13, 1777).<ref name=Heitman/> Colonel in the French Régiment d'Anjou.<ref>Rossie 1975, p. 189.</ref>
Resigned when he lost his command after the Conway Cabal had been revealed.<ref>Adams 1930, p. 366.</ref> 		Inspector General of the Continental Army. Involved with the Conway Cabal together with Horatio Gates, he later served with Émigré forces during the French Revolutionary War.
File:Baron Steuben by Peale, 1780.jpg Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben May 15, 1778 to April 15, 1784.<ref name=Heitman/> (Volunteer Inspector General March 28, 1778.)<ref>Heitman 1914, p. 518.</ref> Former Captain in the Prussian Infantry Regiment von Salmuth.<ref>Lockhart 2008, p. 20.</ref> His military drills and instruction, which included swearing and shouting commands to officers, were especially helpful at Valley Forge, are generally credited with significantly improving the performance of the Continental Army. He served in active roles in the Philadelphia campaign, and under Nathanael Greene in his southern campaign, before returning to Washington's army at Yorktown. He authored Regulations for the Order and Discipline of the Troops of the United States, the United States Army's training guide until the War of 1812. At President Washington's request, he created a blueprint for the future of the U.S. Military, including the establishment, framework, and curriculum for America's service academies, starting with West Point.<ref>Lockhart 2008, p. 301.</ref>
File:General William Smallwood SC-000580.jpg William Smallwood Sept. 15, 1780 to Nov. 3, 1783. (Brigadier General Oct. 23, 1776 from Colonel of 1st Maryland Regiment).<ref name=Heitman/><ref>Heitman 1914, p. 500.</ref> Served with distinction in the New York campaign and was twice wounded at White Plains. He then served in the Philadelphia campaign, and was in the debacle at Camden in 1780. He also commanded the militia of North Carolina for a few months.
File:Flag of None (square).svg Samuel Holden Parsons Oct. 23, 1780 to July 22, 1782. (Brigadier General Aug. 9, 1776 from Colonel of 10th Continental Regiment.)<ref name=Heitman/><ref>Heitman 1914, p. 428.</ref>
Dissatisfied and in poor health, he repeatedly asked leave to resign but it was not granted by Congress until the end of hostilities.<ref>Clark 1934, p. 271.</ref>
File:Henry Knox by Peale.jpg Henry Knox Nov. 15, 1781 to June 20, 1784. (Brigadier General Dec. 27, 1776 from Colonel of Artillery).<ref name=Heitman/><ref>Heitman 1914, p. 336.</ref> Chief artillery officer of the Continental Army. Active with Washington throughout most of the war, he brought Ticonderoga's cannons to Boston in early 1776, and saw the most action from New York to Yorktown. He oversaw the creation of an artillery training centre that was a precursor to the United States Military Academy, and later served as the first United States Secretary of War. Knox initiated the concept of The Society of the Cincinnati, formally organizing the society and authoring its founding document as the war ended in 1783.<ref>The Origins of The Society of the Cincinnati, retrieved January 27, 2021</ref><ref>Thomas, p. 90.</ref><ref>Metcalf, p. 188.</ref>
File:Duportail exb.jpg Louis Lebègue Duportail Nov. 15, 1781 to June 20, 1784. (Brigadier General Nov. 17, 1777 from Colonel of Engineers).<ref name=Heitman/><ref>Heitman 1914, p. 208.</ref> Lieutenant-Colonel in the French Corps royal du genie.<ref>Ferreiro 2016, p. 139.</ref> He oversaw the improvement of defenses throughout the states and directed the engineering efforts at Yorktown.
File:William Moultrie portrait.jpg William Moultrie Oct. 15, 1782 to Nov. 3, 1783. (Brigadier General Sept. 16, 1776 from Colonel of 2nd South Carolina Regiment).<ref name=Heitman/><ref>Heitman 1914, p. 54.</ref>

Brigadier generals

File:George Clinton, governor of New York (portrait by Ezra Ames).png
George Clinton
  • George Clinton (New York). Fought in the French and Indian War; served as governor of New York simultaneously with his leadership in the war for independence; became 4th vice president of the U.S.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
  • Amasa Davis (Massachusetts).<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref> Began as quartermaster to a Boston regiment. Served with his brother Robert Davis. Amasa and his brother both participated in the Boston Tea Party.

