Month: December 2019

1
Conflict & War Posted on

Lord Dunmore’s Proclamation: Information and Slavery

Lord Dunmore, John Murray, the 4th Earl of Dunmore (1730-1809) and Royal Governor of Virginia (1771-1776),[1] was an important political and military figure during the early stages of the American Revolution. One of Dunmore’s most controversial actions involved issuing a proclamation to free all slaves and indentured servants of rebels who would rally to the […]

by Patrick H. Hannum
1
Features Posted on

‘They Were Good Soldiers’: African Americans Serving in the Continental Army, 1775–1783

They Were Good Soldiers: African-Americans Serving in the Continental Army, 1775-1783 by John U. Rees (Solihull, England: Helion & Company, 2019) John U. Rees addresses an interesting yet difficult subject in his recent work, ‘They Were Good Soldiers’: African-Americans Serving in the Continental Army, 1775-1783. Rees and others interested in the lives and experiences of the common […]

by Patrick H. Hannum
Features Posted on

This Week on Dispatches: Don N. Hagist on Martha Bradley and Eighteenth-Century Cookery

On this week’s Dispatches host Brady Crytzer interviews historian and managing editor of the Journal of the American Revolution, Don N. Hagist, about the fascinating story of Martha Bradley and her influential eighteenth-century book, The British Housewife: or, the Cook, Housekeeper’s, and Gardiner’s Companion. Thousands of readers like you enjoy the articles published by the Journal […]

by Editors
15
Culture Posted on

The David Library of the American Revolution as It Was: JAR Contributors Remember

The end of 2019 marks the end of an era, when one of the world’s premier institutions for research on early America, The David Library of the American Revolution, closes its doors. The collections will be moved to the American Philosophical Society in Philadelphia, so the material will still be accessible—although under different conditions—but the […]

by Editors
2
Features Posted on

A Crisis of Peace: George Washington, the Newburgh Conspiracy, and the Fate of the American Revolution

A Crisis of Peace: George Washington, the Newburgh Conspiracy, and the Fate of the American Revolution by David Head (New York: Pegasus Books, 2019) Students of the Revolution are likely already familiar with the tale of George Washington winning over a group of disgruntled officers at war’s end through strategic use of his eyeglasses and […]

by Kelly Mielke
4
Conflict & War Posted on

The Siege of Fort Laurens, 1778–1779

During the American Revolution, British-allied Native Americans raided American homesteads and settlements all along the Ohio Valley. As the war progressed, the increased frequency and ever-widening circle of Indian raids forced the Continental Congress and Army to respond. In 1778, a Congressional committee studied the matter and concluded that a defensive war “would not only […]

by Eric Sterner
Features Posted on

Thomas Jefferson’s Lives: Biographers and the Battle for History

Thomas Jefferson’s Lives:  Biographers and the Battle for History edited by Robert M. S. McDonald.  (Charlottesville, VA:  University of Virginia Press, 2019) Robert M. S. McDonald’s previous book, Confounding Father:  Thomas Jefferson’s Image in His Own Time (2016), portrays the Virginian as a multifaceted character who is extraordinarily difficult to understand. Thomas Jefferson’s Lives: Biographers and the […]

by Timothy Symington
Features Posted on

This Week on Dispatches: Alexander R. Cain on Privateering During the Siege of Boston

On this week’s Dispatches host Brady Crytzer interviews author and maritime historian Alexander R. Cain about his recent article on how New England privateers supported the American siege of British-occupied Boston. Thousands of readers like you enjoy the articles published by the Journal of the American Revolution. Dispatches is a free podcast that puts a voice […]

by Editors
3
Features Posted on

Naval Documents of the American Revolution, Vol. 13

Naval Documents of the American Revolution, Volume 13, edited by Michael J. Crawford. (Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO), 2019. A pdf copy is available for free from the Naval History and Heritage Command (NHHC) website, www.history.navy.mil/research/publications/publications-by-subject/naval-documents-of-the-american-revolution.html.) Naval Documents of the American Revolution is a thirteen-volume (and counting) anthology of extracts from American, British, French, and […]

by John K. Robertson
Constitutional Debate Posted on

This Week on Dispatches: Ray Raphael on the Constitutional Debate about Impeachment

On this week’s Dispatches host Brady Crytzer interviews award-winning historian, writer, and JAR Associate Editor, Ray Raphael, about the debate during the Constitutional Convention on what would constitute impeachable offenses and the process for removing an official from office. His recent article on the subject is here. Thousands of readers like you enjoy the articles published […]

by Editors
12
Critical Thinking Posted on

The Engagement at Woodlane: Precursor to the Battle of Iron Works Hill, a Key to the American Victory at Trenton

Their feet were leaving noticeable imprints in the grassy field. It was another two hundred yards to the hedgerow, and then a steep climb up the narrow footpath that snaked around the rising slope of hill in front of them. If they could make it without injury, perhaps there was a chance to dig in […]

by Adam E. Zielinski
Features Posted on

This Week on Dispatches: John L. Smith, Jr. on Thomas Jefferson and French Fries

On this week’s Dispatches host Brady Crytzer interviews educator, US Army and US Air Force veteran, and JAR contributor, John L. Smith, Jr., about the role Thomas Jefferson may have played in introducing fried potatoes—“French Fries”—to American cuisine. Thousands of readers like you enjoy the articles published by the Journal of the American Revolution. Dispatches is […]

by Editors