James Varnum

James Mitchell Varnum
James Mitchell Varnum, painted posthumously in 1804 by Charles Willson Peale
Born	(1748-12-17)December 17, 1748 Dracut, Massachusetts
Died	January 9, 1789(1789-01-09) (aged 40) Marietta, Ohio
Place of burial	Oak Grove Cemetery, Marietta, Ohio
Allegiance	United States of America
Service/branch	Continental Army
Years of service	1774–1779
Rank	Brigadier General 1775–1779(Continental Army) Major General 1779 (Rhode Island and Providence Plantations State Militia)
Battles/wars	American Revolutionary War Siege of Boston Long Island White Plains Red Bank Valley Forge Battle of Rhode Island
Other work	twice elected delegate to the Continental Congress (1780-82 and 1786-87), pioneer to the Ohio Country, justice of the Supreme Court of the Northwest Territory
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James Mitchell Varnum (December 17, 1748 – January 9, 1789) was an American legislator, lawyer, general in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, and a pioneer to the Ohio Country. "The career of Gen. Varnum was active, but brief. He graduated at twenty; was admitted to the bar at twenty-two; entered the army at twenty-seven; resigned his commission at thirty-one; was member of Congress the same year; resumed practice at thirty-three, and continued four years, was elected to Congress again at thirty-seven; emigrated to the west at thirty-nine, and died at the early age of forty."

James Mitchell Varnum was "a man of boundless zeal, of warm feelings, of great honesty, of singular disinterestedness; and, as to talents, of prodigal imagination, a dextrous reasoner, and a splendid orator. He was a man made on a gigantic scale; his very defects were masculine and powerful, 'and, we shall not soon look upon his like again.'"

James Mitchell Varnum was born in Dracut, Massachusetts. As a young man he matriculated at Harvard College only to transfer to the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations (the college later named Brown University), where he graduated with honors in 1769. In Rhode Island he met his future wife, Martha Chile.

Along with Nathanael Greene he served in the Kentish Guards. He served as a brigadier general in the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War, serving from 1777 until 1779. Varnum advocated allowing African Americans to enlist in the Continental Army, which resulted in the reformation of the 1st Rhode Island Regiment as an all-black unit. Varnum was a disciple of General Charles Lee and a serious critic of the position of Inspector General held in 1778 by Baron Von Steuben. After Varnum resigned his Continental Army commission because of personal business matters, he was appointed major general of Rhode Island militia. He led troops in the service of the United States in July and August, 1780, under the Comte de Rochambeau who commanded allied troops sent by King Louis XVI of France. General Varnum served at the siege of Boston, the battles at Long Island, White Plains, Red Bank, at Valley Forge and the battle of Rhode Island.