Month: October 2020

Culture Posted on

Ten Patriot Soldier Gravesites

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 […]

by Damien Cregeau
Frontier Posted on

The Connolly Plot

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 […]

by Eric Sterner
Critical Thinking Posted on

Alexander Hamilton’s Missing Years: New Discoveries and Insights into the Little Lion’s Caribbean Childhood

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 […]

by Ruud Stelten and Alexandre Hinton
Features Posted on

The Trials of Allegiance

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 […]

by Ken Daigler
Features Posted on

This Week on Dispatches: John E. Happ on the Role of Pierre-Augustin Beaumarchais in American Independence

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. […]

by Editors
Culture Posted on

A Moonlighting British Army Surgeon

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 […]

by Gene Procknow
Features Posted on

This Week on Dispatches: Alex White on the Revolutionary Story of Thomas White

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 […]

by Editors
Historic Sites Posted on

The American Revolution in Alexandria, Virginia: Upheaval in George Washington’s Hometown

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 Kieran J. O'Keefe
Features Posted on

This Week on Dispatches: Robert Scott Davis on Margaret Eustace and the American Revolution

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 […]

by Editors
Features Posted on

“Virginia Makes the Poorest Figure of Any State”: The Virginia Infantry at the Valley Forge Encamplent, 1777–1778

“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 […]

by Michael Cecere
Law Posted on

Colonel Henry Jackson Accused by His Junior Officers of Misconduct at the Battle of Monmouth Court House

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 […]

by Christian McBurney
Audiovisual Posted on

This Week on Dispatches: Bridget Barbara on Retracing the Steps of Benedict Arnold and John André

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 […]

by Editors
Critical Thinking Posted on

A Demographic View of North Carolina Militia and State Troops, 1775–1783

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 […]

by Douglas R. Dorney, Jr.