When many of us think about the important figures of the American Revolutionary War, we think about our founding fathers, who were primarily white men born in one of the 13 British colonies.
While we remember names like George Washington, many people contributed to Revolution, including some who were born abroad but still fought for a country they may not even have yet called their own. They were soldiers, generals, medics, politicians or just people who provided much-needed support for Union armies on the battlefield.
These 10 foreign-born patriots might not have been born in what would soon be the United States, but they crossed oceans and brought their unique experiences to their new home.
Bernardo de Gálvez (Spain)
Carlos Monserrate Carreño, Portrait of Bernardo de Gálvez y Madrid.
Bernardo de Gálvez was the governor of the Spanish province of Louisiana, and he aided the early war effort by smuggling vital supplies through the British blockade up the Mississippi River. Once Spain joined the war in 1779, Gálvez led a military campaign against the British on the Gulf Coast, including a critical win at Pensacola, West Florida.
His actions kept the British troops tied up in the South and prevented them from traveling north and surrounding the Continental Army. Gálvez was commended by George Washington and the United States Congress for his aid and in 2014 was granted honorary citizenship as a hero of the American Revolution.
Alexander Hamilton (Nevis, West Indies)
John Trumbull, Alexander Hamilton, 1806, National Portrait Gallery, https://npg.si.edu/object/npg_NPG.79.216.
Born and raised in the Caribbean on islands under British and Danish rule, Alexander Hamilton’s intellectual gifts led him to pursue an education at King’s College (now Columbia University) in New York. In 1775, he left school to join the military effort for independence.
A skilled leader, Hamilton was promoted to lieutenant colonel and became a close confidante and aide-de-camp of General George Washington. He played a critical role in the Siege of Yorktown, the last major battle of the Revolutionary War.
After the war, he was appointed one of the delegates to the Constitutional Convention, and later contributed to writing The Federalist Papers, arguing for ratification of the Constitution. Washington, now president, appointed Hamilton as the first Secretary of the Treasury, where he laid the groundwork for the new American economy.
Baron Johann de Kalb (Germany)
Charles Willson Peale, Johann de Kalb, 1789, National Park Service.
Baron Johann de Kalb of Bavaria, a veteran of the French Army, sailed for the American colonies in 1777 with the Marquis de Lafayette. He was appointed a major general by the Continental Congress and served under General George Washington during several key battles.
In 1780, de Kalb participated in the Battle of Camden against British commander Lord Cornwallis. The Continental forces were led by General Horatio Gates, who fled the field when many of his troops panicked and ran. De Kalb and his infantry remained to stand against Cornwallis for a counterattack before finally being overwhelmed. De Kalb was repeatedly wounded and taken prisoner by the British, succumbing to his wounds three days later.
Tadeusz Koścuiszko (Poland)
A. Girard, Tadeusz Kościuszko, 1839, Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2003688639/.
Tadeusz Koścuiszko joined the American Revolution in 1776 as an engineer. He aided the army by building and strengthening fortifications that helped secure a crucial victory at the Battle of Saratoga and protected West Point, which George Washington called the “key to America.”
The Continental Congress named Koścuiszko chief of the engineering corps and sent him to support the army in the South until the end of the war, when he was also granted U.S. citizenship in gratitude for his service.
Koścuiszko, a believer in liberty, employed Black men throughout his life, and he wrote in his will that his friend Thomas Jefferson should use all of Koścuiszko’s American assets for buying the freedom and education of enslaved Africans.
The Marquis de Lafayette (France)
Joseph-Désiré Court, Portrait of Gilbert Motier the Marquis De La Fayette as a Lieutenant General, 1791, Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gilbert_du_Motier_Marquis_de_Lafayette.PNG.
Early in the Revolution, the young aristocrat Gilbert du Motier, the Marquis de Lafayette, disobeyed French royal decree and journeyed overseas to join the Patriots, soon proving his worth in battle and becoming a close confidante of General George Washington. After earning multiple commendations by the Continental Congress, Lafayette traveled back to France and played a pivotal role in securing French aid for the Continental Army.
Back in the United States, Lafayette commanded the force that was able to surround the British commander Lord Cornwallis at Yorktown in 1781, the battle that would mark the end of the Revolutionary War.
