Alexander Hamilton, a Founding Father and the nation’s first Secretary of the Treasury, rose to prominence during the American Revolution as an artillery captain and later as a trusted aide-de-camp to General George Washington.

Known for Lord Dunmore's Proclamation, which promised freedom to any enslaved man who fought for Britain during the Revolution, Lord Dunmore served as governor of both New York and Virginia and as a staunch defender of the Crown.

In 1779, after a stalemate in the north, Cornwallis went south as second in command to Sir Henry Clinton. Clinton captured Charleston in May 1780. Cornwallis pressed on to defeat General Horatio Gates at Camden, South Carolina, on August 16, 1780.

A career military officer under the French crown, the Comte de Rochambeau led 5,500 French troops to North America to aid in the Patriots' fight for independence from Britain.