Henry Knox was an American patriot. He was nborn in 1750 at Boston and died in 1806. A bookseller before the American Revolution. He exchanged this occupation for that of an artillery officer, fought at Bunker Hill, and obtained much credit for his transfer of ordnance in the winter of 1775 - 1776 from the Canadian frontier and the Lake George region to the army around Boston. He was made a brigadier-general of artillery, fought with distinction at. Trenton, Brandywine, Monmouth and Yorktown, and received the grade of a major-general. He was active in the Cincinnati Society, and became Secretary of War under the old Congress in 1785. George Washington reappointed him to this position, which he filled until 1795. Research Henry Knox
Henry Knox was an American patriot. He was nborn in 1750 at Boston and died in 1806. A bookseller before the American Revolution. He exchanged this occupation for that of an artillery officer, fought at Bunker Hill, and obtained much credit for his transfer of ordnance in the winter of 1775 - 1776 from the Canadian frontier and the Lake George region to the army around Boston. He was made a brigadier-general of artillery, fought with distinction at. Trenton, Brandywine, Monmouth and Yorktown, and received the grade of a major-general. He was active in the Cincinnati Society, and became Secretary of War under the old Congress in 1785. George Washington reappointed him to this position, which he filled until 1795. Research Henry Knox
Anthony Wayne (known as Mad Anthony) was an American insurgent. He was born in 1745 at Pennsylvania and died in 1796. A surveyor in early life, he became a member of the Legislature and Committee of Public Safety, and commanded a regiment in the Canadian invasion of 1775-1776. Later he had charge of the Ticonderoga forts. Being appointed brigadier-general he was in charge of a division at Brandywine and conducted a successful retreat. He was surprised at Paoli, commanded the right wing at Germantown, and was distinguished at Monmouth. His famous exploit was the storm of Stony Point, on July the 15th, 1779. General Wayne suppressed the mutiny of the troops at Morristown, in January, 1781, had an honourable part in Virginia the same year and in Georgia in 1783. He was a member of the Pennsylvania ratifying convention of 1787. When the Indian affairs required a decisive policy, he was made major-general, and inflicted an overwhelming blow at the Battle of Fallen Timbers in 1794, which led to an Indian treaty the following year. Research Anthony Wayne
Benjamin Stoddert was an American politician. He was born in 1751 at Maryland and died in 1813. He distinguished himself at the Battle of Brandywine. He was Secretary of the Board of War from 1777 to 1781. He was Secretary of the Navy in Adams' Cabinet from 1798 to 1801, being thus the first Secretary of the Navy. Research Benjamin Stoddert
Charles Cornwallis (Lord Cornwallis) was a British soldier and the first marquess of Cornwallis. He was born in 1737 and died in 1805. He served in the Seven Years' War. He took his seat in Parliament and favoured the Americans during the preliminary troubles. Having been made lieutenant-general he was sent to America in 1776, fought in the Battle of Long Island, and pursued George Washington's army through New Jersey. He was defeated at the Battle of Princeton, decided the victory of Brandywine in 1777, and served at Germantown and Monmouth. Having been appointed to the command of the Southern army he overwhelmed Gates at Camden in 1780, but in his contest with Greene he was worsted, although he won a technical victory at Guilford Court House in 1781. Then followed his campaign in Virginia against Lafayette, the siege of his army in Yorktown, and its surrender to the Franco-American troops on October the 17th 1781. As Governor-General of India, from 1786 until 1793 and in 1805, he rendered valuable military and administrative services. He was also lord-lieutenant of Ireland, from 1798 until 1801, at the epoch of the Union. Research Charles Cornwallis
George Washington was an American soldier, statesman and the first president of the USA. He was born in 1732 at Briges Creek, Virginia and died in 1799. Some of the familiar anecdotes of his early life rest on the more than doubtful authority of Weems, one of his first chroniclers. At the age of sixteen he was compelled to leave school, and he became a surveyor. His appointment as adjutant-general and major at the early age of nineteen was preparatory to his selection for the first striking public event of his life, his service as messenger from the Virginian to the French Governor in 1753-1754. The following summer at the Battle of Great Meadows fought by his small force ushered in the long French and Indian War. George Washington was obliged to surrender Fort Necessity. He resigned, but the next year served on Braddock's staff at the defeat of the Monongahela, and had a miraculous escape. George Washington continued in the army as a colonel until 1759, and had a part in the taking of Fort Duquesne in 1758.
