Welcome to the Our Patriots Podcast! The podcast shines a light on Revolutionary War Patriots who have been featured in DAR's award-winning American Spirit magazine, narrated by HonoraryPresident General Denise Doring VanBuren.
Well-known Patriots such as Artemas Ward, Mercy Otis Warren, John Jay and Nathanael Green will be familiar to many, but listeners may be introduced to new names, such as Windsor Fry and Hannah Tillman. The stories of these Patriots are so important to remember and honor—and the DAR hopes to make them known to a broader audience through this medium.
Episodes can be found here, on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
John Stark - February 17, 2022
The John Stark House in Manchester, New Hampshire, catalogs the legacy of General John Stark and his wife Molly, who lived there from 1760-1765. General Stark, a hero of the Revolution, was a veteran of battles like Bunker Hill and Bennington. The Molly Stark Chapter of DAR, named in honor of his brave wife, maintains the restored home today to showcase 1700s living to the public.
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Read this Our Patriots article from the May/June 2007 issue
Horatio Gates - February 15, 2022
British-born officer Horatio Gates, a veteran of the French and Indian Wars, moved to the colonies at the eve of the Revolution. He quickly rose up the ranks to become a major general and led his troops to major victories at Saratoga and other battles. Conflicts with George Washington and subsequent defeats led him to be relieved of command in 1780. Later, he served in the New York legislature.
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Read this Our Patriots article from the May/June 2010 issue
Joseph Plumb Martin - February 3, 2022
Read nearly any history of the American Revolution and you’re almost sure to encounter the name Joseph Plumb Martin. A young private in the Connecticut militia, Martin was fairly well-educated and kept a journal of his service throughout the war. First published in 1830 as A Narrative of Some of the Adventures, Danger and Suffering of a Revolutionary Soldier, Interspersed with Anecdotes of Incidents that Occurred Within His Own Observation, Martin’s diary was re-discovered in the 1950s. The lively, wry memoir of an Everyman soldier has become a valuable resource for historians, researchers and even reenactors, lending color and detail to bare facts.
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Read this Our Patriots article from the July/August 2019 issue
Hugh Mercer - February 1, 2022
A Scottish immigrant to the Colonies in 1750, Hugh Mercer served as a commander in the French and Indian War and then led the 3rd Virginia Regiment of the Continental Army in the Revolution. Merecr was also a physician who treated members of George Washington’s family. He died of bayonet injuries sustained in battle in 1777.
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Read this Our Patriots article from the January/February 2016 issue
Louis Cook - January 27, 2022
Louis Cook, born Nia-man-rigounant to an African father and a Abenaki mother, was a Commissioned Officer in the Continental army. While living in Quebec, he offered his services to General Washington in 1775, and became the highest ranking officer of Black and American Indian descent in the war when he made Lieutenant Colonel in 1779.
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Read this Our Patriots article from the November/December 2021 issue
Margaret Cochran Corbin - January 25, 2022
The first woman to receive a military pension, Margaret Corbin or “Captain Molly” as she was known went from widow to soldier at the Battle of Fort Washington. There, she took over a cannon previously manned by her husband, who earlier perished in the fight, and sustained injuries from grapeshot in the process. She was the only woman to serve as guard in West Point’s Corps of Invalids.
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Read this Our Patriots article from the March/April 2011 issue
Isaac Shelby - January 20, 2022
The military leadership of Isaac Shelby led to the triumph of the Continental Army at King’s Mountain, North Carolina in 1780, a serious blow to the British hold on the South. Following the Revolution, Shelby helped secure statehood for Kentucky and became its first governor.
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Read this Our Patriots article from the November/December 2014 issue
Nancy Hart - January 18, 2022
Nancy Hart was a fierce frontierswoman who defended the Georgia backcountry from British loyalists through her own intrepid methods. Legend has it that Hart spied on British military camps and even may have captured and killed several soldiers.
