Year: 2016

Interviews Posted on

Contributor Close-up: Todd W. Braisted

Todd W. Braisted is a leading expert on Loyalist studies, a die-hard Mets fan and craft beer connoisseur. In addition to his many articles for Journal of the American Revolution, Todd is the author of the first volume in our book series, Grand Forage 1778: The Battleground Around New York City. Since 1979, Todd has amassed and […]

by Editors
People Posted on

Paddy Carr, “a honey of a Patriot”

Known primarily through a mix of fact and legend as the most notorious Patriot of the southern campaigns, Paddy Carr was also claimed to have an “amiable and benevolent” nature. As if that contradiction were not enough to create complexity of character, Carr, a stone cold killer of Tories, never swore or uttered blasphemy. Instead, […]

by Wayne Lynch
People Posted on

Daniel Boone: Facts vs. Hearsay

In Hollywood terms, biographies of Daniel Boone might be advertised as, “Based on a true story.” Daniel Boone being known as a legendary Kentucky trailblazer is an undisputed fact in American history. That he was a backcountry militia leader during the Revolutionary War is a fact substantiated primarily by sketchy frontier rosters and pension statements […]

by John L. Smith, Jr.
News Posted on

Top 10 Articles of April 2016

Despite April being shortened by spring break, we still had time to publish several great articles and welcomed our newest writer, Richard Sambasivam. We also received an important update from Westholme Publishing on the status of all current JAR book projects: The reprint of our 2015 volume ships to distributors/retailers on May 13 and orders will be […]

by Editors
Politics During the War (1775-1783) Posted on

The Tiger Aids the Eaglet: How India Secured America’s Independence

George Washington wrote “no event was ever received with a more heart felt joy” after hearing about the official alliance between the fledgling United States and the world power France.[1] It’s well established that foreign aid both before and after 1778 was crucial to America’s struggle for independence: not only did the French and other […]

by Richard Sambasivam
Postwar Politics (>1783) Posted on

10 Things Pauline Maier Taught Us About Ratification and the Bill of Rights

In writing Ratification: The People Debate the Constitution, 1787-1788, Pauline Maier hoped to create, in her words, a “Constitutional thriller.” She invited readers to “forget for the moment much of what they know … and return to another time when there was no Constitution … and watch events occur, step by step, unaware of how […]

by Ray Raphael
People Posted on

William Ferguson’s Walk on the Ice

On Saturday, December 17, 1774, the 10th Regiment of Foot marched out of Boston and into the Massachusetts countryside “to give the men a little exercise.”[1] The British government’s response to the Boston Tea Party had included sending ten British army regiments, elements of two others, a contingent of artillery and a battalion of Marines […]

by Don N. Hagist
Arts & Literature Posted on

Deserter a Day 5 (of 5)

Deserter advertisements and runaway notices, fascinating though they are, provide only single elements of what were certainly more complex stories. In rare cases, further research reveals much more about a person. Take this ad, for example: Twenty Dollars Reward. Deserted from Captain Jacob Mauser’s company, of the sixth Pennsylvania regiment, on Monday the 11th instant, […]

by Editors
Arts & Literature Posted on

Deserter a Day 4 (of 5)

The soldiers from several German principalities who were contracted to supplement the British army in America are often called mercenaries, a misnomer propagated during the war itself to vilify these soldiers and enhance the impression of British oppression. Although the British government did pay for these soldiers, they paid the German princes who then sent […]

by Editors
Arts & Literature Posted on

Deserter a Day 3 (of 5)

Desertion was as much a problem for the British army as it was for the American. Once the war began, however, British officers seldom placed ads for deserters in newspapers. This may be because the British army was largely confined to areas around major cities where information about deserters could be circulated in army orders, […]

by Editors
Arts & Literature Posted on

Deserter a Day 2 (of 5)

The deserter advertisement presented today illustrates several important facets of the Continental Army. Looking at this list of thirteen deserters, we see: Men born on both sides of the Atlantic A variety of ages A soldier accompanied by his wife Some men with short hair Desertion was sometimes a very, very big problem Deserted from […]

by Editors
Arts & Literature Posted on

Deserter a Day 1 (of 5)

