Review: Mind and Hearts: The Story of James Otis Jr. and Mercy Otis Warren
byBOOK REVIEW: Minds and Hearts: The Story of James Otis Jr. and Mercy Otis Warren by Jeffrey Hacker (Amherst, MA: Bright Leaf/University of Massachusetts Press,…
This Week on Dispatches: Michael C. Harris and Gary Ecelbarger on the Numerical Strength of Washington’s Army During the Philadelphia Campaign
byOn this week’s Dispatches, host Brady Crytzer interviews historians and JAR contributors Michael C. Harris and Gary Ecelbarger on their important work to better determine…
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Skirmish at James’s Plantation: Victory and Defeat for Benedict Arnold in Virginia
byA recent home improvement project led to the Home Depot located at 2324 Elson Green Avenue, Virginia Beach, Virginia. The area is in the…
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Terrain and Tactics: Detailed Perspectives From William Howe’s War Plan of 1776
byThe objective of the 1776 British campaign was straightforward: capture New York and crush the American rebellion. The plan was the brainchild of British…
Review: George Washington: The Political Rise of America’s Founding Father
byBOOK REVIEW: George Washington: The Political Rise of America’s Founding Father by David O. Stewart (New York, NY: Dutton, Penguin Random House, 2021) One of…
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What Were the Brooklyn Line of Forts in 1776?
byThe planned capture of New York City in 1776 by British forces set the stage for what was to become the largest battle of…
Edmund Burke and Thomas Jefferson on Montesquieu
byAntoine Louis Claude Destutt, comte de Tracy (1754–1836) was a famous French Enlightenment philosopher. Thomas Jefferson admired him, and was so impressed with his…
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The Numerical Strength of George Washington’s Army During the 1777 Philadelphia Campaign
byIntroduction Perhaps the most important facet for understanding and appreciating a military campaign is a solid grasp of the composition of the armies engaged…
Ill-Fated Frontier
byBOOK REVIEW: Ill-Fated Frontier: Peril and Possibilities in the Early American West by Samuel A. Forman (Guilford, CT: Lyons Press, 2021) Samuel A. Forman, author of Dr….
This Week on Dispatches: David Price on Thomas Knowlton’s Revolution
byOn this week’s Dispatches, host Brady Crytzer interviews author and JAR contributor David Price on the brief, but memorable, contribution of Thomas Knowlton to…
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A Further Evaluation of the Carlisle Peace Commission’s Initiative
byIn March, 1778, Lord North, the British Prime Minister, authorized the Carlisle Peace Commission to negotiate with the Continental Congress, terms for reconciliation rather…
Meeting of the Three Commanders
byOn March 6, 2019, a chilly late winter afternoon, the Virginia Beach Historic Preservation Commission dedicated a Virginia Historical Highway Marker to commemorate a…
Captain John Bacon: The Last of the Jersey Pine Robbers
by“Captain John Bacon: His name was second only to that of the New Jersey devil for producing nightmares among the inhabitants of the pine…
The Howe Dynasty
byBOOK REVIEW: The Howe Dynasty: The Untold Story of a Military Family and the Women Behind Britain’s Wars for America by Julie Flavell (Liveright, 2021) In…
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This Week on Dispatches: Jonathan Curran on Public Opinion and the Whiskey Rebellion
byOn this week’s Dispatches, host Brady Crytzer interviews USMA instructor and JAR contributor Jonathan Curran on his research into how public opinion about those…
Trophies of War: The Guns at Elk
byElk Landing, Head of Elk and Elkton all refer to the same geographic area in Cecil County, Maryland. Head of Elk was a key…
Lord Bolingbroke: A Tory Thinker that Jefferson Truly Admired
byJefferson scholars all knew that Thomas Jefferson often disparaged the label “Tory” in his political writings. For Jefferson, being called a Whig would signify…
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The Varick Transcripts and the Preservation of the War
byFive years into the war, with his papers piling up and stuffed into overflowing trunks that followed the general from headquarters to headquarters, George…
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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!
Stranger Citizens: Migrant Influence and National Power in the Early American Republic
byBOOK REVIEW: Stranger Citizens: Migrant Influence and National Power in the Early American Republic by John McNelis O’Keefe (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2021) The infamous decision…
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This Week on Dispatches: Dean Snow on Continental and Militia Cavalry at the Battle of Saratoga
byOn this week’s Dispatches, host Brady Crytzer interviews emeritus professor and JAR contributor Dean Snow on his research into the Continental and militia cavalry…
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Guns on Mount Defiance
byDiscussions about the American evacuation of Mount Independence and Fort Ticonderoga on the night of July 5, 1777 frequently address the question: could shot…
Jefferson and Burke on Marat, Danton, and Robespierre
byThomas Jefferson is well-known for his so-called “Frenchified” stance.[1] On the topic of the relationship between Jefferson and French Revolution, scholarly accounts often stop…