| Name | Period of service in the rank, promotions and previous military experience. Termination of service | Commentary |
|---|
| Artemas Ward | June 17, to April 23, [2] General and Commander-in-Chief of the Massachusetts troops.[5]
Resigned officially due to "want of health", but really did not want to leave Boston after the British evacuation.[6] | The first overall leader of the assembled militia forces outside Boston after the war began, and ranked second in seniority to Washington in the Continental Army. He commanded the Eastern Department, which was largely responsible for containing the British at Newport, until , when he resigned due to poor health |
| Charles Lee | June 17, to January 10, [2]Half-payLieutenant Colonel in the British Army, formerly of the rd Foot.[7]
Dismissed by Congress.[8] | An experienced British military officer, Lee had hoped to be appointed commander-in-chief instead of Washington. He was a somewhat difficult subordinate of Washington's, delaying execution of orders or deliberately flouting them at times. During the retreat across New Jersey from New York, Lee was captured by the British in a surprise raid. Quickly exchanged, he participated in the Philadelphia campaign. After he was convicted by a court martial for disobeying orders during the Battle of Monmouth, he resigned from the army in |
| Philip Schuyler | June 19, to April 19, [2] Member of the Second Continental Congress.[9]
Resigned due to a dispute with Horatio Gates.[10] | As head of the Northern Department, Schuyler planned the invasion of Quebec, but was prevented from leading it by an illness. He was active in the defense of New York in , but the withdrawal from Ticonderoga led Congress to replace him with Horatio Gates. He was also active in Indian relations, cultivating the neutrality or support of tribes in New York. |
| Israel Putnam | June 19, to June 3, [2] Promoted from colonel of the 3rd Connecticut Regiment.[11]
Resigned officially at the end of the war. However, his active service ended in December due to a stroke.[12] | Active from the first days of the revolution, Putnam led the forces in the field at the Battle of Bunker Hill. After performing poorly in the Battle of Long Island, Washington assigned him to do primarily recruiting in the Highlands Department. He suffered a stroke in , which ended his military career. |
| Richard Montgomery | Dec. 9, to Dec. 31, (Brigadier General June 22, ).[2] Former Captain in the 17th Foot.[13]
Killed in action during the Battle of Quebec.[14] | Leading the Invasion of Canada in as a brigadier, Montgomery was killed in the Battle of Quebec, without knowing that he had been promoted to major general following the Siege of Fort St. Jean. |
| John Thomas | March 6, to June 2, (Brigadier General June 22, ).[2]Lieutenant General of Massachusetts Militia.[15]
Died from smallpox during the retreat from Canada.[16] | Active from the beginning of the war in Boston, Thomas commanded the besieging forces at Roxbury. Sent to take over the forces besieging Quebec City, he died of smallpox during the army's retreat in June |
| William Heath | Aug. 9, to Nov. 3, (Brigadier General June 22, ).[2]Major General of Massachusetts Militia.[17] | Having a prominent role training troops in the early days of the war at the Siege of Boston, Heath spent most of the war leading the Highland Department, since Washington was apparently not confident of his ability in the field.[citation needed] |
| Horatio Gates | May 16, to Nov. 3, (Brigadier General June 17, ).[2]
Half-pay Major in the British Army, formerly of the Royal American Regiment.[18] | Served at first as Washington's adjutant, and then in the Northern Department. He was in command during the pivotal battle of Saratoga in , following which he lobbied Congress as a potential replacement for Washington. He was afterward given command of the Southern Department, where his army was disastrously defeated at Camden in , ending his field leadership. |
| Joseph Spencer | Aug. 9, to Jan. 13, (Brigadier General June 22, from Colonel of 2nd Connecticut Regiment).[2][19]
Resigned because Congress had ordered an investigation of his military conduct.[20] |
| John Sullivan | Aug. 9, to Nov. 30, (Brigadier General June 22, when member of the Second Continental Congress).[2][21]
