Biographical Sketches of the Generals of the Continental Army of the Revolution — A Reader’s Guide

Patterns of Exit: Resignation, Death, and Dismissal

The prefatory list reveals a striking pattern: of the major-generals named, nearly half resigned before the war ended, several were dismissed or cashiered, and a few died in service. Charles Lee was dismissed in 1780; Adam Stephen was cashiered in 1777; Benedict Arnold deserted in 1780. Others, like Artemas Ward and John Philip Schuyler, resigned early. Leiter records these exits without commentary, letting the facts accumulate. The sketches themselves reinforce this structure: each biography culminates in a final disposition—retirement on half-pay, return to farming, or a civil post. For example, James Clinton, after sliding down a precipice to escape capture, "took leave of his commander-in-chief and retired to his home." The cumulative effect is a portrait of an army constantly shedding its leaders, whether by choice, incapacity, or disgrace.

Wounds and Their Aftermath

Physical injury recurs as a turning point. John Nixon resigned in 1780 because of "ill health, and the effects of a severe wound received at Bunker Hill." Richard Montgomery was killed at Quebec on December 31, 1776. James Clinton, though severely wounded at Fort Clinton, escaped and continued serving. Leiter often notes the specific wound or illness that ended a career: one general retired "nearly deaf and blind." The body of the officer is a fragile instrument, and the sketches track its decline alongside military campaigns. This focus on physical cost gives the work a somber undertone, even as the prose remains matter-of-fact.

Civilian Lives After the War

Many sketches conclude with a brief account of post-war civilian roles. James Clinton held "various civil positions of trust and responsibility" and died at his residence. Christopher Gadsden, after a commercial career, bought back his estate. The transition from general to citizen is presented as a natural closure, often with a note of local esteem. Leiter does not romanticize these later years; she simply records that the officer "passed the remainder of his life" in a particular town, enjoying respect. This pattern underscores the book's function as a biographical register rather than a celebration of martial glory. The war is a phase, not the whole story.

Leiter's sketches reward readers who attend to the small details: the precise date of a resignation, the name of a wound, the town where a general died. The work is best approached as a reference—a place to verify a commission date or trace a career arc—but its cumulative portrait of an army's leadership is unexpectedly poignant. The generals are not heroes in any grand sense; they are men who served, broke, and went home.

Those old biographies of Continental generals always make me think of the long silences between their campaigns, the patient years of waiting and maneuvering. My mind drifts to another kind of waiting, that quiet wrestling between empires over a railway line in the sand. There is a shared, unhurried patience in both, a chess game played across decades. Rarely have I seen such dedication to detail, such careful accounting of a nation’s reach, as in Turkey, the Great Powers, and the Bagdad Railway: A study in imperialism — A Closer Reading. Both volumes simply kept me company for a good, long while.