bluegargantua (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
bluegargantua) wrote2008-07-08 11:19 am
bluegargantua) wrote2008-07-08 11:19 am
Entry tags:
Military Records
Hi,
A sudden question has popped into my head:
What, if any, military service was on the resume of the founding fathers? Just being "Commander-in-Chief" doesn't cut it, you need to have actually been a part of the army. It doesn't matter if you saw action, it doesn't matter if you served under the British or other non-American army. How many soliders are in the roster?
George Washington -- too extensive to summarize here.
John Adams -- none as far as I can tell. Lawyer and Diplomat.
Thomas Jefferson -- Another Lawyer/Diplomat.
James Madison -- I believe he briefly commanded an artillery battery as the British marched on Washington. I'm going to count that, although I'd put an asterisk by it.
Alexander Hamilton -- Artillery Captain. Definitely counts.
Benjamin Franklin -- Pretty much did everything but fight.
John Jay -- Seemed mostly associated with espionage and intelligence among the Patriot rebels. Again, I'll count this, but with a very big asterisk.
George Mason -- None.
Samuel Adams -- Unclear, but I'm leaning towards no. Even as part of the rebel movement, he didn't appear to take direct action or be part of the chain of command.
John Hancock -- Commanded Massachussetts militia during the Revolutionary War.
All this gleaned from a quick perusal of Wikipedia and is cheerfully open for peer review. It's quite possible that all of these men were part of a local militia and I just don't know about it.
But it does appear that out of the 10 men listed, 3 definitely have a military record, 2 are suspect and 5 never served in uniform. Now, all of these men probably did a lot of work for the Revolution and may have co-ordinated a lot of rebel activity. But it doesn't appear as though they acted as part of the rebellion's "military wing".
Huh, interesting
Tom
A sudden question has popped into my head:
What, if any, military service was on the resume of the founding fathers? Just being "Commander-in-Chief" doesn't cut it, you need to have actually been a part of the army. It doesn't matter if you saw action, it doesn't matter if you served under the British or other non-American army. How many soliders are in the roster?
George Washington -- too extensive to summarize here.
John Adams -- none as far as I can tell. Lawyer and Diplomat.
Thomas Jefferson -- Another Lawyer/Diplomat.
James Madison -- I believe he briefly commanded an artillery battery as the British marched on Washington. I'm going to count that, although I'd put an asterisk by it.
Alexander Hamilton -- Artillery Captain. Definitely counts.
Benjamin Franklin -- Pretty much did everything but fight.
John Jay -- Seemed mostly associated with espionage and intelligence among the Patriot rebels. Again, I'll count this, but with a very big asterisk.
George Mason -- None.
Samuel Adams -- Unclear, but I'm leaning towards no. Even as part of the rebel movement, he didn't appear to take direct action or be part of the chain of command.
John Hancock -- Commanded Massachussetts militia during the Revolutionary War.
All this gleaned from a quick perusal of Wikipedia and is cheerfully open for peer review. It's quite possible that all of these men were part of a local militia and I just don't know about it.
But it does appear that out of the 10 men listed, 3 definitely have a military record, 2 are suspect and 5 never served in uniform. Now, all of these men probably did a lot of work for the Revolution and may have co-ordinated a lot of rebel activity. But it doesn't appear as though they acted as part of the rebellion's "military wing".
Huh, interesting
Tom
no subject
show's Thomas Jefferson having served in the Virginia Militia
however
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_Presidents_by_military_rank
says others may disagree