Francis “Swamp Fox” Marion Biography & Facts
Quick facts Francis Marion was born in 1732 on the family plantation in Berkeley County, South Carolina. He joined the military in 1756, later fighting in the French and Indian…
Soldiers
Learn about the soldiers of the American Revolution, including their experiences in battle, and broader life in the Thirteen Colonies.
The Private Soldier Under Washington (book, by Charles Knowles Bolton)
Learn about the experiences of regular soldiers in the Continental Army, with this book published by Charles Knowles Bolton in 1902. Chapters
James Thacher’s Journal
Read the journal of James Thacher, a military surgeon during the American Revolution. Chapters
Tadeusz Kosciuszko Biography & Facts
Quick facts Born: February 1746 in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Tadeusz Kościuszko played a significant role in the American Revolution, contributing as a colonel in the Continental Army. He was responsible…
Johann Gottlieb Rall Biography & Facts
Quick facts Born: c. 1726 in Hesse-Kassel (now part of Germany). Johann Gottlieb Rall was a Hessian colonel in the British service during the American Revolutionary War, known for his…
Friedrich Adolf Riedesel Biography & Facts
Quick facts Born: 3 June 1738 in Lauterbach, Hesse (now in Germany). Friedrich Adolf Riedesel was a German baron and lieutenant general in the British army, commanding Hessian troops during…
Carl Emil von Donop Biography & Facts
Quick facts Born: 1 January 1732 in Hesse-Kassel (now part of Germany). Carl Emil von Donop was a Hessian colonel who served under the British during the American Revolutionary War,…
Baron von Steuben Biography & Facts
Quick facts Born: 17 September 1730 in Magdeburg, Duchy of Magdeburg (now part of Germany). Baron Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben was a Prussian military officer who significantly contributed to the…
François Jean de Beauvoir, Marquis de Chastellux Biography
Quick facts Born: 1734 in Paris, France. François-Jean de Chastellux was a French general and philosopher, playing a notable role during the American Revolutionary War as a major general in…
Jean Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, comte de Rochambeau Biography
Quick facts Born: 1 July 1725 in Vendôme, Loir-et-Cher, France. Jean Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, comte de Rochambeau, was a French nobleman and general who played a pivotal role in…
Paul Revere Biography & Facts
Quick facts Born: baptized 1 January 1735 in Boston, Massachusetts. Paul Revere was a silversmith, engraver, and Patriot in the American Revolution, renowned for his midnight ride to alert colonial…
Henry Lee III Biography & Facts
Quick facts Born: 29 January 1756 at Leesylvania, the family plantation near Dumfries, Virginia. Henry Lee III, also known as “Light-Horse Harry”, was an American Patriot, politician, and cavalry officer…
John Sullivan Biography & Facts
Quick facts Born: 17 February 1740 in Somersworth, New Hampshire. John Sullivan was a general in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War and later served as a delegate…
John Paul Jones Biography & Facts
Quick facts Born: 6 July 1747 in Scotland. John Paul Jones was a Scottish-American naval captain and is often referred to as the “Father of the American Navy.” He is…
John Marshall Biography & Facts
Quick facts Born: 24 September 1755 near Germantown (in what is now Fauquier County), Virginia. As a boy, Marshall was influenced and encouraged by his father’s friend, George Washington. During…
John Laurens Biography & Facts
Quick facts Born: 28 October 1754 in Charleston, South Carolina. John Laurens’ father, Henry, was a partner in the largest slave-trading house in North America. While studying law in England,…
Israel Putnam Biography & Facts
Quick facts Born: 17 January 1718 in Salem Village (now Danvers), Massachusetts. Beginning as a private during the French and Indian War (1754 – 1763), Israel Putnam became a major…
Ethan Allen Biography & Facts
Quick facts Born: 21 January 1738 in Litchfield, Connecticut. Ethan Allen was a farmer, businessman, land speculator, philosopher, writer, and American Revolutionary War patriot, best known as one of the…
Daniel Morgan Biography & Facts
Quick facts Born: 1736 in New Jersey. Daniel Morgan was a distinguished general in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, known for his leadership and innovative tactics. He…
Charles Cotesworth Pinckney Biography & Facts
Quick facts Born: 25 February 1746 in Charleston, South Carolina. Largely educated in England, Charles Cotesworth Pinckney was admitted to the bar there in 1769. He returned to South Carolina…
Benedict Arnold Biography & Facts
Quick facts Born: 14 January 1741 in Norwich, Connecticut. Arnold began his career as a pharmacist and a bookseller in New Haven, CT (1762). When the Revolutionary War started, Arnold…
John André Biography & Facts
Quick facts Born: 2 May 1750 in London, England. John André was a British Army officer hanged as a spy during the American Revolutionary War, known for his involvement in…
George Germain Biography & Facts
Quick facts Born: 26 January 1716 in London, England. George Germain, 1st Viscount Sackville, was a British statesman and army officer, serving as Secretary of State for the American Department…
Banastre Tarleton Biography & Facts
Quick facts Born: 21 August 1754 in Liverpool, England. Banastre Tarleton was a British army officer known for his service as a cavalry commander during the American Revolutionary War, particularly…
Diary of Charles Herbert, American Prisoner of War in Britain
“ Editor’s note This page contains the diary of Charles Herbert, a sailor in the American navy during the American Revolution, after he was captured by the British and transported…
Georg Daniel Flohr’s Journal: A New Perspective
Sitting in his room somewhere in the city of Strasbourg in the summer of 1788, Georg Daniel Flohr finally put down his quill. In front of him lay a stack…
Timothy Murphy, Revolutionary War Sniper
Timothy Murphy, to say the very least, was a Revolutionary War hero. He served with distinction on the frontier, and then with famed General Daniel Morgan as a rifleman. Although…
Letters from Soldiers at Valley Forge, 1777-1778
“ Editor’s note The following is a series of letters sent by soldiers during the winter at Valley Forge, describing the conditions they were experiencing. We have left these excerpts…