2019 - Page 6 of 6 - Journal of the American Revolution

Features Posted on March 8, 2019March 7, 2019

This Week on Dispatches: Katie Turner Getty and the Notorious Prison Ship Jersey

In this week’s Dispatches host Brady Crytzer interviews JAR contributor and editorial board member Katie Turner Getty about a dark side of the American Revolution, the notorious prison hulk, HMS Jersey. Thousands of American prisoners—some as young as twelve—died daily aboard British prison ships, mostly from disease. Fortunately for historians, a number of survivors wrote […]

by Editors

Features Posted on March 7, 2019March 5, 2019

Retracing Alexander Hamilton’s Steps Through the Remnants of Revolutionary New York

When Alexander Hamilton arrived in New York in the early 1770s, the city was already the one of the largest in the colonies, second only to Philadelphia. Yet Manhattan’s 25,000 residents inhabited just a small portion of the island which stretched from the Battery to well below today’s 14th street. The rest was sparsely-inhabited farmland, […]

by Gina Dimuro

Culture Posted on March 5, 2019March 3, 2019

Remembering the Lives and Sacrifices of General Richard and Janet Montgomery

Almost forty years ago, I led a team of nautical archaeologists in the study of the steamboat Phoenix, which had burned on Lake Champlain the night of September 4, 1819. In researching the Phoenix’s history, I came across the reference that “in July, 1818 the remains of General Richard Montgomery, the dashing American leader who […]

by Arthur B. Cohn

Features Posted on March 4, 2019March 4, 2019

Donald McCraw of the 42nd Regiment Wields his Broadsword

In March and April of 1780, there was a string of home invasions and robberies around the villages of Jamaica and Flushing on Long Island, New York. The farming region had been a British army garrison since the autumn of 1776, and was teeming with residents, soldiers, sailors, prisoners of war, refugees, and an assortment […]

by Don N. Hagist

Features Posted on March 1, 2019March 7, 2019

This Week on Dispatches: Bob Ruppert and the life of Catharine Macaulay

In this week’s Dispatches, host Brady Crytzer interviews JAR contributor Bob Ruppert about his research and articles on Catharine Macaulay, the pioneering woman historian who wrote the first history of England from a Whig, or Republican, perspective. Bob explains the importance of Macaulay as a literary figure, how she became involved in the Whig cause, […]

by Editors

Critical Thinking Posted on February 28, 2019February 18, 2019

The Fort Wilson Riot and Pennsylvania’s Republican Formation

“There has been hell to pay in Philadelphia,” exclaimed Samuel Shaw, referring to the Fort Wilson Riot of October 4, 1779 in a letter to Winthrop Sargent.[1] The riot was the culmination of three years of factional political tension within the city of Philadelphia. Members of the city’s “lower sort,” nominally backed by politically powerful men […]

by Kevin Diestelow

Interviews Posted on February 27, 2019February 28, 2019

Public Radio interviews Todd Braisted about Bernard E. Griffiths

Word got around fast about Todd Braisted’s amazing detective work in identifying Bernard E. Griffiths and his remarkable journey from slave to Chelsea Pensioner published on February 21! On February 27, Todd appeared as a guest on The World, a Public Radio International Program produced with the BBC and WGBH Boston. You can listen to the […]

by Editors

Arts & Literature Posted on February 26, 2019February 24, 2019

Catharine Macaulay, England’s First Female Whig Historian, 1773–1774

By the end of 1772, Catharine Macaulay had completed and published the first five volumes of her History of England from the Accession of James I to that of the Brunswick Line. The effort had taken a toll on her health. Instead of continuing to write her History at a feverish pace, she turned her […]

by Bob Ruppert

Strategy Posted on February 25, 2019February 25, 2019

“To Huts”: British Winter Cantonments around New York City

The British Occupation of the New York City region during the Revolutionary War was the longest continuous occupation of any area of the entire war. After the fall of New York in 1776 and the British retreat from Philadelphia in 1778 the British and American armies surrounding the New York region were at a stalemate. […]

by David M. Griffin

Conflict & War Posted on February 21, 2019February 21, 2019

Bernard E. Griffiths: Trumpeter Barney of the Queen’s Rangers, Chelsea Pensioner—and Freed Slave

