Year: 2019

4
Features Posted on

Quarters: The Accommodation of the British Army and the Coming of the American Revolution

Quarters: The Accommodation of the British Army and the Coming of the American Revolution by John Gilbert McCurdy (Cornell University Press, 2019) Question: “Why did the colonists fight the British?” Answer: “Because the British Army stayed in their houses.” This question and answer comes from a United States government practice test for the U. S. citizenship […]

by Don N. Hagist
Myths and Legends Posted on

The Declaration of Independence: Did John Hancock Really Say That about his Signature?—and Other Signing Stories

When we picture the Declaration of Independence, most of us immediately think of the document handwritten on parchment and signed at the bottom by fifty-six members of the Second Continental Congress. Few individuals from the first two generations of Americans shared that view, however. The vast majority of those citizens never saw the Congress’s document, […]

by J. L. Bell
7
People Posted on

Benedict Arnold and James Wemyss: Similar Experiences Contrasting Legacies

Often, a person’s legacy is defined by decisions made at pivotal moments rather than a lifetime of previous accomplishments. The is especially true for two aspiring, highly competent military officers in senior leadership positions during the fractious American Rebellion. Although initially on opposing sides, the wartime and personal experiences of the infamous Maj. Gen. Benedict […]

by Gene Procknow
Features Posted on

This Week on Dispatches: Michael Gadue on Naval Strategies of the Saratoga Campaign

On this week’s Dispatches host Brady Crytzer interviews law professor and US Army officer Michael Gadue about naval strategies during the Saratoga campaign, including the construction of the British floating gun battery, Thunderer. As your host Brady Crytzer says, “Sit back, relax, and enjoy the interview. . . .” New episodes of Dispatches are available for free every […]

by Editors
4
Features Posted on

The Consequences of Loyalism

The Consequences of Loyalism: Essays in Honor of Robert M. Calhoon edited by Rebecca Brannon and Joseph S. Moore (University of South Carolina Press, 2019) Anyone who has ever picked up a book concerning Loyalism in the American Revolutionary era has likely encountered the work of Robert M. “Bob” Calhoon. A renowned academic, author, and advisor […]

by Megan King
1
Conflict & War Posted on

A Chink in Britain’s Armor: John Paul Jones’s 1778 Raid on Whitehaven

John Paul Jones has earned enduring fame in American history for his sailing and fighting exploits during the American Revolution. His influence on the war, however, went far beyond his alleged immortal words while engaging the HMS Serapis with his vessel, the Bonhomme Richard. For a period in 1778, the mere mention of his name caused terror […]

by Andrew A. Zellers-Frederick
Features Posted on

This Week on Dispatches: Michael J. Sheehan on the Battle of Stony Point

On this week’s Dispatches host Brady Crytzer interviews Michael J. Sheehan, contributor and senior historian at the Stony Point Battlefield State Historic Site, about misconceptions and stories about the battle, and its significance to the American war effort. As your host Brady Crytzer says, “Sit back, relax, and enjoy the interview. . . .” New episodes of […]

by Editors
1
Features Posted on

The Road to Charleston: Nathanael Greene and the American Revolution

The Road to Charleston, Nathanael Greene and the American Revolution by John Buchanan (University Press of Virginia, 2019) John Buchanan’s latest account of the southern theater in the American Revolution is appropriately titled, The Road to Charleston: Nathanael Greene and the American Revolution (2019). This work is a companion to his first work on the southern campaign, The Road […]

by Patrick H. Hannum
Features Posted on

This Week on Dispatches: George Kotlik on the Floridas During the American Revolution

On this week’s Dispatches host Brady Crytzer interviews George Kotlik, contributor and teacher, about the British colonies of East and West Florida during the American Revolution. As your host Brady Crytzer says, “Sit back, relax, and enjoy the interview. . . .” New episodes of Dispatches are available for free every Sunday evening (Eastern United States […]

by Editors
16
War at Sea and Waterways (1775–1783) Posted on

The Liberty: First American Warship, Among Many Firsts

One might think that the first American warship, named the Liberty, would be showered with accolades and articles touting its significant place in American history. It isn’t. Whether this deficit is because she was first owned by Loyalist Philip Skene under another name, captained by later traitor Benedict Arnold, or recaptured by the British in […]

by Michael Gadue
2
Beyond the Classroom Posted on

Adam Blumenthal, creator of the Burning the Gaspee Virtual Reality Experience

We recently received a demonstration of an exciting virtual-reality experience designed to teach middle and high school students about one of the key events leading to the American Revolution, the burning of HMS Gaspee in Rhode Island. The project’s creator, Adam Blumenthal, professor of the practice of computer science at Brown University, discussed the project with […]

by Editors
People Posted on

Josiah Quincy, Jr.