Newspapers are among our favorite things at Journal of the American Revolution, providing endless information and insight about America’s Revolutionary era. In addition to news, notices, and opinion pieces, newspapers carried advertising that reveals important aspects of the people who placed ads and read them. Some of the ads were actually about people. When soldiers […]

by Editors
News Posted on

OUT OF THE OFFICE: RETURNING APRIL 11

Just as many schools are going on spring break now, so is Journal of the American Revolution. We will be taking a short hiatus to recover from all the exciting activity in our world and will return to our regular programming the week of April 11. Writers: Please continue to send your article submissions to ed****@al**************.com during […]

by Editors
News Posted on

Top 10 Articles of March 2016

This month we gave a hearty hello to four new writers: Stephen Brumwell, Michelle Porter, Alec D. Rogers and David Turnquist. We also welcomed a new advertiser, which has planned one of the most impressive history conference itineraries we’ve ever seen. If the Fort Plain Museum’s Second Annual Conference on the American Revolution (June 9-12) isn’t already on […]

by Editors
Reviews Posted on

The First Congress: How James Madison, George Washington, and a Group of Extraordinary Men Invented the Government

Book review: The First Congress: How James Madison, George Washington, and a Group of Extraordinary Men Invented the Government by Fergus M. Bordewich (Simon & Schuster, 2016) [BUY NOW ON AMAZON] Upon ratification of the Constitution, many Americans likely breathed a sigh of relief or, in some cases, despair.  The tumult that had accompanied ratification could […]

by Alec D. Rogers
Reviews Posted on

Becoming Men of Some Consequence: Youth and Military Service in the Revolutionary War

Book review: Becoming Men of Some Consequence: Youth and Military Service in the Revolutionary War by John A. Ruddiman (University of Virginia Press, 2014). [BUY NOW ON AMAZON] Distinct from the many works that focus on the political dynamics, notable figures and military campaigns associated with the American War for Independence, Professor John Ruddiman centers attention […]

by J. Brett Bennett
People Posted on

Benedict Arnold: Natural Born Military Genius

Denouncing the reputation of Benedict Arnold began immediately after he fled West Point and returned his allegiance to the British empire on September 25, 1780.  Without hesitation, contemporaries denounced him as a nefarious human being, a devious villain suddenly well-known to everyone for his “barbarity,” “avarice,” “ingratitude,” and “hypocrisy,” in sum nothing more than “a […]

by James Kirby Martin
Postwar Politics (>1783) Posted on

Alexander Hamilton, Benedict Arnold and a “forgotten” Publius

Thanks to a critically-acclaimed and phenomenally popular Broadway musical, Alexander Hamilton has, quite literally, returned to the spotlight. The success of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Hamilton, a show inspired by Ron Chernow’s best-selling 2004 biography Alexander Hamilton, has helped to rekindle interest in a man who, even when judged by the exceptional standards of the Founding Fathers, […]

by Stephen Brumwell
Reviews Posted on

Rutgers v. Waddington: Alexander Hamilton, the End of the War for Independence, and the Origins of Judicial Review

Book review: Rutgers v. Waddington: Alexander Hamilton, the End of the War for Independence, and the Origins of Judicial Review by Peter Charles Hoffer (Kansas University Press, 2016). [BUY ON AMAZON] During the Revolutionary War, a widow named Elizabeth Rutgers and her sons were forced to abandon their brewery when the British occupied New York City in […]

by Alec D. Rogers
The War Years (1775-1783) Posted on

Anything But Monotonous: Nine Months of Garrison Duty at Fort Griswold

New London’s harbor was the center of Connecticut’s wartime naval activity for the duration of the eight-year American Revolution.  Because of its recognized importance, its provincial government, as early as 1775, sought ways to protect it.   Sending a military commission to the harbor area, they would eventually order the construction of three earthen fortifications on […]

by Matthew Reardon