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Read this Our Patriots article from the September/October 2021 issue
William Shepard - January 13, 2022
General William Shepard fought in the French and Indian War for the British, then sided with the colonists at the outbreak of the Revolution where he served with distinction. Following the war, he went into government, and is best known for leading a controversial defense of the Springfield, MA artillery against Shay’s Rebellion.
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Read this Our Patriots article from the September/October 2018 issue
William Richardson Davie - January 11, 2022
William Richardson Davie was a military officer in the Revolutionary War and the 10th Governor of North Carolina from 1798 to 1799. He was a member of the Federalist Party and served as a delegate to the Constitutional Convention as a representative of the state of North Carolina.
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Read this Our Patriots article from the July/August 2012 issue
Timothy Smith - January 6, 2022
Timothy Smith, a Quaker, had his commitment to pacifism tested when the Revolutionary War started in 1775. Believing that war and conflict were against God’s wishes, Quakers disowned some of Smith’s extended family members for bearing arms or supporting war measures. At age 32, Smith decided to remain faithful to his religion while demonstrating allegiance to the Patriot cause by joining the Continental Army in a non-combatant role: as a teamster responsible for transporting vital supplies to military forces.
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Read this Our Patriots article from the November/December 2019 issue
Frances Wright - January 4, 2022
Frances Wright is believed to be the first American woman to speak publicly for gender equality when she did so in 1828.
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Read this Our Patriots article from the March/April 2016 issue
Philip Mazzei - December 30, 2021
Philip Mazzei was an Italian-born wine merchant, surgeon and horticulturist. A close friend of Thomas Jefferson, he spoke publicly, promoting Jefferson’s ideals of religious freedom first in churches and later as a pamphleteer. The famous doctrine “all men are created equal” was likely inspired by Mazzei. During the war, Mazzei assisted abroad in Italy, sharing political rumblings and even acquiring weaponry to send back to the Continental Army.
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Read this Our Patriots article from the November/December 2018 issue
Joseph Antoine Decuir - December 28, 2021
In the late 18th century, Joseph Antoine Decuir became one of the wealthiest planters in Louisiana’s Pointe Coupee Parish. But that’s not why his name deserves to live on: The son of French immigrants to Louisiana, Joseph served in the Spanish army that aided the Colonies in their fight for independence and earned status as a Revolutionary Patriot.
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Read this Our Patriots article from the September/October 2019 issue
Eleazer Blake - December 23, 2021
Eleazer Blake joined the Continental Army in 1777, and witnessed the battles of Bunker Hill, Monmouth and Saratoga, the burning of Charlestown, Mass., and a winter at Valley Forge and served in Rhode Island too. Blake is known for keeping a detailed diary during the war – detailing his wartime activities and news of battles.
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Read this Our Patriots article from the May/June 2019 issue
Robert Morris - December 21, 2021
Robert Morris was a merchant and Founding Father who signed the Declaration of Independence, Articles of Confederation, and the U.S. Constitution. Morris served as the Superintendent of Finance of the United States, becoming known as the “Financer of the Revolution.”
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Read this Our Patriots article from the September/October 2011 issue
John Trevett - December 16, 2021
Captain John Trevett played a leading role in the Continental Marines’ first amphibious landing
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Read this Our Patriots article from the September/October 2013 issue
Michael Kovats - December 14, 2021
Michael Kovats was a Hungarian nobleman and calvary officer, known as one of the “Founding Fathers of the US Calvary.”
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Read this Our Patriots article from the September/October 2010 issue
Robert Carter III - December 9, 2021
Robert Carter III served as a colonel in the Virginia militia during the Revolution. After the war, Carter pioneered the largest manumission of enslaved African Americans, freeing 500 slaves from his plantations.
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Read this Our Patriots article from the January/February 2018 issue
Rochambeau - December 7, 2021
Jean Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, Comte de Rochambeau was a French nobleman and military commander of all French forces in America during the Revolutionary War.
