October 2016 - Journal of the American Revolution

Food & Lifestyle Posted on October 27, 2016October 28, 2016

Drunk and Disorderly: The Dreadful Havoc of Spirituous Liquors

Drink does not drown care, but waters it, and makes it grow faster.[1] Valley Forge. For most Americans, the very name of the Pennsylvania winter encampment conjures up images of destitute soldiers woefully lacking the basic necessities of life: food, clothing, shelter. It would seem, however, that there was a good bit of liquor to […]

by Joshua Shepherd

Reviews Posted on October 26, 2016September 18, 2016

Hector Maclean: The Writings of a Loyalist-Era Military Settler in Nova Scotia

Book review: Hector Maclean: The Writings of a Loyalist-Era Military Settler in Nova Scotia by Jo Currie, Keith Mercer, John G. Reid (Gaspereau Press, 2015) [BUY NOW ON AMAZON] Recent scholarship has placed more focus on the plight of Loyalists who were displaced from their homes and livelihoods in the United States, and the struggles they […]

by Don N. Hagist

People Posted on October 25, 2016February 16, 2022

The Worthy but Troubled Continental Service of Capt. Barent J. Ten Eyck

With the clash of arms that began the American Revolution, Capt. Barent J. Ten Eyck, of the Albany County Militia, served as courier for the Committee of Safety, Correspondence, and Protection in Albany, NY. The first week of May 1775, the “worthy” Ten Eyck delivered a letter of solidarity to the Massachusetts Committee of Safety […]

by Philip D. Weaver

The War Years (1775-1783) Posted on October 24, 2016September 18, 2016

Washington Heeds Jeney, Takes Trenton

Attacking at night, during a snowstorm: genius or folly? For Gen. Richard Montgomery at Quebec on December 31, 1775, it was a fatal disaster, but for Gen. George Washington at Trenton, New Jersey on December 26, 1776, it was a stroke of tactical brilliance that resulted in a complete and game-changing victory. There were many […]

by Don N. Hagist

The War Years (1775-1783) Posted on October 21, 2016October 7, 2016

How Yorktown Almost Couldn’t Afford to Happen

Gen. George Washington, from the point of view of Americans being trapped at “York,”[1] wrote these prophetic words- These by being upon a narrow neck of land, would be in danger of being cut off. The enemy might very easily throw up a few ships into York and James’ river, as far as Queens Creek; […]

by John L. Smith, Jr.

Prewar Politics (<1775) Posted on October 20, 2016September 18, 2016

Election Fraud and Voter Suppression: 18th-century Style

There was certainly no love lost between two of the three Virginia gentlemen from Prince William County who stood for office in the county’s 1761 election for the House of Burgesses. Five years earlier, in 1756, Henry Peyton’s petition to the House of Burgess accusing Henry Lee II of electoral misconduct (specifically that “he had […]

by Michael Cecere

People Posted on October 19, 2016January 13, 2017

Hezekiah Munsell Goes to War with the Connecticut Militia

In the spring of 1841, a correspondent from the Hartford Courant went to East Windsor, Connecticut looking for an elderly man who was a bit of a local celebrity. The Courant, which had originated as a weekly newspaper in 1764, played a large influential role in affecting the opinions of many within Connecticut during the […]

by Matthew Reardon

The War Years (1775-1783) Posted on October 18, 2016October 7, 2016

With Cornwallis to the Dan: Deconstructing the “Forbes Champagné Letter”

The American War of Independence produced many dramatic episodes, but none surpassed the campaign that Lt. Gen. Charles, Second Earl Cornwallis, conducted in North Carolina during the first three months of 1781 for hair-raising suspense and heartbreak. Things got off to a bad start for the British on January 17, 1781, at the Battle of […]

by Gregory J. W. Urwin

People Posted on October 17, 2016September 18, 2016

Continental Generals: Backgrounds and Fates

On the pages of the Journal of the American Revolution there have been articles on the best and worst generals of the Revolutionary War. It is not a question of the best or worst but rather how could a group of amateur generals leading a force of civilians abruptly turned into fighting men defeat a […]

