Revolutionary War Heroes

General William M. Reilly of the Pennsylvania National Guard died in 1896 and left a trust fund to create bronze monuments to Revolutionary War heroes, and when the fund had grown large enough in 1938 work began on a memorial honoring foreign volunteers who aided the American cause. Reilly especially wished to honor Richard Montgomery, Casimir Pulaski, Friedrich von Steuben, and the Marquis de Lafayette as men from other countries who joined the struggle against British rule, and the memorial was also intended to express gratitude to the lands of their birth. Friedrich von Steuben, a Prussian military expert, joined George Washington's forces at Valley Forge in 1778 to train the army in tactics, weapon use, and sanitation, and later led a division at the siege of Yorktown. John Paul Jones, born in Scotland, came to America before the Revolution, entered the Continental Navy at the outbreak of war, commanded vessels that raided the British Isles and struck British shipping, and was credited during one battle with the declaration, "I have not yet begun to fight!" Casimir Pulaski, a Polish nobleman and experienced military commander, volunteered to assist Washington, led a charge at Brandywine, became brigadier general of the American cavalry, formed Pulaski's Legion, and was mortally wounded while trying to rally his men at Savannah. Lafayette, the best known of the foreign volunteers, joined Washington's forces as a major general at age 20, was wounded at Brandywine, served at Monmouth and Rhode Island, and aided the final campaign in Virginia. Nathanael Greene, born into a Quaker family in Rhode Island, commanded troops at Trenton, Brandywine, and Germantown, improved the army's supply system as quartermaster general, and later helped wear down and trap the British Army while commanding southern forces. Richard Montgomery, Irish-born and formerly a British Army officer in America during the French and Indian War, moved to the colonies before the Revolution, became a brigadier general when war began, led the 1775 invasion of Canada, captured Montreal, and was killed in the failed attack on Quebec.

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania · United States