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Read this Our Patriots article from the January/February 2014 issue
Charles Thomson - December 1, 2021
An orphaned Irish immigrant, Charles Thomson quickly established himself as a merchant, which led to the Delaware American Indians’ selecting him to represent them in negotiations leading to the Treaty of Easton.
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Read this Our Patriots article from the November/December 2015 issue
John Laurens - November 29, 2021
Born into a wealthy South Carolina family, John Laurens served as an aide-de-camp to George Washington during the American Revolution.
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Read this Our Patriots article from the November/December 2017 issue
Christopher Greene - November 25, 2021
Colonel Christopher Greene led the 1st Rhode Island Regiment, composed of mostly ex-slaves in the Battle of Rhode Island.
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Read this Our Patriots article from the July/August 2018 issue
John Sevier - November 23, 2021
John Sevier was a Revolutionary War hero who famously led the Overmountain Men to victory at the Battle of King’s Mountain in 1780.
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Read this Our Patriots article from the May/June 2018 issue
Molly McAuley - November 18, 2021
For decades, many have speculated that Mary Hays McAuley was one of the primary inspirations for the legend of Molly Pitcher. McAuley has been thought to have taken her husband’s place at his cannon after he was wounded during battle.
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Read this Our Patriots article from the March/April 2015 issue
Jean Baptiste Champagne II - November 16, 2021
Jean Baptiste Champagne II, a local militia sergeant from New Orleans, is likely to have fought against the British in two major battles of the Revolutionary War.
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Read this Our Patriots article from the January/February 2021 issue
Anthony Wayne - November 11, 2021
Major General Anthony Wayne’s extreme bravery in battle earned him the nickname “Mad Anthony” during the American Revolution. He would soon lead the successful attack on the British in Stony Point, New York.
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Read this Our Patriots article from the September/October 2014 issue
Lest We Forget (Part 2) - November 9, 2021
The DAR Forgotten Patriots Project focuses on the important contributions made by African American and American Indian patriots of the American Revolution.
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Read this Our Patriots article from the July/August 2021 issue
Lest We Forget (Part 1) - November 4, 2021
The DAR Forgotten Patriots Project focuses on the important contributions made by African American and American Indian patriots of the American Revolution.
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Read this Our Patriots article from the July/August 2021 issue
Tyonajanegen - November 2, 2021
During the American Revolution, Tyonajanegen, a Native-American woman of the Oneida Nation fought alongside her husband in the Battle of Oriskany.
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Read this Our Patriots article from the November/December 2020 issue
Hannah Till - October 28, 2021
A former enslaved African American woman, Hannah Till became a trusted cook to General George Washington during the Revolutionary War.
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Read this Our Patriots article from the January/February 2020 issue
Hannah Winthrop - October 26, 2021
Hannah Winthrop was an outspoken voice for independence, her accounts of the Revolutionary War being kept through a collection of letters written to friends Mercy Otis Warren and Abigail Adams.
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Read this Our Patriots article from the May/June 2021 issue
Elizabeth Gilmore Berry - October 21, 2021
Elizabeth Gilmore Berry is one of the few women who fought in battle during the American Revolutionary War.
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Read this Our Patriots article from the September/October 2020 issue
Edward Hand - October 19, 2021
Edward Hand was a physician, general and political leader who served in the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War.
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Read this Our Patriots article from the January/February 2015 issue
George Clinton - October 14, 2021
Often called “The Father of New York”, George Clinton was a prominent figure in the fight for independence, becoming the longest running governor in New York history.
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Read this Our Patriots article from the July/August 2015 issue
Ann Fisher Miller - October 12, 2021
Ann Fisher Miller was approached by General George Washington to use her home during the war because of its strategic location above White Plains, NY. Miller would use this opportunity to serve her country by converting her home into a hospital and nursing wounded soldiers.
