2020 - Page 5 of 7 - Journal of the American Revolution

Arts & Literature Posted on May 27, 2020May 18, 2020

An Interview with Eliot Pattison, Author of the Bone Rattler Series

Author Eliot Pattison’s new book is The King’s Beast: A Mystery of the American Revolution (Counterpoint, 2020), sixth in his Bone Rattler series set in Revolutionary America. We asked the author about his historical novel and the research behind it. The entire Bone Rattler Series takes place around the era of the American Revolution. What drives […]

by Editors

Critical Thinking Posted on May 26, 2020May 21, 2020

Presidential Power: Thomas Paine, Thomas Jefferson, and the Louisiana Purchase

In 1813, Thomas Jefferson received a letter from Marguerite Brazier Bonneville, a French emigre and Thomas Paine’s former caretaker. Bonneville asked the former president if she could publish Paine and Jefferson’s correspondence. Paine had left most of his estate including all of his personal papers to her in his will when he died in 1809. […]

by Jett Conner

Journals Posted on May 25, 2020May 20, 2020

Memorial Day: Recovering the Service of William Tiller, American Soldier

Every now and then, one comes across a pension application of an old soldier that includes extraordinary detail. Occasionally the application includes a journal or memoir, as in the case of Connecticut’s Isaac Grant or Virginia’s William Tiller. Tiller’s journal is full of detail, but unfortunately few muster rolls for his regiment exist, making certain […]

by Michael J. F. Sheehan

Audiovisual Posted on May 25, 2020May 23, 2020

The Sisters’ Revolutionary Secret

From 1952 until 1967, a popular American television show featured a panel of celebrities trying to guess a secret about a non-celebrity guest. The guest’s secret might be a remarkable or unusual talent, achievement or other attribute. On April 26, 1961, the show hosted Delia and Bertie Harris, sisters from Knoxville, Tennessee.[1] They were both […]

by Don N. Hagist

Features Posted on May 24, 2020

This Week on Dispatches: Matthew Reardon on the Whaleboat Wars on the Connecticut River

On this week’s Dispatches host Brady Crytzer interviews history teacher and JAR contributor Matthew Reardon on the Loyalist raid up the Connecticut River in 1782 when the war was essentially over. The Connecticut coastline was contested for the duration of the American Revolution in what is called the “whaleboat wars.” Thousands of readers like you enjoy the […]

by Editors

Arts & Literature Posted on May 21, 2020May 26, 2020

It’s in the Details: A Recently Identified View of Boston

The exceedingly rare mezzotint of His Excellency George Washington Esqr (above) listed by Charles Hart as no. 1 in his Catalogue of the Engraved Portraits of Washington, a seminal work published in 1904, has long been considered by collectors as the most prized of all the portraits of Washington. Among other reasons, it is the first engraved […]

by Bettina A. Norton

Features Posted on May 20, 2020May 21, 2020

George Washington’s Nemesis

George Washington’s Nemesis: The Outrageous Treason and Unfair Court-Martial of Major General Charles Lee during the Revolutionary War by Christian McBurney (El Dorado Hills, CA: Savas Beatie, 2019) It is interesting that popular culture can effectively present an inaccurate version of history. Paul Revere sent the misleading picture of Capt. Thomas Preston ordering his forces to […]

by Timothy Symington

War at Sea and Waterways (1775–1783) Posted on May 19, 2020May 19, 2020

Blue Mountain Valley and the Rise of Lord Stirling

“A Most Dreadful Voyage” was how the captain of British supply ship Blue Mountain Valley described his mission to North America in the fall and winter of 1775–1776. The ship’s young Scottish captain, James Dempster, was an experienced merchant sailor with voyages to China, India, and the West Indies.[1] The mission Dempster embarked on when Blue […]

by Eric Wiser

People Posted on May 18, 2020May 11, 2020

Orders Issued by Benedict Arnold, Commander-in-Chief, to the Captain of the Liberty

