History

ert every power I Possess In their service & for the Support of the glorious Cause: I beg they will accept my most cordial thanks for this distinguished testimony of their Approbation.”

Ben Franklin

A member of the British aristocracy – his father was 1st Viscount Gage – the young Gage attended Westminster school where he became acquainted with several others who would play key roles in the colonies and the Revolution including John Burgoyne, Richard Howe and George Germain. He joined the military in the 1740s seeing service in the War of Austrian Succession in 1743 and the Second Jacobite Uprising in 1745. A Major in the 44th Foot Regiment, he was stationed in Ireland and in 1755 sent to service in North America. He and his unit were part of the Braddock Expedition of 1755, fighting in the Battle of Monongahela where George Washington served with distinction.

Born in the Caribbean to an unwed couple, Hamilton was abandoned by his father in 1766 when the young Hamilton was about 11 years old. His mother died two year’s later. Hamilton moved to the island of St. Croix where a letter he wrote describing a hurricane that hit the island impressed locals who raised money to send him to the colonies.

General Cornwallis

Paul Revere

Perhaps the most infamous traitor in history, this Connecticut native twice joined the New York Milita during the French and Indian War and twice deserted under family pressure to finish his apothecary apprenticeship. He became a successful businessman, owning ships that sailed all along the Eastern seaboard.

Prime Minister during the American Revolution, Lord Frederick North was descended from Edward Montagu, the 1st Earl of Sandwich on his mother’s side. A man of the world, North attended the Eton School and then Trinity College, Oxford where he earned a Master of Arts. He became a member of the House of Commons – known for his charm and personal connections – and then took a government position as a junior Lord of the Treasury.

King George III was 22 years old when he ascended to the throne of England in 1760. George – whose parents were German and spoke German - took a German Princess wife, Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. In fact, he was the first Prince of Wales in 75 years to have been born in England.