The Treaty that Redefined North America On Wednesday August 10, 1763, crowds of Bostonians gathered after nightfall and stood watch over the harbor. Under the glow of the bonfires that lined the town’s shoreline, the people assembled to view a fireworks display, which signified the importance and special nature of the occasion: Earlier that afternoon, […]
During the winter of 1778-1779 General Israel Putnam and about 3,000 troops of the Continental Army encamped in Redding, Connecticut. The harsh winter brought a rash of problems, from illness and low food supplies to the more problematic issues of desertions and theft.[1] Indeed Tory spies frequently penetrated Putnam’s lines, carrying information to the British. […]
As Benjamin Franklin lay on his deathbed in the spring of 1790, he wrote a farewell letter to George Washington. He congratulated the first president “on the growing strength of our new government under your administration.” Then he added a private goodbye. For my own personal ease, I should have died two years ago; […]
Each year, more than a million people walk through the cold, dark Rotunda of the National Archives in Washington DC to glimpse the U.S. Declaration of Independence. Called the engrossed copy, the text of the Declaration is handwritten in large letters on parchment that is encased in a frame of pure titanium with gold plating. […]
Historiography is, essentially, the history of history, or, more aptly, the history of history writing. How have historians in different times and places interpreted the causes and character of the Revolution differently? Historiography is the lifeblood of academic historians; however, the general reader often has little familiarity with it. Perhaps no other topic in American […]
I first heard the term “musket-shot” many years ago in a video about the Battle of Valcour Island. Having participated in Revolutionary War living history for years, I knew well the modern talk of the inaccuracies and poor range of the musket so I assumed the term meant something like 50 to 100 yards. The […]
Myth: British soldiers were taught not to aim, but merely to point the piece towards the target[1] …the British soldier was a poor marksman. Actually, he did not “aim” his musket but merely “pointed” it at the enemy. The British manual of arms did not even include the command “Aim!”[2] Its inaccuracy was reflected in […]
“I never Emplored my pen in writing more Disagreeable News than at this time,” wrote Samuel Smedley, captain of the Connecticut state ship Defence, to Connecticut governor Jonathan Trumbull in March 1779. “According to your Excellencys Orders I got the ship Defence in Readiness for Sea & having no men Belonging to the ship it […]
In recent years, Dr. Joseph Warren has earned more of the spotlight in the American Revolution’s cast of characters with some portraying him as a swashbuckling political activist, inspiring speaker, and ladies’ man. However, for decades, Warren’s legacy lurked in the shadows of other American Founders. Ironically, Joseph Warren’s agency as an American Founder was […]
One of the most extraordinary coincidences in history? Or, was it murder? You be the judge. Anthony Wayne Anthony Wayne is generally remembered as one of the more successful fighting generals of the American Revolution. He served at Brandywine, Germantown, Valley Forge, Stony Point and the Savannah Campaign of 1782, among others. However, his post-war […]
“Give me liberty or give me death!” shouted Patrick Henry to the members of the Second Virginia Convention in 1775. His words became the first great war cry of the American Revolution. In 1776 this backwoods lawyer was elected governor of Virginia, the largest state in the new American union. Henry was descended from Scottish […]
Continued from yesterday. Read A to Z first. M is for mobilization. Revolutionary authorities became masters of mobilizing resources at a local level to fight the war. The war debts for the Continental Congress and the various states were massive, but it is impressive just how many men the revolutionaries managed to put into the […]
One of the great ideals of the American Revolution was the notion that political authority derives from the will of the governed. Of the key principles expressed by American revolutionaries, popular sovereignty – the idea that government should be an expression of the collective will and aspirations of the people – was paramount. What is […]
The history community was struck Monday morning with the sad news of Pauline Maier’s passing. She was a preeminent scholar of the American Revolution. Memories and condolences were instantly circulated by thousands on Twitter, followed by numerous blogs that reflected on Maier’s impact and legacy. The discussion network H-NET published an obituary, authored by close […]
The DVD, “Von Steuben’s Continentals: The First American Army,” is a great introduction to the life of the American soldier during the Revolutionary War. The video joins the Continental Army in 1779 at an unnamed camp in the Hudson Highlands. A narrator, played by one of the DVD’s creators, John D. Pagano, summarizes the experiences […]
The strategy approved by King George and his government for the defeat of the American rebellion in 1777 was to invade upstate New York from Canada supported by a thrust up the Hudson River from British-occupied New York City. The Canadian attack was to have two prongs. The first would have Lieutenant-General John Burgoyne lead […]
Although often overlooked, New Orleans, as a Spanish colonial city, was the site of pivotal events in the war for American independence from Great Britain. As detailed in an earlier article published in the Journal of the American Revolution, it was here that Bernardo de Galvéz vaulted onto the scene. He rose from his role […]
It’s a simple question — perhaps so basic that it’s been overlooked. How old were the key participants of the American Revolution? Authors often reveal the age of a particular soldier, politician or other main character in books about the Revolution, but I routinely find myself wondering about their peers at the same time. As […]
We return to the courtroom of the American Revolution for another debate between Journal of the American Revolution contributors Jim Piecuch and Wayne Lynch. This time the subject is the 1780 Battle of Waxhaws. The debate process is similar to last, but reversed: Piecuch first used 800 words to present his opinion on the matter […]
In addition to George Washington, during the course of the American Revolution, the Continental Congress commissioned seventy-seven other men as general officers, with four — Seth Pomeroy, John Whetcomb, John Cadwalader, and Joseph Reed — declining the honor. In fact, Cadwalader declined twice, much to Washington’s regret. These seventy-three men served as Washington’s chief lieutenants, […]