  • Elias Dayton (New Jersey). Fought in the French and Indian War and Pontiac's War; father of a signer of the U.S. Constitution<ref>Template:CongBio Retrieved on 2009-5-18</ref>
  • Joseph Frye (Massachusetts), initially a member of the militia, became a brigadier in the Continental Army, but resigned his commission due to incapacity for active service.
File:Gadsden flag.svg
Gadsden Flag designed by Christopher Gadsden
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John Glover

|CitationClass=web }}</ref> along with his regiment rowing Washington across the Delaware, the Battle of Long Island, and leading one of the first integrated regiments in the American Revolution.<ref name=":5">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

  • Mordecai Gist (Maryland) in command of the Maryland Line; served at the Siege of Yorktown.
  • John Greaton. (Massachsetts) Continental brigadier general from 7 January 1783 to 3 November 1783.<ref name="Heitman, Francis B 1775">Heitman, Francis B; Historical Register of the Officers of the Continental Army during the War of the Revolution: April, 1775, to December, 1783. New, Revised and Enlarged Edition of 1914. With Addenda by Robert H. Kelby, 1932. Clearfield. Baltimore, MD. 1982. Template:ISBN. Page 10</ref> He died less than two months later in Roxbury on December 16, 1783.<ref name=":0" /> His widow, Sarah Greaton, wrote to the Continental Congress two years later to request the land grant that her husband was owed be paid out in cash instead.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref> The Continental Congress denied the request in July, 1788.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

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File:David Wooster, Esqr. Commander-in-Chief of the Provincial Army against Quebec.jpg
David Wooster
  • David WoosterTemplate:KIA participated in the Quebec invasion, serving as military governor of Montreal. He led the Canadian Department after the death of Richard Montgomery. Following the retreat from Quebec, he returned to his native Connecticut, where he led the state militia. He was killed in the 1777 Battle of Ridgefield.

Foreigner Officers in the Continental Army

Militia leaders by state

File:CaesarRodney (cropped).jpeg
Caesar Rodney

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    • Timothy Danielson Lead the Hampshire County Militia, was a brigadier general in the Massachusetts Militia throughout the Revolutionary War.
    • John Fellows
    • James Frye Senior Colonel and Commander of the Essex County Militia, known as "Frye's Regiment"; later absorbed into the 10th Massachusetts Regiment (Cambridge Brigade) with Frye as the senior Colonel of the Bridge; was in command of this Brigade at Bunker Hill as the senior militia Colonel in the state of Massachusetts.
    • Samuel McClellan
    • Joseph Palmer<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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|CitationClass=web }}</ref> Colonel Jonathan Warner's Regiment of Minute Men, commanded by Captain Jonathan Barns, marched from Brookfield, Massachusetts on April 19, 1775 upon news of the British advance on Lexington and Concord.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

File:JosephWarrenByCopley.jpeg
Joseph Warren
    • Joseph WarrenTemplate:KIA an American physician who played a leading role in American Patriot organizations in Boston in the early days of the American Revolution, eventually serving as President of the revolutionary Massachusetts Provincial Congress. Warren enlisted Paul Revere and William Dawes on April 18, 1775, to leave Boston and spread the alarm that the British garrison in Boston was setting out to raid the town of Concord and arrest rebel leaders John Hancock and Samuel Adams. Warren participated in the next day's Battles of Lexington and Concord. Warren had been commissioned a major general in the colony's militia shortly before the June 17, 1775 Battle of Bunker Hill. Rather than exercising his rank, Warren served in the battle as a private soldier, and was killed in combat when British troops stormed the redoubt atop Breed's Hill.
  • New Hampshire
  • New Jersey
File:Brig.-Gen. Philemon Dickinson, member of the Continental Congress (NYPL b12349181-420040).jpg
Philemon Dickinson

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File:Allen Jones.jpg
Brigadier General Allen Jones
File:General William Smallwood SC-000580.jpg
Major General William Smallwood
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Francis Marion

