1775–1783
Approximately 231,000 people served in the Continental Army at various times between 1775 and 1783. Three of those people were Margaret Corbin, Cuffee Saunders, and Henry Knox. Though each played a vital role in the Revolutionary War, their backgrounds and experiences differed immensely. Corbin is recognized as the United States’ first female Veteran. Saunders was part of a segregated unit and exchanged his enlistment bounty for freedom. Knox was the son of Irish immigrants, and though he had no formal education, he became chief artillery officer of the Continental Army. Corbin, Saunders, and Knox illustrate the diversity of Americans who served in the Revolutionary War.
Image Source: John Hampton, Muster roll with volunteer sign-up sheet for Massachusetts minutemen, 1776, Gilder Lehrman Institute, GLC07564
