Year: 2024

 Lectures and Presentations Posted on

A Very Special Dispatches: Brady Crytzer on the Life and Legacy of Guyasuta

On this week’s Dispatches, host Brady Crytzer presents a talk he gave on the great Indigenous leader Guyasuta, who witnessed the fall of Indian America—when Native Peoples lost their political influence to determine the course of North American expansion. New episodes of Dispatches are available for free every Saturday evening (Eastern United States Time) on iTunes, […]

by Editors
Interviews Posted on

On This Week’s Dispatches: Robert E. Wright on Bankruptcies and the Break with Britain

On this week’s Dispatches, host Brady Crytzer interviews historian and economist Robert E. Wright on how Great Britain sought to prevent economic expansion in the colonies by squelching their trade and denying them control of their own monetary policies, leading to bankruptcies—a much more powerful incentive for independence than previously thought. New episodes of Dispatches […]

by Editors
2
Politics During the War (1775-1783) Posted on

The Mutiny of 1783: America’s Only Successful Insurrection

In June 1783, while a formal peace agreement was being negotiated in Paris, what British arms had not been able to accomplish was effectively achieved by the very soldiers who had sworn to protect and maintain the American government. A military insurrection unfolded on streets of the national capital of Philadelphia, the only successful insurrection […]

by Andrew A. Zellers-Frederick
Reviews Posted on

The Battle of Ridgefield

BOOK REVIEW: The Battle of Ridgefield by Keith Marshall Jones (Ridgefield, CT: Ridgefield Historical Society. $35.95 Paperback) The most recent text by Keith Marshall Jones titled, The Battle of Ridgefield, provides a great deal of detail in a well-researched narrative. The sources and documentation reflect wide reading and research by the author in assembling the […]

by Patrick H. Hannum
1
Economics Posted on

Cruel Bedlam: Bankruptcies and the Break with Britain

America will celebrate the Semiquincentennial anniversary of its independence from Great Britain in 2026. The causes of that world-changing event were many and complexly intertwined, so new conjectures unsurprisingly continue to emerge from the archival mists. Because disputed taxes were objectively light, the current consensus stresses a narrative rooted in ideas to explain why many […]

by Robert E. Wright
Interviews Posted on

This Week on Dispatches: Ray Raphael on Benjamin Franklin’s Greatest Fear

On this week’s Dispatches, host Brady Crytzer interviews JAR editor and distinguished historian Ray Raphael on his recent article about “kingly government,” Benjamin Franklin’s greatest fear for the new country. 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. […]

by Editors
Books and Publications Posted on

Spark of Independence—the Latest in the JAR Books Series, Now Available!

Michael Cecere’s latest book, Spark of Independence: The American Revolution in the Northern Colonies, 1775–1776 has been published. Mike is a long-time contributor to JAR, in addition to being an author, historian, and reenactor. Spark of Independence is the final volume of his Independence Trilogy, and is the latest in the JAR Books Series. Its […]

by Editors
Interviews Posted on

This Week on Dispatches: Glenn F. Williams on Dunmore’s War

On this week’s Dispatches, host Brady Crytzer presents a talk by historian and author Glenn F. Williams that he recorded on Saturday, November 2nd, 2024, at the Braddock’s Road Preservation Association Annual Seminar in Ligonier, Pennsylvania.  Williams discusses Dunmore’s War; he is introduced in this recording by BRPA Vice President David Preston. New episodes of […]

by Editors
Myths and Legends Posted on

Happy Halloween JAR Readers! Some Spooky Stories from the Revolutionary and Founding Eras

We asked our contributors for their favorite spooky stories from the 1765-1805 era. Here are the responses: Robert S. Davis Colonel John Dooly of Georgia was assassinated, killed, or murdered in his home while a prisoner of war on parole. That event has spurred numerous legends and stories. Was he killed in retaliation for Elijah […]

by Editors
Interviews Posted on

This Week on Dispatches: Tim Abbott on the Ordeal of Capt. Bezaleel Beebe’s Company

On this week’s Dispatches, host Brady Crytzer interviews JAR contributor Tim Abbott on the ordeal of Captain Bezaleel Beebe’s Company of Connecticut Levies who were captured after the battle of Fort Washington and imprisoned aboard a British prison hulk. New episodes of Dispatches are available for free every Saturday evening (Eastern United States Time) on iTunes, […]

by Editors
2
Leisure and Pastimes Posted on

The Athletic John Adams

It is not often that one comes across inspiration for research from a trading card. But sure enough, when this author came across a card produced by Topps featuring John Adams, he was inspired. The card, part of a set commemorating Presidential connections to the game of baseball, mentioned how Adams had mentioned playing a […]

by Jack Campbell
Interviews Posted on

This Week on Dispatches: Robert Guy on the Westmoreland Rangers

On this week’s Dispatches, host Brady Crytzer interviews JAR contributor Robert Guy on the service of western Pennsylvania’s Westmoreland Rangers, a volunteer rifle force, in Dunmore’s War and the American Revolution. 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 […]

by Editors
Interviews Posted on

This Week on Dispatches: Jude M. Pfister on George Washington and the Beginnings of American Law

On this week’s Dispatches, host Brady Crytzer interviews Morristown National Historical Park preservationist and JAR contributor  Jude M. Pfister about the fascinating role played by President George Washington in shaping American law and interpreting the US Constitution. New episodes of Dispatches are available for free every Saturday evening (Eastern United States Time) on iTunes, Stitcher, Google […]

by Editors
3
Critical Thinking Posted on

George Washington Confronts Charles Lee: Fresh Insights into the Mammoth Moment at Monmouth

