Thomas Sumter was born on August 14, 1734 in Virginia. His father had been an indentured servant. Thomas got little formal education. He joined the militia and participated in Braddock’s defeat in the Battle of the Wilderness. After this, he Read more
Haym Salomon was born on April 7, 1740. He was a Polish Jew who immigrated to New York City in 1775. He became a financial broker to merchants who were involved in trade. He immediately joined colonists who opposed British Read more
Kazimierz Michal Wladyslaw Wiktor Pulaski (on the right below) was born to a noble family in Warsaw on March 6, 1745. He loved the military so he became a cavalryman when he grew up. He fought the Russians, but Read more
Salem Poor purchased his freedom in 1769 at age 22. It cost him 27 pounds (equivalent to $5,800 today) which was an average yearly wage for a working man. In May, 1775, he enlisted in the militia. He was Read more
Johan von Robais was born in what is today Germany on June 19, 1721. At age 16, he went to France to become a mercenary. He was a born leader and rose to colonel by age 26. However, his Read more
Jeremiah was the son of Irish Catholic immigrants who settled in Maine. His father owned two sawmills in the town of Macchias. He was 21 at the time of Lexington and Concord. A few weeks after, two British Read more
Whipple went to sea young and became a merchant ship captain at a young age. Whipple was a privateer in the French and Indian War. In six months, he captured 23 French merchant ships. On June 9, 1772, he Read more
James was born on a Virginia plantation which made him the slave of John Armstead, later Col. John Armstead of the Continental Army. He was inherited by his master’s son William in 1779. William allowed him to enlist in the Read more
Three colonial militiamen changed history. David Williams (25 years old), Isaac Van Wert (20), and their leader John Paulding (22). They were on duty near the Hudson River in New York looking for cattle rustlers. Nothing was happening so Read more
Lydia was an Irish immigrant who settled in Philadelphia. She and her husband were Quakers and thus pacifists. They gave birth to nine kids, but only five survived. Their oldest, Charles, enlisted in the Continental Army. When the British Read more