12 Facts About Adam Stephen

Adam Stephen emigrated to North America, where he served in the Province of Virginia's militia under George Washington during the French and Indian War.

Adam Stephen served under Washington again in the American Revolutionary War, rising to lead a division of the Continental Army.

Adam Stephen earned a degree at King's College in Aberdeen, and studied medicine in Edinburgh.

Adam Stephen entered Royal Navy as a surgeon after completing medical studies in 1746 and served on a hospital ship during the Siege of Lorient before emigrating to the British colony of Virginia in 1748.

Adam Stephen joined the provincial troops in 1754 and became lieutenant colonel of the Virginia Regiment under George Washington.

In 1756, Adam Stephen led Virginia militiamen against the Creeks to relieve colonists from South Carolina.

In 1761, Adam Stephen had received cattle and other goods necessary to organize and fund the Timberlake Expedition, which attempted to reconcile British and Cherokee interests following the Anglo-Cherokee War.

Adam Stephen was with the army during the New York and New Jersey campaigns of 1776 and early 1777, and as a major general he was given command of a division in Washington's army during the defense of Philadelphia.

Adam Stephen was accused of being drunk during the battle, and after being convicted in a court martial, he was stripped of his command and cashiered out of the army, making him the only Continental Army general court-martialed and immediately dismissed from the service during the war.

In 1778 Adam Stephen laid out the plan for Martinsburg and named the town after his friend, Colonel Thomas Bryan Martin.

Adam Stephen became sheriff of Berkeley County, with Martinsburg as the county seat.

Adam Stephen died in Martinsburg in 1791 and is buried beneath a monument erected in his honor.