He married in 1759, and the same year entered the Virginia House of Burgesses. For several years he led the life of a Virginia planter, at Mount Vernon. He was a delegate to the first and second Continental Congresses; by the latter body he was appointed commander-in-chief, on June the 17th, 1775, and took command of the army under the historic elm at Cambridge, on July the 3rd. It was his task to put into the form of an organized force the raw and ill-equipped soldiers. His first enterprise succeeded; Boston was evacuated by the British, on March the 17th, 1776, and the army was transferred to New York.
After the Declaration of Independence, a disheartening series of reverses marked the half year: the battle of Brooklyn, the withdrawal from New York, White Plains, the fall of Fort Washington, and the melancholy retreat of the diminishing army across New Jersey. The morale of the troops and of the country was suddenly raised by George Washington's brilliant surprise of Trenton and victory of Princeton. In
the autumn of 1777 his army, though defeated at Brandywine and German-town, kept a large British force occupied, and so contributed to the denouement of the year, at Saratoga. Then came the gloomy winter at Valley Forge, and the cabal of Conway and Gates.
The Battle of Monmouth was won in the summer, but thereafter George Washington's part was for some years in other phases of the war than in battles, and active hostilities drifted away principally to the south. The treason of Benedict Arnold in 1780 was a severe blow. In the following summer George Washington showed the qualities of a great general by his secret and rapid march from the Hudson to Chesapake Bay, a march which resulted in the fall of Yorktown.
His significance in the American War of Independence was largely moral; there was a widespread confidence in his thorough devotion to the cause. He replied severely to the Newburg address of 1783 (which had hinted at monarchy). After a letter to the State Governors he took leave of the army and officers, and, on December the 23rd, 1783, resigned to Congress at Annapolis his commission.
Deeply impressed with the need of a more efficient government, he presided over the Federal Convention of 1787. He was the unanimous choice for President, and was inaugurated at New York on April the 30th, 1789. Elected again without opposition, he served until 1797. Of his Cabinet, Jefferson was Secretary of State, Hamilton of the Treasury, Knox of War, and RandolphAttorney-General.
George Washington made tours to the North and South. In 1793 he issued a neutrality proclamation. His part in Jay's treaty of 1795 caused a temporary loss of his popularity. On September the 19th, 1796, he issued his Farewell Address.
Perhaps his greatness was even better shown by his conduct as President than by his generalship. When war with France seemed imminent in 1798, he was appointed lieutenant-general, but he died soon after at Mount Vernon. He has been universally deemed the greatest of Americans, and one of the noblest public characters of all time. Research George Washington
James Monroe was the fifth president of the USA. He was born in 1758 at Westmoreland County, Virginia and died in 1831. He entered William and Mary College, but left it in 1776 to enter the army. He was present at Trenton, Brandywine, Monmouth, etc., and in 1782 was already a member of the Virginia Assembly. He was soon a member of the State Council, and a delegate to the Continental Congress. In the Ratifying Convention of 1788, he ardently upheld the Anti-Federalist side. As US Senator from 1790 to 1794, envoy to France from 1794 to 1796, and Governor of Virginia from 1799 to 1802, he was naturally a Republican and an exponent of Jefferson's views. President Jefferson sent him in 1803 as additional envoy to France, where he helped Livingston to negotiate the Louisiana Purchase of 1803. Thence he was sent as Minister to London, where he remained until 1807.
He had just commenced another term as Governor in 1811, when he was appointed Secretary of State. This office he held until 1817, combining with it in 1814 to 1815 the War portfolio. As Republican candidate for President in 1816, Monroe received 183 electoral votes, and in 1820 he had almost no opposition; the eight years of his administrations are in fact embalmed in American history as the so-called 'era of good feeling'. His Cabinet included John Quincy Adams in the State Department, Crawford Treasury, John Calhoun War, and WirtAttorney-General. The period is marked by the acquisition of Florida, the Seminole War, Missouri Compromise, seaboard defence policy, the visit of Lafayette, and the Monroe Doctrine. Research James Monroe
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