The period of the American Revolution does not afford many accounts of individual rank and file soldiers’ exploits, particularly on the side British side. The filing of some 80,000 pension applications in the United States makes it much easier to learn of a soldier’s activities during the war, whether it be the mundane task of […]

by Todd W. Braisted

Features Posted on February 20, 2019October 21, 2019

Young Benjamin Franklin: The Birth of Ingenuity

Young Benjamin Franklin: The Birth of Ingenuity by Nick Bunker. (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2018) This is a tome that, as Gordon S. Wood is quoted on the dust jacket, attempts “the nearly impossible—to say anything new about Benjamin Franklin.” Young Benjamin Franklin is by Nick Bunker, a British journalist and businessman turned historian of […]

by Jonathan Carriel

Arts & Literature Posted on February 19, 2019February 24, 2019

Catharine Macaulay, England’s First Female Whig Historian, 1763–1772

Catharine Sawbridge was born in Wye, Kent, England to John Sawbridge and Elizabeth Wanley on April 2, 1731. Her father was a landed proprietor; her mother was an heiress. She was the their second child. She had an older sister Mary and two younger brothers, John and Wanley. Catharine’s education was left to a governess […]

by Bob Ruppert

Diaries and Journals Posted on February 18, 2019February 18, 2019

Loyalist James Allen’s Reflection on the State of the Colonies

A councilman by profession, James Allen, esquire, lived in Philadelphia during the early years of the American Revolution. A man of considerable social prominence and stature within the colony, Allen held much influence. Indeed, the entire Allen family was held in high esteem, particularly since most of its members enjoyed positions of privilege and respect. […]

by George Kotlik

Features Posted on February 15, 2019February 12, 2019

This Week on Dispatches: Michael Barbieri and the Case for the Champlain Corridor

Thank you to all of those who listened to the inaugural episode of our podcast, Dispatches. On this week’s show, host Brady Crytzer interviews long-time JAR contributor and Vermont native Michael Barbieri about the history of his state and the importance of the Champlain Corridor to the course of the American Revolution. Brady poses the […]

by Editors

Conflict & War Posted on February 14, 2019February 11, 2019

Caught Between the Lines: Eastchester, New York, During the American Revolution

When one thinks of the American Revolution, the places that most quickly come to mind are Lexington, Concord, Bunker Hill, Valley Forge, Yorktown. Yet during the War for Independence, Eastchester, New York, located only a few miles north of Manhattan, experienced with few exceptions calamitous depredations more constant and severe than any other area of […]

by Edna Gabler

Critical Thinking Posted on February 13, 2019February 13, 2019

Contributor Question: What Scene Do You Wish Had been Depicted Accurately by an Artist?

We asked our contributors what seemed like a simple question: What scene from the American Revolution or the Founding Era (1765–1805, approximately) do you wish had been depicted accurately by an artist? Quite unintentionally, the wording was ambiguous. Some described scenes that they’d like to see an artist render, while others offered events that they […]

by Editors

Diplomacy Posted on February 12, 2019February 15, 2019

The “Hynson Business”—The Story of a Double Agent

Wars have a way of creating strange alliances, and the American Revolution was no exception. I encountered one such unusual relationship while researching my article on American naval officer Lambert Wickes, who completed many daring privateering captures in European waters in 1776-77 before relinquishing the stage to John Paul Jones. By all accounts, Wickes was […]

by Richard J. Werther

Constitutional Debate Posted on February 11, 2019February 9, 2019

The Dark and Heroic Histories of Georgia’s Signers

Revolutions are complex multi-sided economic, political, social, and technological events. They begin as conservative movements. As each side fears losing, all of these different interests radicalize but when the struggle is over, as historian Robert Calhoon points out, each side will adopt constructive compromise to find a way to govern together.[1] In the American Revolution […]

