Overview of the General Staff
Taaffe, Stephen R. Washington’s Revolutionary War Generals. Campaigns and Commanders, volume 68. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2019.
Selection, promotion and performance of Revolutionary War generals is a critically under researched aspect of the Rebellion. In his second book on the Revolutionary War, Stephen R. Taaffe rectifies this gap in scholarship with his evaluation of the Continental Congress’s promotion decisions and the strategic and tactical performance of the Continental Army generals. Professor Taaffe’s ambitious volume is the first book on the politics among the generals and the politics between the generals and Congress since the 1975 controversial volume, The Politics of Command in the American Revolution by Jonathan Gregory Rossie.[i] While Rossie focused much of his work on the three-year running dispute between Generals Horatio Gates and Philip Schuyler, Taaffe takes on a more difficult remit by providing a more comprehensive view of the politics and evaluation of the generals throughout the entire eight-year conflict. This fast-paced, engaging book is divided into six chapters along with introductory and concluding sections. Throughout, the reader is provided with attention-grabbing statistical data on the age, home state and number of generals by rank. One of the book’s best features is the incisive conclusions provided at the end of each chapter.
[i] Jonathan Gregory Rossie, The Politics of Command in the American Revolution, 1st ed (Syracuse, N.Y: Syracuse University Press, 1975). Rossie has been criticized as unduly anti-Schuyler and pro-Gates. In addition, there are reported gaps in his scholarship.
Overview Biographies
Billias, George Athan, ed. George Washington’s Generals and Opponents: Their Exploits and Leadership. 1st Da Capo Press ed. New York: Da Capo Press, 1994.
Blanchard, Amos. The American Biography : Containing Biographical Sketches of the Officers of the Revolution, and of the Principal Statesmen of That Period, to Which Are Added the Life and Character of Benedict Arnold, and the Narrative of Major Andre. Wheeling, WV: Kenyon, 1833.
Broadwater, Robert P. American Generals of the Revolutionary War: A Biographical Dictionary. Jefferson: McFarland, 2012.
Griswold, Rufus, William Gilmore Simms, and Edward D Ingraham. Washington and the Generals of the American Revolution. Philadelphia: Carey and Hart, 1847.
Headley, J.T. Washington and His Generals. Home Library. New York: A. L. Burt Company, n.d.
Journal Articles
For a comparison of the prior military experience of the British generals as compared with the Patriot generals, see an article entitled Revolutionary Rookies in the Journal of the American Revolution.
Personal Honor and Promotion Among Revolutionary Generals and Congress
Major Generals Comparative Data
Full-length biographies of the twenty-nine major generals are relatively few. For each of the major generals, I have compiled a list of the published biographies as well as repository sources for memoirs and papers. In addition to the sources cited, researchers should consult with the David library of the American Revolution, theGeorge Washington papers, and Founders on line for additional documents.
The major generals are listed in order of senority. The major generals highly coveted seniority and jealously guarded its priviledges.
Rank and Promotion Information
The average number of years served as a major general is 3.7 years with 5.3 total years of service. The dates of service by rank for the twenty-nine Continental Army major generals are found in the link below.
Continental Army Major Generals Dates of Service
Remonstrances to Congress for higher pay and expenses
Rank |
Signed |
July 11, 1789 |
July 11, 1789 |
July 11, 1789 |
Service End |
Served to |
|||
General |
November 15, 1779 |
Nov Letter |
July 11, 1780 Rank |
Signed to Congress |
Signed instructions |
Signed to committee |
Date |
the End |
|
Charles Lee |
MG |
On Arrest |
Dismissed |
||||||
Israel Putnam |
MG |
Y |
Disabled |
Inctive to end |
|||||
Horatio Gates |
MG |
y |
South |
End |
|||||
William Heath |
MG |
y |
Boston |
End |
|||||
John Sullivan |
MG |
Y |
Resigned 11/30/79 |
||||||
Nathaniel Greene |
MG |
