History

The wife of Founding Father and future President John Adams, Abigail was famously his advisor and an early advocate for women’s rights. She sternly opposed slavery and supported the education of women. She was a strong voice supporting her husband and the Revolution while caring for their family and farm and businesses while John Adams was serving in the Continental Congress and as a diplomat abroad. After the war, she spend five years in Europe with Adams and she remained his closest advisor.

British rule.

A British born officer in the Continental Army, Lee was one of several Army officers who openly doubted and worked against George Washington.

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.