born Jan. 21, 1738, Litchfield, Conn.
died Feb. 12, 1789, Burlington, Vt., U.S.
American soldier and frontiersman.
After fighting in the French and Indian War (175463), he settled in what is now Vermont. At the outbreak of the American Revolution , his force of Green Mountain Boys (organized in 1770) helped defeat the British in the Battle of Ticonderoga (1775). As a volunteer with troops commanded by Gen. Philip Schuyler , he attempted to take Montreal but was captured by the British and held prisoner until 1778. He returned to Vermont, where he worked for statehood. Failing to achieve this, he attempted to negotiate the annexation of Vermont to Canada.