As the struggle between Great Britain and her colonists in the thirteen North American colonies entered a state of armed resistance against British military power, the delegates to the Second Continental Congress began to ponder the need for foreign assistance. With blood on both sides having been shed at Lexington and Concord, a siege in […]
Prior to September 1780, Benedict Arnold earned a great reputation among Patriots for his bold, brave actions at Quebec, Valcour and Saratoga. In return for his treason, Arnold received commission as a General in the British army but the question remained unanswered as to whether he actually possessed the formal military command skills expected of […]
Continued from yesterday. Click here to read part 1. When British attack upon Philadelphia threatened in 1776, Nicola was appointed Town Major for the city. In this assignment, he was responsible for the city guards, protection of Continental Army stores and property in the town, and establishment and maintenance of barracks and billets for all […]
If not for a single unfortunate letter that Colonel Lewis Nicola of the Continental Army addressed to Commander-in-Chief General George Washington on May 22, 1782, this accomplished soldier and scholar would be entirely unknown today. Regrettably, this simple letter has subsequently been wildly misinterpreted by historians, and Nicola today is best remembered as the man […]
In the courtroom of the American Revolution, historical analysis – no matter how comprehensive or thorough – often results in competing opinions and conclusions. New facts, new narratives and new conclusions are constantly being presented, so historians do their best to argue their cases and appeal to a jury of peers. While historical litigation may […]
Dear Mr. History: I’ve heard that no private soldier did more to enable the rebel victory in the American Revolution than Peter Francisco. Do the facts support the myth? Just how much impact could one man have on an entire war? Sincerely, Kentucky 1777 Dear Kentucky: Great question! Portuguese by birth and orphaned in Virginia […]
July 4th may be a time of festivities in the United States but on Prince Edward Island (PEI) it’s just another day with Canada Day celebrations falling on the 1st. Wanting to do something related to Independence Day, my wife donned her red, white, and blue (I didn’t have anything so colored) and we visited […]
While it is a shameful chapter in our national past, the fact of slavery during the Revolutionary Era is inescapable, and part of understanding how the people of this nascent country ate is exploring how the slaves were fed. Sources are exceptionally scarce and contemporary recipes are nonexistent, but we can reconstruct some idea of […]
Our understanding of loyalists in the American Revolution is a relic of the eighteenth-century turn from what one might call “constitutional sense” to a more “revolutionary sensibility” in Anglo-American political culture, a shift further reinforced by romantic nineteenth-century writers.[i] To understand them as they saw themselves unfurls a rather different historical narrative. For most men […]
When we asked our Facebook readers who they’d most like to see interviewed, Holly A. Mayer was at the top of that list. Mayer just stepped down as chair of the History Department at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to focus on research and teaching. She concentrates her scholarship on civil-military relations during the Revolutionary […]
The historical debate concerning the Loyalists in the Revolutionary South has generally focused on matters such as the Loyalists’ numbers and motivations. While these are issues deserve study, one aspect of the Loyalists’ role in the southern campaign has received far less attention: that of leadership. The British government’s “Southern Strategy” depended to a great […]
A musket is not an accurate weapon. That’s a well known fact. But, why is it inaccurate and what can we learn from its shortcoming we can apply to studies of the Revolutionary War battlefield. There are innumerable variables concerning the musket. To keep this analysis simple most of the variables will be ignored (things […]
The crevices and stony outcroppings of Devil’s Den, a 1,756-acre nature preserve in Weston and Redding, Connecticut, can provide shelter for hikers during an unexpected rainstorm. Or, as was the case for some women and children 236 years ago, the perfect place to hide during a British invasion. It was shortly before sunset on April […]
When one thinks of a telescopic sight on a rifle one does not think of the Revolutionary War. However strange, there was one documented rifle with a telescopic sight. It was conceived and test fired by a very improbable rifleman: Charles Willson Peale. Charles Willson Peale (1741-1827) was the most prominent American portrait painter of […]
In the fall of 1774, just before adjourning, the First Continental Congress outlined the Articles of Association, an aggressive plan of economic resistance to Great Britain that included nonconsumption, nonimportation and nonexportation. These boycotts were to be enforced by local committees and supplant Colonial governments. Westchester, New York Reverend Samuel Seabury responded with a series […]
Dear Mr. History: I’m familiar with General John Glover and believe he is an unsung hero (except for Billias’s book over 50 years ago). From his exploits as the first privateer to holding off the flanking force at Pell’s Point and managing the boat lifts from Brooklyn and crossing the Delaware, among other efforts, he […]
George Rockingham Gilmer wrote a heroic saga of the life, service, and sacrifices of Austin Dabney, an African American Georgia Revolutionary War hero. He first published it anonymously in 1849 and reprinted it under his name in a pamphlet in 1851 and in George White’s Historical Collections of Georgia in 1854. Gilmer included it in […]
“The day will be most memorable in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, bonfires, and illuminations from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever […]
In 1779 General George Washington and British Lieutenant-General Sir Henry Clinton were locked in a stalemate around New York City. Clinton desperately wanted to lure Washington into a climactic battle that would destroy the Continental Army but his forces were not strong enough to fight Washington on his own ground. Clinton attacked Connecticut in an […]