y |
Y |
Y |
y |
End |
|||
Benedict Arnold |
MG |
On Arrest |
ontemplating turncoat |
In philly |
9/25/80 |
||||
William Alexander |
MG |
y |
Y |
Y |
y |
Died 1/1783 |
|||
Arthus St. Clair |
MG |
y |
Y |
Y |
y |
End |
|||
Benjamin Lincoln |
MG |
South |
Captured |
End |
|||||
Paul J. G. de M. Lafayette |
MG |
In France |
y |
End |
|||||
John De Kalb |
MG |
y |
South |
died 1780 |
|||||
Robert Howe |
MG |
y |
Y |
Y |
End |
||||
Alexander McDougall |
MG |
y |
y |
y |
y |
End |
|||
Frederick W. A. Steuben |
MG |
y |
Y |
Y |
End |
||||
William Thompson |
Brig. Gen |
Capture |
Captured |
9/3/81 |
|||||
John Nixon |
Brig. Gen |
y |
9/12/80 |
||||||
Arthur St. Clair |
Brig. Gen |
y |
End |
||||||
Samuel H. Parsons |
Brig. Gen |
y |
Y BY PROXY |
Y BY PROXY |
End |
||||
James Clinton |
Brig. Gen |
y |
Y |
Y |
End |
||||
William Moultrie |
Brig. Gen |
South |
Captured |
Y |
`End |
||||
Lachlan McIntosh |
Brig. Gen |
South |
Captured |
End |
|||||
William Maxwell |
Brig. Gen |
y |
Y |
Y |
Y |
7/25/80 |
|||
William Smallwood |
Brig. Gen |
y |
End |
||||||
Henry Knox |
Brig. Gen |
y |
Y |
Y |
End |
||||
Enoch Poor |
Brig. Gen |
y |
Y |
Y |
9/8/80 |
Died |
|||
John Glover |
Brig. Gen |
y |
7/22/82 |
||||||
John Patterson |
Brig. Gen |
y |
Y |
Y |
End |
||||
Anthony Wayne |
Brig. Gen |
y |
Y |
Y |
y |
End |
|||
John P. De Haas |
Brig. Gen |
Philly |
Without assignment |
Brevet MG on 9/30/80 |
|||||
William Woodford |
Brig. Gen |
y |
Captured |
11/13/80 |
Died |
||||
Peter Muhlenberg |
Brig. Gen |
y |
End |
||||||
George Weedon |
Brig. Gen |
Miliia |
Militia |
End |
|||||
George Clinton |
Brig. Gen |
NY Gov. |
NY Gov. |
End |
|||||
Edward Hand |
Brig. Gen |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Y |
End |
|||
Charles Scott |
Brig. Gen |
South |
Captured |
End |
|||||
Jedediah Huntington |
Brig. Gen |
y |
Y |
Y |
End |
||||
John Stark |
Brig. Gen |
Northern |
Northern |
End |
|||||
Louis L. Duportail |
Brig. Gen |
South |
Captured |
End |
|||||
Jethro Sumner |
Brig. Gen |
South |
South |
End |
|||||
James Hogun |
Brig. Gen |
Philly |
Captured |
1/4/81 |
|||||
Issac Huger |
Brig. Gen |
South |
South |
End |
|||||
Mordecai Gist |
Brig. Gen |
y |
End |
||||||
Williarm Irvine |
Brig. Gen |
y |
Y |
Y |
y |
End |
Slave Ownership
Not counting George Washington, there were twenty-nine major generals, of which twenty-three lived before or after the war in the United States. Over half of these major generals owned slaves, which is a bit lower in proportion to the slave owning signers of the Declaration of Independence. While certainly a much lower percentage, it is less certain the proportions of the major generals who advocated ending slavery.
Major General | State | Slave Owner | No of Slaves | Anti Slavery Views | Last Will and Testament |
Artemus Ward | MA | No | |||
Charles Lee | VA | Yes | ? | Yes, sold | |
Philip Schuyler | NY | Yes | 13 | Silent | |
Israel Putnam | CT | No | Bought freedom for a slave encountered in 1763 | ||
Richard Montgomery | NY | Yes | ? | Left slaves to heirs | |
John Thomas | MA | No | |||
Horatio Gates | VA | Yes | ? | May have had a change of heart after the war | Sold with some manumission |
William Heath | MA | No | yes | ||
Joseph Spencer | CT | No | |||
John Sullivan | NH | Yes | 1 | Slaves not mentioned in his final inventory | |
Nathaniel Greene | RI | Yes | ? | No mention of slaves, just property | |
Benedict Arnold | CT | No | |||
William Alexander | NJ | Indentured | No mention of slavery | ||
Arthus St. Clair | PA | No | Yes | ||
Adam Stephen | VA | Yes | 30 | Left to heirs | |
Benjamin Lincoln | MA | Yes | 1 | May have had a change of heart after the war | |
Robert Howe | NC | Yes | 30 | Destitude at death | |
Alexander McDougall | NY | Yes | 1 | ||
Frederick W. A. Steuben | NY | No | No mention of Slavery | ||
William Smallwood | MD | Yes | 56 | Destitude at death | |
Samual Parsons | CT | No | Partially | ||
Henry Knox | MA | No | |||
William Moultrie | SC | Yes | 200 | Destutude at death | |
Foreign Volunteers who returned home or died in service | |||||
Thomas Mifflin | |||||
Paul J. G. de M. Lafayette | |||||
Philip De Coudray | |||||
John De Kalb | |||||
Thomas Conway | |||||
Louis L. Duportail | |||||
No=10 | |||||
Yes=12 | |||||
I=1 |