Thomas Pownall, Governor of Massachusetts, January 1759–1760
byOn May 7, 1757, Thomas Pownall sailed from England for Boston to take his post as the governor of Massachusetts. Aboard the ship was…
September, 2020
1
The Battle of Shallow Ford, October 14, 1780
byIn September 1780, writing from Hillsborough, North Carolina, just one month after the disastrous defeat at Camden, Maj. Gen. Horatio Gates penned a disconcerted…
1
Clarifying Beaumarchais
byAt the dawn of the American Revolution, France and Britain had been coexisting under a treaty of friendship since about 1765. Traded like properties…
This Week on Dispatches: Damien Cregeau on Ten Revolutionary War Patriot Graves
byOn this week’s Dispatches host Brady Crytzer interviews historian and JAR contributor Damien Cregeau about ten notable graves and memorials honoring Patriots, from George Washington…
6
The Mysterious March of Horatio Gates
byFollowing the American surrender at Charleston on May 12, 1780, the Continental Army’s “Southern Department” was in disarray. Taken prisoner that day were 245…
9
The Shores of Tripoli: A Strategy Game
byThe Shores of Tripoli: A Strategy Game by Kevin Bertram (Fort Circle Games: Washington, DC) Recently I was fortunate to be asked to review a…
2
The British Invade Nicaragua: The San Juan Expedition
byAccording to Andrew Jackson O’ Shaughnessy, the San Juan Expedition was among “the most ambitious enterprises of the American Revolutionary War.”[1] In 1779, after Spain’s…
This Week on Dispatches: Rand Mirante on Fort Mifflin on the Delaware
byOn this week’s Dispatches host Brady Crytzer interviews author and JAR contributor Rand Mirante on the history of Fort Mifflin, the Revolutionary War-era fort on…
6
What Killed Prisoners of War?—A Medical Investigation
byEditor’s Note: This article contains graphic medical descriptions. Throughout the Revolutionary War, prisoners learned that dysentery accompanied starvation. Confined to the prison ship Jersey in…
2
Battle of the Saintes
byWe often think that the Siege of Yorktown, Virginia, and the surrender ceremony of October 19, 1781, was the effective end to fighting in…
5
The First Efforts to Limit the African Slave Trade Arise in the American Revolution: Part 3 of 3, Congress Bans the African Slave Trade
byIn October 1774, in a stunning and radical move, delegates of the First Continental Congress signed a pledge for the thirteen mainland colonies not…
3
The First Efforts to Limit the African Slave Trade Arise in the American Revolution: Part 2 of 3, The Middle and Southern Colonies
byThe first article of this series discussed the increasing chorus of American Patriots in New England raising their voices against the African slave trade….
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The First Efforts to Limit the African Slave Trade Arise in the American Revolution: Part 1 of 3, The New England Colonies
byThe American Revolution changed the way Americans viewed one of the world’s great tragedies: the African slave trade. The long march to end the…
This Week on Dispatches: Philip D. Weaver on the Jersey Greys of 1776
byOn this week’s Dispatches host Brady Crytzer interviews author and JAR contributor Philip D. Weaver on his research on the 3rd New Jersey Regiment, the…
4
Joseph Plumb Martin’s Hunger Games
byNot all primary sources are created equal. We venerate the Lives of the Twelve Caesars by Suetonius for providing us with a contemporary history…
4
From Prisoner to Schoolmaster: The Revolutionary War Story of Lt. Thomas White
byThomas White, a twenty-two-year-old farmer in Chester County, Pennsylvania, answered the call to fight for the establishment of a new nation. The choice altered…
4
Volunteer Overload: Foreign Support of the American Cause Prior to the French Alliance
byAside from being outmanned by the best army in the world when the American Revolution started, it was clear that the American forces were…
5
Contributor Question: A Favorite Witty Quote from the Revolutionary Era
byThis month we asked our contributors for their favorite witty quote from the era of the American Revolution. The responses are widely varied and…
This Week on Dispatches: Dayne Rugh on the Connecticut Sons of Liberty
byOn this week’s Dispatches host Brady Crytzer interviews Director of Education for Slater Memorial Museum and JAR contributor Dayne Rugh on his recent article about…
1
Margaret Eustace and Her Family Pass through the American Revolution
byJohn L. Smith, Jr. introduced readers of the Journal of the American Revolution to Margaret Eustace in his article, “The Scandalous Divorce Case that Influenced…
Thomas Pownall, Governor of Massachusetts, August 1757 to December 1758
byThomas Pownall was appointed “Captain-General and Governor-in-Chief in and over . . . the Province of the Massachusetts Bay” on February 25, 1757. He…
47
Tracing Major John André’s Steps Along the Hudson: A Video Tour
byIf you draw a 150-mile radius around New York City, you’ll find so many locations relevant to the American Revolution that it’s almost overwhelming….