Continental Navy

Template:See also

  • John Adams Famous Bostonian and Son of Liberty member, wrote the Navy's Code of Discipline. Additionally, through the Continental Congress commissioned the first war ships for defending the Colonies and seizing British resources from reaching enemy troops.<ref>A Look at the Birth of the Continental Navy</ref>
  • John Barry was a captain in the Continental Navy. During his time as a commander he oversaw the commands of four American warships. He is known, along with John Adams and John Paul Jones, as the "Father of the American Navy".
  • John Hazelwood was a commodore in the Pennsylvania and Continental Navies, active in the Philadelphia campaign and siege of Fort Mifflin.
File:Cpt John Paul Jones.jpg
John Paul Jones
File:Esek Hopkins, Commander.jpg
Esek Hopkins
  • Esek Hopkins was an established Sea Captain and Brigadier General of Militia from Rhode Island who was named commodore and commander in chief of the Continental Navy in 1776. He disregarded his instructions from Congress to take the fleet to cruise the Southern colonies, instead attacking British colonial holdings in the Caribbean in the Battle of Nassau. This act was Initially hailed as heroic, he was subsequently censured by Congress in August 1776, and was relieved of his command in January 1778.
  • James Nicholson of Virginia was the designated Senior Captain in the Navy for political reasons in October 1776. He was the senior officer in the navy after Commodore Hopkins's relief in 1778, but never exercised command over the whole navy because it had ceased to operate as an organized fleet.
  • Abraham Whipple was a commodore in the Continental Navy. In one of the first military actions of the revolution in 1772, Whipple led 50 Rhode Islanders in the capture and burning of the British revenue cutter Gaspee.
  • William Sisk was a captain in the Continental Navy under Commodore Whipple on the Notre Dame and a spy for Washington, Jefferson and Franklin. William's father John was a lead spy and in-law to Washington with more than sixty family members spying and fighting in the American Revolution.

Great Britain

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File:Allan Ramsay - King George III in coronation robes - Google Art Project.jpg
George III of Great Britain

At the head of the British forces was the King, George III. From 1772 to 1778 the office of Commander-in-Chief was vacant, but from 1778 to 1782 Sir Jeffery Amherst held the post, with the title of general on the Staff. He was succeeded in February 1782 by Henry Seymour Conway.

Next in importance to the Commander-in-Chief was the Secretary at War, who served as head of the War Office, and was bidden "to observe and follow such orders and directions as he should from time to time receive from the King or the general of the forces". Not until 1783 was he a minister responsible to parliament. At the start of part of the war the secretary was Lord Barrington. He was replaced in 1778 by Charles Jenkinson who held this position until the fall of Lord North's government.

Crown and Government officials

Commander-in-Chief of the Forces

Secretaries at War

Commander-in-Chief, North America

File:Thomas Gage John Singleton Copley.jpeg
Gen. Thomas Gage
File:Sirhenryclinton2.jpg
Sir Henry Clinton

Until the war was widened into a global conflict by France's entry in 1778, the war's military activities were primarily directed by the Commander-in-Chief, North America.

  • General Thomas Gage was commander-in-chief of North American forces from 1763 until 1775, and governor of the Province of Massachusetts Bay from 1774 to 1776. He presided over the rising tensions (with his actions sometimes contributing to them, in the opinions of some historians) that led to the outbreak of the war. He was recalled after the Battle of Bunker Hill.
File:Gen. Sir William Howe.jpg
William Howe
  • General William Howe replaced Gage, and personally directed the war effort in 1776 and 1777, including the British captures of New York City and Philadelphia. He failed to gain control over New Jersey, and his actions in taking Philadelphia contributed to the failure of John Burgoyne's Saratoga campaign. He resigned in early 1778.
File:Sirhenryclinton2.jpg
Sir Henry Clinton
  • Sir Henry Clinton served as commander-in-chief from 1778 to 1782. He oversaw the British army's retreat from Philadelphia, and then directed the Siege of Charleston, the landing of a large body of troops early in the "Southern strategy". He directed most British activities afterward from his base in New York, and played a role in negotiating Benedict Arnold's change of allegiance. Following Cornwallis' surrender at Yorktown, he was replaced by Guy Carleton.
File:General-Sir-Guy-Carleton 2.jpg
Sir Guy Carleton
  • Sir Guy Carleton was governor of Quebec from 1768 to 1777, overseeing the province's defense against the 1775 invasion, and its first counterattack. Denied command of what became John Burgoyne's campaign, he resigned in 1777. In 1782, King George appointed him to replace Clinton as commander-in-chief. He directed the withdrawal of British troops from the states and helped to organize the relocation of thousands of Loyalists to other British territories.

