Month: February 2020

1
Politics During the War (1775-1783) Posted on

Rutland’s Rebellion: Defending Local Governance during the Revolution

Typically, countries at war do not detain enemy prisoners in the backyards of their citizens. During the Revolutionary War Britain’s soon-to-be independent North American colonies proved an exception to this rule. For the fledgling nation, the action was a matter of necessity, one which forced host towns across the colonies to confront the fight for […]

by Susan Brynne Long
Features Posted on

This Week on Dispatches: John Rees on African American Soldiers in the American Revolution

On this week’s Dispatches host Brady Crytzer interviews author and JAR contributor John Rees on the enlightening history of African American soldiers in the American Revolution, based on his book “They Were Good Soldiers:” African Americans Serving in the Continental Army, 1775–1783. Thousands of readers like you enjoy the articles published by the Journal of the […]

by Editors
1
Features Posted on

Mary Ball Washington: The Untold Story of George Washington’s Mother

Mary Ball Washington: The Untold Story of George Washington’s Mother by Craig Shirley (Harper, 2019) Rare indeed is the historian of early American history who is unfamiliar with George Washington. Lesser known, however, is the story of Mary Ball Washington, his mother. In Craig Shirley’s book, Mary Ball Washington: The Untold Story of George Washington’s Mother, Shirley […]

by George Kotlik
1
Economics Posted on

This Week on Dispatches: Tom Shachtman on Paying for and Profiting from the American Revolution

On this week’s Dispatches host Brady Crytzer interviews author and JAR contributor Tom Shachtman on how wealthy Americans paid for and profited from the American Revolution, chronicled in his latest book, Founding Fortunes. Thousands of readers like you enjoy the articles published by the Journal of the American Revolution. Dispatches is a free podcast that puts […]

by Editors
4
Frontier Posted on

Maj. Gen. John Sullivan and the Occupation of Easton, Pennsylvania, May 7–June 18, 1779

For a brief seven weeks, the Pennsylvania frontier village of Easton became the second largest community within the state. With an estimated 25,000 inhabitants, Philadelphia was the largest city in Pennsylvania (and North America); under normal circumstances, Lancaster was second with between 3,000-3,500 inhabitants followed by York with under 2,000.[1] In 1752 it was estimated that […]

by Andrew A. Zellers-Frederick
Features Posted on

The Redcoat in America: The Diaries of Lieutenant William Bamford, 1757–1765 and 1776

A Redcoat in America: The Diaries of Lieutenant William Bamford, 1757-1765 and 1776 edited by John B. Hattendorf (Helion & Company, 2019) Writings of participants in the American Revolution are always welcome when they become widely available. John B. Hattendorf’s new contribution to this literature is especially interesting because it offers one individual’s perspectives on […]

by Don N. Hagist
Features Posted on

This Week on Dispatches: Michael Cecere on Virginia’s “Eighteen-Months Men” of 1780-81

On this week’s Dispatches host Brady Crytzer interviews teacher, author, and long-time JAR contributor Michael Cecere on Virginia’s “eighteen-months men,” militia who were drafted into the Continental Army in order to fill a shortfall in soldiers during a pivotal point in the war. Thousands of readers like you enjoy the articles published by the Journal of the […]

by Editors
10
Myths and Legends Posted on

“Mad Anthony”: The Reality Behind the Nickname

It is often a tradition among soldiers and sailors to give monikers to their commanders. American military history resounds with names like Gen.Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson, Gen.Lewis “Chesty” Puller, Gen. Andrew “Old Hickory” Jackson, and so on. One such sobriquet, “Mad Anthony” for Gen. Anthony Wayne, has stuck on and off in the American consciousness for […]

by Michael J. F. Sheehan
4
Battles Posted on

Information Operations: The Provincial Congress Shapes the Narrative in Great Britain

The efforts of the American Provincial Congress at the beginning of the revolutionary war against Great Britain offer the perfect case study to understand how best to utilize information against an enemy during conflict. After the initial skirmishes at Lexington and Concord in April of 1775, the Provincial Congress sought to influence Great Britain’s political […]

by Patrick Naughton
6
Features Posted on

America’s First Ally: France in the Revolutionary War

Norman Desmarais, professor emeritus at Providence College, is one of America’s most important scholars of French involvement in the American Revolution. Desmarais has long researched and written extensively on the topic. His translation of the Gazette Françoise, the French-language newspaper published in Rhode Island by the French fleet that brought Rochambeau and his troops to […]

by Kim Burdick