Year: 2015

 Politics During the War (1775-1783) Posted on

Russia and the American War for Independence

The use of foreign troops in time of war was not an uncommon practice in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Much as we have treaties, like NATO, for mutual support, eighteenth-century countries banded together, particularly along family lines, as royal families intermarried to secure and promote their economic and political interests. When the troubles between […]

by Norman Desmarais
8
The War Years (1775-1783) Posted on

A Tale of Two Cities: The Destruction of Falmouth and the Defense of Hampton

Destruction of Falmouth (modern day Portland, Maine) On October 8, 1775, a British naval squadron of four ships, led by the lightly armed vessel Canceaux, sailed from Boston Harbor.1  The squadron’s commander, Lieutenant Henry Mowat, had orders from Admiral Samuel Graves, to “chastise” a number of coastal settlements north of Boston. Ten towns were identified as […]

by Michael Cecere
2
Reviews Posted on

Independence Lost: Lives on the Edge of the American Revolution

Book Review:  Independence Lost:  Lives on the Edge of the American Revolution by Kathleen DuVal (New York:  Random House, 2015). Increasingly, historians are interpreting the American Revolution from two wider perspectives. First, it was a global war fought on five continents with major battles outside of the thirteen colonies critical to the war’s outcome. Second, […]

by Gene Procknow
12
People Posted on

Forgotten Volunteers:  The 1st Company, Governors Foot Guard During the Saratoga Campaign

It is considered the oldest, continuously serving military unit in the United States.  The 1st Company, Governors Foot Guard has as much a storied history as the state that it serves.  It came into existence in 1771, when the Connecticut General Assembly approved a petition that had been submitted by a group of prominent Hartford […]

by Matthew Reardon
3
People Posted on

Thomas Jefferson, Scientist

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 […]

by Travis Martin
3
Food & Lifestyle Posted on

For to Cure for the Etch

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 […]

by Rich Wood
5
Postwar Politics (>1783) Posted on

General Washington’s Appeal for a Federal Government

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 […]

by T. J. Johnson
3
People Posted on

The Shakers and the American Revolution

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 […]

by Joseph Manca
3
Reviews Posted on

General Washington’s Commando: Benjamin Tallmadge in the Revolutionary War

Book Review: General Washington’s Commando: Benjamin Tallmadge in the Revolutionary War by Richard F. Welch. Jefferson (McFarland & Company, 2014). While most historians agree that American victory in the Revolutionary War would not have been possible without George Washington’s military leadership, it is less frequently noted that Washington could not have exercised effective command without […]

by Jim Piecuch
5
The War Years (1775-1783) Posted on

A Shocking Havoc: The Plundering of Westfield, New Jersey, June 26, 1777

Before a single British soldier set foot on New Jersey soil, Deputy Adjutant-General of the British Army in North America Stephen Kemble was concerned for his native colony. “Shudder for Jersey,” he confided in his journal on November 7, 1776, “the Army being thought to move there Shortly.”[1] Once the invasion and occupation of the […]

by Jason R. Wickersty
Food & Lifestyle Posted on

A Gift for General Washington

In a letter to Patrick Henry recounting the events of the Battle of Monmouth, George Washington included information about losses on both sides and the death of a young Virginia officer: “…Capt. Fauntleroy of the 5th was unfortunately killed by a random Cannon Ball.”[1] What was the connection between the commander in chief and the […]

by Jeff Dacus
4
Reviews Posted on

Stark: The Life and Wars of John Stark, French and Indian War Ranger, Revolutionary War General

Book Review:  Stark: The Life and Wars of John Stark, French and Indian War Ranger, Revolutionary War General by Richard Polhemus and John Polhemus (Black Dome Press, 2014). 2015 marks the 240th anniversary of the beginning of American Revolution.   With the passage of time, many of the seminal figures that fought in those epic battles […]

by T. J. Johnson
13
The War Years (1775-1783) Posted on

Murder Along the Creek: Taking a Closer Look at the Sugarloaf Massacre

On September 11, 1780, a detachment of forty-one Northampton County, Pennsylvania, militiamen was surprised by a force consisting of thirty Seneca warriors and Tories. When the fighting was over, fifteen American patriots lay dead on the ground.”[1] “As the summer of 1780 began to wane, a detachment of forty-one of the veteran Van Etten’s Company […]

by Thomas Verenna
1
Primary Sources Posted on

5 Political Characters of Americans

The March 18, 1777 Pennsylvania Packet (Philadelphia) published an essay by “S.” that classified five political characters of Americans. The article was republished in the April 23 Connecticut Journal (New Haven) and is transcribed below: THE people of America with respect to their political characters may be divided into the five following classes. – 1. […]

by Editors
2
Primary Sources Posted on

The Discharge

When a soldier’s term of service was complete, he was discharged. Besides having arrears of pay and other obligations resolved, he was given a document called, aptly enough, a discharge. This piece of paper was vitally important for the soldier, for it proved that he had departed the army legally and was not a deserter. […]

by Editors