Just weeks after war broke out at Lexington and Concord, Ethan Allen and Benedict Arnold, working in grudging consort,captured Fort Ticonderoga on Lake Champlain, as well as the settlement of Skenesborough (now Whitehall) at the southern end of the lake. Under orders from Arnold, Eleazer Oswald also captured a small vessel there. Oswald reported: “We […]

by C. E. Pippenger

Features Posted on May 17, 2020

This Week on Dispatches: George Kotlik on the British Invasion of the Bahamas

On this week’s Dispatches host Brady Crytzer interviews historian and JAR contributor George Kotlik on the British invasion of Spanish Bahamas at the close of the American Revolution. 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 to the writing in […]

by Editors

Critical Thinking Posted on May 14, 2020May 11, 2020

Thomas Jefferson and the Public Benefits of Epidemics

An epidemic that violently attacks public health—that sickens and takes lives; that cripples our economy; that forces us into our homes; that turns cities into ghost towns—may be unprecedented to the present generation of Americans, but was as commonplace to the Revolutionary generation as was revolution itself. The War of Independence, Shays’ Rebellion, the French […]

by Geoff Smock

Frontier Posted on May 13, 2020May 11, 2020

Casimir Pulaski and the Threat to the Upper Delaware River Valley

If January and February 1778 was Brig. Gen. Casimir Pulaski’s “Winter of his Discontent,”[1] then October through December 1778 was his “Autumn of Despair.” Following what has been called the “Massacre of the Pulaski Legion” at Egg Harbor, New Jersey, on October 15, 1778,[2] the Legion returned to Trenton, awaiting orders. On October 26, Pulaski […]

by Joseph E. Wroblewski

Features Posted on May 12, 2020May 11, 2020

Top Ten Demolished Houses of Revolutionary War-Era Connecticut

This story is the unfortunate flip side of “Top Ten Revolutionary War Patriot Homes in Connecticut”: the most significant Connecticut houses demolished in the 1800s or 1900s. Not included, of course, are the plethora of homes burned by the British in their raids on the Connecticut coast, including New Haven and Fairfield, in July 1779; […]

by Damien Cregeau

Features Posted on May 11, 2020May 10, 2020

The Rebel and the Tory: Ethan Allen, Philip Skene, and the Dawn of Vermont

The Rebel and the Tory: Ethan Allen, Philip Skene, and the Dawn of Vermont by John J. Duff, H. Nicholas Muller III, and Gary G. Shattuck (Vermont Historical Society: Barre, VT, 2020) Every polity requires a founding saga to help form its societal identity. Oft recounted, Vermont’s foundation story starts with a group of democratic, yeoman […]

by Gene Procknow

Battles Posted on May 9, 2020May 9, 2020

This Week on Dispatches: Stephen John Katzberg on Mapping the Battle of Eutaw Springs

On this week’s Dispatches host Brady Crytzer speaks with electrical engineer and JAR contributor Stephen John Katzberg on the significance of the Battle of Eutaw Springs, South Carolina. During his research he applied geographical information systems (GIS) to correct the famous 1822 map of the battle produced by William Johnson. Thousands of readers like you enjoy the […]

by Editors

Diplomacy Posted on May 7, 2020May 7, 2020

Revolutionary Revenge on Hudson Bay, 1782

French naval officer La Pérouse (Jean Francois de Galaup, Comte de la Pérouse) was one of many who actively supported the American Patriots in their war for independence from Britain. La Pérouse’s assignments included patrolling the North Atlantic where he directed the capture of numerous British merchant vessels.[1] His early 1781 outbound voyage from France […]

by Merv O. Ahrens

Features Posted on May 6, 2020May 5, 2020

Supporting American Revolution History

Restrictions on travel and gather due to the coronavirus pandemic have had a significant impact on historic sites and institutions dedicated to the American Revolution. We asked our contributors to recommend sites and organizations for our readers to consider supporting. The list is in the order received. Brady J. Crytzer Historic Hanna’s Town, Greensburg, PA: […]

by Editors

Loyalists Posted on May 5, 2020May 4, 2020

General Charles Lee Imposes Oaths of Allegiance on Newport Tories, 1775

Major General Charles Lee visited Newport, Rhode Island, in late December 1775, where he—controversially—insisted that local Loyalists take an oath of allegiance to the Continental Congress. This approach, and a similar one he took in New York City shortly thereafter, created concern in Congress on how best to handle Loyalists. But by mid-1778, Lee had changed […]

by Christian McBurney

Features Posted on May 3, 2020May 3, 2020

This Week on Dispatches: Eric Sterner on the Siege of Fort Henry

On this week’s Dispatches host Brady Crytzer interviews JAR contributor and writer Eric Sterner on the Siege of Fort Henry on the Virginia frontier in 1782. The siege is notable for the bravery of Elizabeth “Betty” Zane, who risked her life to bring much needed gunpowder back to the fort. Thousands of readers like you enjoy the […]