by Jeff Dacus

Religion Posted on October 14, 2016October 18, 2016

Religious Liberty in Virginia: How “Dissenters” Parlayed Oppression into Freedom

Virginia’s role in helping to spearhead disestablishment and religious freedom has not received the treatment it deserves although it was, itself, a moving force behind Virginia’s entrée into the revolution. It was, in fact, Virginia which ultimately spearheaded and codified separation of church and state, after a reform movement which itself played a significant role […]

by Alex Colvin

The War Years (1775-1783) Posted on October 13, 2016October 13, 2016

A New Eyewitness Account of Valcour Island Resolves the Pringle Controversy

The Battle of Valcour Island was, in many ways, a waterborne version of the Battle of Bunker Hill: a greatly superior British force rushed, with little forethought or planning, into a fight against Americans making a stand on ground (or water) of their choosing. After a long and bloody battle, the British drove the American […]

by C. E. Pippenger

The War Years (1775-1783) Posted on October 12, 2016September 18, 2016

Skirmish at the Thomas House: America’s First Sniper Team?

Even under the strange, somewhat inept leadership of Loyalist Col. John Moore, the task of hampering Spartanburg’s Fair Forest role as a Patriot stronghold should have been straightforward. What could not have been known is what would happen when the frontier’s best sharpshooter teamed up with three lovely, most remarkable of women along with a […]

by Conner Runyan

The War Years (1775-1783) Posted on October 11, 2016October 11, 2016

Recently Discovered Letters Shed New Light on the Battle of Valcour Island

In July 1776, two hundred and forty years ago this year, the Continental Congress signed the Declaration of Independence, declaring the United Colonies to be the United States. Three months later, on the waters of Lake Champlain, a naval battle took place that would, as much as any event in the war, make that declaration […]

by C. E. Pippenger

The War Years (1775-1783) Posted on October 10, 2016October 7, 2016

Was the Revolutionary War in the south winnable by the British?

A re-evaluation from a British perspective in the light of The Cornwallis Papers Relying mostly on inferences drawn from my commentary in The Cornwallis Papers,[1] I shall seek to demonstrate that Britain’s grand strategy for reducing the southern colonies was at least in part sound and it may well have achieved a lasting measure of success […]

by Ian Saberton

Reviews Posted on October 7, 2016

George Washington’s Secret Spy War

Book review: George Washington’s Secret Spy War: The Making of America’s First Spymaster by John A. Nagy (St. Martin’s Press, September 2016) [BUY NOW ON AMAZON] Revolutionary War era spying has received a great deal of attention over the past decade. The “Culper Ring,” which provided George Washington with intelligence operating out of New York City […]

by Alec D. Rogers

Food & Lifestyle Posted on October 6, 2016October 17, 2016

The Truth About George Washington and Hemp

Did George Washington grow hemp? Yes. Hemp was a well-known, multi-purpose crop. Did George Washington smoke hemp? There’s absolutely zero evidence that he grew it or used it for recreational purposes. Now that we have the essentials out of the way, we can have a thoughtful look at this subject once and for all. In […]

by John L. Smith, Jr.

People Posted on October 5, 2016September 17, 2016

A Look at Lauzun in L’Expédition Particulière

Best known in this country for his role in the in the Yorktown Campaign of the American Revolution, the Duc de Lauzun (April 13, 1747 –December 31, 1793) has often been dismissed as a man who loved the ladies and grumbled about Rochambeau. Lauzun deserves a much closer look. He was a dedicated and (usually) […]

by Kim Burdick

Techniques & Tech Posted on October 4, 2016September 17, 2016

General Washington’s First Spy, and Why His Mission Was Doomed from the Start

On July 15, 1775, less than two weeks after he arrived in Cambridge, Massachusetts, to take command of the Continental Army, Gen. George Washington penned this entry in his expense notebook: To 333 1/3 Dollars give to —— ——* to enduce him to go into the Town of Boston; to establish a secret correspondence for […]

by J. L. Bell

Arts & Literature Posted on October 3, 2016September 17, 2016

Major André Popularizes Revolutionary Events

Historians today strive to interpret the past with a fresh, hip outlook. Long before there was talk about making history accessible and fun, Major John André of the British Army was chronicling events of the American Revolution in a style that provided mass market appeal. Affair of Honor Between the summers of 1777 and 1778, […]

by Michelle Porter

Month: October 2016