History is for Everyone

White Plains, NY

People

9 historical figures connected to White Plains during the Revolutionary War.

Patriots & Founders

Other Figures

George Washington

1732–1799

Commander-in-ChiefMount Vernon PlanterEnslaver

Virginia planter and Continental Army commander-in-chief who owned and managed Mount Vernon's enslaved workforce. Absent from his estate for most of the war, he directed Lund Washington's management by correspondence and returned to find the plantation's human community shaped by eight years of wartime disruption.

Alexander McDougall

1732–1786

Continental Army GeneralNew York Militia LeaderSon of Liberty

New York general who commanded the American forces on Chatterton Hill during the Battle of White Plains. His mixed force of militia and Continentals contested the British assault on the hill before withdrawing in reasonable order — one of the better performances by a mixed American command in the New York campaign.

John Glover

1732–1797

Continental Army ColonelMarblehead Amphibious Regiment CommanderMassachusetts Fisherman

Massachusetts fisherman and colonel who commanded the Marblehead regiment — the same men who rowed Washington across the Delaware. At Pell's Point, days before White Plains, Glover's four regiments conducted a delaying action against 4,000 British troops that bought Washington critical time to reach White Plains and fortify.

Colonel William Smallwood

1732–1792

Maryland Continental Regiment CommanderContinental Army ColonelFuture Governor of Maryland

Commander of the Maryland Continental Regiment who fought at White Plains. The Marylanders had been among the soldiers who covered the Long Island retreat; at White Plains they again served as reliable Continentals in a force that mixed professional soldiers with unreliable militia.

Lieutenant General Leopold von Heister

1707–1777

Hessian GeneralGerman Mercenary CommanderHessian Corps Commander

Commander of the Hessian forces in North America during the 1776 campaign. His troops participated in the assault on Chatterton Hill at White Plains and were among the most feared elements of the British force. Hessian discipline and aggressiveness at White Plains put significant pressure on the American right flank.

General Charles Lee

1732–1782

Continental Army GeneralFormer British OfficerSubordinate Commander

Eccentric former British officer who served as a senior Continental general during the White Plains campaign. Washington ordered Lee to bring a substantial force from the Hudson Highlands to reinforce the army at White Plains; Lee delayed, which contributed to Washington's vulnerability during the retreat across New Jersey.

Major General Nathanael Greene

1742–1786

Continental Army GeneralSouthern Department Commander

Rhode Island Quaker who became Washington's most capable general. Commanded the Southern Department from December 1780, rebuilding the shattered army and fighting a campaign of strategic attrition that expelled British forces without winning a single tactical victory.

Elijah Miller

1740–1790

Local FarmerCivilianProperty Owner

White Plains-area farmer whose house on the eastern edge of town served as Washington's headquarters during the Battle of White Plains. The Miller House still stands as one of the few surviving structures directly associated with the battle.