by Editors

People Posted on April 30, 2020April 27, 2020

Fending Chaos: The Early Years of Rufus King, Forgotten Founder

There are many ways to reach Jamaica, Queens, via public transit. From Brooklyn or Manhattan one could catch a Queens-bound F Train and remain aboard until getting off at Parsons Boulevard near the end of the line. Hundreds of thousands of commuters pass through Jamaica every day, either on the F Train, via the many […]

by Keith Muchowski

Features Posted on April 29, 2020April 27, 2020

1774: The Long Year of Revolution

1774: The Long Year of Revolution by Mary Beth Norton (Knopf, 2020) Although previous works have tried to draw attention to “The Missing 16 Months” between the Boston Tea Party in December of 1773 and the Battle of Lexington and Concord in April of 1775, Cornell history professor Mary Beth Norton argues in her latest […]

by Alec D. Rogers

People Posted on April 28, 2020April 28, 2020

Cornwallis and the Winter Campaign, January to April 1781

Leaving Colonel Francis Lord Rawdon to command in the field from Georgetown to Augusta, Lt. Gen. Charles Earl Cornwallis, the British General Officer Commanding in the South, marched from Winnsborough, South Carolina on January 8, 1781 at the start of his second campaign to conquer North Carolina.[1] With him were 1,147 rank and file present […]

by Ian Saberton

Features Posted on April 25, 2020April 25, 2020

This Week on Dispatches: Patrick Naughton on Information Control and the Battles of Lexington and Concord

On this week’s Dispatches host Brady Crytzer interviews active US Army Major and JAR contributor Patrick Naughton on the narrative created by the Provincial Congress following the events at Lexington and Concord in order to control the message about the American rebellion and the initial British response. Thousands of readers like you enjoy the articles published […]

by Editors

Patriots Posted on April 23, 2020April 21, 2020

Lost Patriots in the Grimké Files

Buried within the papers of Lt. Col. John F. Grimké are names of hundreds of artillerymen who fought in the 4th South Carolina Regiment of Artillery during the American Revolution. Most of the men can be found in well-known military records or other revolutionary sources and are hailed as Patriots. For fifty-four, however, the Grimké […]

by Patricia Marker Hinton

Illness and Disease Posted on April 22, 2020April 21, 2020

Outbreak! New York, 1779

“The number of sick increasing every day, in all the different Camps of the army,” wrote Capt. John Peebles in his diary on September 5, 1779.[1] Encamped on Manhattan Island eight miles north of the city of New York, at the time rural farmland, the army was beginning to suffer from the consequences of an […]

by Don N. Hagist

Historic Sites Posted on April 21, 2020April 20, 2020

Stony Point: The Second Occupation, July–October 1779

Gen. George Washington, commander-in-chief of the Continental Army, arrived at the American defenses at West Point “very much fatigued.” He had ridden one his two beloved mounts, either Nelson or Blueskin, nearly fourteen miles over rugged hills. It was late afternoon on July 19, 1779, and Washington was just getting settled after “returning from Stony […]

by Michael J. F. Sheehan

Features Posted on April 18, 2020April 18, 2020

This Week on Dispatches: Andrew Zellers-Frederick on the Military Occupation of Easton

On this week’s Dispatches host Brady Crytzer interviews historian and JAR contributor Andrew Zellers-Frederick on the 0ccupation of Easton, Pennsylvania, by Continental forces gathering for the 1779 invasion of Iroquois territory in New York in order to quell Indian and Tory attacks along the New York and Pennsylvania frontiers. Thousands of readers like you enjoy the […]

by Editors

Historic Sites Posted on April 16, 2020April 16, 2020

Washington’s Head of Elk Reconnaissance: A New Letter (and and Old Receipt)

