Before we break for Independence Day, we want to extend a hearty welcome to several new writers who joined the JAR squad in June—Katie Turner Getty, Richard J. Werther, Joseph F. Stoltz III, Robert N. Fanelli and Darren R. Reid. That makes an impressive crew of 164 journal writers total! We will be taking the week of July […]
The conflict in the south is often referred to as a civil war, pitting family members against each other. I haven’t really found too many instances of close family against each other; maybe Edward Lacey or James Habersham are good examples. But it is common to find entire families serving together in the district regiments. […]
“This is My Little Girl That I Was So Afraid the Red Coats Would Get” One important aspect of the Battle of Lexington that has been often overlooked by historians is the psychological and physical impact upon the civilian populace. Hours before the engagement, at approximately six o’clock in the evening of April 18, 1775, […]
As I summarized in The ‘Battle at McIntire’s Farm’, on October 3, 1780 Lord Cornwallis sent Maj. John Doyle on a foraging party north from Charlotte with over 500 men and 40 wagons. Capt. James Thompson, Lt. Francis Bradley and twelve other Patriots ambushed them at McIntire’s, killing several of the British then harassing Doyle’s […]
Based preponderantly on The Cornwallis Papers,[1] this article describes in part Cornwallis’s last days in Virginia, his brief sojourn in New York, and events thereafter leading up to his arrival in London. Immediately after the capitulation of Yorktown and Gloucester Cornwallis began to write his letter of October 20, 1781 reporting the outcome of the […]
Book review: Theaters of the American Revolution: Northern, Middle, Southern, Western, Naval by James Kirby Martin, Mark Edward Lender, Edward G. Lengel, Charles Neimeyer, Jim Piecuch and David Preston (Westholme Publishing, 2017) [BUY NOW ON AMAZON] The concept of a global war divided into distinct geographic theaters, each with its own unique characteristics is well established […]
During the hot, humid Philadelphia summer of 1776, the writing of the Declaration of Independence was just another Congressional housekeeping chore which the delegates decided would have to be done to explain to people everywhere why the vote for American independence had just happened. As Thomas Jefferson later described it: “an appeal to the tribunal […]
Setting aside the question of whether or not the American Revolution was as radical as Gordon Wood famously argued that it was, at least two fundamental changes occurred west of the Appalachian Mountains in the last quarter of the eighteenth century that had little to do with the political revolution in the east.[1] Stephen Aron, […]
The fourth and final season of the TV series TURN: Washington’s Spies premiers Saturday, June 17. We had the pleasure of interviewing Alexander Rose, whose book about the Culper spy ring inspired the series. Your book Washington’s Spies: The Story of America’s First Spy Ring is the best known of several recent works on spycraft […]
Bunker Hill is one of the best-known battles of the American Revolution, recognized by name even among those who know little about the war.[1] In spite of this recognition, many important facts of the battle are overshadowed by misconceptions and romantic images. Undeniably, it was a British victory won at a cost so great that […]
We are thrilled to announce that our newest JAR book—Invasion of Virginia, 1781 by Michael Cecere—is now available for sale. [BUY NOW ON AMAZON] Benedict Arnold vs. the Marquis de Lafayette. The notorious traitor to the Patriot cause and the symbol of international recognition for American independence faced off in battle in Virginia in 1781. […]
Continental Army general George Washington sat atop his horse ignoring the “smart skirmish” raging around him.[1] He could have joined his soldiers in attacking the Hessian troops “very much allarm’d” by the Americans’ “sudent appeerence before their works.” [2] Instead, Washington focused on the fortifications just beyond the Germans. The skirmish that occurred on July […]
In late November 1777, Col. William Grayson and a group of gentlemen gathered in a tavern near Whitemarsh, Pennsylvania, a mile and half in front of their lines, glad to be out of the cold, but apprehensive that the enemy might even now be marching against them from their winter quarters in Philadelphia. They sat […]
William Bingham. Does the name sound familiar to you? Some of the readers of this journal will recognize it. For many others, including myself, who have read extensively about the American Revolution it may be a name they have either never encountered or may vaguely recall from a footnote someplace. In this era of “Founders […]
Capt. Samuel Whittemore, a seventy-eight year old American farmer, became a legend on April 19, 1775 when he was shot in the face by British soldiers, bayoneted at least six times, and clubbed in the head with the butts of their muskets. Armed with a musket and horse pistol, Whittemore had crouched behind a wall […]
Samuel MacKay The American invasion of Canada of 1775 failed during the following winter when the siege of Quebec City was raised by the arrival of British reinforcements from overseas. The rebels were pushed out of the province and driven south on Lake Champlain to take refuge in the fortress of Ticonderoga. For the 1777 […]
On September 26, 1776, the Continental Congress appointed an official Commission to France. It was composed of Benjamin Franklin, Silas Deane and Arthur Lee. The Paris Commission, America’s first diplomatic mission abroad, opened in late December of 1776. Franklin was its de facto head of mission, and it was located in the Hotel de Valentinois, […]
