Recognizing the Skirmish at Kemp’s Landing
byNovember 10, 1775 was an important day in both Great Britain and America. Lord George Germain assumed duties as the Secretary of State for…
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Patrick Ferguson and His Rifle
byMaj. Patrick Ferguson’s rifle is one of the most interesting and significant early attempts at a breech-loading service rifle. Coupling a screw breech plug…
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Putting a Price on Loyalty: Mary Loring’s List of Losses
byThe Revolutionary War took a heavy toll on Great Britain. The Treaty of Paris in 1783 left it not just bereft of former colonies…
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Hammond’s Store: The “Dirty War’s” Prelude to Cowpens
byLittle is known about the colonial-era history of Hammond’s Store, though the site appears to have been a local meeting place prior to the…
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Henry Laurens in England, 1771–1772
byOn October 9, 1771, a ship arrived at the southwestern tip of England. The Earl of Halifax had spent twenty nine days crossing the Atlantic…
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Stephen Moylan: More than a War Hero
byServing on George Washington’s staff were many talented young men, including some who became famous later. Alexander Hamilton served on the staff ably for…
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The Extraordinary Life of Isaac Grant of Judea, Connecticut
byThe old man stepped out into the sun, shut his door, and turned north, leaving his home in Gainesville, New York, for the county…
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The Constitutional Debate over a Standing National Navy
byThere is a gap in most histories of the United States Navy. The blank space lies between the end of the American Revolution and…
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Recent JAR News
byThe Journal of the American Revolution reaches a wide audience and is regularly cited on other web sites, in scholarly books and articles, newspapers, and…
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Major James Wemyss: Second Most Hated British Officer in the South
byNo British officer was more reviled by Patriots in the South during the American Revolution than Lt. Col. Banastre Tarleton. Based partly on fact…
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Valley Forge
byValley Forge by Bob Drury and Tom Clavin (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2018) Americans refer to many of their nation’s most iconic events…
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Continental Congress vs. Continental Army: Strategy and Personnel Decisions
byWhen the American Revolution became a shooting war, it was left to the Continental Congress to become the body of state for the thirteen…
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Alexander Clough: Forgotten Patriot Spymaster
byTelevision series and popular books such as TURN: Washington’s Spies and Alexander Rose’s Washington’s Spies: The Story of America’s First Spy Ring recreate and immortalize the exploits…
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Rush: Revolution, Madness, and the Visionary Doctor Who Became a Founding Father
byStephen Fried, Rush: Revolution, Madness, and the Visionary Doctor Who Became a Founding Father (New York: Crown, 2018) BUY THIS BOOK FROM AMAZON When…
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What is the best audiovisual material to teach students about the American Revolution or Founding Era?
byOne of our readers, an educator, asked the JAR editors a question that we chose to put before our contributors: What is the best…
The Sea Battle that Paid Off for the Continental Army
byAs the Revolutionary War was coming to an end, financial problems came to the forefront: to name a few, the country’s debts to France,…
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The American Revolution: A World War
byBook Review: The American Revolution: A World War, edited by David K. Allison and Larrie D. Ferreiro, (Smithsonian Books, 2018). BUY THIS BOOK FROM…
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A Revolution in Mottoes: Newspaper Mastheads and the American Revolution
byIn early 2017, the Washington Post debuted a new masthead with the motto “Democracy Dies in Darkness.” At about the same time, the New…
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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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Revolution Road with the Journal of the American Revolution: Todd Braisted on the Military Role of Loyalists
byOn the first Friday of each month those who have Sirius XM radio can listen to “Revolution Road with the Journal of the American…
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Thomas Paine Goes to Sea: A Pre-Revolutionary Tale
byComing up rapidly from behind the British privateer, the frigate suddenly lowered one national flag and raised another, the customary ruse of switching colors,…
Interview with Ramin Ganeshram, author of The General’s Cook: A Novel
byJAR: In a nutshell, can you give us a basic overview of The General’s Cook? RG: The General’s Cook is about George Washington’s enslaved chef, Hercules,…
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Stalking Daniel Morgan in the Archives
byFor the last two years or more I have been searching for written evidence from the life of Daniel Morgan—who in the twists, turns,…
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Continental Congress vs. Continental Army: The Officer Corps
byWhen the Continental Congress first met it was intended to bring the American colonies together to find a solution to the growing disputes with…
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General Thomas Conway: Cabal Conspirator or Career Climber?
by“French Officers hate him” and “none of the English Officers . . . love him.”[1] The American Revolution produced the names of great individuals who…
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Daniel Granger, Thirteen-Year-Old Soldier
byDuring the American Revolution children were no strangers to the realities of war, but some would find themselves in the very center of the…
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Rome’s Heroes and America’s Founding Fathers
byThroughout the course of history, the ancient civilization of Rome has been widely discussed, praised, and emulated by writers, statesmen, and philosophers alike. Rome…
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Gibraltar: The Greatest Siege in British History
byBook Review: Gibraltar: The Greatest Siege in British History by Roy Adkins and Lesley Adkins, (Viking, 2017). BUY THIS BOOK FROM AMAZON It is…
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Who was Captain Marsh?
byMany people involved in the American Revolution played but a short role in the long war. A John Babcock, for example, apparently served as…
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Washington in the Hurricane’s Eye: An Interview with Nathaniel Philbrick
byIf not for a series of devastating hurricanes in the Caribbean Sea in 1780, George Washington might not have met Lord Cornwallis at the…