Military Leaders Flashcards
Benedict Arnold
1741-1801 American general from CT - Fought in several successful battles, y gained command of West Point fort in 1780 - Planned to surrender it to the British, but was discovered y fled to safety in England - Said that “as life and fortune are risked by serving his majesty, it is necessary that the latter shall be secured”
Bernardo de Gálvez
1746-86 Spanish military leader - Served as Gov of Louisiana y Cuba; y viceroy of New Spain (1785-87) - Joined American Revolution y defeated the British at Battle of Pensacola (1781), reclaiming FL for Spain - Galveston TX named for him
Black Hawk (Ma-ka-tai-me-she-kia-kiak)
1767-1838 war leader of the Sauk tribe in the US Midwest - Fought alongside the British in War of 1812 - Later led band of warriors called the British Band against settlers in IL y WI during Black Hawk War (1832) - Captured y toured around the US after the war - Published 1st Native American autobiography (1833)
Casimir Pulaski
1745-79 Polish general - Fought with Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth against Russia, going into exile after defeat - Persuaded by Ben Franklin to join American Revolution - Called the “father of the American cavalry” - Died leading a charge against the British in Battle of Savannah
Cochise (K’uu-ch’ish)
1805-74 Chiricahua Apache chief - War leader during the Apache Wars (1861-72) - Retreated into the Cochise Stronghold in the Dragoon Mountains of SE Arizona, y signed a peace treaty - Died of natural causes on the short-lived Chiricahua Reservation (1872-1876)
Crazy Horse
1840-1877 Lakota war leader from NE - Led victory at Little Bighorn (1876) - Surrendered, then killed during a struggle while resisting imprisonment
Curtis LeMay
1906-1990 American Air Force General from OH - AKA “Bombs Away” LeMay - Implemented strategic bombing campaigns in WWII Pacific Theater, incl massive firebombing of Japan - Organized Berlin Airlift (1948) - Organized Strategic Air Command during Cold War - Ran as George Wallace’s presidential running mate in 1968
David (Glasgow) Farragut
1801-1870 American naval admiral from TN - Known for saying “Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!” at the Civil War Battle of Mobile Bay (1864), where he victoriously destroyed Confederate navy - First rear admiral, vice admiral, y admiral in the US Navy
Douglas MacArthur
1880-1964 American 5-star general - Began service in 1903, later became Field Marshall in Philippine Army - Unsuccessfully defended Philippines in WWII, but later accepted Japanese surrender aboard USS Missouri - Oversaw occupation y recovery of Japan
Erwin Rommel
1891-1944 German general - Known as the “Desert Fox” - Served as field marshal in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany during World War II - Among his British adversaries he earned a strong reputation for chivalry - Published a book on military tactics, Infantry Attacks (1937), drawing on his experiences from World War I - Implicated in the 20 July plot to assassinate Hitler, y took the option of suicide rather than face a trial
Ethan Allen
1738-1789 American military leader, farmer, y businessman from CT - Led Vermont’s Green Mountain Boys to capture Fort Ticonderoga in 1775 during Revolutionary War - One of the founders of the independent Vermont Republic (1777-91), which eventually led to statehood in 1791
George (Catlett) Marshall
1880-1959 American statesman y soldier from PA - Army Chief of Staff during WWII (1939-1945) - Secretary of State 1947-49 (Truman) - Secretary of Defense 1950-51 (Truman) - FDR’s chief military advisor - Helped craft Marshall Plan to rebuild Europe after WWII, y was awarded Nobel Peace Prize in 1953 for it
George S(mith) Patton
1885-1945 US Army general from CA - Nicknames: Bandito, Old Blood and Guts, The Old Man - Graduated from West Point in 1909 - Led Army in France y Germany after D-Day - Served in WW1 in Tank Corps - Died in Germany in car crash shortly after WWII
Geronimo (Goyaałé)
1829-1909 Apache leader y medicine man from AZ - Led fight against Mexico and Texas - Surrendered to Texan authorities in 1885 - Later became a celebrity, appearing at fairs
Guiseppe Garibaldi
1807-82 Italian general from Nice - Considered one of Italy’s “fathers of the fatherland” - Central figure of the Risorgimento which led to unification of Italy (1835-71) - Fought on behalf of Victor Emmanuel II - Also led military engagements in S America while exiled from Italy - Big international celebrity of his time
Henry H(arley) “Hap” Arnold
1896-1950 American general from PA - Served during WW1 y WW2 - Held grades of General of the Army y General of the Air Force - Only Air Force to be 5-star general - Only to hold 5-star in 2 branches (AF y Army) - One of 1st military pilots worldwide - Later founded RAND Corp y Pan Am
John Brown
1800-59 American abolitionist from CT - Believed armed insurrection the only way to end slavery - Known for Pottawatomie massacre (1856-in KS); Raid on Harpers Ferry (1859-in VA) - Captured at armory at Harper’s Ferry y executed - Excited y encouraged abolitionists of the nation
John Paul Jones
1747-1792 Scottish-American naval commander - Captain in US Navy during Revolutionary War - Often called the “Father of the US Navy” - When his ship, the Bon Homme Richard, was asked by British if ready to surrender, he famously stated “I have not yet begun to fight!” - Later served as Admiral in the Russian Navy
