1776 Characters

The First Lord of the Admiralty under King George III.

A prominent Scottish politician and intellectual, notable (and, in Britain, controversial) for his support for the American cause during the Revolutionary War.

One of the three generals who King George III sends to wage war against the American rebels in 1775.

A Member of Parliament and former Prime Minister who opposes King George III’s decision to send troops to America.

A Member of Parliament who supports King George III’s decision to send troops to America.

A Member of Parliament who opposes King George III’s decision to send troops to America.

A legendary British politician and orator, notable for being the only Member of Parliament to support both the French and the Americans in their revolutionary causes.

A famous British historian, politician, and orator whose most famous work is The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, still one of the greatest works of classical scholarship.

A British general and politician who King George III appoints to the British war effort against America.

One of the Founding Fathers and the second president of the United States, John Adams is a key figure in the Revolutionary War, but a comparatively minor figure in 1776: he appears mainly in his capacity as a useful ally for George Washington on the Continental Congress in Philadelphia.

One of the Founding Fathers, famous for signing the Declaration of Independence in large, flamboyant letters.

One of the Founding Fathers and the third president of the United States, Jefferson was the principle author of the Declaration of Independence. Like many of the most famous figures in the Revolutionary War, Jefferson is a minor character in 1776.

An English philosopher whose political writings had a major influence on Thomas Jefferson and other Founding Fathers.

The wife of Nathanael Greene.

A teenage fife player who joins the American forces in the Revolutionary War.

The great-grandfather of George Washington and the founder of the Washington family’s plantation in Virginia.

The father of George Washington, who died when his son was only eleven years old.

The wife of George Washington, and later the first “First Lady” of the United States.

One of the Founding Fathers, Franklin signed the Declaration of Independence and was later a key negotiator with France.

A Boston Loyalist who, according to rumor, had an adulterous affair with General William Howe.

A Boston Loyalist who receives permission from the British army to collect valuables from Boston locals in return for worthless certificates from the British crown.

One of the Founding Fathers and author of the famous pamphlet, Common Sense, which argued for American independence from the British Empire. Paine is one of the few Founding Fathers who witnesses military action during the Revolutionary War.

A New York land speculator who built the Kennedy Mansion, a famous house where George Washington stays during his time in New York in the summer of 1776.

An important American general, descended from Scottish aristocracy, Stirling plays an especially critical role during the American army’s time in New York. He is captured by the British in Brooklyn but later released in a prisoner exchange.

A Loyalist New Yorker who’s executed for allegedly trying to assassinate George Washington.

A British soldier who meets with George Washington in New York to offer peace terms.

An American commander who is appointed by George Washington after Nathanael Green becomes dangerously ill.

An American soldier who nearly ruins George Washington’s plan to retreat from Brooklyn in secret by misinterpreting one of Washington’s orders.

An American commander who nearly ruins George Washington’s plan to retreat from Brooklyn in secret by recalling his troops from the frontlines too early.

One of the Founding Fathers and a member of the Continental Congress.

An American woman who, according to legend, invites General William Howe to tea and delays him from ordering further attacks upon the American troops in New York.

An American commander who organizes a counterattack on British troops in New York.

An American spy who’s executed for burning New York after the American troops leave. It has been suggested, but never proven, that Hale was working on George Washington’s orders.

An American soldier who defects to the British side, bringing with him the plans to Fort Washington.

A British commander who replaces Henry Clinton as the second-in-command to General William Howe.

A Hessian officer whose drunkenness and obliviousness on Christmas Day of 1776 indirectly leads to an American victory in the Battle of Trenton the next day.

The head surgeon for the American troops, who is later revealed to be a British spy.

The British Member of Parliament who arranges the hiring of German mercenaries, or Hessians, in the Revolutionary War.

The Lord Mayor of London.