by Robert Scott Davis

Features Posted on February 7, 2019February 6, 2019

Dispatches: The Podcast of the Journal of the American Revolution

We are pleased to announce that the Journal of the American Revolution has launched a new podcast, Dispatches. Each week Dispatches will feature interviews with contributors to the journal as well as authors and other persons of interest to the JAR community, highlighting the latest in scholarship, news, and opinions regarding the Revolutionary and Founding Eras. Hosted […]

by Editors

Features Posted on February 5, 2019February 4, 2019

Casualty of Revolution: The Sad Case of Betty Smith

On October 1, 1768, two regiments of British infantry with an artillery detachment—witnesses estimated 700 to 800 men in all—disembarked from transports in Boston Harbor and formed up on Long Wharf. Then, in a procession lasting several hours, they marched “with muskets charged, bayonets fixed, colours flying, drums beating and fifes . . . playing” […]

by Len Travers

Historiography Posted on February 4, 2019February 3, 2019

Henry Knox’s “Noble Train of Artillery:” No Ox for Knox

The best-known scene of Col. Henry Knox’s train of artillery in the winter of 1775-1776 is Tom Lovell’s painting The Noble Train of Artillery. It shows a caravan of ox-drawn artillery that the Continental Army moved from the recently conquered Fort Ticonderoga in upstate New York (pictured near the top left of the painting) through […]

by Derek W. Beck

Historiography Posted on January 31, 2019January 27, 2019

The Revolutionary Memories of New York Loyalists: Thomas Jones and William Smith, Jr.

The American Revolution produced different meanings for Patriots and Loyalists. After the end of the Revolutionary war, the pressing issue was no longer the problem of independence or the Imperial Crisis, but the problem of nationhood, and how this newly created nation should be run. Arthur Shaffer argued that the fact that “a diverse group […]

by Cho-Chien Feng

Features Posted on January 30, 2019October 21, 2019

The First Conspiracy: The Secret Plot to Kill George Washington

The First Conspiracy: The Secret Plot to Kill George Washington by Brad Meltzer and Josh Mensch (Flatiron Books, 2019). On June 28, 1776—only days before the Continental Congress voted in favor of the Declaration of Independence—a soldier named Thomas Hickey hanged in what was at the time the largest public execution in North America. Although myths […]

by Kelly Mielke

Conflict & War Posted on January 29, 2019January 27, 2019

1776—The Horror Show

The British Army held New York City from 1776 to November 25, 1783. In prisoner exchanges, royal forces in New York periodically released prisoners of war who were “sickly and emaciated.” Sometimes the prisoners numbered a few dozen, sometimes a few hundred. In 1776, however, British military commander Lt. Gen. Sir William Howe released more […]

by Brian Patrick O'Malley

Politics Posted on January 28, 2019January 26, 2019

Resolutions Shared by Two Towns 300 Miles Apart

The year was 1773. On May 10, Parliament had passed the Tea Act allowed the East India Company to sell tea directly to the American colonies without paying any customs or duties in England. This gave the company a monopoly over the production, distribution, and sale of tea. The colonists saw the Act as a […]

by Bob Ruppert

Economics Posted on January 24, 2019January 31, 2019

The Molasses Act: A Brief History

The Molasses Act of 1733 levied a duty of six pence per gallon on foreign molasses imported into British colonies in North America. The duty was not intended to raise revenue, but to be a prohibition against the importation of molasses from foreign sugar plantations. It was at first a nullity, a dead letter, but […]

by Ken Shumate

Arts & Literature Posted on January 22, 2019January 20, 2019

2018 Journal of the American Revolution Book of the Year Award Announced

The Journal of the American Revolution today announced The Indian World of George Washington: The First President, the First Americans, and the Birth of the Nation by Colin G. Calloway (Oxford University Press) as winner of the 2018 Journal of the American Revolution Book of the Year Award. Honorable mention was awarded to Frontier Rebels: The Fight […]

by Editors

Economics Posted on January 21, 2019January 21, 2019

Continental Congress vs. Continental Army: Paying For It All

When the Second Continental Congress met in June 1775, they were not prepared for what they found. Several months earlier on April 19 the war of words with Great Britain had become a shooting war. The individual colonies found themselves at war with one of the greatest military powers of the age. It would fall […]