The Philadelphia Campaign of 1777 took definitive shape when Gen. William Howe successfully landed his 16,000 officers and men near Head of Elk (now Elkton), Maryland, on August 25, 1777, the very day that Washington set up his headquarters at a house atop Quaker Hill in the southwestern portion of Wilmington, Delaware, while his advanced […]

by Gary Ecelbarger

Myths and Legends Posted on April 15, 2020April 12, 2020

The Fighting Parson’s Farewell Sermon

The history of the American Revolution is rife with heroic tales and amazing myths of patriotic American heroes that offer inspiring and entertaining stories. Sadly however, many of these stories have little basis in fact or documentation to support their occurrence. Some are completely fabricated while others are the result of misreported or misunderstood accounts. […]

by Michael Cecere

Loyalists Posted on April 14, 2020April 12, 2020

Attack up the Connecticut River: The First British Raid on Essex

By April 1782, the war in America was supposed to be over. It had been nearly six months since Lord Cornwallis surrendered his army to Generals Washington and Rochambeau at Yorktown. The previous February, the British Parliament had voted to stop funding the war. Peace negotiations between British and American representatives had begun in Paris. […]

by Matthew Reardon

Features Posted on April 12, 2020

This Week on Dispatches: Justin McHenry on John Morgan, William Shippen, and the Fate of the Continental Medical Department

On this week’s Dispatches host Brady Crytzer interviews archivist and JAR contributor Justin McHenry about the heated rivalry between John Morgan and William Shippen over control of the Continental Medical Department. Their professional feud provides an insight into the petty politics and personalities that were as much a part of the Revolutionary era as the great decision […]

by Editors

Espionage and Cryptography Posted on April 9, 2020April 8, 2020

Scouting the American Revolution: The French Intelligence Community

We often hear about intelligence activities which take place during times of war. Having good intelligence is indeed critical to military and diplomatic success. But there is also intelligence work that goes into the decision to enter a war in the first place, either as a primary combatant or as a participant in an alliance. […]

by Richard J. Werther

Features Posted on April 8, 2020April 6, 2020

Welcome to my Podcast!

With our popular podcast Dispatches now in its second year, we asked our contributors a whimsical question: Which person from the American Revolution and the founding era would you like to hear give a podcast, and on what topic? The responses reflect the range of interests of our readers, and how much remains unknown about this […]

by Editors

Battles Posted on April 7, 2020April 7, 2020

What They Saw and Did at Yorktown’s Redoubts 9 and 10

Receiving orders from Sir Henry Clinton, British commander in chief in North America, Lt. Gen. Charles Cornwallis led his troops to a position between Virginia’s York and James Rivers. On August 1, 1781 his army started building earthworks with both ends anchored on the York River. American Maj. Gen. Marquis de Lafayette, possibly alerted by […]

by Kim Burdick

Features Posted on April 4, 2020April 4, 2020

This Week on Dispatches: Brian Patrick O’Malley on Philadelphia’s Yellow Fever Epidemic

On this week’s Dispatches host Brady Crytzer interviews JAR contributor Brian Patrick O’Malley on the social and medical response to the Yellow Fever epidemic that ravaged Philadelphia in 1793 and how the city and community ultimately prevailed. Thousands of readers like you enjoy the articles published by the Journal of the American Revolution. Dispatches is a free […]

by Editors

Battles Posted on April 2, 2020April 2, 2020

The British Invasion of the Bahamas, 1783: One of the Final Actions of the American Revolution

Tucked away in a small corner of history and buried deep beneath mountains of text lie brief mentions of the British invasion of the Bahamas in 1783.[1] As far as major battles are concerned, it does not make the list. It was not really a battle at all. Action is the more appropriate word. Whatever word […]

by George Kotlik

Interviews Posted on April 1, 2020March 31, 2020

“Revolution Road” on the Dave Nemo Show to Air this Friday for Free

SiriusXM Radio announced today that they will be offering their programs for free through May 15. This means JAR readers who don’t have a SiriusXM radio subscription can hear the monthly program, Revolution Road, featuring JAR contributors interviewed by legendary radio host David Nemo. Revolution Road with guests provided by JAR has been a regular […]

by Editors

Diplomacy Posted on March 31, 2020March 30, 2020

An Economist’s Solution to the War: Adam Smith and the Rebelling Colonies

Adam Smith, considered by many to be the Father of Modern Economics, was born in Kirkcaldy, Scotland, on June 16, 1723. His father, also Adam Smith, was a senior solicitor and judge advocate; his mother, Margaret Douglas, was the daughter of a well-landed gentleman. Smith entered the University of Glasgow when he was fourteen years […]

by Bob Ruppert

Features Posted on March 28, 2020March 28, 2020

This Week on Dispatches: Patrick H. Hannum on Lord Dunmore’s Proclamation

On this week’s Dispatches host Brady Crytzer interviews military veteran and history professor Patrick H. Hannum on Lord Dunmore’s proclamation to emancipate slaves who joined the British military. 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 to the writing in […]

by Editors

Year: 2020