This is a list of generals of the Continental Army, the national army of the United States during the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783). These general officers were commissioned by the Continental Congress, the de facto U.S. government during the war. Most of the generals were, when the war began, British subjects who resided in the Thirteen Colonies, although Congress also commissioned a number of foreign volunteers for service in the American army. Revolutionary War generals who served in state militias or in the allied French army were not officers of the Continental Army, although some Continental generals also held rank in these services.

Congress voted to establish the Continental Army on 14 June 1775; the following day, forty-three year-old George Washington was unanimously appointed "General and Commander in Chief" of the army, "to command all the continental forces, raised, or to be raised, for the defense of American liberty."^[1] Washington, expressing misgivings about his abilities, accepted the command and offered to serve without salary. (Ferling 44) a position he held throughout the war. Although others had hoped to receive that appointment,

a Virginian, was selected in part because the soldiers already opposing the British Army at the siege of Boston] were primarily from New England, and so

Ranking just below Washington were the major generals. Four major generals were appointed in April 1775 soon after the creation of the army. Artemas Ward, already in command at Boston, received the first appointment. Charles Lee, a former British Army officer highly recommended by Washington, was named the second major general. Philip Schuyler of New York and Israel Putnam of Connecticut, who were from colonies with significant numbers of troops already in the field, were the third and fourth major generals. Thereafter, most major generals in the Continental Army reached that rank by promotion from the lower rank of brigadier general rather than by direct appointment. The first major general to be promoted from the lower rank of brigadier general was Richard Montgomery. He was killed in 1775 while leading the assault against Quebec, becoming the highest ranked Continental Army officer to be killed in action.

Brigadier generals

Ranking below major generals were brigadier generals. The initial selection process entailed much political maneuvering. On 22 June 1775, Seth Pomeroy was the first to be appointed as a brigadier general, but he did not accept the position, and instead served as a major general in the Massachusetts militia.

Horatio Gates Washington had no serious rival for the position. In 1758, near the end of that war he temporarily commanded a brigade, the only American to have commanded that large a force. (Wright 26)

Seniority

Foreign volunteers

Highest rank color code:

Abbreviations in "Service notes" column:

• BA: held a commission in the British Army
• CC: member of the Continental or Confederation Congress
• CMa: faced a court-martial but was acquitted
• CMx: court-martialed and convicted of some charge
• F&I: served in the French and Indian War (North America)
• 7Y: served in the Seven Years' War (Europe)

Casualties

• KIA: killed in action or died of wounds received in battle
• POW: prisoner of war at some point (most were released in prisoner exchanges)
• POW†: died in captivity
• RIP: died during the war from non-battle related causes
• WIA: wounded in action

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• Dictionary of American Biography. New York: Scribner's, 1928–64. 11 volumes.
• Garraty, John A. and Mark C. Carnes, eds. American National Biography. 26 vols to date. New York: Oxford University Press, 1999. ISBN 0195206355.
• Heitman, Francis B. Historical Register of Officers of the Continental Army during the War of the Revolution. New, enlarged, and revised edition. Washington, D.C.: Rare Book Shop Publishing Company, 1914. Accessed via Google Book Search.
• Purcell, L. Edward. Who Was Who in the American Revolution. New York: Facts on File, 1993. ISBN 0-8160-2107-4.
• Wright, Robert K. The Continental Army. Washington, D.C.: Center of Military History, U.S. Army, 1983. Available, in part, online from the U.S. Army website.