Resigned due to ill health.[21] | Active from the first days of the war, he led a relief column and ended up in command of the invasion of Quebec during its final weeks in He then served under Washington in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. He led American forces in the failed Battle of Rhode Island, and then led the Sullivan Expedition, which destroyed Indian villages in New York. |
| Nathanael Greene | Aug. 9, to Nov. 3, (Brigadier General June 22, ).[2] Brigadier General of Rhode Island troops.[22] | One of the best strategists in the Continental Army. He served under Washington in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, and served for a time as the army's Quartermaster General. He led the ultimately successful campaign in and against the British "Southern Strategy" as commander of the Southern Department, effectively becoming the Continental Army's number two general. |
| Benedict Arnold | Feb. 17, to Sept 25, (Brigadier General Jan. 10, from Colonel of 20th Continental Regiment).[2][23]
Deserted to the enemy.[24] | A leading force in the early days of the war, participating in the capture of Fort Ticonderoga and the invasion of Quebec. He played a crucial role in the Battles of Saratoga, in which he was severely wounded. In , he acquired command of the Highlands Department with the intent of surrendering West Point to the British. The plot was uncovered and he fled to join the British, for whom he served until the end of as a brigadier general. |
| William Alexander | Feb. 19, to Jan. 15, (Brigadier General March 1, from Colonel of 1st New Jersey Regiment).[2][25]
Died in active service.[26] | Spending most of the war with the Main Army under Washington, he was captured during the Battle of Long Island in and not long after that, exchanged for Montfort Browne. He also served with distinction in numerous battles in New Jersey. He died in shortly before the end of the war. |
| Thomas Mifflin | Feb. 19, to Feb. 25, (Brigadier General May 16, from Quartermaster General with rank of colonel).[2][27]
Resigned when under investigation by Congress for his actions as Quartermaster General.[28] | Serving in a variety of roles during and after the American Revolution, several of which qualify him to be counted among the Founding Fathers. He was the first Governor of Pennsylvania, serving from to ; he was also the last President of Pennsylvania, succeeding Benjamin Franklin and serving from until |
| Arthur St. Clair | Feb. 19, to Nov. 3, (Brigadier General Aug. 9, from Colonel of 2nd Pennsylvania Battalion).[2][29] | Leading troops during the Quebec, New York, and New Jersey campaigns, and then put in command of Fort Ticonderoga, where he made the critical decision to retreat before Burgoyne's advancing army. Publicly criticized for this step, which saved his army, he held no more field commands, but served as an aide to Washington for the rest of the war. |
| Adam Stephen | Feb. 19, to Feb. 25, (Brigadier General Sep. 4, from Colonel of 4th Virginia Regiment).[2][30]
Court-martialed and cashiered for drunkenness and firing on friendly troops at the battle of Germantown.[31] | Leading forces under Washington in the New York, New Jersey, and Philadelphia campaigns. Following a misstep in the Battle of Germantown in which, against orders, he advanced his troops to a point where they accidentally exchanged friendly fire with forces of Anthony Wayne, Stephen was court martialed and cashiered out of the army. |
| Benjamin Lincoln | Feb. 19, to Oct. 29, [2] Commissioned from major general of Massachusetts Militia.[32] | Present at three major surrenders during the war. Active in the New York campaign, Washington sent him to assist Horatio Gates in the Northern Department, where he was wounded after the Battle of Bemis Heights. Next he was put in command of the Southern Department, he was forced to surrender his army to Sir Henry Clinton when they were surrounded in Charleston in Exchanged later that year, he was present at the Siege of Yorktown where, as second-in-command to Washington, he accepted Cornwallis' sword, which Cornwallis had sent his second-in-command to deliver. From to he served as Secretary at War. |
| Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette | July 31, to Nov. 3, [2]Captain in the French Régiment de Noailles dragons.[33] | Serving with Washington in the Philadelphia campaign, he fought in the Battle of Rhode Island, and successfully resisted significant engagements with British forces in Virginia before the armies of Washington and Rochambeau arrived. He was a favorite of Washington's, who treated him like a son. |
