Earl of Stirling, William Alexander, was a prominent politician in colonial New Jersey who served as a general in the Continental Army. Alexander was born in New York City in 1726. He was the sole heir to the earldom of Stirling. He was born into wealth and further secured his standing amongst the elite of New York by marrying into the Livingston family.

He worked as a merchant for much of the colonial period. He provided supplies to William Shirley’s Canadian offensive during the Seven Years’ War. As a result, he received some of the blame for Shirley’s failure. In 1757, he traveled to London, in part to clear his name.

He returned to the colonies in 1761 and served in a variety of political positions in New York and New Jersey. But with the outbreak of the Revolutionary War, he resigned all British appointments and served in a number of revolutionary organizations in New Jersey. He was put in charge of the New Jersey militia and eventually became a brigadier general in the Continental Army, serving under Washington, with whom he began a close friendship.