April 2018 - Journal of the American Revolution

Features Posted on April 30, 2018April 29, 2018

The “Parson’s Cause:” Thomas Jefferson’s Teacher, Patrick Henry, and Religious Freedom

As Tidewater lands played out, exhausted from repeated tobacco plantings, or were encumbered by inheritance, the established church moved with young planters like Peter Jefferson into the Piedmont. One hundred thirty miles from the colonial capital Williamsburg and “planted close under the southwest mountains,” James Maury preached the gospel of the Church of England in […]

by John Grady

Reviews Posted on April 27, 2018April 26, 2018

American Hannibal: The Extraordinary Account of Revolutionary War Hero Daniel Morgan at the Battle of Cowpens

Book Review: American Hannibal: The Extraordinary Account of Revolutionary War Hero Daniel Morgan at the Battle of Cowpens by Jim Stempel (Tucson, AZ: Penmore Press, 2017). [BUY THIS BOOK FROM AMAZON] Although it seems like common sense to regard the country’s founding as something of enduring importance, according to statistics Jim Stempel cites from the American […]

by Kelly Mielke

Culture Posted on April 26, 2018April 25, 2018

Jefferson’s Reckoning: The Sage of Monticello’s Haunting Final Years

It was a mountaintop idyll; a luxuriant bath in the affirming glow of acclaim; a sunset valediction. Or so it was to Saul K. Padover, who described the retired Thomas Jefferson as “that most rare of human species, a balanced and harmonious man capable of viewing the world with detached compassion and serene wisdom.” Cushioned […]

by Geoff Smock

Features Posted on April 25, 2018April 25, 2018

Interview with Author and Illustrator Michael Dooling

Michael Dooling is an author and illustrator of educational children’s books about important periods in American History. One of his books, George Washington’s Army and Me, is being adapted for a feature film. We asked him about his work, the book, and the movie. You’ve produced a line of children’s books and workbooks dealing with […]

by Editors

Features Posted on April 24, 2018

Jedediah Huntington of Connecticut

Brigadier General Jedediah Huntington is an overlooked yet very interesting patriot leader from Connecticut who grew up with Benedict Arnold, fought in several battles, and became close to General Washington toward the end of the war. Huntington was born in 1743 into a wealthy merchant household headed by Jabez Huntington, who owned a fleet of […]

by Damien Cregeau

Features Posted on April 23, 2018May 17, 2019

Elias Boudinot IV: America’s First Commissary General of Prisoners

“The prisoner of war is one of the most tragic figures in any conflict.”Larry G. Bowman[1] Various studies have placed the number of Americans taken prisoner during the American Revolution anywhere from 18,000 to 20,000, with 8,500 to 12,000 dying in captivity.[2] The harsh treatment of Americans taken by the British began after the Battle […]

by Joseph E. Wroblewski

Features Posted on April 19, 2018April 18, 2018

Antoine Felix Wuibert: The French “Forrest Gump” of the American Revolution

Antoine Félix Wuibert was one of the earliest foreign volunteers to the War of the American Revolution, arriving even before the United States pronounced its independence from Britain. Although commissioned as an officer of engineers, he served his newly-adopted nation in a variety of roles throughout the entirety of the war, popping up in key […]

by Larrie D. Ferreiro

Features Posted on April 18, 2018April 17, 2018

The Hessians Who Escaped Washington’s Trap at Trenton

The year 1776 opened with the overall promises of Thomas Paine’s Common Sense pamphlet seemingly coming to fruition; however, the ensuing months were anything but militarily triumphant for General Washington’s army. Even before the ink was dry on the Declaration of Independence, American forces were on the defensive on all fronts and in a deplorable […]

by Andrew A. Zellers-Frederick

Conflict & War Posted on April 17, 2018April 16, 2018

An American Sea Captain Encounters Horatio Nelson—And Lives to Tell the Tale

Few sea captains could claim they crossed bowsprits with Lord Nelson and sailed away – ship and cargo intact – but Nathaniel Carver of Plymouth, Massachusetts, was one who did. Not only did he survive the encounter, the American received a letter of commendation from the man who would later be remembered as the “Hero […]