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Read this Our Patriots article from the March/April 2018 issue
George Rogers Clark - October 7, 2021
George Rogers Clark was a militiaman from Virginia, nicknamed “The Conqueror of the Old Northwest” after capturing territory that helped expand America.
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Read this Our Patriots article from the July/August 2014 issue
Captain Henry and Dr. Moore Fauntleroy - October 5, 2021
The Fauntleroy’s, Captain Henry and Dr. Moore, were patriot brothers who offered their contributions to the Revolutionary war through combat and medicine.
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Read this Our Patriots article from the January/February 2013 issue
Timothy Matlack - September 30, 2021
Timothy Matlack was a merchant from Haddonfield, New Jersey, tasked with penning the Declaration of Independence. His penmanship would be so impeccable that the script continues to be used today, known as Copperplate.
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Read this Our Patriots article from the September/October 2017 issue
Artemas Ward - September 28, 2021
Artemas Ward was an American major General in the Revolutionary War and Congressman from Massachusetts.
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Read this Our Patriots article from the May/June 2020 issue
Sarah Fulton - September 23, 2021
Sarah Fulton was a political activist and leader, serving as a field nurse during the American Revolution.
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Read this Our Patriots article from the March/April 2021 issue
John Jack Jouett - September 21, 2021
In 1781, John Jack Jouett made a heroic 40-mile ride on horseback to Monticello to alert Governor Thomas Jefferson that British forces were on their way to capture him.
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Read this Our Patriots article from the May/June 2011 issue
Ebenezer Zane - September 16, 2021
Ebenezer Zane was a pioneer, surveyor and soldier who helped to establish a settlement near Fort Henry (now Wheeling, West Virginia) on the Ohio River.
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Read this Our Patriots article from the July/August 2017 issue
Gouvernor Morris - September 14, 2021
Nicknamed the “Penman of the Constitution”, Gouvernor Morris is widely credited with putting the document in its final form as well as writing its preamble.
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Read this Our Patriots article from the September/October 2016 issue
Charlotte Robertson - September 9, 2021
The wife of James Robertson, Charlotte Reeves Robertson made the long journey from East Tennessee to Middle Tennessee with her three small children, weathering disease and Native American attacks.
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Read this Our Patriots article from the July/August 2020 issue
Daniel Morgan - September 7, 2021
Known as the “Old Wagoner” to veterans who served with him during the French and Indian War, Daniel Morgan would fight in some of the most difficult campaigns of the Revolutionary War.
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Read this Our Patriots article from the July/August 2016 issue
Andrew Pickens - September 2, 2021
Andrew Pickens gained his military experience at a young age, fighting in the Cherokee War of 1760-1761. Pickens earned accolades for his impressive leadership of the Continental Army’s Southern militia but his savvy negotiations with the American Indian tribes of the Piedmont region also made him an influential figure.
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Read this Our Patriots article from the November/December 2016 issue
John Jay - August 31, 2021
A law clerk from New York, John Jay became a delegate to the First Continental Congress in 1774, becoming a valuable member to the convention.
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Read this Our Patriots article from the May/June 2016 issue
Baron von Steuben - August 26, 2021
Baron von Steuben was a non-English speaking mercenary from Prussia who played a pivotal role in the Colonies’ fight for independence. In the process, he helped find the bootcamp experience and the very face of American warfare.
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Read this Our Patriots article from the May/June 2014 issue
John Witherspoon - August 24, 2021
John Witherspoon was a clergyman, college president and a signer of the Declaration of Independence. Some refer to him as a forgotten Founding Father, also helping to draft the Articles of Confederation in 1777.
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Read this Our Patriots article from the November/December 2011 issue
General Nicholas Herkimer - August 19, 2021
The son of German immigrants, Nicholas Herkimer was commissioned Brigadier General of the Tryon County militia in New York. His bravery during the Battle of Oriksany—which would result in his death—would prove to be one of the pivotal events of the American Revolution.
