Fictional characters •
Sarah Phillips (Reo Jones) is a bright-eyed, red-headed teenage girl from England who travels to the
Thirteen Colonies in 1773 at age 15 in search of her father, Major Phillips, who was last heard exploring the region of Ohio. Upon her arrival, she is warmly welcomed by and lives as a guest of Benjamin Franklin. Her mother, Lady Phillips, remains in England and is a good friend to Dr. Franklin. With the possibility of a war between the American colonists and England, she decides to become a reporter for Franklin's newspaper to offer a more balanced perspective to the press. Sarah believes firmly in the power of words, equal rights, and is not afraid to speak her mind. At the start of the series, she is a firm loyalist, which sparks many arguments between her and James. Later, Sarah realizes how much she has come to understand the people of the colonies and ends up supporting the Revolution. Some men know the way to her heart – good manners; James can seem almost jealous when this happens. Throughout the series, Sarah and James grow closer. At the end, her mother, Lady Phillips, joins Sarah and her father in the United States and Sarah hopes to explore more of her adopted country. She is the only character to appear in every episode. •
James Hiller (Chris Lundquist) is a 14-year-old (1773) American teenage colonist who works as an apprentice journalist for Franklin's newspaper. He holds a great deal of respect and admiration for Dr. Franklin and his works, particularly his invention of the lightning rod, as when he was an infant, his parents died in a fire caused by a lightning strike. Street-smart and impulsive, James pursues the revolution from a slightly one-sided perspective – something that prompts Sarah to counter his views. An apprentice in Franklin's Print Shop, James believes firmly in the American cause and will do almost anything to ensure the people receive an honest view of what is happening. In the process, he also faces the less positive aspects of the political conflict, which eventually forces his patriotic fervor into a new maturity. He highly values his friends, Sarah and Henri. He can be a little protective of Sarah while he attempts to keep Henri out of trouble, acting somewhat like an older brother figure to him. He is very laid-back and is constantly reminded of his bad etiquette and poor table manners by Sarah. At the end, James intends to start his own newspaper, following in the steps of his mentor. •
Henri Richard Maurice Dutoit LeFevbre (
Kathleen Barr) is an energetic, rambunctious 8-year-old French boy (1773). He shares a similar tragic story as James; when he was 6 years old and still living in France, his parents made an agreement with a merchant for seven years of labor in exchange for passage to North America. However, three weeks into the voyage an illness broke out aboard the ship, killing half of those on board, including Henri's parents. The merchant decided to make Henri his cabin boy and treated him very cruelly, until James and Moses discovered him locked in a cage while collecting a new printer from the merchant. Together they smuggled Henri off the ship, and he found a home in Benjamin Franklin's workshop. While he speaks French fluently, Dr. Franklin has insisted that Henri learn to speak, read, and write in English and French. Henri's small size has proved more than useful to Sarah and James, though he has a tendency to land himself in all sorts of trouble while not fully understanding the dangers of the war. His lookout on life is that of a "huge party for his benefit" and he has been labeled a "magnet for trouble". In later episodes, he serves on the drum/bugle corps of the
Continental Army. Curious and fearless, the only thing Henri values more than his freedom is finding a family. At the end, he returns to France with Marquis de Lafayette, whom he had become close to almost as a son. It is implied that Lafayette adopts Henri as his foster-son. •
Moses (D. Kevin Williams) was born in Africa, brought in chains to North America as a slave, and sold on the block in
Charleston, South Carolina. Because of his ingenuity, Moses learned to read,
forge metal, and buy his
freedom, thus freeing himself from the slavery of the American south. To keep from being confused for a runaway slave, Moses is required to carry papers proving he is a free man. He eventually moved to
Philadelphia and found work at Dr. Franklin's Print Shop. His brother, Cato, had not been so fortunate but later escaped, joining the British troops as a soldier to earn his freedom. Cato appears again when he does not tell on an African American Patriot spy, James Armistead, whose spying was crucial to the American victory at Yorktown, which ends the war for American independence. Moses looks out for Dr. Franklin's young wards, especially Henri. Like Henri, he values his freedom more than anything. Iron-willed Moses will never allow anyone to strip him of his dignity, despite his or her feelings on race. By working at the Print Shop, Moses hopes to educate children of all colors in the ideals of America so that everyone may one day be free. At the end, Moses reveals a plan to set up a school for free black children, but only to Dr. Franklin and Marquis de Lafayette. Cato goes to Canada with Mrs. Radcliffe, a British loyalist and friend of Sarah and her mother.