Lieutenant and Major Generals

File:Portrait of Lieutenant General Sir Robert Boyd, K.B. (b.c. 1710-1794) (by John Smart).jpg
Sir Robt. Boyd
File:General John Burgoyne - Reynolds c. 1766.jpg
John Burgoyne
  • John Burgoyne was a lieutenant general who led a British attempt to gain control of the Hudson River valley in 1777 that was stopped at Saratoga, and surrendered his army. Paroled to England and eventually exchanged, he did not serve further in the war.
  • Archibald Campbell, while a lieutenant colonel, regained control of Georgia in 1779 and served as its royal governor. Promoted to major general, he served in Jamaica, becoming its governor in 1782.
  • John Campbell served in the Boston campaign and the New York and New Jersey campaign early in the war, before being given command of the defense of West Florida. Captured in the 1781 Siege of Pensacola, he ended the war in the New York City garrison.
  • Henry Clinton, was sent into Massachusetts along with William Howe and John Burgoyne to aid Thomas Gage. He was one of the men responsible for planning the Battle of Bunker Hill. He would later serve as commander in Chief, a variety of operations, and leading the relief of the 1779 Penobscot Expedition. Thereafter he served in European waters, where he participated in one of the relief convoys to Gibraltar.
  • Sir Eyre Coote was the commander-in-chief of British forces in India. While not personally involved in combat against the French and Dutch there, troops that were part of his command were involved in engagements against French and Dutch targets, while he was preoccupied with the Second Anglo-Mysore War.
File:Lord Cornwallis.jpg
Lord Cornwallis
  • Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis participated in many campaigns in North America. He served under Howe and Clinton in the New York and Philadelphia campaigns and was given control of the southern army by Clinton after the Siege of Charleston. At first successfully driving the Continentals from South Carolina, he was eventually forced to surrender his army at Yorktown in the last major engagement between American French and British forces.
  • Sir John Dalling, 1st Baronet was a general and governor of Jamaica until 1781, where he coordinated British military affairs throughout the Caribbean and the West Indies.
File:Bodleian Libraries, Agamemnon a great general- Taken on the Steyne at Brighton.jpg
Wm. Dalrymple
  • William Dalrymple commanded British troops in Boston when 3-400 civilians provoked 8 soldiers into firing their muskets without orders, killing five. Patriots subsequently publicized it heavily as the "Boston Massacre". He served as quartermaster general of the British Army in North America from 1779 to 1783.
File:Sir-William-Erskine-1st-Bt.jpg
Wm. Erskine
  • Sir William Erskine, 1st Baronet was a general who served under Howe and Clinton in the New York and Philadelphia campaigns. He also served for a time as quartermaster general before leaving active service in 1779.
  • Sir William Fawcett became the army's adjutant general in 1781. His most important role in the war was overseeing the embarkation of hired German troops for deployment to the various theaters of war.
File:General Simon Fraser of Lovat.png
Simon Fraser
File:1stEarlGrey.jpg
Earl Grey
  • Charles Grey, 1st Earl Grey was one of the more successful army leaders. He led a brigade at the Battle of Brandywine, led forces in the Battle of Paoli and in raids on New Bedford and Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts.
  • Frederick Haldimand was responsible for the British troops in the Siege of Boston, although his authority was often superseded by Thomas Gage, who had overall command. Haldimand served as governor of Quebec from 1778 to 1786, with responsibility for the defense of the province and the organization and support of frontier attacks in the Ohio Country.
  • William Howe Before taking over as the commander in chief, North America, Howe, along with Henry Clinton were sent into Massachusetts to serve with then commander in chief, North America Thomas Gage. Howe was the main person in charge of the British forces in the Battle of Bunker Hill.
  • The Hon. Alexander Leslie served under Cornwallis in the southern campaigns, but was commanding forces in Charleston at the time of Cornwallis' surrender at Yorktown.
  • William Medows distinguished himself in the Philadelphia campaign and the Battle of St. Lucia in 1778. He was then despatched to India, where he was primarily involved in the Second Anglo-Mysore War.
  • Hector Munro, 8th of Novar was a general active in India. He led the forces that captured Pondicherry in 1778, and led forces against the Mysoreans.
  • William Phillips was an artillery general. He served under Burgoyne and was captured at Saratoga in 1777. Exchanged in 1780, he took over leadership of Benedict Arnold's army in Virginia, before becoming ill and dying.
  • William Picton was a major general who served in the Gibraltar garrison during the siege.
File:Francis Cotes (1726-1770) - Lieutenant Colonel Francis Smith (1723–1791), 10th Regiment of Foot, 1764 - NAM. 1969-09-33 - National Army Museum.jpg
Francis Smith
  • Francis Smith. As a major general, he oversaw the expedition of Concord to find weapons that were being smuggled by rebels. The British troops were halted by rebels on the way in Lexington, causing a skirmish to break out. The first battle of the war.

