Estimates are that 92,000 American and French troops fought 314,000 British troops, Hessian mercenaries and loyalists during the American Revolutionary War. Of that number 25,000 Americans died in the war and an estimated 25,000 more were wounded.
Their stories were told in America’s newspapers – especially in the veterans’ obituaries, such as this one for 90-year-old Joseph Wagner, who “was a young man inn the American Revolution, and at an early period took an active part in the perils of a border life attendant on the long struggle for freedom.”
Here are just some of their stories that you can find in GenealogyBank’s Historical Newspaper Archives. We’ve included the name of the newspaper and the exact page where you can find an article about that veteran.
Wadworth, Reuben (-1842)
Massachusetts, New York
Battles fought in: Capture of Burgoyne
Bay State Democrat (Boston, Massachusetts), 2 March 1842, page 2
New Bedford Register (New Bedford, Massachusetts), 9 March 1842, page 1
Wagner, Joseph (1758-1848)
New York
Commercial Advertiser (New York, New York), 31 August 1848, page 1
Spectator (New York, New York), 4 September 1848, page 4
Walden, Ambrose (1752-1840)
Virginia
Daily National Intelligencer (Washington, D.C.), 9 April 1840, page 3
Walter, Forman (1759-1849)
New Jersey
Battles fought in: Monmouth
Trenton State Gazette (Trenton, New Jersey), 1 January 1849, page 1
Waples, Samuel (1754-1834)
Delaware, Pennsylvania, Virginia
Battles fought in: Brandywine and Germantown
Baltimore Gazette and Daily Advertiser (Baltimore, Maryland), 22 August 1834, page 2
Waring, Henry (1742-1830)
Connecticut
Baltimore Gazette and Daily Advertiser (Baltimore, Maryland), 11 November 1830, page 3
Warren, Nathan (1761-1843)
Massachusetts
Boston Recorder (Boston, Massachusetts), 10 August 1843, page 127
Waterman, William (1758-1845)
Vermont
Battles fought in: White Plains
Watchman (Montpelier, Vermont), 28 March 1845, page 3
Waters, Oliver (1747-1821)
Vermont
Vermont Gazette (Bennington, Vermont), 21 August 1821, page 3
Wendell, (1744-1832)
Vermont
Battles fought in: Monmouth
Vermont Republican (Windsor, Vermont), 28 July 1832, page 4
Wetherbee, Ephram (1757-1852)
Massachusetts
Battles fought in: Concord
Milwaukee Sentinel (Milwaukee, Wisconsin), 21 February 1852, page 2
Wheelock, Jonathan (1760-1845)
Massachusetts, New Hampshire,
Battles fought in: Bunker Hill and “served through the whole… revolutionary war”
Congregational Journal (Concord, New Hampshire), 17 September 1845, page 3
Whidden, James (1761-1844)
New Hampshire
Battles fought in: Saratoga
Congregational Journal (Concord, New Hampshire), 25 July 1844, page 3
New Hampshire Patriot and State Gazette (Concord, New Hampshire), 1 August 1844, page 3
White, Ebenezer (1746-1827)
New York
Albany Argus (Albany, New York), 20 March 1827, page 3
Willet, Marinus (1739-1830)
Connecticut, New York
Connecticut Journal (New Haven, Connecticut), 31 August 1830, page 1
Sentinel and Witness (Middletown, Connecticut), 1 September 1830, page 2
Williams, Isaac (1752-1831)
Massachusetts
Liberator (Boston, Massachusetts), 25 February 1848, page 31
Williams, Joseph (1747-1827)
Florida, North Carolina, Virginia
Albany Argus (Albany, New York), 15 September 1827, page 3
American (New York, New York), 3 September 1827, page 2
Pensacola Gazette (Pensacola, Florida), 13 October 1827, page 3
Williams, Robert (1752-1834)
Massachusetts
Boston Recorder (Boston, Massachusetts), 21 November 1834, page 187
Williamson, Nicholas (1762-1856)
Massachusetts, Pennsylvania
Boston Herald (Boston, Massachusetts), 25 August 1856, page 4
Willis, Henry (1757-1842)
New Jersey
Battles fought in: Long Island, Harlem, White Plains, Trenton, Princeton and Monmouth
Cecil Whig (Elkton, Maryland), 11 January 1842, page 3
Wilson, Nathaniel (1740-1818)
Maine
Gazette (Portland, Maine), 3 November 1818, page 3
Winchester, James (-1826)
Tennessee
Farmer’s Cabinet (Amherst, New Hampshire), 9 September 1826, page 3
Wise, Jacob (1753-1845)
South Carolina
Battles fought in: Stono Ferry and King’s Mountain
Charleston Courier (Charleston, South Carolina), 11 October 1845, page 2
Wise, John (1758-1822)
New York, Rhode Island, Washington
Battles fought in: Plains of Abraham
National Advocate (New York, New York), 19 March 1822, page 2
Wright, Samuel T. (-1810)
Maryland
American and Commercial Daily Advertiser (Baltimore, Maryland), 9 July 1810, page 3
Wyman, Joseph (1962-1837)
Massachusetts
Pittsfield Sun (Pittsfield, Massachusetts), 23 March 1837, page 3
Young, Samuel (1757-1839)
New York
Albany Argus (Albany, New York), 20 September 1839, page 3
Sun (Baltimore, Maryland), 20 September 1839, page 4
Younglove, John (1756-1840)
New York
Albany Argus (Albany, New York), 2 March 1810, page 5
Related Articles:
- Revolutionary War Veterans – Part 1
- Revolutionary War Veterans – Part 2
- Revolutionary War Veterans – Part 3
- Revolutionary War Veterans – Part 4
- Revolutionary War Veterans – Part 5
- Revolutionary War Veterans – Part 6
- Revolutionary War Veterans – Part 7
- Revolutionary War Veterans – Part 8
- Revolutionary War Veterans – Part 9
- Revolutionary War Veterans – Part 10