by David Kindy

Features Posted on April 16, 2018April 15, 2018

Contributor Close-up: Patrick H. Hannum

About Patrick H. Hannum Patrick H. Hannum is currently serving as an associate professor in the Joint and Combined Warfighting School, Joint Forces Staff College, National Defense University, Norfolk, Virginia where he specializes in operational-level warfare and Phase II Joint Professional Military Education. He completed twenty-nine years of active service in the United States Marine […]

by Editors

Features Posted on April 13, 2018April 10, 2018

The James McMichael Journal, December 29, 1777–May 12, 1778

Editor’s Note: This is the final part of a five-part series. Part one. Part two. Part three. Part four. The final portion of the McMichael journal covers December 29, 1777, through May 12, 1778. When the journal opens, McMichael is not among those at Valley Forge having received a “leave of absence” on December 22. He […]

by Joseph Lee Boyle

Espionage and Cryptography Posted on April 12, 2018April 10, 2018

How to be a Revolutionary War Spy Master

George Washington is credited with being a great spy master, and the feats of his Culper spy ring have become famous. How did he learn this clandestine craft? Although he had military experience, prior to 1775 he hadn’t served in the headquarters and staff positions that were usually the hub of intelligence gathering activities. But […]

by Don N. Hagist

Features Posted on April 11, 2018April 10, 2018

A Phantom at Middle Brook: Washington in the New Jersey Short Hills

Most of the stories told of George Washington are tales of complete fiction. He never chopped down a cherry tree, at least not in the boyhood fashion we have been taught as school children. He was capable of lying, and tactically perfected it on occasion. His elder white hair tied back had not been born […]

by Adam E. Zielinski

Features Posted on April 10, 2018September 3, 2021

The “B Team” of 1777: Maxwell’s Light Infantry

On the topic of Maxwell’s Light Infantry, Lt. Col. William Heth’s views were crystal clear. “Maxwells Corps ’Twas expected would do great things,” he complained in a letter, “we had opportunities—and any body but an old-woman, would have availd themselves of them—He is to be sure—a Damnd bitch of a General.”[1] The subject of his […]

by Gabriel Neville

Features Posted on April 9, 2018April 9, 2018

The House at Penny Ferry, Burnt: Skirmishes on the Mystic

In the summer of 1775, American forces had succeeded in bottling up the British army on the Boston peninsula and laying siege to the town. Although virtually surrounded by thousands of Continental soldiers, the British did not remain perfectly contained in Boston for the duration of the siege. Nor did the two forces maintain a […]

by Katie Turner Getty

Reviews Posted on April 6, 2018April 6, 2018

Victory or Death: The Battles of Trenton and Princeton, December 25, 1776-January 3, 1777

Book Review: Mark Maloy. Victory or Death: The Battles of Trenton and Princeton, December 25, 1776-January 3, 1777. Emerging Revolutionary War Series. (El Dorado Hills, California: Savas Beatie LLC, 2017). [BUY THIS BOOK FROM AMAZON] Almost entirely covered by modern development, urbanized Revolutionary War battle sites such as Brooklyn or Germantown are tough to locate […]

by Gene Procknow

Features Posted on April 5, 2018April 4, 2018

Marylanders Bear the Palm: Manpower and Experience as Elements of Extraordinary Military Success

During the American Revolutionary War, the soldiers of the Maryland Line rapidly gained a reputation in the Continental Army for reliability in combat, a reputation that has lasted to this day. Contemporaries attested to the Marylanders’ tenacity as early as their first engagement, the Battle of Long Island in August of 1776: “all [the Americans] […]

by R. J. Rockefeller

Reviews Posted on April 4, 2018April 4, 2018

Two Recent Reviews of Titles from the Journal of the American Revolution Books Series

Two outstanding reviews of titles in the Journal of the American Revolution Books Series were recently published. In the Spring 2018 issue of Army History (https://history.army.mil/armyhistory/AH-Magazine/2018AH_spring/index.html), historian Gregory J. W. Urwin reviewed The Road to Concord: How Four Stolen Cannon Ignited the Revolutionary War by J. L. Bell. Prof. Urwin writes, “J. L. Bell’s The Road to […]

by Editors

Features Posted on April 3, 2018April 2, 2018

Revolutionary Rookies

Performing as a general atop an independent command is the most difficult military assignment and for which prior experience critically fosters improved strategic and tactical decision-making. Many people think that the Revolutionary War British generals were highly experienced while the Rebel generals, although possessing battle proficiency as junior officers, principally gained their military strategy and […]

by Gene Procknow

Month: April 2018