Thomas Paine (England)
Laurent Dabos, Thomas Paine, 1792, National Portrait Gallery, https://npg.si.edu/object/npg_NPG.2008.5
Thomas Paine came to the colonies from England only a year before the start of the Revolutionary War. Already an intellectual and political advocate, when Benjamin Franklin invited Paine to come to Pennsylvania, he eagerly made the journey.
With tensions simmering in the colonies over the King George’s treatment of his colonial subjects, Paine made the case for independence and democracy in a 47-page pamphlet called “Common Sense,” which was printed nearly 500,000 times and owned by an estimated 20 percent of colonists.
Paine continued to publish influential and inspiring writings, several of which George Washington used to boost the morale of troops throughout the war. His writings rallied soldiers, politicians and common citizens alike to fight for their freedom.
Casimir Pulaski (Poland)
Casimir Pulaski, National Park Service, https://www.nps.gov/people/casimir-pulaski.htm.
Casimir Pulaski, now known as the “Father of the American Cavalry,” was recruited to the cause of American Independence by Benjamin Franklin and quickly became instrumental to the war effort.
Without waiting for official approval, he threw himself into the Battle of Brandywine where a desperate General George Washington gave him command of a small, mounted force. Pulaski’s counterattack on the British army allowed the Continental army an orderly and safe retreat and may have saved Washington’s life.
Pulaski went on to create an independent cavalry unit of both American and foreign-born soldiers, and later died in battle in Georgia. In 2009, the United States posthumously granted him honorary citizenship.
Esther de Berdt Reed (England)
Charles Willson Peale, Esther de Berdt Reed, 1785, Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Esther_de_Berdt_Reed_by_Charles_Peale.png.
Esther de Berdt Reed moved to Philadelphia from London with her husband shortly before the beginning of the Revolutionary War.
She embraced the Patriot cause of independence and, in 1780, while caring for her mother and children with her husband away at war, wrote a popular broadside called “The Sentiments of an American Women,” calling on women to do what they could to help the Continental Army.
To this end she founded the Ladies’ Association of Philadelphia, which raised more than $7,000 (or about $30,000 today) for the American troops. After hearing from General George Washington that what they needed the most was clothing, the women used the money to buy cloth and sewed over 2,000 shirts for the Patriot soldiers.
Baron von Steuben (Germany)
Charles Willson Peale, Baron Frederick William von Steuben, 1780, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Art, https://www.pafa.org/museum/collection/item/baron-frederick-william-von-steuben.
At the beginning of the Revolution, the Continental Army possessed nowhere near the organization and skill of the highly trained British troops.
In 1778, Friedrich Wilhelm Ludolf Gerhard Augustin, the Baron von Steuben, arrived and began training the Continental soldiers serving under George Washington in modern military tactics, sanitation measures and combat techniques, giving them a fair chance in battle against the British army. Von Steuben also wrote the first military manual for the American armed forces, which was used by the U.S. army until 1814.
Cuffee Wells Saunders (Guyana)
As a child, Cuffee Wells Saunders was enslaved under a doctor in Hartford, Connecticut. In 1777, Wells enlisted in the Continental Army as a private, where his medical skills were quickly noticed. He was reassigned as assistant to Dr. Philip Turner, the Surgeon General of the Eastern Department, and earned the nickname “Doctor Cuffee.”
In 1778, he was transferred to Valley Forge, supporting the army as a medical assistant. In return for his service, Cuffee was emancipated following the war and worked in a hospital for Dr. Turner, becoming a respected medical professional.
The faces of immigration looked very different during the early days of the United States than they do today. Most newcomers to the country were white Europeans, with men holding much of the public power, or enslaved Africans forced into migration by the tens of thousands.
In the unequal society of the time, only white men were typically able to pursue careers that would earn them these accolades, but every one of them was supported by women, enslaved people and others without whom the war could not have been waged at all. Many of the people in these supporting roles also strove to directly support the cause for independence, stretching the constraints of their place in society, yet were not recognized by the writers of history.
That’s why it’s important to recognize these figures. While they were not born in the United States, their stories are just as American as that of our founding fathers. Their unique experiences shaped our country and made lasting contributions during the Revolutionary War.
If you are an educator interested in teaching about the role of immigration during the American Revolutionary War era, check out “Immigration and the American Revolution.” This free resource bundle, a part of our Teaching U.S. Immigration Series, features two lesson plans, primary sources and classroom-ready activities that include this article.
Last updated: February 2026