Brigadier generals

Other notable officers

File:A soldier called Major John André.png
Major John André, Head of British Secret Service in America
  • Lieutenant Colonel James AbercrombieTemplate:KIA, while leading the retreat at the Battle of Bunker Hill, he was fatally injured in the thigh from being shot by a rebel.
  • Lieutenant Colonel John Graves Simcoe, he was a captain who traveled across the Northeast to look for American spies. He was featured in the AMC Series Turn: Washington's Spies, as one of the main antagonists.
  • Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton, a cavalry officer who led the British Legion, a regiment of American loyalist cavalry and light infantry. Though reviled by Americans for alleged atrocities, Tarleton’s successes on the battlefield made him one of the few British heroes of the war.
  • Major John AndréTemplate:KIA had just become head of British intelligence operations across the 13 Colonies, working under General Clinton. He negotiated with Benedict Arnold and, after being captured, was ordered hanged by George Washington.
  • Major John PitcairnTemplate:KIA physically led the British forces in the expedition of Concord, in which it was speculated that rebels were hiding weapons. He died soon after The Battle of Bunker Hill after sustaining 6 gunshot wounds, including one to the head.
  • Captain Thomas Preston Five years before war broke out, Preston was in charge of the eight-man squad who shot several of a crowd of three or four hundred who were harassing them verbally and throwing various projectiles in what became known to Americans as the Boston Massacre.

Royal Navy

Template:See also

File:Admiral Samuel Graves (1713-1787), by James Northcote.jpg
Samuel Graves
  • Samuel Graves was the admiral in charge of the navy's North American station at the outbreak of the war. He directed naval activities for much of the Siege of Boston, and gave orders resulting in the politically and literally inflammatory Burning of Falmouth in October 1775. He was recalled in January 1776, and saw no more service in the war.
File:Admiral Lord Graves, 1st Baron Graves of Gravesend, by Thomas Gainsborough.jpg
Thomas Graves
File:Northcote, Samuel Hood.jpg
Samuel Hood
File:Admiral Richard Howe, 1726-99, 1st Earl Howe RMG BHC2790.tiff
Richard Howe
File:Mosnier, George Rodney.jpg
George Rodney
  • George Rodney was the commander of the naval station in the West Indies. He also participated in one of the expeditions to relieve Gibraltar, and, after capturing de Grasse in the Battle of the Saintes, famously boasted, "Within two little years I have taken two Spanish, one French and one Dutch admirals."Template:Citation needed However, his Capture of Saint Eustatius, an undefended Dutch island in the West Indies and a center for contraband trade, he stayed to take loot, pack it, and ship it to Britain, for which other Royal Navy officers scathingly criticised him. In particular, Viscount Samuel Hood said that Rodney should have sailed to intercept a French fleet under Rear Admiral Francois Joseph Paul de Grasse, travelling to Martinique.<ref>Trew, pp. 104–105.</ref> The French fleet instead turned north and headed for the Chesapeake Bay of Virginia and Maryland, fighting the Battle of the Chesapeake. The French victory there blocked the Royal Navy from rescuing Lord Cornwallis at Yorktown, Virginia. The surrender of his army to the combined Franco-American armies of Washington and Rochambeau in October 1781, effectively ended the British war in North America.

Royal governors

File:Sir Joshua Reynolds - John Murray, 4th Earl of Dunmore - Google Art Project.jpg
Lord Dunmore

Loyalists

Template:Further

Frontier leaders

Native Americans

File:Cornplanter.jpg
Chief Cornplanter portrait by F. Bertoli, 1796

The following Native American leaders from various nations took part in the American Revolution: Template:Div col Chickamauga Cherokee

  • Dragging Canoe<ref name="TennEn">Dragging Canoe; By Ezzell, Patricia Bernard. (Tennessee Valley Authority); Tennessee Encyclopedia; accessed September 2015</ref>

Lenape

Miami

Mohawk people

Ojibwe

Odawa

Seneca people

Cayuga people

Shawnee people

Sioux

Wyandot people

Template:Div col end

German principalities' forces hired by Great Britain

Great Britain hired the services of military troops from a number of German dominions of the Holy Roman Empire. The largest number arrived in 1776 pursuant to agreements signed in late 1775 or early 1776, but additional forces were recruited in 1778, with only limited success. The single largest contingent came from Hesse-Kassel, hence the term "Hessians".

