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
Arthur St Clair was a British soldier and politician. He was born in 1734 and died in 1818. He went to America in 1758. He served under General Amherst at Louisbourg, and distinguished himself at Quebec. Joining the American cause, he accompanied General Sullivan in the expedition to Canada in 1776. He commanded a brigade at Trenton and Princeton. He was appointed major-general and succeeded General Gates at Ticonderoga, which he surrendered in 1777. He fought at Yorktown. He represented Pennsylvania in the Continental Congress from 1785 to 1787, and was Governor of the Northwest Territory from 1789 to 1802. Research Arthur St Clair
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
Hugh Mercer was a Scottish-born American revolutionary. He was born in 1720 and died in 1777. He went to America from Scotland in 1747. He served in the French and Indian War. He was chosen brigadier-general in 1776, with command of the flying camp. He commanded a column at Trenton and led the advance at Princeton, where he was surrounded by the British and fought to the death rather than surrender. Research Hugh Mercer
James Grant was a British soldier. He was born in 1720 and died in 1806. He met with a severe defeat in command of an expedition against Fort Duquesne in 1758. He commanded two brigades of British troops at Long Island, and was in command of New Jersey during the battles of Trenton and Princeton. He served as a major-general in the battles of Brandy wine and Germantown in 1777, and defeated Lee at Monmouth in 1778.
James Grant was a Scottish novelist. He was born in 1822 at Edinburgh 1822 and died in 1887. He lived in America from 1832 to 1839, in which year he returned to England, and was gazetted ensign in the 62nd Foot. He resigned his commission in 1843; began to contribute to periodical literature, and in 1846 published his first book, The Romance of War. A large number of works followed, most of them bearing marks of his military training, or based on historical events, Adventures of an Aide-de-Camp (1848), Bothwell (1851), Jane Seton (1853), Philip Rollo (1854), Frank Hilton (1855), Yellow Frigate (1855), Harry Ogilvie (1856), Lucy Arden (1859), Mary of Lorraine (1860), Dick Rodney (1861), King's Own Borderers (1865), White Cockade (1867), British Battles on Land and Sea (1873), Old and New Edinburgh (1880-1883), etc. He became a Roman Catholic in 1875. Research James Grant
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
John Stark was an American soldier. He was born in 1728 at New Hampshire and died in 1822. He was a hero of the Indian border warfare, and was at one time captured. He fought in the French and Indian War, and was active in the American Revolution, being one of the principal leaders at Bunker Hill. He served in Canada, at Trenton and Princeton, and resigned in 1777. But the danger of Burgoyne's invasion called out the New Hampshire militia, and they demanded John Stark as a commander. At Bennington, on August the 16th, 1777, John Stark overthrew the Hessian detachment, and in this way powerfully contributed to the catastrophe of Saratoga. He was made a brigadier-general, and served until the close of, the war. Research John Stark
Abbreviations
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