John Paterson (often spelled Patterson) (1744 – July 19, 1808) was a major general in the Continental Army during the American Revolution, and a U.S.

[6] He also represented Lenox at the 1774 Berkshire Convention, held in Stockbridge, Massachusetts to discuss how to respond to the Boston Port Act.

[7] When the governor dissolved the legislature as pre-revolution tensions continued to rise, the people of Massachusetts formed a provincial Congress.

[9] When the American Revolution began in April 1775 Paterson was commissioned as a colonel by the Massachusetts Committee of Safety, and he marched with his militia unit to take part in the Siege of Boston.

[11] After the British evacuation of Boston, Paterson's regiment took part in the Invasion of Canada[12] and the battles of Trenton and Princeton in New Jersey.

[21] Rather than reprimand her, as had often been the case with women discovered in the ranks, Paterson provided her with a certificate of honorable discharge, a note with words of encouragement, and money sufficient to pay for travel to her home in Massachusetts.

[22] After the war Paterson returned to Massachusetts, where he resumed practicing law, and also served in local offices including town meeting moderator, selectman, fence viewer, tax assessor, and highway surveyor.

[28] The area of Lisle where Paterson settled was later organized as the town of Triangle; the site of his home and farm was in what is now the village of Whitney Point.

[28][29] In the late 1700s and early 1800s, Deborah Sampson published a memoir and made a lecture tour in which she gave presentations about her military service.