Benjamin Eyre
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Benjamin George Eyre (June 1, 1747- July 11, 1789)[1], was a figure of the American Revolutionary War and member of the powerful Eyre family. Benjamin served as a Lieutenant Colonel in the Continental Army[2] commanding the Second Battalion of the Pennsylvania Militia[3] and as aide-de-camp to General George Washington[4] and was so close to the future President that he was once given an expensive punch-bowl by him.[5]
Benjamin was the son of George Eyre, the founder of the Eyre family in the United States, and brother to Manuel and Jehu Eyre, also both major players in the Revolution[6]. His family was descended, through his father, from the royal House of Wessex[7] and thus during the war for independence he fought against distant cousin King George III.
The Eyre family as a whole played a pivotal role in the war (most notably through their invaluable contributions to the U.S. Navy, which they essentially founded[8][9]) and Washington mentioned them several times in his personal correspondences[10].
A portrait of him standing alongside Washington can be found at Princeton University.
