William Colfax William Colfax was a revolutionary war figure who served as Captain of George Washington ' s Life Guard beginning on March 18 , 1778 . William was the fifth child born to George Colfax ( born : December 25 , 1727 ) and Lucy Avery ( married April 13 , 1749 ) , who had a total of ten children . Colfax was about 5 ' 10 " tall and weighed about 190 - 200 lbs . He had blue eyes , dark hair , and was clean shaven . His hair was powdered and worn in a cue , tied with a black ribbon , till his later years . He was married to Hester Schuyler , cousin of Philip Schuyler , of Pompton on August 27 , 1783 , together they had six children . Together they lived in Hester ' s inherited Schuyler - Colfax House in Wayne , New Jersey , which today is a museum . Their grandson was Schuyler Colfax , the 17th Vice President of the United States . When Colfax was 17 years old , he was commissioned as a Lieutenant in the Continental Army leading him to be present at the Battle of Bunker Hill in 1775 . Colfax was wounded three times in battle during the war , one of those times was at the Battle of White Plains in October 1776 . Another was on July 3 , 1781 , four miles from Valentine ' s Hill north of New York City near Kingsbridge . Upon one occasion , when he was in the act of giving the word of command to his men , a bullet struck his uplifted sword , shattering the blade , and glancing , skinned one of his fingers . On another occasion , also while riding on horseback in an exposed position a bullet was sent through his body , just above the hip and below the bowels , entering in front and coming out behind . The long buff waistcoat he wore at the time is preserved by his grandchildren , and the hole is apparent , made by the almost fatal shot . In the excitement of the battle the Colfax did not notice the wound , but still galloped from point to point over the field delivering orders . Some Hessian soldiers , who had been taken prisoners , saw the blood streaming from his side and into his boot , and gleefully exclaimed , " Mein Gott ! de Captain is wounded again . " As he kept on in the fight some of his own men saw the blood flow and cried to him , " Captain ! the blood is running out of your boot ! " Looking down , he noticed his condition for the first time and recognized that it must be serious , and rode over toward the field hospital . Dr . Ledyard looked at the wound and bade him go at once into the hospital , and stay in , the latter order being needed to keep Colfax indoors . The excitement over , the wounded Colfax succumbed to the loss of blood and grew faint and weak as a child . After hurriedly examining and dressing the injury , Dr . Ledyard subsequently asked , " Do you want to be cured quickly , or to let this thing linger along ? " To which the Captain replied , " As quickly as possible . " The Surgeon promptly applied the bistouri , tore tho wound open and dressed it , whereupon it soon healed . However , recovery was attended by an eruption of boils , covering Colfax from head to heels . Washington seeing the state of his Captain , told him , " You are in a deplorable condition ; I will give you a furlough that you may go home till you recover . " Colfax persisted in staying with the army till they went into winter quarters at Morristown , in the winter of 1779 - 80 . During that season he went home to Connecticut on horseback through snow in March so deep that he rode over the fence - tops . He returned greatly improved in health , and was with the army till the close of the war . While the American army was encamped at Valley Forge , Washington issued an order , dated March 17 , 1778 , directing that " one hundred chosen men are to be annexed to the Guard of the Commander in - Chief , for the purpose of forming a corps , to be instructed in the manoeuvres necessary to be introduced into the Army , and to serve as a model for the execution of them . " Colfax succeeded Caleb Gibbs on January 1 , 1781 as Captain ( by Washington ' s appointment ) of his Life Guard until September 5 , 1783 , having gone on furlough in July . During his service in the Life Guard , Colfax was promoted from Second Lieutenant to First Lieutenant , and then finally to Captain in April 1783 . Colfax was present at the Surrender of Lord Cornwallis , at Yorktown and permitted by Washington to occupy a prominent position , on horseback , near Washington . According to Connecticut records , he served in the Continental Army until January 1 , 1780 . Colfax retired from the army on November 3 , 1783 . He was appointed by the legislature to be a Justice of the Peace for the Court of Common Pleas of Bergen County for many years . He served in the New Jersey legislature from 1806 – 13 , in the $ 3 ( 1806 , 07 , 09 , 10 , and 11 ) and the Legislative Council ( 1808 , 12 , and 13 ) . In 1811 he was Brigadier - General of the Second Division of Infantry , Bergen Brigade where in the War of 1812 he had a command at Sandy Hook .