Revolutionary War People
Terms
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- Lord Frederick North
- Chief Advisor of King George. Tried hard to please the King. Ordered Boston Harbor closed following the Boston Tea Party.
- Thomas Paine
- Patriot, Author of Common Sense.
- General Henry Clinton
- In charge of British forces after William Howe resigned.
- Nathaniel Greene
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Patriot General. Quartermaster at Valley Forge. Managed to find food and supplies to keep the army together during winter camp.
Leader of the Southern campaign following the firing of Horatio Gates. - Sir William Howe
- British General in charge of all the forces in America.
- Lord Charles Cornwallis
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British General.
Surrendered at Yorktown, ending the war. - Hessians
- German soldiers hired to fight for the British. 1000 of them were captured at Trenton in a surprise Christmas day attack by Gen. Washington. Others surrendered with Cornwallis at Yorktown.
- Charles Townshend
- British government official. Sponsored the taxes that the Americans thought were so unfair.
- Benjamin Franklin
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Printer and publisher. Patriot. Signed the Declaration. Went to France as ambassador of the Continental Congress to get France's help (money, soldiers, supplies) for the Revolution.
He was also an inventor. - Major John Pitcairn
- Led the redcoats column at Lexington/Concord and was the commander at the Battle of Bunker(Breeds) Hill. He died at Bunker Hill.
- Continental Congress
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First Continental Congress grew out of the Committees of Correspondence. Met in Philadelphia in 1774 to discuss the issues.
Second Continental Congress met in 1775. Wrote and signed the Declaration of Independence. - Compte De Rochambeau
- French General that fought for the Americans. With Washington at Yorktown. Cornwallis tried to surrender to him but he refused.
- King George III
- King at the time of the Revolutionary War. He was not very smart, he had mental health problems. He wasn't very popular. He wanted more power to rest with the king, not the parliament.
- Compte de Grasse
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French admiral - brought French fleet up to the Chesapeake Bay and blockaded the bay before the British ships got there to resupply Cornwallis.
Brought additional troops. Helped win the Battle of Yorktown. - Patrick Henry
- Patriot. Great speaker. Spoke against the Stamp Act. Spoke out in favor of supporting Massachusetts after the closing of Boston Port - But as for me, Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death.
- George Rogers Clark
- Patriot General. Indian Fighter. Leader of the western campaigns. Captured Vincennes.
- Nathan Hale
- Connecticut school teacher. He was a spy for the Patriot cause. When captured and hung he said "I regret that I only have one life to lose for my country."
- Minutemen
- American Militia. Said to have been ready to fight the minute they were called.
- George Washington
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Leader of the American Army. Virginian, gentleman farmer. Fought in French and Indian War.
First President - John Adams
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Samuel Adams cousin. Patriot. Lawyer. Defended the Redcoats that participated in the Boston Massacre because he believed that they deserved a fair trial and needed a good lawyer.
Delegate to the Continental Congress, signer of the Declaration. - Committees of Correspondence
- Started by Sam Adams. Groups of prominent citizens in the colonies who wrote each other to share important news and discuss problems. They began to be friends and started cooperation between the colonies.
- John Paul Jones
- Founder of the American Navy. Commander of the Bonhomme Richard. Fought with the British ship Serapis. When asked to surrender stated "I have not yet begun to fight". Serapis was defeated in first major American naval battle.
- John Hancock
- Patriot. Boston merchant. Lost a lot of money when the Port of Boston was closed. Paid a lot of the bills for the Continental Congress. Signer of the Declaration. Signed first, and in such large print that the "King could see it without his spectacles."
- Sons of Liberty
- Patriot group started by Sam Adams. Participated in the Boston Tea Party. Members were businessmen. Led riots and patriotic activities to get the attention of the Kind and Parliament.
- Crispis Attucks
- Runaway slave. One of those killed in the Boston Massacre.
- Mechanics
- Paul Revere's group. They were the craftsman's version of the Sons of Liberty.
- Betsy Ross
- Said to have made the first official American Flag.
- Benedict Arnold
- Famous American traitor. Didn't start out that way. Fought with Ethan Allen at Fort Ticonderoga and with Horatio Gates at Saratoga. His treatment by Gates may have led to his becoming a traitor.
- General Thomas Gage
- British General. In charge of the force occupying Boston.
- General John Burgoyne
- "Gentleman Johnny". British general. Planned a major campaign to cut off the New England colonies from the rest of the colonies. Failed and was defeated at Saratoga.
- Samuel Adams
- Patriot, Founder and leader of the Sons of Liberty. Master agitator. Signed Declaration of Independence.
- William Dawes and Dr. Samuel Prescott
- The two people who rode with Paul Revere on his ride. Dawes took the alternate route out of the city in case Revere didn't get through. Prescott met up with them outside of the city.
- General Horatio Gates
- American General. Fought at Saratoga and in the southern campaign. Was fired after bumbling the southern campaign.
- Baron Friedrich Von Steuben
- Prussian soldier. Franklin hired him. He became the drill instructor at Valley Forge, and shaped the continentals into a disciplined fighting force of skilled soldiers.
- Marquis de Lafayette
- Frenchman, noble man and hero. Became a general on Washington's staff. Proved himself in battle.
- Thomas Jefferson
- Writer of the Declaration of Independence.
- Paul Revere
- Boston Silversmith, messenger for the Sons of Liberty. Leader of the Mechanics. Took famous "Midnight Ride" to Lexington to warn John Hancock and Sam Adams that the British were coming.
- Captain John Parker
- Leader of the Lexington Militia. Killed on Lexington Green.
- Thomas Hutchinson
- Massachusetts Governor at the time of the Revolution.