Historical characters depicted Continental Army, Navy, and American militia •
George Washington (Cork Ramer) • Major General
William Alexander • Colonel
Ethan Allen • Brigadier General
George Rogers Clark (
Norman Schwarzkopf) • Major General
Thomas Conway •
Margaret "Molly" Corbin • Major General
Horatio Gates • Major General
Nathanael Greene (John Michael Lee) •
Nathan Hale •
Alexander Hamilton (
Andrew Rannells) •
Charles Lee • Colonel
John Jameson – appears in "Benedict Arnold" •
John Paul Jones (
Liam Neeson) •
Tadeusz Kościuszko (John Michael Lee) – a Pole in Continental Army • Colonel
James Livingston • Colonel
John Laurens • Captain
John Parker •
John Paulding – appears in "Benedict Arnold" •
Joseph Plumb Martin (
Aaron Carter) •
Israel Putnam – he appeared in the "Bunker Hill" and "The Turtle" episodes. • Colonel
Joseph Reed •
Deborah Samson aka Robert Shurtleff (
Whoopi Goldberg) •
John Sullivan •
Benjamin Tallmadge – appears in "Benedict Arnold" •
Isaac Van Wart – appears in "Benedict Arnold", no lines • Baron
Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben (
Arnold Schwarzenegger) – a Prussian officer in the Continental army. •
David Williams – appears in "Benedict Arnold", no lines •
Anthony Wayne • Udeny Wolf-Hutchinson (Carl Beck) • Dr.
Joseph Warren •
Samuel Prescott British Army and Navy •
John André •
John Burgoyne •
Guy Carleton •
Henry Clinton • General
Charles Cornwallis • Admiral
Richard Howe (
Michael York) • General
William Howe •
Richard Pearson •
Johann Rall – a Hessian officer in British service
French officers and politicians •
Marquis de Lafayette (Ben Beck) •
Comte de Rochambeau •
Johann de Kalb • Admiral
Comte de Grasse •
Comte de Vergennes (John Michael Lee) • King
Louis XVI of France – appears in "Allies at Last", no lines
Spanish Army •
Bernardo de Gálvez (
Don Francisco)
Native Americans •
Joseph Brant •
Cornstalk •
Abraham Nimham Turncoats and spies •
Benedict Arnold (
Dustin Hoffman) •
James Armistead •
Edward Bancroft •
John Honeyman •
Paul Wentworth American family members •
Abigail Adams, wife of John Adams (
Annette Bening) •
John Quincy Adams, older son of John Adams •
Thomas Adams, younger son of John Adams •
Peggy Shippen, wife of Benedict Arnold (
Maria Shriver)
American politicians •
John Adams (
Billy Crystal) •
Jonathan L. Austin – appears in "Allies at Last" •
Samuel Adams •
Samuel Chase •
Silas Deane •
Benjamin Franklin (
Walter Cronkite) •
John Hancock •
Patrick Henry (
Michael Douglas) •
John Jay •
Thomas Jefferson (
Ben Stiller) •
Henry Laurens •
Richard Henry Lee •
James Madison (
Warren Buffett) •
Caesar Rodney •
Edward Rutledge •
Luther Martin •
John Dickinson •
Charles Pinckney •
John Witherspoon British politicians • King
George III of Great Britain (
Charles Shaughnessy) •
Charles Fox •
Alexander Wedderburn •
Lord North Other historical figures •
David Bushnell •
Elizabeth Freeman aka Mum Bett (
Yolanda King) •
James Craik – appears in "Lafayette Arrives", no lines •
William Dawes •
Josiah Franklin – appears in "In Praise of Ben", no lines •
James Franklin •
Moses Michael Hays •
Edward Jenner •
Sybil Ludington (Kayla Hinkle) •
Thomas Paine •
Paul Revere (
Sylvester Stallone) •
Theodore Sedgwick •
Benjamin West •
Phillis Wheatley ==Episodes==