“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 on Long Island” to his wife, Sarah, back home in Ipswich, Massachusetts. The letter was dated June 10, 1776, so Sarah’s husband had already been away from his wife and family […]
Book 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 they vary greatly in quality, almost any bookstore or library has a volume or two on hand that covers the basics: the British government imposed unjust taxes that American colonists refused […]
I have driven up and down Taylorsville Road my entire life and would frequently pass a building on that road which I knew very little about. I later found out it is the David Library of the American Revolution and this summer I had the privilege of doing an internship there. Before my internship, I […]
Book Review: The Spirit of ’74, How the American Revolution Began (New York, The New Press, 2015) by Ray Raphael and Marie Raphael Most people understand that the American Revolution began in Massachusetts. What they may not know is that the revolution actually began well over a year before the gunfire at Lexington and Concord. Rather […]
Recognizing the contributions and sacrifices of all combat veterans from any war is a meaningful American tradition. On June 2, 2015, the President of the United States awarded Medal of Honor to Army Sgt. William Shemin and Private Henry Johnson, both World War I soldiers. The President remarked, “We know who you are. We know […]
From 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] To address the problem, they decided to fortify the north-facing peninsula, called East Point or Rattlesnake Hill, that poked out into the lake across from Ticonderoga. During the summer of 1776, […]
Book Review: Revolution: Mapping the Road to American Independence 1755-1783 by Paul E. Cohen and Richard H. Brown (W. Norton & Company, 2015) Maps are an essential component to the study of history. While modern maps are useful, it’s also insightful to look at the maps that were available when historic events occurred. Not only do […]
The Continental Congress received the preliminary peace treaty on March 13, 1783, proclaimed a cessation of hostilities on April 11 and ratified the preliminary peace treaty on April 15.1 Three days later, in general orders issued at Newburgh, New York, Washington announced that an armistice would go into effect at noon on April 19, the […]
George 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 and companion during the French and Indian War. Therefore, when young Baylor decided to join the American war effort, he had an inside line on a top staff position. Baylor arrived […]
The American Revolution was very much a case of David versus Goliath. A relatively small group of colonists decided that they wanted to break free of the home government, which in this case just happened to be one of the most powerful nations on the globe. Almost overnight the thirteen separate colonies had to form […]
Book 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 Americans in the American Revolution discusses the American Revolution in a way that most have never encountered. This conflict typically depicts “American colonists” against the British, with colonists on both sides […]
British Lieutenant Richard Williams was one of the few artists to document the siege of Boston from 1775 through 1776. He created maps, sketches, and watercolors of the places he visited. Today, this collection of imagery is in high demand by museums and private collectors because it gives us a rare glimpse of the war. […]