John (Joseph) “Black Jack” Pershing
1860-1948 American Army commander from MO - Commanded Mexican Punitive Expedition against Pancho Villa’s forces in 1916 - Led American forces in WWI - Promoted to highest rank ever for living person: General of the Armies - Wrote memoirs My Experiences in the World War, which won 1932 Pulitzer Prize for history
Marcus Licinius Crassus
115-53 BC Roman general y politician - Became one of richest men in history from real estate speculation - Defeated Spartacus’ slave revolt in the Third Servile War (73-71 BCE) - Served on the First Triumvirate with Julius Caesar and Pompey
Matthew C(albraith) Perry
1794-1858 American naval Commodore from RI - Served in War of 1812 y Mexican War - Played a leading role in the opening of Japan to the West with the Convention of Kanagawa (1854) - Brother of Oliver Hazard Perry
Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla
1753-1811 Mexican priest y early leader of the Mexican War of Independence (1810-21) - Started the war by giving a speech called the Cry of Dolores in 1810, denouncing Spanish rule - Marched across Mexico y gathered an army of nearly 90,000 poorly-armed farmers y civilians; who were defeated by a force of 6,000 Spanish troops at the Battle of Calderón Bridge (1811)
Molly Pitcher
A woman said to have fought in the Revolutionary War’s Battle of Monmouth (1778 in NJ) - Generally beleived to be Mary Ludwig Hays (1754-1832) - Began by bringing pitchers of water to soldiers on the field, but took over at cannon when her husband was wounded
Myles Standish
1584-1656 English military officer - Hired by the Pilgrims as military adviser for Plymouth Colony - Accompanied them on their journey on the Mayflower (1620), y subsequently played a leading role in the admin y defense of the colony - Subject of The Courtship of Miles Standish (1858) by Longfellow
Oliver Hazard Perry
1785-1819 American naval commodore from RI - Heroic role in the War of 1812 Battle of Lake Erie (1813) - Famous quotes: “Don’t Give Up the Ship”; “We have met the enemy and they are ours” - Also fought in Barbary and Quasi Wars - Brother of Commodore Matthew Perry
Omar Bradley
1893-1981 American Army general from MO - NIcknamed “The G.I.’s General” during WWII - Commanded Army during D-Day - 5-star general (last one) - 1st chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff - Bradley Fighting Vehicle (tank) named after him
Pancho Villa
1878-1923 Mexican general - Army commander y governor of Chihuahua state during Mexican Revolution (1910-20) - Raided Columbus, NM in 1916, y was pursued by Blackjack Pershing, but interrupted by WWI - Became involved in 1920’s politics and was assassinated by rival general Álvaro Obregón - Starred as himself in Hollywood movies of the time
Peter the Hermit
1050-1115 French priest - Leader during the 1st Crusade (1096-1099) - Had large role in recruiting thousands of crusaders - Led earlier People’s Crusade (1096), which was a terrible failure
Philippe Pétain
1856-1951 French general - Aka “Marshal Petain” y “The Lion of Verdun” - Became national hero after successful defense in WWI - Later became Chief of Vichy France 1940-44 - Convicted of treason after WWII y died in prison
Robert E(dward) Lee
1807-1870 Confederate general from VA - Commanded Confederate Army of Northern VA during Civil War - Won most battles against superior Union forces - Surrendered to Grant at Appomattox courthouse 4/09/1865 - Top graduate of West Point in 1829 - Distinguished himself in the Mexican–American War (1846–48), y worked with Ulysses Grant - Son of Revolutionary War officer Henry “Light Horse Harry” Lee III (1756-1818) - Married Mary Anna Custis Lee, great-granddaughter of Martha Custis Washington, in 1831, and had 7 children
Sitting Bull
1831-1890 Lakota chief from SD - Led victory at Little Bighorn vs Custer - Later worked as performer with Buffalo Bill’s Wild West show - Shot during a struggle after his attempted arrest on the reservation
Stephen Decatur
1779-1820 American naval commodore from MD - Fought in Barbary Wars (1801-15), Quasi War with France (1798-1800), y War of 1812; achieving famous naval victories in all - Died in a duel with a disgraced naval officer, James Barron
(Thomas Jonathan) “Stonewall” Jackson
1824-63 Confederate general from VA - Received nickname Stonewall after 1st Manassas (1st Bull Run-1861) - Killed by friendly fire at the Battle of Chancellorsville (1863) - Considered one of the most gifted tactical commanders in U.S. history
Tecumseh
1768-1813 Shawnee leader from OH - Led confederacy of tribes against American settlers in Tecumseh’s War (1811), defeated by WH Harrison at Battle of Tippecanoe - Fought with British in War of 1812, took Fort Detroit, y was killed at Battle of the Thames in Canada
William (Clarke) Quantrill
1837-65 American bandit from OH - Confederate “bushwacker” guerrilla leader during Civil War - Led Quantrill’s Raiders on Lawrence Massacre (1863), executing 164 male civilians in Lawrence, KS for town’s support of abolition - Killed in a Union ambush at age 27
William Tecumseh Sherman
1820-1891 American general from OH - Led Union army in “Scorched Earth” total war against the South - Victories at Atlanta, Vicksburg, y Tennessee - Served under Grant
