Month: December 2022

2
Diplomacy Posted on

How the (First) West Was Won: Federalist Treaties that Reshaped the Frontier

From November 1794 to October 1795, President George Washington’s administration brokered three separate treaties with Britain, Spain, and the Confederated Tribes of the Ohio Country. Besides establishing America’s place on the global stage, these treaties served to fundamentally alter the fortunes of the nation’s western frontier. Since the era of the Seven Years War, the […]

by Brady J. Crytzer
7
People Posted on

American Generals of the Revolutionary War: Who Lived Longest and Who Died Youngest

Which American generals lived the longest? Which generals died the youngest? Some generals had quite a long life while others died young and in their prime. Here’s what I discovered regarding the longevity (and lack of longevity) of some of the Revolutionary War generals on the American side. Which American Revolutionary War general lived the […]

by Daniel J. Tortora
3
Clothing and Uniforms Posted on

Reframing George Washington’s Clothing at the Second Continental Congress

Dressed in defiance, Col. George Washington arrived at each session of the Second Continental Congress donning a new buff and blue uniform he helped design with fellow Virginian George Mason.[1] Washington, a staunch but cautious Whig, fully embraced the American cause and, incredibly, his military exploits from the French and Indian War roughly two decades […]

by Shawn David McGhee
Historic Sites Posted on

This Week on Dispatches: Michael Cecere on the French Army in Williamsburg

On this week’s Dispatches, host Brady Crytzer interviews author, historian, and JAR contributor Michael Cecere on the French occupation of Williamsburg, Virginia, after the British abandoned the city in 1781. New episodes of Dispatches are available for free every Saturday evening (Eastern United States Time) on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, Amazon Music, and the JAR Dispatches web site. Dispatches […]

by Editors
10
Frontier Posted on

A Misguided Attempt to Populate Upper Canada with Loyalists after the Revolution

Following the American Revolution, and to achieve a more appropriate governing climate, the British Parliament issued the Constitutional Act of 1791 which created, out of a single province, “two separate Canadas, each having a representative government with an elected assembly of its own.” The French-speaking sector became known as Lower Canada while the English-speaking sector […]

by Marvin L. Simner
2
Autobiography and Biography Posted on

The Revolutionary: Samuel Adams

BOOK REVIEW: The Revolutionary: Samuel Adams by Stacy Schiff (Little, Brown and Company, 2022) Stacy Schiff, who previously authored an acclaimed book on the Salem witch trials, The Witches: Salem, 1692 (2015), has written an excellent biography of who Thomas Jefferson referred to as the “man of the Revolution,” Samuel Adams. The Revolutionary: Samuel Adams focuses on the activities […]

by Timothy Symington
2
Conflict & War Posted on

The First Four Days at Valley Forge

The following timeline narrative attempts to unite previously disjointed events and occurrences regarding the first four days of the Continental army’s six-month stay at Valley Forge in Pennsylvania. For clarification purposes, all references to “Valley Forge” are for the winter cantonment and not the iron forge on Valley Creek for which the encampment was named. Temperatures […]

by Gary Ecelbarger
Memorials Posted on

The Benedict Family of Salem, New York

David Williams was one of the three New York State Militiamen who captured Major John André on September 23, 1780.[1] In June 1780, Williams left his father’s farm in Tarrytown, crossed the Croton River, and moved out of the neutral zone between British and American forces into the northern part of Westchester County. By this time […]

by Victor J. DiSanto
Books and Publications Posted on

This Week on Dispatches: Jett Conner on the Evolution of Thomas Paine’s Thoughts on Democracy

On this week’s Dispatches, host Brady Crytzer interviews  political scientist and JAR contributor Jett Conner on how Thomas Paine, once opposed to some of John Adams’s criticisms of his ideas about democracy, ultimately came to agree with Adams on some key points. New episodes of Dispatches are available for free every Saturday evening (Eastern United States […]

by Editors
1
Books and Publications Posted on

Charles Lee—The Continental Army’s Most Prolific Essayist General

Maj. Gen. Charles Lee’s substantial literary contributions to the American independence movement have been overshadowed by his challenging Gen. George Washington for Continental Army leadership and the 1860 discovery of a potentially treasonous document.[1] Initially, Revolutionary Era Americans viewed Charles Lee as a highly accomplished military officer and a learned scholar and admired his ardently-argued […]

by Gene Procknow