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 Reviews Posted on

The Home Front: Revolutionary Households, Military Occupation, and the Making of American Independence

BOOK REVIEW: The Home Front: Revolutionary Households, Military Occupation, and the Making of American Independence by Lauren Duval (Charlotte: University of North Carolina Press) $45.00 hardcover The Home Front by Lauren Duval, published by the Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture in conjunction with the University of North Carolina Press, offers a comprehensive […]

by Nichole Louise
Lectures and Presentations Posted on

This Week on Dispatches: Brady J. Crytzer on Pope Pius VI and the American Revolution

On this week’s Dispatches, host Brady Crytzer discusses his recent article on how Pope Pius VI viewed republicanism and the American Revolution and the ultimate acceptance of the new United States of America. New episodes of Dispatches are available for free every Sunday evening(Eastern United States Time), first on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, Amazon Music, […]

by Editors
Primary Sources Posted on

Advertising a Revolution: An Original Invoice to “The Town of Boston to Green and Russell”

The year is 1764, and smallpox is sweeping the town of Boston. One of Paul Revere’s children is stricken, and the family chooses to quarantine in their home until the child recovers.[1] The local newspapers document new smallpox cases. Incoming vessels with smallpox victims on board are impounded, and the passengers and crews are immediately […]

by George Bresnick
1
Reviews Posted on

The Killing of Jane McCrea

BOOK REVIEW: The Killing of Jane McCrea: An American Tragedy of the Revolutionary Frontier by Paul Staiti (Yardley, PA: Westholme Publishing, 2025). My introduction to the Jane McCrea story came fifty years ago as part of a Revolutionary War reenactment weekend. The organizers chose my group to be part of the opening of the battle […]

by Michael Barbieri
1
Critical Thinking Posted on

The American Princeps Civitatis: Precedent and Protocol in the Washingtonian Republic

For all the flaws of the framers, Americans can still look to the founding era for wisdom and guidance. That deeply learned collection of statesmen, whatever its shortcomings, committed itself to advancing the public good and securing the long-term survival of the nascent nation.[1] And when the first members of congress, justices of the bench […]

by Shawn David McGhee
Reviews Posted on

The Course of Human Events

BOOK REVIEW: The Course of Human Events: The Declaration of Independence and the Historical Origins of the United States by Steven Sarson. (Charlottesville, VA: University Press of Virginia) $35.00 paperback Modern interpretation of the Declaration of Independence is distressingly polarized. To some, it was the contrivance of hypocrites engaged in a war to perpetuate slavery.[1] […]

by Gabriel Neville
1
The War Years (1775-1783) Posted on

The American Revolution Comes to Georgia: The Battle of the Riceboats, 1776

In 1775, the colony of Georgia faced heavy criticism for failing to support the American Revolution fully. The situation would change dramatically, as represented by a moment in 1776 connected to the famous events in Boston at that time, and also to East Florida, escaped enslaved people, Indigenous native peoples, and rice. Georgia’s history had […]

by Robert Scott Davis
Politics During the War (1775-1783) Posted on

The Association of Cumberland County, North Carolina

On June 20, 1775, Patriots of the Cumberland Association met at Liberty Point, the space currently located between the intersection of Bow Street and Person Street in what is now Fayetteville, North Carolina.[1] At the time, Cumberland County, which included the present-day counties of Moore, Hoke and Harnett, was inhabited by a large concentration of […]

by Joseph Westendorf
Reviews Posted on

Lydia’s Tale: The Mystery of Lydia Darragh, Irish Quaker, Patriot Spy

BOOK REVIEW: Lydia’s Tale: The Mystery of Lydia Darragh, Irish Quaker, Patriot Spy by Robert N. Fanelli (Yardley, PA: Westholme Publishing, 2025) $34.95 hardcover Robert N. Fanelli’s Lydia’s Tale attempts to contextualize the life and legacy of the famed heroine spy Lydia Darragh. Fanelli is a contributor to the Journal of the American Revolution; his […]

by Kelsey DeFord
2
Features Posted on

Lt. Elijah Evans of Maryland: Unresolved Promotion in an Extra Continental Regiment

On Christmas day 1780, seven days before his discharge from the Maryland and Virginia Rifle Regiment (Rawlings’ regiment), Lt. Elijah Evans recorded in a troop return that he “claims a Captaincy from the 15th April 1779.”[1] This was his last attempt to highlight a conspicuous administrative oversight that had prevented his promotion throughout his time […]

by Tucker F. Hentz
Reviews Posted on

New Jersey’s Revolutionary Rivalry

BOOK REVIEW: New Jersey’s Revolutionary Rivalry: The Untold Story of Colonel Tye & Captain Huddy by Rick Geffken (Charleston, SC: The History Press, 2025) $24.99 Paperback Rick Geffken’s New Jersey’s Revolutionary Rivalry revolves around two antagonists. Titus was an enslaved man who escaped to British lines and, as the leader of a mixed group of […]

by Jeff Broadwater
3
Critical Thinking Posted on

The Evolution of the American Declaration of Independence

The American Declaration of Independence boldly proclaims “that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights.” These words encouraged Americans to fight for freedom and have inspired disadvantaged groups though out the world. Historian Joseph Ellis called the phrase “the most potent and consequential words in American […]

by Jane Sinden Spiegel
4
War at Sea and Waterways (1775–1783) Posted on

The Deadliest Seconds of the War

On March 7, 1778, one of the deadliest naval battles of the Revolutionary War occurred off the coast of Barbados between the British ship Yarmouth and an American squadron led by the Continental frigate Randolph. The five-ship American contingent which sailed from Charlestown, South Carolina, led by Capt. Nicholas Biddle, was the largest joint Continental […]

by Douglas R. Dorney, Jr.
Reviews Posted on

Entangled Alliances: Racialized Freedom and Atlantic Diplomacy During the American Revolution

