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Some Important People of the American Revolution
King George III – He decided American colonists should help pay the costs
of the French and Indian War. He taxed the colonists. He refused to treat
the colonists fairly after the colonists wrote a petition asking for peace. He
lost to the American colonists.
Patrick Henry – He made an angry speech against the Stamp Act. He said
the famous quote, “Give me Liberty or Give me Death!” He said Britain was
using its power unfairly. He was a Patriot and wanted war with Britain.
George Washington – He was asked to lead a group of colonists to fight the
French army during the French and Indian War. He became commander of
the new Continental Army in 1775. Later, he became the first president of
the United States.
Benjamin Franklin – He believed the colonists could fight better if they
worked together. Each colony would have its own government and an overall
government to solve problems that affect them all. He tried to get France to
help the Americans during the Revolutionary War. He was an inventory and
a scientist. He helped create the Declaration of Independence.
Thomas Jefferson – He was one of the writers of the Declaration of
Independence. He said that all people are born with natural rights that no
one can take away. He said that King George had abused his power. He
became the third president of the United States.
John Adams – He defended the British soldiers after the Boston Massacre
because he wanted to show Britain that Colonial courts were fair. He tried to
prove that the soldiers had been protecting themselves from the crowd. He
served on the Declaration of Independence committee. He was a patriot who
joined the protests against the Stamp Act. He was the second president of
the United States.
Benedict Arnold – was general during the American Revolutionary War. He
began war in the Continental Army but later defected to the British army.
While he was still a general on the American side, he obtained command of the fort
at West Point, NY, and plotted unsuccessfully to surrender it to the British.
After the plot was exposed in September 1780, he entered the British Army
as a brigadier general.A defector is a person who gives up allegiance to one
state or political entity in exchange for allegiance to another. A defector is
often called a traitor.
Paul Revere – “The British are coming! The British are coming!” He was the
famous messenger and midnight rider in the Battles of Lexington and
Concord. Old North Church in Boston is the location from which the
famous "One if by land, and two if by sea" signal is said to have been sent.
This phrase is related to Paul Revere's midnight ride, of April 18, 1775. On
April 18, 1775, probably a little after 10 p.m.., the steeple of the Church
served a military purpose. Paul Revere told three Boston patriots to hang
two lanterns in the steeple. The lanterns were displayed to send a warning
to Charlestown patriots across the Charles River about the movements of
the British Army.
Samuel Adams – He was a cousin of John Adams. He was one of four men
elected to represent the Massachusetts Bay Colony at the First and Second
Continental Congresses. He was also a founder and major player in the
activities of the Sons of Liberty, a secret organization designed to foster the
cause of independence. It was this group that participated in the Boston Tea
Party. He served as governor of Massachusetts from 1793 to 1797.
More Notes on Battles:
Lexington and Concord – Paul Revere and William Dawes warned that the
British were come. “One if by land, two if by sea” Lanterns in Old North
Church. Minutemen were ready at Lexington – first shots of the American
Revolutionary War. British marched on to Concord in hopes of getting the
colonists gunpowder, but when they arrived the colonists had hid it
elsewhere. There was one bridge into Concord and the colonists were
waiting for the British at the bridge. Both battles were won by the colonists.
Colonists used the land of the area by hiding behind trees and rock walls to
shoot at the British.
Bunker Hill – “Don’t fire till you see the whites of their eyes”. Colonists built
a fort on the hill to fire on British ships and soldiers in Boston. Three times
the British soldiers marched uphill and they were easy targets for Patriot
gunfire. The colonists ran out of gunpowder and lost the battle, but 1,000
British soldiers were killed.
Trenton – George Washington and the colonists crossed the Delaware River
into Trenton, NJ. It was Christmas Even and he surprised the British and
Germans. The captured 900 men and this battle gave colonists hope.
Saratoga – Colonists used the hilly area by piling earth and logs on the large
hills to act as a barrier against the British gunfire. The colonists won and
other countries decided to join the colonists, like the French.
Yorktown – This was the last battle of the Revolutionary War. The British
marched to Virginia, a peninsula surrounded by water. George Washington
trapped the British on the peninsula. There was no way to escape except by
water and the French Navy had boats in the water to prevent the British
from escaping.
Paul Revere – “The British are coming! The British are coming!” He was
the famous messenger and midnight rider in the Battles of Lexington and
Concord. Old North Church at 193 Salem Street, in the North End of
Boston, is the location from which the famous "One if by land, and two if
by sea" signal is said to have been sent. This phrase is related to Paul
Revere's midnight ride, of April 18, 1775.. On April 18, 1775, probably a
little after 10 p.m.., the 191 ft steeple of the Church served a military
purpose. Paul Revere told three Boston patriots to hang two lanterns in
the steeple. The lanterns were displayed to send a warning to
Charlestown patriots across the Charles River about the movements of
the British Army. Revere and William Dawes would later deliver the same
message to Lexington themselves, but this lantern method was a fast
way to inform the back-up riders in Charlestown about the movements of
the British; these back-up riders planned to deliver the warning message
to Lexington and Concord in case Revere and Dawes were arrested on the
way. The lanterns were hung for just under a minute to avoid catching
the eyes of the British troops occupying Boston, but this was long
enough for the message to be received in Charlestown. The militia
waiting across the river had been told to look for the signal lanterns, and
were prepared to act as soon as they saw them. the movements of the
British Army. Revere and William Dawes would later deliver the same
message to Lexington themselves, but this lantern method was a fast
way to inform the back-up riders in Charlestown about the movements of
the British; these back-up riders planned to deliver the warning message
to Lexington and Concord in case Revere and Dawes were arrested on the
way. The lanterns were hung for just under a minute to avoid catching
the eyes of the British troops occupying Boston, but this was long
enough for the message to be received in Charlestown. The militia
waiting across the river had been told to look for the signal lanterns, and
were prepared to act as soon as they saw them. One lantern was to notify
Charlestown that the British Army would march over Boston Neck and
the Great Bridge, and two were to notify them that the troops were taking
boats across the Charles River to land near Phips farm. After receiving
the signal, the Charlestown Patriots sent out a rider to Lexington, but
this rider did not reach his destination and his identity has disappeared
from history. He was the one who might have been captured by a British
patrol. The warning was delivered miles away to dozens of towns, first by
Revere and Dawes on horses, and then by other men on horses and men
who rang church bells and town bells, beat drums, and shot off warning
guns. Revere didn't really say "The British are coming!" because most of
the people in Massachusetts still thought of themselves as British. But
he did say "The Regulars are coming out!" (or something similar) to
almost every house along the way to Lexington after he felt safe from that
British patrol.