Browsing named entities in Harper's Encyclopedia of United States History (ed. Benson Lossing). You can also browse the collection for 1781 AD or search for 1781 AD in all documents.

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Harper's Encyclopedia of United States History (ed. Benson Lossing), Cornwallis, Lord Charles 1738-1805 (search)
n against the Carolinas under Sir Peter Parker in 1776. He commanded the reserves of the British in the battle on Long Island in August; was outgeneralled by Washington at Princeton; was with Howe on the Brandywine and in the capture of Philadelphia, when he returned to England, but soon came back; was at the capture of Charleston in May, 1780; was commander of the British troops in the Carolinas that year; defeated Gates near Camden in August; fought Greene at Guildford Court-house early in 1781; invaded Virginia, and finally took post at and fortified Yorktown, on the York River, and there surrendered his army to the American and French forces in October, 1781. He was appointed governor-general and commander-in-chief in India in 1786; and was victorious in war there in 1791-92, compelling Tippoo Saib to cede, as the price of peace, half his dominions to the British crown. He returned to England in 1793; was created a marquis; and appointed lord-lieutenant of Ireland in 1798. He n
Harper's Encyclopedia of United States History (ed. Benson Lossing), Cowell, Benjamin 1781-1860 (search)
Cowell, Benjamin 1781-1860 Historian; born in Wrentham, Mass., in 1781; graduated at Brown University in 1803; settled in Providence, R. I., became chief-justice of the Court of Common Pleas; and was author of The spirit of ‘76. He died in Providence, R. I., May 6, 1860. Cowell, Benjamin 1781-1860 Historian; born in Wrentham, Mass., in 1781; graduated at Brown University in 1803; settled in Providence, R. I., became chief-justice of the Court of Common Pleas; and was author of The spirit of ‘76. He died in Providence, R. I., May 6, 1
Harper's Encyclopedia of United States History (ed. Benson Lossing), Cowpens, the (search)
r, for making butter and cheese, and the steers in tillage. In the fall large numbers of the fatted cattle would be driven down to Camden to be slaughtered for beef on account of the owners. This region, on account of its grass and fine springs, was peculiarly favorable for the rearing and use of cows, and consequently was called The Cowpens. Subsequently the name of Cowpens was given to a village in Spartanburg county, which became the scene of a spirited battle in the Revolutionary War (1781). From his camp, eastward of the Pedee, Greene sent Morgan, with the Maryland regiment and Washington's dragoons of Lee's corps, across the Broad River, to operate on the British left and rear. Observing this, Cornwallis left his camp at Winnsborough, and pushed northward between the Broad River and the Catawba, for the purpose of interposing his force between Greene and Morgan. Against the latter he had detached Tarleton with about 1,000 light troops. Aware of Tarleton's approach, Morg
Harper's Encyclopedia of United States History (ed. Benson Lossing), Craig, Sir James Henry 1749- (search)
Craig, Sir James Henry 1749- Military officer; born in Gibraltar in 1749; entered the British army as ensign in 1763, was aide-de-camp to General Boyd at Gibraltar in 1770, and came to America in 1774. He remained in service here from the battle of Bunker Hill until the evacuation of Charleston, in 1781, when he held the rank of lieutenant-colonel. He was made a major-general in 1794, lieutenant-general in 1801, and governorgeneral and commander-in-chief of Canada in 1807. Totally unfit for civil rule, he was a petty oppressor as governor; his administration was short, and he returned to England in 1811, where he died Jan. 12, 1812.
Harper's Encyclopedia of United States History (ed. Benson Lossing), Craik, James 1731-1814 (search)
Craik, James 1731-1814 Physician; born in Scotland in 1731; came to America in early life, and practised his profession in Fairfax county, Va. He was the intimate friend and family physician of Washington; was with him in his expedition against the French in 1754, and in Braddock's campaign in 1755. In 1775 he was placed in the medical department of the Continental army, and rose to the first rank. He unearthed many of the secrets of the Conway cabal and did much to defeat the conspiracy. He was director of the army hospital at Yorktown in the siege of that place, in 1781, and after the Revolution settled near Mount Vernon, where he was the principal attendant of Washington in his last illness. He died in Fairfax county, Va., Feb. 6, 1814.
