American Revolution: Biographies presents biographies of sixty men and women who took part in, influenced, or were in some way affected by the American Revolution. Among the people profiled in each of the two volumes are American patriots and presidents; colonists who remained loyal to England; Native Americans, royalty, politicians, scoundrels, and military officers from foreign nations who helped or hindered the American fight for freedom; writers, poets, and publishers; and heroic colonial women who wrote, took up arms, acted as spies, or raised funds for American independence.

American Revolution: Biographies not only includes the biographies of such famous patriots as George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Samuel Adams, Thomas Paine, and Thomas Jefferson, it also features the life stories of less celebrated people such as Phillis Wheatley, renowned poet and former slave; Frenchman Pierre Charles L'Enfant, who designed the city of Washington, D.C.; Deborah Sampson, a woman who donned a military uniform and served as an army soldier; and Frederika von Riedesel, a German who chronicled the Revolution while traveling throughout the colonies with her young family as her husband fought for the British.

Other features

American Revolution: Biographies also highlights interesting people with ties to the main biography subjects, and adds details that help round out events of the Revolutionary period. Each entry contains cross-references to other individuals profiled in the two-volume set, and each offers a list of sources— including web sites—for further information about the individual profiled. A timeline and glossary introduce each volume and a cumulative subject index concludes each volume.

American Revolution: Biographies has two companion volumes: American Revolution: Almanac, which describes in narrative form the events leading up to the war and the major events of the war; and American Revolution: Primary Sources, which contains excerpts from more than thirty Revolutionaryera documents.

Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank Mary Reilly McCall, who contributed encouragement, enthusiasm, and several biographies to this set.

Comments and suggestions

We welcome your comments on this work as well as your suggestions for topics to be featured in future editions of American Revolution: Biographies. Please write: Editors, American Revolution: Biographies, U•X•L, 27500 Drake Rd., Farmington Hills, MI 48331-3535; call toll-free: 1-800-877-4253; fax: 248-414-5043; or send e-mail via www.galegroup.com.