This Week on Dispatches: Andrew Schocket on Who Mattered in Early America?
byOn this week’s Dispatches host Brady Crytzer interviews Andrew Schocket, professor of history at Bowling Green State University about the original research he and two…
Joshua Barney, the Hyder-Ally‘s Triumph, and its Aftermath
byOne of the most colorful men to seek and earn an officer’s commission in the Continental Navy was Joshua Barney. He was a man…
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Catharine Macaulay: Her Final Gifts to America and France, 1787–1791
byIn September 1787, Mrs. Mercy Otis Warren informed Catharine Macaulay of the results of the Federal Convention in Philadelphia. She was guardedly optimistic. Macaulay,…
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Picking Up the Pieces: Virginia’s “Eighteen-Months Men” of 1780–81
byThe first half of 1780 had gone disastrously for Virginia. The surrender of Gen. Benjamin Lincoln’s army at Charleston and the destruction of Col….
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Contest for Liberty: Military Leadership in the Continental Army, 1775–1783
byContest for Liberty: Military Leadership in the Continental Army, 1775-1783 by Seanegan P. Sculley (Yardley, PA: Westholme Publishing, 2019) Seanegan P. Sculley’s recent book, Contest…
This Week on Dispatches: John G. McCurdy on the Quartering Act
byOn this week’s Dispatches host Brady Crytzer interviews historian and author John G. McCurdy, professor of history at Eastern Michigan University, about the quartering act,…
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Milton’s Odyssey: The Revolutionary and Post-Revolutionary Service of Georgia’s John Milton
byGeorgia’s fragile independence within the new American republic was shattered on December 29, 1778, when British troops attacked Savannah. Despite clear signs that the…
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Worthy of Commemmoration
byWe recently ran an article about monuments commemorating the American Revolution. We asked our contributors: If you could commission a monument, what would you…
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Benoni Simmons: Long-Serving Hero of the American Revolution
byThe amazing story of Benoni Simmons’s military service in the American Revolution spans some fourteen years, perhaps the longest term of service by anyone…
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Revolutionary Networks: The Business and Politics of Printing the News, 1763–1789
byRevolutionary Networks: The Business and Politics of Printing the News, 1763-1789 by Joseph M. Adelman (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2019) An explosion of new…
This Week on Dispatches: Gabriel Neville on the Historic Clove Road and Its Role during the Revolution
byOn this week’s Dispatches host Brady Crytzer interviews JAR contributor Gabriel “Gabe” Neville on the Clove Road between northern New Jersey and New York and…
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How Magna Carta Influenced the American Revolution
byIn 1984, Ross Perot purchased a copy of the 1297 reissuance of the Magna Carta from the Brudenell family who had held the document…
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Contributor Profile: John Knight
byWhat inspired you to start researching and writing about the Revolution? For my thirteenth birthday, I was given a history book on the Kings…
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The Whitall Family and the Battle of Red Bank
byJames W. Whitall (1717-1808) was a prominent Quaker businessman and farmer in the southern region of New Jersey. In 1739 he married Ann Cooper…
Giving Thanks: John Gridley’s Prayer Bill
byHoused in the Medfield Historical Society is a rare collection of prayer bills containing the prayers of thanksgiving from Massachusetts soldiers and their families…
This Week on Dispatches: Mark Edward Lender on the “Cabal” Against George Washington
byOn this week’s Dispatches host Brady Crytzer interviews distinguished historian, Mark Edward Lender, about his new book, Cabal! The Plot Against General Washington, the first…
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The East India Company and Parliament’s “Fateful Decision” of 1767
byIndia, the fabled land of rubies, diamonds, gold, tigers, and mystery, captured the imagination of the British people in the mid 1700s. Robert Clive…
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Jefferson, Madison, and the Making of the Constitution
byJefferson, Madison, and the Making of the Constitution by Jeff Broadwater (Chapel Hill, NC: The University of North Carolina Press, 2019) Before getting into the…
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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…
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Massachusetts Privateers During the Siege of Boston
byFollowing the Battles of Lexington and Concord, the Massachusetts Grand Army surrounded Boston and began to lay siege to it. The Massachusetts Committee of…
Catharine Macaulay’s Difficult Years, 1778–1787
byBetween 1775 and 1784 Catharine Macaulay’s social and personal life was one traumatic event after another. She accepted the invitation from Rev. Dr. James…
This Week on Dispatches: James R. Fichter on the Tea that Survived the Boston Tea Party
byOn this week’s Dispatches host Brady Crytzer interviews James R. Fichter, associate professor of European and American studies at the University of Hong Kong, on what…
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Thomas Jefferson: Life, Liberty, and French Fries
byThomas Jefferson and Julia Child. Not two people you’d expect to be linked in history. But yet, indeed they are—as two gourmets who loved…