Allies of the United States

Template:Empty section

France

File:Antoine-François Callet - Louis XVI, roi de France et de Navarre (1754-1793), revêtu du grand costume royal en 1779 - Google Art Project.jpg
Louis XVI
File:Yorktown-peale.jpg
Detail from Washington and his generals at Yorktown (c. 1781) by Charles Willson Peale. Lafayette (far left) is at Washington's right, the Comte de Rochambeau to his immediate left

France made a formal treaty of alliance with the United States in 1778. France sent ground forces to fight with the Continental Army. The French Navy played a key role in the victory of the Continental Army and French Army's victory over the British army, trapped in at Yorktown, Virginia, essentially ending the war in North America in October 1781. The war between France and Great Britain continued in other theaters, including the Caribbean West Indies, the Mediterranean, and India.

Government leaders

Admirals

File:Charles Henri Victor Theodat comte d Estaing 1769.jpeg
Admiral d'Estaing
File:Comte de Grasse par Mauzaisse J Baptiste.jpg
Comte de Grasse

Generals

File:Charles Willson Peale, Comte de Rochambeau.jpg
Comte de Rochambeau

Spain

File:Carlos IV de rojo.jpg
Charles IV of Spain

Spain entered the conflict as an ally of France and not formally an ally of the United States. One of its main motivations in entering the war against Britain was to regain Gibraltar as well as recapture valuable sugar islands in the Caribbean and prevent further British incursions in Central America.

Dutch Republic

The Dutch Republic played a significant economic role in the war, but its military participation was limited, in part due to internal political divisions.