| Philip De Coudray | Aug. 11, to Sept. 15, [2]Chef de brigade in the French Corps-Royal d'artillerie.[34]
Died in a riding accident.[34] |
| Johann de Kalb | Sept. 15, to Aug. 19, [2] Former Captain and lieutenant colonel by brevet in the French Régiment d'Anhalt.[35]
Died of wounds received in the battle of Camden.[36] | Serving under Washington at Valley Forge, he was sent to the Southern Department with Horatio Gates when he took over that department. |
| Robert Howe | Oct. 20, to Nov. 3, (Brigadier General March 1, from Colonel of 2nd North Carolina Regiment).[2][37] | Commanding the Southern Department, he led a campaign against East Florida that failed due to disagreements with state militia commanders, and was forced to surrender Savannah. He then served under Anthony Wayne in the Highlands Department, seeing action at Stony Point, and under Washington in the Main Army, where he put down a mutiny in |
| Alexander McDougall | Oct. 20, to Nov. 3, (Brigadier General Aug. 9, )[2] Former Colonel of 1st New York Regiment).[38] | Active in the New York and Philadelphia campaigns, he spent most of the war in the Highlands Department under William Heath. |
| Thomas Conway | Dec. 13, to April 28, (Brigadier General May 13, ).[2] Colonel in the French Régiment d'Anjou.[39]
Resigned when he lost his command after the Conway Cabal had been revealed.[40] | Inspector General of the Continental Army. Involved with the Conway Cabal together with Horatio Gates, he later served with Émigré forces during the French Revolutionary War. |
| Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben | May 15, to April 15, [2] (VolunteerInspector General March 28, )[41] Former Captain in the Prussian Infantry Regiment von Salmuth.[42] | His military drills and instruction, which included swearing and shouting commands to officers, were especially helpful at Valley Forge, are generally credited with significantly improving the performance of the Continental Army. He served in active roles in the Philadelphia campaign, and under Nathanael Greene in his southern campaign, before returning to Washington's army at Yorktown. He authored Regulations for the Order and Discipline of the Troops of the United States, the United States Army's training guide until the War of At President Washington's request, he created a blueprint for the future of the U.S. Military, including the establishment, framework, and curriculum for America's service academies, starting with West Point.[43] |
| William Smallwood | Sept. 15, to Nov. 3, (Brigadier General Oct. 23, from Colonel of 1st Maryland Regiment).[2][44] | Served with distinction in the New York campaign and was twice wounded at White Plains. He then served in the Philadelphia campaign, and was in the debacle at Camden in He also commanded the militia of North Carolina for a few months. |
| Samuel Holden Parsons | Oct. 23, to July 22, (Brigadier General Aug. 9, from Colonel of 10th Continental Regiment.)[2][45]
Dissatisfied and in poor health, he repeatedly asked leave to resign but it was not granted by Congress until the end of hostilities.[46] |
| Henry Knox | Nov. 15, to June 20, (Brigadier General Dec. 27, from Colonel of Artillery).[2][47] | Chief artillery officer of the Continental Army. Active with Washington throughout most of the war, he brought Ticonderoga's cannons to Boston in early , and saw the most action from New York to Yorktown. He oversaw the creation of an artillery training centre that was a precursor to the United States Military Academy, and later served as the first United States Secretary of War. Knox initiated the concept of The Society of the Cincinnati, formally organizing the society and authoring its founding document as the war ended in [48][49][50] |
| Louis Lebègue Duportail | Nov. 15, to June 20, (Brigadier General Nov. 17, from Colonel of Engineers).[2][51] Lieutenant-Colonel in the French Corps royal du genie.[52] | He oversaw the improvement of defenses throughout the states and directed the engineering efforts at Yorktown. |
| William Moultrie | Oct. 15, to Nov. 3, (Brigadier General Sept. 16, from Colonel of 2nd South Carolina Regiment).[2][53] |