The commander-in-chief of British forces in North America, Howe is now known for his failure to quell the revolution in the colonies during its early years and return loyalty to the British crown.

Drury Harris, a free Black man, served as a private in the 3rd South Carolina Regiment during the American Revolution, fighting in key battles like Savannah, Charleston, and Cowpens, where he was wounded; after the war, he settled in South Carolina, married, and was later granted a pension, living until 1834.

Phillis Wheatley, an enslaved woman from Massachusetts, became a celebrated poet, publishing a book in 1773, corresponding with prominent figures like George Washington, and demonstrating the literary talent of African Americans before dying in poverty at 31.

Captain Isaac Davis, a Massachusetts Minuteman leader, was the first American officer killed in the Revolutionary War at the Battle of Concord on April 19, 1775.