File:Cornelis van Cuylenburg (II) - Johan Arnold Zoutman.jpg
Admiral Zoutman

References

Notes

Template:Reflist

Cited literature

  • Adams, James Truslow. (1934). "Montgomery, Richard." In: Dictionary of American Biography. American Council of Learned Societies, vol. 13, pp. 98–99.
  • Adams, Randolph G. (1930). "Conway, Thomas." In: Dictionary of American Biography. American Council of Learned Societies, vol. 3, pp. 365–366.
  • Adams, Randolph G. (1931). "Gates, Horatio." In: Dictionary of American Biography. American Council of Learned Societies, vol. 7, pp. 184–188.
  • Adams, Randolph G. (1933). "Lee, Charles." In: Dictionary of American Biography. American Council of Learned Societies, vol. 11, pp. 98–101.
  • Alden, Edmund Kimball (1928). "Alexander, William." In: Dictionary of American Biography. American Council of Learned Societies, vol. 1, pp. 175–176.
  • Alden, Edmund Kimball (1928). "Armstrong, John." In: Dictionary of American Biography. American Council of Learned Societies, vol. 1, pp. 353–354. [cited as Kimball 1928a]
  • Anonymous (1847). Washington And The Generals Of The American Revolution.
  • Barnes, Viola F. (1931). "Glover, John." In: Dictionary of American Biography. American Council of Learned Societies, vol. 7, pp. 331–332.
  • Broadwater, Robert P. (2012). American Generals of the Revolutionary War. McFarland & Company.
  • Chernow, Ron (2011). Washington. Penguin Books.
  • Clark, Jane (1934). "Parsons, Samuel Holden." In: Dictionary of American Biography. American Council of Learned Societies, vol. 14, pp. 270–271.
  • Coburn, Frederick W. (1936). "Varnum, James Mitchell." In: Dictionary of American Biography. American Council of Learned Societies, vol. 19, pp. 227–228.
  • Curtis, Edward E. (1933). "Larned, Ebenezer." In: Dictionary of American Biography. American Council of Learned Societies, vol. 11, pp. 77–78.
  • Curtis, Edward E. (1934). "Nixon, John." In: Dictionary of American Biography. American Council of Learned Societies, vol. 13, p. 530.
  • Ferreiro, Larrie D. (2016). Brothers at Arms. New York.
  • Fitzpatrick, John C. (1936). "Washington, George." In: Dictionary of American Biography. American Council of Learned Societies, vol. 19, pp. 509–527.
  • Fredriksen, John C. (2006). Revolutionary War Almanac. Facts on File.
  • Heitman, Francis B. (1914). Historical Register of Officers of the Continental Army. Washington, D.C.
  • Hannings, Bud (2008). Chronology of the American Revolution. McFarland & Company.
  • Hubbard, Robert E. (2017). Major General Israel Putnam. McFarland & Company.
  • Kapp, Friedrich (1862). Leben des amerikanischen Generals Johann Kalb. Stuttgart.
  • Kohn, George C. (2008). Encyclopedia of Plague and Pestilence. New York.
  • Krout John A. (1935). "Schuyler, Philip John." In: Dictionary of American Biography. American Council of Learned Societies, vol. 16, pp. 477–480.
  • Lefkowitz, Arthur S. (2020). Colonel Hamilton and Colonel Burr. Stackpole Books.
  • Lockhart, Paul (2008). The Drillmaster of Valley Forge. New York.
  • Meriwether Robert L. (1931). "Gadsen, Christopher." In: Dictionary of American Biography. American Council of Learned Societies, vol. 7, pp. 82–83.
  • Metcalf, Bryce (1938). Original Members and Other Officers Eligible to the Society of the Cincinnati, 1783-1938: With the Institution, Rules of Admission, and Lists of the Officers of the General and State Societies. Strasburg, VA: Shenandoah Publishing House, Inc.
  • Monaghan, Frank (1933). "Kalb, Johann." In: Dictionary of American Biography. American Council of Learned Societies, vol. 10, pp. 253–254. [Cited as Monaghan 1933a]
  • Monaghan, Frank (1933). "Lafayette, Marie Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier." In: Dictionary of American Biography. American Council of Learned Societies, vol. 10, pp. 535–539.
  • Monaghan, Frank (1935). "Pulaski, Casimir." In: Dictionary of American Biography. American Council of Learned Societies, vol. 15, pp. 259–260.
  • Moody, Robert E. (1931). "Frye, Joseph." In: Dictionary of American Biography. American Council of Learned Societies, vol. 7, pp. 50–51.
  • Pierpaoli, Paul G. (2018). "Maxweell, William (ca. 1733-1796)" In: American Revolution: The Definitive Encyclopedia and Document Collection. ABC-CLIO, vol. 3, p. 948-949.
  • Peeling, James H. (1933). "Mifflin, Thomas." In: Dictionary of American Biography. American Council of Learned Societies, vol. 12, pp. 606–608.
  • Nelson, Paul David (2018). "Lewis, Andrew (1720-1781)." In: American Revolution: The Definitive Encyclopedia and Document Collection. ABC-CLIO, vol. 3, p. 866.
  • Robinson, William A. (1933). "Lincoln, Benjamin." In: Dictionary of American Biography. American Council of Learned Societies, vol. 11, pp. 259–262.
  • Rossie, Jonathan Gregory (1975). The Politics of Command in the American Revolution. Syracuse University Press.
  • Shelton, Hal (1994). General Richard Montgomery and the American Revolution. New York University Press.
  • Straubel, Rolf (2012). "Er möchte nur wißen, daß die Armée mir gehöret." Friedrich II. und seine Offiziere. Berliner Wissenschafts-Verlag.
  • Taafe, Stephen R. (2019). Washington's Revolutionary War Generals. University of Oklahoma Press.
  • Tarbox, Increase N. (1876). Life of Israel Putnam. Boston.
  • Thomas, William Sturgis (1929). Members of the Society of the Cincinnati, Original, Hereditary and Honorary; With a Brief Account of the Society's History and Aims. New York: T.A. Wright
  • Tucker, Spencer C. (2018). "Coudray, Philippe-Charles-Jean-Baptiste Tronson du." In: American Revolution: The Definitive Encyclopedia and Document Collection. ABC-CLIO, vol. 1, p. 272.
  • United States Congress (1961). Biographical Directory of the American Congress, 1774-1961. Washington, D.C.

Literature

  • Black, Jeremy. War for America: The Fight for Independence, 1775–1783. St. Martin's Press (New York) and Sutton Publishing (UK), 1991. Template:ISBN (1991), Template:ISBN (1994 paperback), Template:ISBN (2001 paperpack).
  • Boatner, Mark Mayo, III. Encyclopedia of the American Revolution. New York: McKay, 1966; revised 1974. Template:ISBN.

Further reading

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