OUT OF THE OFFICE: RETURNING JANUARY 4
byAfter an extremely busy and exciting year, Journal of the American Revolution is taking a short vacation to tackle a few time sensitive projects. Look for…
2015
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The funniest thing?
byWhat’s the funniest thing you’ve come across in researching this period? In Paris, while negotiating the treaty with France, Ben Franklin stopped for…
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Who would you introduce?
byWhat two people from the Revolutionary period who never met (so far as we know) do you wish you could introduce? Why? I…
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How has your perspective changed?
bySince you began studying the American Revolution, how has your perspective on it changed? My perspective has become more complex. As I followed…
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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…
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Top 10 Articles of November 2015
byNovember was packed with fascinating articles, intriguing interviews and a much-requested review of the Broadway musical Hamilton. Our readers took a Revolutionary tour of Arlington Cemetery…
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…
3
The Revolutionary War Generation and Thanksgiving
byAbraham Lincoln’s 1863 proclamation established Thanksgiving as the national holiday we celebrate today, making him the father of modern Thanksgiving.[1] The Revolutionary generation, however,…
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Revolutionary War History Geek Gift Guide 2015
byWe realize that finding the perfect Revolution-themed holiday gift is not easy. For the past three years Journal of the American Revolution has been guiding readers through…
Absolving David Fanning—from Dreck to Rumph
byI keep promising myself to write on how David Fanning, the Tory guerrilla turned British colonel, became a psychotic murderer off the battlefield in…
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George Mason: Author of Rights
byIn the spring of 1776, the Continental Congress recommended that each colony create a new government “under the authority of the people” [for] “the…
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A Revolutionary Guide to Arlington Cemetery
byArlington National Cemetery’s founding story is well known. During the American Civil War, Union forces occupied Robert E. Lee’s 1000-acre estate on the Potomac…
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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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Washington Plays Hardball with the Howes
bySummering on Long Island in 1776 was no vacation for Gen. George Washington. As commander-in-chief of the Continental Army, he was attempting to build…
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THE MUST-ATTEND AMERICAN REVOLUTION CONFERENCE OF 2016
byThe must-attend American Revolution conference of 2016 is being hosted by America’s History, LLC, one of the nation’s leading history tour and conference companies. The…
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Fever
byThroughout the American Revolution, opposing armies fought a common enemy. Primary documents on both sides are full of complaints, descriptions and responses to the…
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8 Questions with Henry Cooke
byIf he had lived in the eighteenth century, Henry Cooke would have been called a Master Tailor. Today we call him a historical costumer,…
3
William Whitlow’s Wife: Did he Love Her Too Much?
byWilliam Whitlow loved his wife, and she loved him. Others knew it too; fellow soldiers in the 44th Regiment of Foot, in which Whitlow…
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Peter Muhlenberg: The Pastor Turned Soldier
byAmerica has many heroes from its War for Independence, but one who is rarely remembered is Virginia’s Maj. Gen. John Peter Gabriel Muhlenberg. If…
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His Majesty’s Indian Allies: 10 Notables
byIn many respects it was a sobering testament to Britain’s mounting resolve to suppress the Revolution at all costs. “It is his Majesty’s resolution,”…
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British Veterans of Two Wars
byThe British army that fought in the opening engagements of the American Revolution in 1775 was not a wartime army, it was a peacetime…
4
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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After Yorktown: The Final Struggle for American Independence
byBook Review: After Yorktown: The Final Struggle for American Independence by Don Glickstein (Westholme Publishing, November 2015). Key tenets of America’s founding ethos are…
Top 10 Articles of October 2015
byThings never slow down. October was another busy month for Journal of the American Revolution. We are hard at work compiling the next annual…
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The Wartime Letters of Joseph and Sarah Hodgkins
by“I have nothing to send you but love. I hope I shall have some money soon.”[1] So wrote Lt. Joseph Hodgkins from his “Camp…
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Igniting the American Revolution: 1773-1775
byBook Review: Igniting the American Revolution: 1773-1775 by Derek W. Beck (Sourcebooks, October 2015) Books about the origins of the American Revolution are plentiful. Although…
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More than a Library: The David Library of the American Revolution
byI have driven up and down Taylorsville Road my entire life and would frequently pass a building on that road which I knew very…
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The Spirit of ’74, How the American Revolution Began
byBook Review: The Spirit of ’74, How the American Revolution Began (New York, The New Press, 2015) by Ray Raphael and Marie Raphael Most people…
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New Light on Battle Casualties: The 9th Pennsylvania Regiment at Brandywine
byRecognizing the contributions and sacrifices of all combat veterans from any war is a meaningful American tradition. On June 2, 2015, the President of…
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Winter Soldiering in the Lake Champlain Valley
byFrom the beginning, the American army knew south-facing Fort Ticonderoga did little to protect against an attack coming up Lake Champlain from British-controlled Canada.[1]…
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Musgrove Mill State Historic Site
byIf early American history is your beat, a trip to Musgrove Mill State Historic Site outside of Clinton, S.C., will likely give you a…
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Revolution: Mapping the Road to American Independence 1755-1783
byBook Review: Revolution: Mapping the Road to American Independence 1755-1783 by Paul E. Cohen and Richard H. Brown (W. Norton & Company, 2015) Maps are…
1
Furloughs, Discharges and the End of the Continental Army
byThe Continental Congress received the preliminary peace treaty on March 13, 1783, proclaimed a cessation of hostilities on April 11 and ratified the preliminary…
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George Baylor: Spirited, Willing and Wrong for the Job
byGeorge Baylor (1752-1784) was a young Virginia planter in 1775. He was a son of Col. John Baylor, who had been George Washington’s friend…
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Faking It: British Counterfeiting During the American Revolution
byThe American Revolution was very much a case of David versus Goliath. A relatively small group of colonists decided that they wanted to break…
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Native Americans in the American Revolution
byBook Review: Native Americans in the American Revolution: How the War Divided, Devastated, and Transformed the Early American Indian World by Ethan A. Schmidt (Praeger, 2014) Native…
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Richard Williams Maps the Siege of Boston
byBritish Lieutenant Richard Williams was one of the few artists to document the siege of Boston from 1775 through 1776. He created maps, sketches,…
Top 10 Articles of September 2015
byStudents across the United States are back in school and using Journal of the American Revolution as a key resource in history classes and…