One of the things that make human intelligence operations so interesting is that you never know how, and for that matter whether, an operation will work out as planned. Lt. Lewis J. Costigin’s mission as a spy for George Washington did eventually work out. But, not the first time he tried in early 1777. In […]
You have sent General Gage, who is a man of great abilities, to quell the disturbances in that country, which I am sure he never will do, unless, at the same time that you give him the sword in one hand, you give him the olive branch in the other; and I think you will […]
Perhaps you’ve seen this mythbuster: “WHO WAS THE FIRST PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA? I suspect George Washington was your best guess. After all, who else comes to mind? But think back to your history books – The United States declared its independence in 1776, yet George Washington did not take office until […]
A great deal of the American Revolution took place in New York’s Lower Hudson Valley. The region was home to a number of forts, skirmishes, battles, and encampments; one site, King’s Ferry, can lay claim to having hosted all of the above. Actually two sites separated by the Hudson River, Stony Point and Verplanck Point […]
When people think about Thomas Jefferson, they think of a founding father, an advocate of liberty, and an American Patriot. But what people don’t normally think about is Thomas Jefferson’s scientific mind. Jefferson was a man who explored anything and everything that attracted his interest. He took it upon himself to value knowledge above almost […]
Among other communicable diseases, the itch was common in military installations of the eighteenth century. Unlike smallpox and typhus, the itch was not in itself fatal, but was stressful and debilitating to soldiers and sailors on both sides of the conflict in the American Revolution. Today the distressing malady is known as scabies, “a disease […]
Most professional and amateur historians of the American Revolutionary period are very aware of George Washington’s prowess as a military commander of the Continental Army, his role at the Constitutional Convention and his performance as the United States’ first chief executive. Unfortunately, many have overlooked Washington’s significant role, while he was still commander of the […]
Niagara Falls, known to Indians, explorers, missionaries, and fur traders in the seventeenth century, became a waystop in the eighteenth century for settlers and government officials as Upper Canada was developed, as well as a familiar landmark to loyalist refugees who migrated to the area from the warring colonies. American travelers were drawn to this […]
The Shakers reached their heyday in the nineteenth century, when they lived in orderly communities, membership swelled to five thousand believers, and many non-Shakers visited them and praised their modesty, neatness, and productivity. But Shakerism in America began against the backdrop of the Revolutionary War, and during that time the group of celibate and intensely […]
Isaac Barré was born in Dublin, Ireland, in 1726. He was educated at Trinity College and following graduation in 1745 enrolled at the Inns of Court. Within a year he lost interest in the law and decided to enter the military. He served as an infantry officer, becoming a captain in the 32nd Regiment of […]
There isn’t a doubt that Oliver Reed was just like any other soldier who had gone away to fight in the American Revolution, writing home to his wife and four young children in Pomfret, Connecticut as he was stationed many miles away in New York during April 1776. “I want to se you very much […]
For Sir Henry Clinton, the capitulation of Charleston, South Carolina constituted not only the most stunning British victory of the war, but something of a personal vindication as well. In truth, the May 12, 1780 surrender of the vital southern port was a staggering blow to the Patriot war effort. Clinton enthusiastically claimed to have […]
There’s nothing like the murder of a young, innocent woman to get patriotic fervor in an uproar. The death of Jane McCrea in 1777, supposedly at the hands of Indians commissioned by British Lt. Gen. John Burgoyne, outraged Patriots and led to a huge surge of recruiting in New York. The story then went down […]
A browse through the eighteenth century newspapers turns up more than just political news, op-eds and want ads. Sometimes there’s marital mud-slinging of the sort that we’ve come to expect only from television and the internet. Although we’re tempted to think of our forebears as more refined and moralistic than today, there was no shortage […]
