Following such a cold and snowy winter, Journal of the American Revolution used the beginning of summer as a good excuse to temporarily slow things down. While articles were published less frequently for a few weeks, we still welcomed four new writers: Nancy K. Loane, John Beakes, Mary V. Thompson and Richard F. Welch. Starting […]
Book Review: “Light Horse Harry” Lee in the War for Independence by Jim Piecuch and John Beakes. Charleston, SC: The Nautical and Aviation Publishing Co. of America, 2013. Hardback: $26.95. ISBN 978-1-877853-73-9. Pp. xi, 268. Index, bibliography, maps, illustrations. There is a need for a quality, impartial military biography of Henry “Light Horse Harry” Lee. […]
In 1777, Baron Johann de Kalb sailed to America from Bordeaux with the Marquis de Lafayette and a number of French officers who all expected to receive high ranking positions with the Continental Army. A veteran of many several European conflicts, the Baron served under Marshall Saxe in the War of the Austrian Succession and […]
In November 1776, a British army under Lieutenant-General Sir William Howe was on the offensive, having successfully driven American forces off of Manhattan island and the surrounding regions east and north of New York City. The remnants of General George Washington’s defeated army had retreated across the Hudson River to the apparent safety of Bergen […]
The news that many dreaded reached Virginia in May 1774. The British parliament, determined to punish the inhabitants of Boston for the destruction of thousands of pounds of tea in December 1773, closed Boston Harbor to all commerce until restitution was paid to the East India Company and the King’s treasury. The sum included the […]
George Washington was a slave owner for his entire life, a fact that surprises many of his fellow citizens more than 200 years after his death. When they find out, people respond to this information in surprising ways. A visitor from California to a historic site in Virginia sat down in shock when upon learning […]
Colonel William Campbell was the quintessential commander for the tough, independent-minded riflemen who formed the militia units from Campbell’s home in the mountains of the southwest Virginia. Tall, muscular and dignified (although he had a fiery temperament when aroused), Campbell resembled a Scottish clan leader straight from a Sir Walter Scott novel, even carrying his […]
Since writing several articles for this journal about the role of Pennsylvania’s militia in America’s War for Independence, I’ve received a lot of confused inquiries about the organization of the militia because, well, it’s a confusing subject. I’ve also seen a lot of people who are searching for revolutionary ancestors get a lot wrong about […]
Book Review: Protecting the Empire’s Frontier: Officers of the 18th (Royal Irish) Regiment of Foot during Its North American Service, 1767-1776. Steven M. Baule. Ohio University Press, 2014. PDF: 978-0-8214-4464-1; Hardcover: 978-0-8214-2054-6; Paperback: 978-0-8214-2055-3. 372 pages, 6 × 9″, maps. Link. This year’s prestigious Fraunces Tavern Museum Book Award went to The Men Who Lost […]
In the tumult of the military revolution that forms the backdrop of most study of the War of Independence, it’s easy to forget that the sciences were undergoing a parallel revolution. We’ve all heard about Benjamin Franklin’s experiments along the far frontiers of knowledge of electricity, even if the popular conception of them is somewhat […]
On the afternoon of April 5, 1778, four feisty women, accompanied by an escort, Israel Morris, boarded their coach in British-occupied Philadelphia and set out for a visit with General George Washington. The journey took the four friends—Elizabeth Drinker, Susanna Jones, Phebe Pemberton, and Mary Pleasants—twenty miles or so from Philadelphia to the Continental Army, […]
With a steady flow of new readers stopping by our online history magazine we thought we’d dip into our archives and surface a few favorites. All of these articles published during our first six months of existence, between January through June 2013. Enjoy! The Myth of Rifleman Timothy Murphy by Hugh T. Harrington Unleashing the […]
When the Maryland Loyalists, a Provincial regiment, marched out of Philadelphia along with the rest of the British Army in June 1778, it mustered 370 officers and men, second in size only to the Queen’s Rangers amongst the Loyalist units leaving the city.[1] Five years later, after campaigns primarily against the Spanish forces invading West […]
Benjamin Tallmadge is currently enjoying a burst of posthumous fame. Most of the attention given him in recent publications and the AMC series Turn centers around his intelligence activities, a logical choice considering his organization of the Culper Ring and pivotal role in exploding the Arnold plot. But the attention paid to the espionage part […]
They shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree; and none shall make them afraid. Micah 4:4 Out at Flushing Landing on Long Island in late 1769, until at least 1779 (apparently little affected by the intervening British invasion of 1776), William Prince advertised for sale “many Thousands of a nice […]