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Read this Our Patriots article from the January/February 2010 issue
Caesar Rodney - August 17, 2021
Caesar Rodney was a lawyer and politician from Delaware. He was an officer of the Delaware militia, a member of the Continental Congress and a signer of the Declaration of Independence. He desperately rode from Dover, Delaware to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to secure his unanimous vote for independence among the Continental Congress.
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Read this Our Patriots article from the July/August 2013 issue
Arthur St. Clair - August 12, 2021
An American military strategist, president of the Continental Congress and first governor of the Northwest Territory, Arthur St. Clair gave up British position and wealth to help lead patriots to victory during the Revolutionary War.
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Read this Our Patriots article from the March/April 2010 issue
Thaddeus Kosciuszko - August 10, 2021
Thaddeus Kosciuszko was a Polish-Lithuanian who fled to America from his home country. His fascination with freedom and liberty for all people—which he did not have in his home country of Poland—would lead him to America to fight for independence, soon becoming head engineer of the Continental Army.
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Read this Our Patriots article from the January/February 2012 issue
Joshua Barney - August 5, 2021
Joshua Barney served in the Continental Navy during the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812. His contributions during the American Revolution would prove him to be a hero of the seas, participating in the “Hopkins Raid” in March of 1776 while still only a teenager.
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Read this Our Patriots article from the May/June 2017 issue
Bernardo de Galvez - August 3, 2021
Bernardo de Galvez was a Spanish military leader who became a hero in the Colonies during the American Revolution, defeating British troops in key battles.
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Read this Our Patriots article from the May/June 2015 issue
Marinus Willett - July 29, 2021
A young Marinus Willett enlisted to fight in the French and Indian War at just 17-years-old. This brave decision would take him to New York as he received a commission as a lieutenant colonel at Alexander McDougall’s New York regiment.
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Read this Our Patriots article from the May/June 2013 issue
Paul Revere - July 27, 2021
Most known for his famous ride to alert the colonial militia of British invasion, Paul Revere was a patriot in the American Revolution and the fight for American independence.
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Read this Our Patriots article from the March/April 2013 issue
Ethan Allen - July 22, 2021
Ethan Allen, a charismatic and controversial folk leader, would form a militia known as the Green Mountain Boys and become of the founders of the state of Vermont.
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Read this Our Patriots article from the November/December 2012 issue
Button Gwinnett - July 20, 2021
Button Gwinnett was a farmer and lumberman whose passion for the future of the colonies would lead him to a career in political activism and later, a signer of the Declaration of Independence.
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Read this Our Patriots article from the July/August 2011 issue
Nathanel Greene - July 15, 2021
Appointed by General George Washington as Commander of the Army of the South, Nathanael Greene, a popular, well-respected army general, led his troops to several victories, eventually ending British occupation of the south.
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Read this Our Patriots article from the November/December 2010 issue
Deborah Sampson Gannett - July 13, 2021
Deborah Sampson Gannett was a Revolutionary war heroine who, in disguise as a man, demonstrated her love of country as she fought with the Continental Army, concealing her identity for 17 months.
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Read this Our Patriots article from the May/June 2009 issue
Francis Marion - July 8, 2021
Known for his guerilla warfare tactics and psychological cunningness, Franics Marion came to be known by his infamous moniker, The Swamp Fox, by both allies and adversaries.
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Read this Our Patriots article from the May/June 2012 issue
Windsor Fry - July 6, 2021
Learn the story of Windsor Fry, a free Black man and one of the few African American Patriots thought to have served in the Revolutionary War.
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Read this Our Patriots article from the January/February 2017 issue
Freedom Fighters - July 4, 2021
Colonial Americans or trained soldiers, thousands of militiamen picked up their muskets to fight in the Revolutionary War against Great Britain. Listen to the stories of 18th-century Continental Army militiamen and discover the nuances of what actually embodied the “typical” Revolutionary War soldier.
Read this Our Patriots article from the September/October 2015 issue
