Cornwallis Quits Charlotte, Abandoning the Autumn Campaign of 1780
byThis article is a companion piece to one of mine that appeared in this journal on July 18, 2017. Beginning with the start of the…
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Their Pockets Filled with Paper Dollars: The Raid on Little Ferry
byDuring the American Revolution, Bergen County, New Jersey, was flooded with combatants from all over America, many of whom had never been to the…
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This Week on Dispatches: Rick Atkinson on The British Are Coming
byOn this week’s Dispatches host Brady Crytzer interviews Pulitzer-prize winning author Rick Atkinson about his latest book, the best-selling The British are Coming: The War…
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Historic Structures and Sites Worth Preserving?
byA recent article mentioned Sidman’s Tavern in New Jersey, a building with strong connections to the American Revolution that is under threat of destruction….
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Major Lawrence Washington of Mount Vernon
byMuch has been written about George Washington’s lack of formal education and his eager grasp of learning from other men, especially those of status…
This Week on Dispatches: J. L. Bell on Truths and Myths of the Declaration of Independence
byOn this week’s Dispatches host Brady Crytzer interviews author and historian J. L. Bell on the Declaration of Independence and which stories surrounding the document…
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The Penobscot Expedition of 1779
byFor much of the Revolutionary War, the relative obscurity and isolation of the three Massachusetts counties of York, Cumberland, and Lincoln along the coast…
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Small Boats and Daring Men: Raiding, Irregular Warfare, and the Early American Navy
bySmall Boats and Daring Men: Maritime Raiding, Irregular Warfare, and the Early American Navy by Benjamin Armstrong (University of Oklahoma Press, 2019) In the…
Jacob Duché: Mixing Religion and Politics During the Revolution
byIn a country in which one of the main constitutional principles is separation of church and state, it is counter-intuitive to find that there…
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“That Damned Absurd Word Liberty:” Les Habitants, the Quebec Act, and American Revolutionary Ideology, 1774–1776
byThe American invasion of Quebec of 1775-1776 failed to achieve its primary objective: to bring into the fold what the Continental Congress referred to…
This Week on Dispatches: Andrew Waters on the Campaign in the Carolinas
byOn this week’s Dispatches host Brady Crytzer interviews JAR contributor Andrew Waters on the course of the campaign through the Carolinas, including Cowpens and other key…
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The Tragedy of Henry Laurens
byIt wasn’t really their fault, they said. Slavery, men of the founding generation liked to argue, was brought to the colonies by Britain. It…
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A General’s Funeral: The Burial of Enoch Poor Revisted
byIn the May 30, 2016 issue of this Journal, Todd W. Braisted introduced us to General Enoch Poor of New Hampshire, his death, and…
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The American Revolutionary War in the South
byThe American Revolutionary War in the South: A Re-evaluation from a British Perspective in Light of the Cornwallis Papers by Ian Saberton (Grosvenor House Publishing…
This Week on Dispatches: Tristan J. New on Joseph Galloway’s Efforts for a Peaceful Resolution with Great Britain
byOn this week’s Dispatches host Brady Crytzer interviews budding scholar Tristan J. New about Joseph Galloway and his proposal for a peaceful political resolution with…
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The Constitution Counted Free Women and Children—And It Mattered
byAs adopted by the Constitutional Convention, Article I, Section 2, Clause 3 of the Constitution mandated that the population numbers forming the basis for…
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George Mason: The Founding Father Who Gave Us the Bill of Rights
byGeorge Mason: The Founding Father Who Gave Us the Bill of Rights by William Hyland, Jr. (Regnery, 2019) Most people have never heard of George…
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“Monsr Dubuq,” the First French Officer to Serve the American Cause?
byTo historians of the American Revolution, the date of 1775 for French participation in the Patriot cause may seem incredible. The enigmatic “Monsr Dubuq,”…
Latest Reviews
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Small Boats and Daring Men: Raiding, Irregular Warfare, and the Early American Navy
8
The American Revolutionary War in the South
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George Mason: The Founding Father Who Gave Us the Bill of Rights
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“The Only Unavoidable Subject of Regret”: George Washington, Slavery, and the Enslaved Community at Mount Vernon
Featured Articles
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The Earl of Dartmouth, Secretary of State for the Colonies, Second Year: November 1773 – August 1774
byDuring the three months that the Earl of Dartmouth, Secretary of State for the Colonies, was on holiday from August to November 1773, the…
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What Do Bond Prices Tell Us about the Early Republic?
byAmerica’s early finances were, in a word, messy. The states took on enormous debt to fund the Revolutionary War while the national government chartered…
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A Brief History of Benjamin Franklin’s Residences on Craven Street, London: 1757 – 1775
byIf one looked into Benjamin Franklin’s time on Craven Street, they might initially believe he lived at 36 Craven Street the entirety of his…
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How do you define “Founding Fathers”?
byHow do you define “Founding Fathers”? You can define it either broadly or narrowly. By consensus, most historians limit the narrow definition to six….
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Which side benefited the most from the Native Americans?
byWhich side do you think benefited the most from the Native American involvement in the war? Why? The British benefited the most, from one…
Hamilton: An American Musical
byReview of the Broadway musical Hamilton, now playing at the Richard Rodgers Theater on 46th Street in New York City. Let me confess at…
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9 Questions with Rick Atkinson
byLearning that one of the most acclaimed military writers of our time has turned his narrative expertise towards the American Revolution is exciting news…
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The American Vicars of Bray
byLoyalists, those Americans who openly supported the British Government during the American Revolution, have been largely assumed to have had unchanging allegiance during the…
America's Most Important History!
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“Under God:” Understanding its Revolutionary Usage
byThe words “under God” have been part of America’s fabric since its inception; any school child will recognize the words in the Pledge of…
This Week on Dispatches: John L. Smith, Jr. on John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and King Louis XVI together at Notre-Dame
byOn this week’s Dispatches host Brady Crytzer interviews actor, teacher, US Army and US Air Force veteran, and JAR contributor, John L. Smith, Jr., about…
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Strange Bedfellows: Adams and Franklin as Diplomatic Duo
byClose the window. No, leave the window open. Cold night air can be toxic to one’s health. No, what’s truly toxic is stifled, fetid…
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“The Only Unavoidable Subject of Regret”: George Washington, Slavery, and the Enslaved Community at Mount Vernon
by“The Only Unavoidable Subject of Regret”: George Washington, Slavery, and the Enslaved Community at Mount Vernon by Mary V. Thompson (Charlottesville, VA: University of…