April was a short month for JAR as we returned from spring break with our “Runaway a Day” series. In short time we still welcomed four new writers—Bruce Ware Allen, Nichole Louise, Jason Glasser and R. Paul Mason—who contributed some excellent articles. The fine folks at Fort Plain Museum have announced the impressive line-up for their […]
One of history’s little mysteries is why some people become famous and others of similar, or even greater, accomplishment do not. Among those overlooked is the Cruger family of New York, which gave us two Mayors of New York City (one of whom was the host for the Stamp Act Congress), early New York’s most […]
An important facet of Washington’s generalship has gone largely unexplored by historians: his role as a diplomat. For a top-level military leader in a coalition, maintaining good relations with allies is of the first importance. With the signing of the military alliance with France in 1778, Washington had to add this role to his generalship. […]
The Fort Plain Museum, in the heart of upstate New York, is proud to announce its Third Annual Conference on the American Revolution in the Mohawk Valley–the 2017 conference features more authors, more days and more events. Click here to register. The Mohawk played a key role in the struggle for American independence. Discover the area’s […]
Ten years in the planning and construction, the new fifty million dollar state of the art American Revolution Museum at Yorktown was officially dedicated in a thirteen day series of events celebrating each of the thirteen original states in the order in which they ratified our Constitution. From March 23 through April 4, 2017, daily […]
About Christian McBurney Christian McBurney resides in the Washington, D.C. area and is an independent historian who has authored the recently released Abductions in the American Revolution: Attempts to Kidnap George Washington, Benedict Arnold, and Other Military and Civilian Leaders (McFarland, 2016). His other Revolutionary War books include Kidnapping the Enemy: The Special Operations to […]
Outmaneuvering and overwhelming the Patriots during the 1776 Battle of Brooklyn, the British won a huge victory by executing a daring night march around the Patriots’ left flank. Patriot commander Maj. Gen. Israel Putnam is heavily criticized for not guarding a vital pass that allowed British forces to surround the advance units of the Continental […]
Almost anyone that develops a passion for history can point to an event deep within themselves that spawned an imaginative interpretation of events, and out of that, perhaps a lifelong passion for a certain historical period. The battlefield at Yorktown, Virginia covering the 1781 siege, certainly excites the imagination as one treks through the British […]
Walking into the Museum of the American Revolution’s spacious rotunda, museum patrons will be met with polished terrazzo floors and an elegant curling staircase illuminated with the natural light from the George Washington standard flag six-pointed star skylight. At the start of the Museum experience, an orientation video depicts differing perspectives from founding mother Abigail […]
On the face of it, there would seem no greater natural disparity between the two countries, one an ancient aristocratic pan-European (but mostly French) Catholic military theocracy, the other a modern, egalitarian, Anglo-Saxon, Protestant confederation. Nevertheless, during the American Revolution, a healthy number of Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem […]
If a person ran away once, they were liable to do so again. In some cases this provides two distinctive descriptions of the same individual, but the example below shows that an ad might be largely reused. This woman ran away in August and again in October, taking almost the same clothing with her each […]
Some advertisements revealed details about the person’s history and situation, as well as their physical characteristics and possessions. This affords an avenue for further research on the individual. Two Dollars Reward. Run away from the subscriber, living in Upper Salford township, Philadelphia county, on Friday, the 27th of August last, a Dutch servant Girl, named […]
Some runaways took only the clothing they had on, and lacked even a complete ensemble. Running away without shoes shows either desperation or determination. Run away, the 13th of this instant July, from the subscriber, near Newtown, Bucks County, an Irish servant girl, named Judy Fagan, between 15 and 16 years old, of a dark […]
For some reason not all advertisements included the name of the missing person. Whether this showed an impersonal knowledge on behalf of the master, or was a simple oversight by either the person placing the ad or the publisher, we can only wonder. RAN away from the subscriber in Newport, on the night of the […]
Throughout the eighteenth century, newspapers advertised servants, slaves, soldiers, spouses and others who had fled from contractual obligations. The advertisements give us remarkable textual descriptions of everyday individuals about whom little else is known. Each day this week, we’ll present an advertisement for a runaway woman, accompanied by an illustration of carefully researched, handmade clothing […]
