Research topic: James Wilkinson

James Wilkinson 1757-1825, American general, b. Calvert co., Md. Abandoning his medical studies in 1776 to join the army commanded by George Washington, he served as a captain in Benedict Arnold's unsuccessful Quebec campaign. Later he was Gen. Horatio Gates's deputy adjutant general in the Saratoga campaign and was given the honor of bringing to Congress the news of General Burgoyne's defeat. Congress censured Wilkinson for delay in carrying the dispatch but rewarded him by promoting him to brigadier general (1777) and making him secretary to the board of war (1778), a position he was forced... Read more