A previous article featured ten graves of Americans who served in the Revolutionary War, chosen primarily because of their elaborate monuments. Most of them were for high-ranking leaders: generals and admirals. Here we present ten gravesites of common soldiers, including seven individual gravesites and three mass graves. It is based largely on my own knowledge […]
During the Revolutionary War, Pittsburgh was a place of constant political and economic intrigue, double-dealing, subversion, back-stabbing, disloyalty, and treachery. One of the earliest and most jaw-droppingly ambitious plans to secure the city for the British came from the mind of Dr. John Connolly.[1] Word of his “plot” spread widely across the colonies in 1775 […]
Alexander Hamilton’s life has been documented extensively and his exploits as an adult are well known. His early childhood, however, has long been a subject of debate and, until recently, was largely shrouded in obscurity. Evidence published by historian Michael Newton in 2019 has provided new insights into Alexander Hamilton’s formative years. Despite this new […]
The Trials of Allegiance: Treason, Juries, and the American Revolution by Carlton F. W. Larson (New York : Oxford University Press, 2019) Whether you describe the American Revolution as a civil war or an insurgency, the result for many families and friends was the same: split loyalties. This reality has caused University of California Law Professor Carlton […]
On this week’s Dispatches host Brady Crytzer interviews JAR contributor John E. Happ on the enigmatic Pierre-Augustin Beaumarchais. Best known today for his plays, The Barber of Seville and The Marriage of Figaro, he became a key player in French support of the American cause, primarily with organizing clandestine arms shipments to the fledgling Continental army. […]
During the American War of Independence, the British Army officer corps routinely relegated its surgeons and physicians to a secondary status among its ranks. A few regimental surgeons made contributions to medical science, but the vast majority were relatively unknown both in their time and today.[1] American military doctors fared a bit better, but are mostly […]
Although it may not have been fatal, scabies brought more patients to British Army hospitals during the Seven Years’ War than any other condition, according to British Army surgeon Donald Monro. Its cause was known to be “Little Insects Lodged in the Skin, which Many Authors Affirm They Have Seen in the Pustules by the […]
We are pleased to announce that all six of the on-going series of uniform annual volumes, beginning with 2015, are now once again available. Some of the volumes have been hard to come by, but we have now arranged to have these books automatically replenished going forward—something that was not possible just a few months […]
The vast eastern province of Massachusetts, now the state of Maine, was the site of some important military events during the Revolutionary War. Several involved British naval lieutenant Henry Mowat, who would be called the “Villain of Falmouth,” “Mad Henry,” “The Execrable Monster” and the “Miscreant of the Revolutionary War.” Mowat spent most of his […]
The 10 Key Campaigns of the American Revolution edited by Edward G. Lengel (Washington, D.C: Regnery, 2020). Edward Lengel begins this book with a remarkable claim. He writes, “The American War for Independence remains—now, nearly 250 years since its onset—a relatively new field of study.” This will initially strike many readers as a wild assertion. How […]
On this week’s Dispatches host Brady Crytzer interviews JAR contributor and University of Wisconsin-Madison employee Alex White on discovering his ancestor’s experience as an officer in the Continental Army who was captured and paroled by the British. Thousands of readers like you enjoy the articles published by the Journal of the American Revolution. Dispatches is a […]
One of the greatest thrills for any historian is coming upon an important but little-known document, either through one’s own research or the work of other historians. To many, the challenges and adventures are in the search. The reward is in finding that document and sharing it with the world. We have been most fortunate […]
On September 25, 1775, three weeks into the American invasion of Canada, the legendary Ethan Allen fought a fierce battle outside Montreal with about one hundred Canadians and Continental soldiers at his side. The result was bitter defeat at the hands of a larger British-Canadian force that had sortied from the city to confront them […]
During September–October 1789, two heroes of the American War of Independence, both members of the Society of Cincinnati, were in the Polish capital of Warsaw. While they were aware of each other’s wartime exploits, they had never met. What brought these two Revolutionary War icons together in 1789? In November 1783, Congress gave naval hero […]
Alexandria, Virginia, is well known as George Washington’s hometown, but its role during the American Revolution is not widely understood. Like the rest of Northern Virginia, Alexandria was largely spared the fierce warfare that raged across the country. Nonetheless, the Revolution profoundly affected the community. Founded in 1749 along the Potomac River, Alexandria was a […]
By the close of 1779 British possessions in the revolted colonies were confined in the north to New York City, Long Island, and Penobscot. An army had been lost at Saratoga. In the south a tenuous hold on lower Georgia had been gained, East and West Florida had remained loyal, but West Florida was threatened […]
On this week’s Dispatches host Brady Crytzer interviews historian, author, and JAR contributor Robert Scott Davis on Georgian socialite and possible British spy, Margaret Eustace, and how she and her family navigated the American Revolution. Thousands of readers like you enjoy the articles published by the Journal of the American Revolution. Dispatches is a free podcast […]
The war for all practical purposes was over when hostilities ended with a cease fire negotiated by the Americans, British, French, and Spanish in January 1783.[1] In New York, on June 19, British Brig. Gen. Samuel Birch wrote Commander-in-Chief Sir Guy Carleton that he had failed in his mission to locate and apprehend Capt. Cornelius […]
“Virginia Makes the Poorest Figure of Any State”: The Virginia Infantry at the Valley Forge Encampment, 1777-1778 by Joseph Lee Boyle (Clearfield, 2019) Joseph Lee Boyle is a man with a mission, one which his thirty-two years of service with the National Park Service has prepared him nicely for. The former park historian at one of […]
Given movies and television are the great American art form, the American Revolution has been poorly served by filmmakers. Though it was one of the most significant political upheavals in history, both mediums have largely ignored the nation’s founding. Those productions that have appeared have been, well, let’s be polite and say inconsistent. Yet in […]
In my study of Major General Charles Lee, who commanded Continental Army troops at the fascinating Battle of Monmouth Court House, I argue that his post-battle convictions for failing to attack the enemy and for an unwarranted retreat were unjustified. I further argue that most of the blame for the retreat should have fallen on […]
On this week’s Dispatches host Brady Crytzer interviews video producer and JAR contributor Bridget Barbara on her recent video following footsteps of John André and Benedict Arnold through the modern landscape. 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 […]
After nearly a quarter of a millennium, what do we really know about the militia and state troops that served during the Revolutionary War? Historians and researchers over the past century have dedicated entire volumes to addressing this question with numerous publications of militia rosters. While this research has proven invaluable, what does it really […]