by Stuart Hatfield

Features Posted on January 17, 2019January 13, 2019

Alexander Milliner, Age Ten, Enlisted September 1780

To create an organized and effective force the Continental Army required more than just soldiers and officers. Camp followers helped to maintain and even provide supplies, and drummers were critical for signaling routines in camp and coordinating movements. In many cases the war would become a family affair, calling on men, women, adults, and children […]

by Lindsey Wood

Reviews Posted on January 16, 2019October 21, 2019

Light-Horse Harry Lee

Light-Horse Harry Lee: The Rise and Fall of a Revolutionary Hero and the Father of Robert E. Lee by Ryan Cole. (Washington, DC: Regnery History, 2019) Henry “Light Horse Harry” Lee, lieutenant colonel in the Continental Army, politician, and bankrupt businessman, has been the subject of renewed interest among historians and biographers in recent years. After […]

by Jim Piecuch

Politics Posted on January 15, 2019January 13, 2019

The Earl of Dartmouth: Secretary of State for the Colonies, Third Year: August 1774–November 1775

While the Earl of Dartmouth, Secretary of State for the Colonies, was on holiday in the summer of 1774, his office continued to receive and send communications concerning the political divergence with the American colonies. The general issues were the Quebec Act, the Massachusetts Provincial Congress, the Declaration of Rights and Grievances, the Non-Importation Agreement, […]

by Bob Ruppert

Features Posted on January 14, 2019January 13, 2019

Contributor Close-Up: Alec D. Rogers

What is the focus of your research and writing? I review books about the Revolutionary period. I’ve always enjoyed reading book reviews, but often felt frustrated when they would fail in what I regard as their essential mission: to give me a sense of whether I’d enjoy reading the book being reviewed. I hope that […]

by Editors

Conflict & War Posted on January 10, 2019January 9, 2019

Death Had Almost Lost Its Sting: Disease on the Prison Ship Jersey

“There, rebels, there is a cage for you.”[1] Forced to row under guard of British marines, a boatload of captured American sailors approached the forbidding black hulk of the old British warship, HMS Jersey. Nicknamed “The Hell Afloat,”[2] the Jersey and other decommissioned British warships were moored in Wallabout Bay, just off Brooklyn, New York, where […]

by Katie Turner Getty

Conflict & War Posted on January 8, 2019February 15, 2019

The Decision that Lost Britain the War: An Enigma Now Resolved

In this article I address the absurdity of Cornwallis’s decision to march from Wilmington, North Carolina, to Virginia and the light thrown on it by The Cornwallis Papers.[1] The central enigma of the Southern Campaigns, it had until their publication never been able to be satisfactorily resolved. Lt. Gen. Charles Earl Cornwallis, the British General […]

by Ian Saberton

Reviews Posted on January 7, 2019October 21, 2019

Daniel Morgan: A Revolutionary Life

Daniel Morgan: A Revolutionary Life by Albert Louis Zambone (Westholme Publishing, 2018) Few figures in the American Revolution contributed more towards victory over Great Britain than Daniel Morgan of Virginia. His leadership in two of the most significant engagements of the Revolutionary War, the battles of Saratoga and Cowpens, as well as his bold conduct […]

by Michael Cecere

Conflict & War Posted on January 3, 2019January 2, 2019

Captain Lambert Wickes and “Gunboat Diplomacy, American Revolution Style”

The Continental Navy. Words that didn’t exactly strike fear into the heart of the mighty British Royal Navy. For most Americans, knowledge of the early American Navy likely begins and ends with the daring exploits of John Paul Jones, starting in 1778. Indeed, it was not the Continental Navy, but the French Navy, that was […]

by Richard J. Werther

Features Posted on January 1, 2019January 2, 2019

Who was the most promising person of the Founding Era?

For our first post of the New Year—a time when resolutions are announced, new leaves are turned, and anticipation and hope for a fulfilling life renews, it is appropriate that this month we asked our contributors the following question: During the Founding Era, which we’ll consider as 1765 thru 1805, who was the most promising […]

by Editors

Year: 2019