The wife of John Adams,
the first Vice President, and
second President, of the
United States, and the
mother of John Quincy
Adams, the sixth President.
The Inspector General of the
Continental Army
He is know for reorganizing the
troops and establishing basic
hygiene.
A successful military leader during
the Revolution who lost his desire to
serve the Colonies after Maj.
General Horatio Gates received
credit for the triumph at the Battle
of Saratoga in 1777. While he was
the commander at West Point, he
sent coded letters to the British and
arranged to sell West Point for
£20,000 ($3 million in today’s
money).
He is known for being a traitor.
Benjamin Franklin
One of the “Founding Fathers” of
the United States of America. He
was a leading writer, publisher,
inventor, diplomat, scientist, and
philosopher. He is well-known for
his experiments with electricity and
lightning, and for publishing "Poor
Richard's Almanac" and
the Pennsylvania Gazette.
Bernardo de Galvez
He was the Governor of
Louisiana Territory when it
belonged to Spain in 1777. While
there, he denied the British the
opportunity of encircling the
American rebels from the south,
and kept open a vital conduit for
supplies. Galvez also assisted the
American revolutionaries with
supplies and soldiers.
Galveston is named after him.
Charles de Montesquieu
He is generally referred to as
simply Montesquieu, was a
French lawyer, man of letters,
and political philosopher who
lived during the Age of
Enlightenment. He promoted the
idea of three branches of
government as Separate Powers
which influenced the framers of
the Constitution.
Crispus Attucks
He was killed when the
British opened fire on
the five colonists during
the Boston Massacre.
He was the first
casualty of the
American Revolution.
Ethan Allen
He was a farmer, businessman,
land speculator, philosopher,
writer, and American
Revolutionary War patriot, hero,
and politician. He is best known
as one of the founders of
the U.S. State of Vermont, and
for the capture of Fort
Ticonderoga early in
the American Revolutionary War
along with Benedict Arnold.
General Lord Cornwallis
He was an English general who fought
in the Seven Years' War and served as a
member of Parliament, where he
opposed the imposition of duties that
proved highly controversial in the
colonies. Nonetheless, Cornwallis
served England in the Revolutionary
War and was sent back to the colonies
in 1776 to serve as a lieutenant-general
of British forces. He surrendered his
force at the siege of Yorktown, the last
major conflict during the American
Revolutionary War.
George Washington
He was the first President of
the United States, the
Commander-in-Chief of the
Continental Army during the
American Revolutionary War,
and one of the Founding
Fathers of the United States
Haym Salomon
He was a Polish-born Jewish
immigrant to America who played
an important role in financing the
Revolution. He was arrested by the
British early into the Revolutionary
War as a spy for the colonists.
James Armistead
He was born into slavery in Virginia
around 1748. Armistead enlisted in
the Revolutionary War under
General Lafayette. Working as a spy,
Armistead gained the trust of
General Cornwallis and Benedict
Arnold, providing information that
allowed American forces to prevail
at the Battle of Yorktown.
Armistead died in 1830, having
successfully petitioned for his
freedom in 1787.
John Adams
He was the lawyer who agreed to
represent the British soldiers on
trial for killing five civilians in what
became known as the Boston
Massacre.
In 1774, he served on the First
Continental Congress and helped
draft the Declaration of
Independence. Adams became the
first vice president of the United
States and the second president.
John Locke
He was an influential philosopher.
In his landmark, Two Treatises of
Government, he put forth his
revolutionary ideas concerning
the natural rights of man and the
social contract. Both concepts not
only stirred waves in England, but
also impacted the intellectual
underpinnings that formed the
later American and French
revolutions.
John Paul Jones
He was an officer of the Continental Navy
of the American Revolution. He helped
establish the traditions of courage and
professionalism that the Sailors of the
United States Navy today proudly
maintain. At the start of the famous victory
of the Bonhomme Richard over
HMS Serapis, the British commander asked
Jones if he had struck his flag. Jones
replied, "I have not yet begun to fight!" In
the end, it was the British commander who
surrendered. Jones is remembered for his
indomitable will, his unwillingness to
consider surrender when the slightest hope
of victory still burned.
King George III
He was one of the longest
reigning British Monarchs.
He oversaw the conquest
of an empire in the Seven
Years' War, and the loss of
the American Colonies in
the War of Independence.
Marquis de Lafayette
He was born on September 6, 1757,
in Chavaniac, France. He served the
Continental Army with distinction
during the American Revolutionary
War, providing tactical leadership
while securing vital resources from
France. Lafayette fled his home
country during the French
Revolution, but the "Hero of Two
Worlds" regained prominence as a
statesman before his death on May
20, 1834.
Mercy Otis Warren
Known as the "Conscience of the
American Revolution," Mercy Otis
Warren accomplished things
unknown to women in her time.
She was a prolific and influential
writer, the first woman playwright,
wrote the first history of the
American Revolutionary War (by a
man or woman), and influenced
most of founding fathers, as well as
speaking up for women's rights.
Patrick Henry
Called the Father of the Revolution,
Patrick Henry is remembered as an
influential speaker. He was a member
of both the first and second
Continental Congress. He is now
famous for fueling the vigor in the
fight with his passionate words; "Is life
so dear or peace so sweet, as to be
purchased at the price of chains and
slavery? Forbid it Almighty God! I
know not what course others take,
but as for me, give me liberty or give
me death!"
Paul Revere
Paul Revere was an adamant patriot and
strong supporter of John Hancock,
Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, and
others during that time. Before his
memorable ride, Revere also participated
in the Boston Tea Party, where the
patriots threw British tea into the harbor.
He and some companions, who had been
meeting secretly at the Green Dragon
tavern in Boston, arranged their famous
signal. "One if by land, and two if by sea"
referred to lanterns in the north church
steeple in Boston.
Samuel Adams
When Britain started taxing America,
Samuel Adams was one of the
leading public opposers. Samuel took
a leading role in starting the Boston
Tea Party of 1773, although his exact
involvement is still disputed. During
the Revolutionary War, he was a
member of the first and second
Continental Congress. Samuel fought
tirelessly to sway congress toward
independence.
Thomas Jefferson
He was called upon, regardless of
his protests, to draft the
Declaration of Independence. It
was in this that he, for the first
time, perfectly put to word the
feelings of anguish, sorrow,
suffering, anger, and other offenses
the colonies had against the king
who would not listen to their pleas.
Wentworth Cheswell
The legacy of Wentworth Cheswell is
a lasting one: a patriot (he carried
intelligence and messages to the
command centers during the
Revolution), teacher, and church
leader; an historian, archeologist,
and educator; a judge and official
elected to numerous offices (he is
considered the first black American
elected to office in America).
William Blackstone
He wrote Commentaries on the Laws
of England, thus greatly influenced
the United States Constitution. His
writings also influenced the thinking
of John Marshall and Abraham
Lincoln.