BOOK REVIEW: Entangled Alliances: Racialized Freedom and Atlantic Diplomacy During the American Revolution by Ronald Angelo Johnson (Ithica, NY: Cornell University Press, 2025) The years between the two well-known peace treaties that ended conflicts in North America were a time of significant social upheaval. Two places in particular, the thirteen British colonies and the Caribbean […]

by Timothy Symington
Interviews Posted on

This Week on Dispatches: Geoffrey Hoerauf on American Spies around Fort Detroit

On this week’s Dispatches, host Brady Crytzer interviews Geoffrey Hoerauf, JAR contributor and reenactor, on the role of American spies and sympathizers around British Fort Detroit and how they informed the American efforts along the frontier. New episodes of Dispatches are available for free every Sunday evening(Eastern United States Time), first on iTunes, Stitcher, Google […]

by Editors
1
Reviews Posted on

Facing Washington’s Crossing: The Hessians and the Battle of Trenton

BOOK REVIEW: Facing Washington’s Crossing: The Hessians and the Battle of Trenton by Steven Bier (Yardley, PA: Westholme Publishing, 2025) $35.00 Steven Bier’s Facing Washington’s Crossing: The Hessians and the Battle of Trenton recounts the tale of the Hessian regiments during the American Revolution as they leave their home of Hessen-Kassel, crossing the Atlantic to […]

by Sam Short
3
The War Years (1775-1783) Posted on

The New Dominion: Virginia’s Bounty Land

There is a fine line between courage and stupidity. Eight men congregated at Smithfield Plantation in southwest Virginia on April 7, 1774, prepared for a perilous adventure. They were young men in high spirits, ready to set off into Virginia’s mostly unexplored western wilderness. Their intrepid leader was Deputy Fincastle County Surveyor John Floyd. Their […]

by Gabriel Neville
Interviews Posted on

This Week on Dispatches: Stuart Lillie on Henry Knox’s Artillery Train

On this week’s Dispatches, host Brady Crytzer interviews Stuart Lillie, vice president of Public History at Fort Ticonderoga, on their new exhibit on Henry Knox’s Artillery Train. New episodes of Dispatches are available for free every Sunday evening(Eastern United States Time), first on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, Amazon Music, and the JAR Dispatches web site. Each episode […]

by Editors
1
The War Years (1775-1783) Posted on

Vanishing Ranks: Rawlings’ Rifle Regiment and the Struggle to Recruit for the Frontier

The Continental Congress directed the organization of the Maryland and Virginia Rifle Regiment (Rawlings’ regiment) in resolutions dated June 17 and 27, 1776.[1] The force was a combination of six newly-formed companies from the two states and three independent rifle companies organized a year before. The nine-company regiment was still completing organization on November 16 […]

by Tucker F. Hentz
Espionage and Cryptography Posted on

American Spies and Sympathizers at Fort Detroit

Located far enough away from American-controlled Kentucky but enough close to the British-allied Native Americans in the Western Great Lakes region, Fort Detroit became the center for British military operations to counter American activities in present-day Kentucky, Indiana, and Ohio during the American Revolutionary War. These operations included raids on American settlements as well as […]

by Geoffrey Hoerauf
Interviews Posted on

This Week on Dispatches: Brett Bannor on Gulliver’s Travels and the Founding Generation

On this week’s Dispatches, host Brady Crytzer interviews JAR Contributor Brett Bannor on the surprising influence of Jonathan Swift’s “Gulliver’s Travels” on members of the Founding Generation. How often did they refer back to this classic political satire? New episodes of Dispatches are available for free every Sunday evening(Eastern United States Time), first on iTunes, […]

by Editors
Features Posted on

An interview with Sarah Botstein and David Schmidt, producers of Ken Burns’ The American Revolution

The PBS documentary The American Revolution, produced by Ken Burns, Sarah Botstein and David Schmidt, premiers on November 16, 2025. Producers Sarah Botstein and David Schmidt took time out of their busy schedules to talk to JAR about their experiences working on this landmark film, and some of the things they learned about the people […]

by Editors
Reviews Posted on

George Washington: His Quest for Honor and Fame

BOOK REVIEW: George Washington: His Quest for Honor and Fame by Peter R. Henriques (Charlottesville, VA: University of VA Press, 2025) $24.95 hardcover Famed Washington scholar Peter R. Henriques (author of Realistic Visionary: A Portrait of George Washington) turned the content of some recent talks given at Colonial Williamsburg into a brief “interpretive biography” of […]

by Timothy Symington
Lectures and Presentations Posted on

A Dispatches Special: Prof. Alexander S. Burns discusses his new book, Infantry in Battle, 1733–1783

This week Brady Crytzer’s guest is Alexander S. Burns, assistant professor of History at Franciscan University of Steubenville. Prof. Burns discussed his new book Infantry In Battle: 1733-1783, at the 2025 Braddock’s Road Preservation Association Seminar at Fort Ligonier in Ligonier, Pennsylvania. New episodes of Dispatches are available for free every Sunday evening(Eastern United States […]

by Editors
Critical Thinking Posted on

The Tree of Liberty: Standing Armies and the Struggle to Define American Governance

One the United States’ Founders, writing under the pseudonym Brutus, argued that the new country, spanning too great a distance and too many distinctly interested peoples, was not viable.[1] His predictions were bleak: the government would lack the support of the people, who would feel both neglected and subsumed by its distant authority. To generate […]

by Matthew Carroll