Harper's Encyclopedia of United States History (ed. Benson Lossing), Cruger, Henry, Jr. 1739-1780 (search)
Cruger, Henry, Jr. 1739-1780 Merchant; born in New York City, in 1739. His father became a merchant in Bristol, England, where he died in 1780. Henry was associated with him in trade, and succeeded him as mayor of Bristol in 1781. He had been elected to Parliament as the colleague of Edmund Burke in 1774, and was re-elected in 1784, and on all occasions advocated conciliatory measures towards his countrymen. After the war he became a merchant in New York, and, while yet a member of the British Parliament, was elected to the Senate of the State of New York. He died in New York, April 24, 1827.
Harper's Encyclopedia of United States History (ed. Benson Lossing), Custis, George Washington Parke 1781- (search)
Custis, George Washington Parke 1781- adopted son of George Washington; born in Mount Airy, Md., April 30, 1781; was a grandson of Mrs. Washington. His father was John Parke Custis, and his mother was Eleanor Calvert, of Maryland. At the siege of Yorktown his father was aide-de-camp to Washington; was seized with camp-fever; retired to Eltham, and there died before Washington (who hastened thither immediately after the surrender) could reach his bedside. Washington afterwards adopted his two children—Eleanor Parke and George Washington Parke Custis—as his own. Their early home was at Mount Vernon. George was educated partly at Princeton, and was eighteen years of age at the time of Washington's death, who made him an executor of his will and left him a handsome estate, on which he lived, until his death, Oct. 10, 1857, in literary, artistic, and agricultural pursuits. In his early days Mr. Custis was an eloquent speaker; and in his later years he produced a series of histor
Harper's Encyclopedia of United States History (ed. Benson Lossing), Dana, Francis, 1743-1811 (search)
ress in 1774; went to England in 1775 with confidential letters to Franklin; was a member of the executive council from 1776 to 1780; member of the Continental Congress from 1776 to 1778, and again in 1784; member of the board of war, Nov. 17, 1777; and was at the head of a committee charged with the entire reorganization of the army. When Mr. Adams went on an embassy to negotiate a treaty of peace and commerce with Great Britain, Mr. Dana was secretary of the legation. At Paris, early in 1781, he received the appointment from Congress of minister to Russia, clothed with power to make the accession of the United States to the armed neutrality. He resided two years at St. Petersburg, and returned to Berlin in 1783. He was again in Congress in the spring of 1784, and the next year was made a justice of the Supreme Court of Massachusetts. In 1791 he was appointed chief-justice of Massachusetts, which position he held fifteen years, keeping aloof from political life, except in 1792
Harper's Encyclopedia of United States History (ed. Benson Lossing), Davis, John, 1761-1847 (search)
Davis, John, 1761-1847 Jurist; born in Plymouth, Mass., Jan. 25, 1761; graduated at Harvard College in 1781; admitted to the bar and began practice at Plymouth in 1786. He was the last surviving member of the convention that adopted the federal Constitution; comptroller of the United States Treasury in 1795-96; and eminent for his knowledge of the history of New England. In 1813 he made an address on the Landing of the Pilgrims before the Massachusetts Historical Society, over which he presided in 1818-43. His publications include an edition of Morton's New England Memorial, with many important notes; Eulogy on George Washington; and An attempt to explain the inscription on Dighton Rock. He died in Boston, Mass., Jan. 14, 1847. Statesman; born in Northboro, Mass., Jan. 13, 1787; graduated at Yale in 1812; admitted to the bar in 1815; member of Congress in 1824-34, during which time he opposed Henry Clay; and was elected to the United States Senate in 1835, and resigne
Harper's Encyclopedia of United States History (ed. Benson Lossing), Dearborn, Henry, 1751- (search)
e of Bunker Hill, and in September following (1775) accompanied Arnold in his expedition to Quebec. He participated in the siege of Quebec, and was made prisoner, but was paroled in May, 1776, when he became major of Scammel's New Hampshire regiment. He was in the battles of Stillwater and Saratoga in the fall of 1777, and led the troops in those engagements—in the latter as lieutenant-colonel. He was in the battle of Monmouth, was in Sullivan's campaign against the Indians in 1779, and in 1781 was attached to Washington's staff as deputy quartermastergeneral, with the rank of colonel. In that capacity he served in the siege of Yorktown. In 1784 he settled in Maine, and became general of militia. He was marshal of Maine, by the appointment of Washington, in 1789, member of Congress from 1793 to 1797, and was Secretary of War under Jefferson from 1801 to 1809. From 1809 till 1812 he was collector of the port of Boston, when he was appointed senior major-general in the United Stat