Josiah Quincy, Jr.’s name is rarely mentioned in history books. This is because his name never appeared at the top of any leaderboard, that is, he was not a member of the Continental Congress, a military hero, a leader of a movement or group, or an author of an influential work, and because he died […]

by Bob Ruppert
Features Posted on

This Week on Dispatches: Harlow Giles Unger on Robert Morris and the American Revolution

In this week’s Dispatches host Brady Crytzer interviews distinguished journalist and historian Harlow Giles Unger about Robert Morris and his critical role in financially supporting the American cause; in addition, Morris developed strategies and techniques of trade and investment at the core of capitalism that are still used today. As your host Brady Crytzer says, “Sit back, […]

by Editors
Constitutional Debate Posted on

The Annapolis Convention of 1786: A Call for a Stronger National Government

Speaking at South Carolina’s ratification convention in 1788, Charles Pinckney derided the Articles of Confederation as a “miserable, feeble mockery of government.” Pinckney was a young but significant figure at the Constitutional Convention along with his cousin Charles Cotesworth Pinckney. While coastal South Carolinians, rooted in Charleston, were likely to prevail in support of the […]

by Jason Yonce
2
Conflict & War Posted on

Operations of the Queen’s Rangers: Foraging in New Jersey, February–March 1778

“Of the forty or more battalions of Loyalists, which enlisted in the service of the Crown during the Revolutionary war, none has been so widely celebrated as the Queen’s Rangers.”—James Hannay.[1] The Queen’s Rangers, named in honor of King George III’s wife Queen Charlotte, were mustered into service in August 1776 on Staten Island. It […]

by Joseph E. Wroblewski
1
Critical Thinking Posted on

Grappling with Imperium in Imperio: Indivisible Sovereignty in Joseph Galloway’s British Empire

Although by 1775 hostilities between Great Britain and the American colonies had commenced, there were still those within the colonies who believed that the relationship between the two parties could be restored. Joseph Galloway’s 1775 pamphlet A Candid Examination of the Mutual Claims of Great Britain, and the Colonies: With a Plan of Accommodation on […]

by Tristan J. New
1
Features Posted on

This Week on Dispatches: Geoff Smock on Alexander Hamilton’s Childhood in the Caribbean

In this week’s Dispatches host Brady Crytzer interviews JAR contributor and Seattle-area middle school history teacher Geoff Smock about how Alexander Hamilton’s difficult childhood experiences in the Caribbean helped shape his future political ideology. As your host Brady Crytzer says, “Sit back, relax, and enjoy the interview. . . .” New episodes of Dispatches are available […]

by Editors
5
Features Posted on

The British Are Coming: The War for America, Lexington to Princeton, 1775–1777

The British Are Coming: The War for America, Lexington to Princeton, 1775–1777 by Rick Atkinson (Henry Holt and Co., 2019) New books on the American Revolution often focus on anything other than the military campaigns from 1775 to 1781. Journal of the American Revolution award winners, for instance, have featured the roles of individuals, Native Americans, and […]

by Alec D. Rogers
Letters and Correspondence Posted on

Catharine Macaulay, England’s First Female Whig Historian: the War Begins, 1775

By the end of 1774, Catharine Macaulay had met Benjamin Rush, Arthur Lee, Richard Marchant, and Benjamin Franklin, and had corresponded with John Dickinson, James Otis, Jr., John Adams, William Livingston, Richard Henry Lee, Abigail Adams, Ezra Stiles, Mercy Otis Warren, and Samuel Adams. The number of Americans that Macaulay had met was about to change. […]

by Bob Ruppert
4
Letters and Correspondence Posted on

Eyewitness to the British Retreat from Lexington: The Timothy Pickering Letter

A newly appointed colonel in the Essex County militia, Timothy Pickering led some 700 men of the Salem and Essex militia toward Boston, Massachusetts, to intercept the British as they retreated from Lexington on April 19, 1775. Pickering had his chance late that day to attack the British troops near Medford, Massachusetts, but, with the […]

by Samuel K. Fore
4
Features Posted on

Southern Gambit: Cornwallis and the British March to Yorktown

Southern Gambit: Cornwallis and the British March to Yorktown by Stanley D.M. Carpenter (University of Oklahoma Press, 2019) In his recent book, Stanley Carpenter produced a thoughtful analysis of the British southern strategy during the American Revolution. A professor at the Naval War College, he evaluates enduring concepts and elements of warfare framed in contemporary language […]

by Patrick H. Hannum