George Washington’s confrontation with Maj. Gen. Charles Lee on a near hundred-degree afternoon, two miles west of Monmouth Courthouse on Sunday, June 28, 1778, ranks as one of the most iconic moments in battle during the Revolutionary War. It has been depicted in numerous paintings and sketches beginning in the 1800s, frequented Revolutionary War and […]

by Gary Ecelbarger
Reviews Posted on

Thomas Jefferson and the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom

BOOK REVIEW:Thomas Jefferson and the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom: Faith & Liberty in Fredericksburg by Michael Aubrecht (Charleston, SC: The History Press, 2024. $24.99 Paperback) While there are numerous scholarly assessments of Thomas Jefferson’s religious beliefs, few books have been devoted to his Virginia “Bill for Establishing Religious Freedom,” and none describe the drafting […]

by Gene Procknow
2
Prewar Politics (<1775) Posted on

The Exile of Thomas Hutchinson, Royal Governor of the Colony of Massachusetts

Most stories have a chief villain. The story of the American Revolution is no different. One man stands out amongst all the rest in the minds of Massachusetts revolutionary leaders. James Otis, Samuel Adams, and especially John Adams accused Thomas Hutchinson as being the architect of all the oppressive laws that were being passed by […]

by James M. Smith
Myths and Legends Posted on

A Special Halloween Episode of Dispatches! The Wizard Clip: A Frontier Ghost Story . . . .

On this week’s Dispatches, host Brady Crytzer tells the suspenseful tale of the “Wizard Clip” a famous ghost story of the colonial western frontier. 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 can now be easily accessed […]

by Editors
Interviews Posted on

This Week on Dispatches: Colin J. Wood on Benedict Arnold at Saratoga

On this week’s Dispatches, host Brady Crytzer interviews history student Colin J. Wood on a newly discovered letter that sheds light on Benedict Arnold’s performance at Saratoga. 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 can now […]

by Editors
1
People Posted on

The Indelible Caesar Rodney

In 1923, the State of Delaware erected a statue to one its most famous sons in Wilmington, Delaware. The statue to Caesar Rodney showed him on his now famous ride to break the tie between the members of Delaware’s delegation to the Second Continental Congress. Rodney’s eighty-mile ride from Dover to Philadelphia to cast a […]

by T. H. Leighty
2
Law Posted on

Guilty as Charged: Convicting Vermont’s First Governor

Transitioning from a complicated war footing to an organized civil society at the close of the Revolution proved every bit as difficult as the nation’s early leaders feared. Thirteen proud colonies surrendering aspects of their hard-fought independence in exchange for a new form of federal government generated significant hesitancy after the guns silenced. The placeholder […]

by Gary Shattuck
Interviews Posted on

This Week on Dispatches: Joseph Manca on Phillis Wheatley and Joseph Sewall

On this week’s Dispatches, host Brady Crytzer interviews historian Joseph Manca on the pre-Revolutionary advocacy of liberty by poet Phillis Wheatley and Rev. Joseph Sewall in Massachusetts. 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 can now […]

by Editors
5
People Posted on

German Soldier, American Rebel: Christopher Ludwick’s Pursuits of Happiness in Revolutionary Pennsylvania

Popular narratives of the American Revolution rank Christopher Ludwick, at best, among the extras in the imperial dramatis personae, a bit player who performed as honest gingerbread baker or amusingly spoke of himself in the third person.[1] Fortunately, his limited historiographical presence more seriously depicts him as superintendent of bakers for the Continental Army and […]

by Shawn David McGhee
Reviews Posted on

The Battles of Fort Watson and Fort Motte

BOOK REVIEW: The Battles of Fort Watson and Fort Mott 1781 (Small Battles Series) by Steven D. Smith (Yardley: Westholme Publishing, 2024. $28.00 hardcover.) Steven D. Smith provides an interesting perspective on a brief but important period of the Revolutionary War in the south. The author focuses on a four-week period, April 12 to May […]

by Patrick H. Hannum
9
The War Years (1775-1783) Posted on

Bacheller vs. Wilkinson: The Quest to Understand Benedict Arnold at Saratoga

The common viewpoint on Benedict Arnold’s role in the Battle of Bemis Heights on October 7, 1777 is based almost exclusively on the early nineteenth century testimony of James Wilkinson. That view holds that Arnold, after clashing with Gates over matters involving the Battle of Freeman’s Farm on September 19, was without a command on […]

by Colin J. Wood
Interviews Posted on

This Week on Dispatches: Jason R. Wickersty on British Reactions to the Battle of Long Island

On this week’s Dispatches, host Brady Crytzer interviews JAR contributor Jason R. Wickersty on the news in Great Britain about the Battle of Long Island. 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 can now be easily […]

by Editors
The War Years (1775-1783) Posted on

The Case of New Ireland—Not Meant to Be

Americans made repeated unsuccessful attempts during the Revolution to capture Canada and incorporate it into the nascent United States. The British, meanwhile, attempted to incorporate additional territory into Canada. This territory, though not yet part of the United States, would eventually become so. As such, this effort also failed. If that weren’t enough, as with […]

by Richard J. Werther
Reviews Posted on

Samuel Adams and the Vagabond Henry Tufts

BOOK REVIEW: Samuel Adams and the Vagabond Henry Tufts: Virtue Meets Vice in the Revolutionary Era by Nathaniel Parry (McFarland & Company, Inc., 2024. Paperback, $49.95) In Samuel Adams and the Vagabond Henry Tufts: Virtue Meets Vice in the Revolutionary Era, Nathaniel Parry highlights the criminal undertones of society during the Revolution and early national […]

by Kelly Mielke