Month: February 2026

 Politics During the War (1775-1783) Posted on

Reluctant Ally: The Dutch Republic and the American Revolution

Understanding the important role played by the Dutch Republic[1] in the American Revolution is challenging. Few scholarly books and articles provide substantive details, and the role of the Dutch Republic is rarely adequately addressed in general histories of the period.[2] Nonetheless, the Dutch did play an important role—albeit a reluctant one—in aiding the united American […]

by Nicholas R. Marsella
Reviews Posted on

Siege: The Canadian Campaign in the American Revolution, 1775-1776

BOOK REVIEW: Siege: The Canadian Campaign in the American Revolution, 1775-1776 by Donald Grady Shomette (Heritage Books, 2025) Two volumes, paperback, $77.00 In its first year, the American Revolution was unstoppable. The outbreak of war at Lexington and Concord was followed by the capture of Fort Ticonderoga and victories at Moore’s Creek Bridge (North Carolina), […]

by Gabriel Neville
3
The War Years (1775-1783) Posted on

The Sieges of Fort Morris, Georgia

The two sieges of Fort Morris have remained comparatively obscure events in the historiography of the 1778 British invasion of Georgia. Overshadowed by the larger-scale capture of Savannah, the sieges were nonetheless impactful events in the intensifying war in the southern states. With the eventual surrender of the fort, the British army and navy consolidated […]

by Douglas R. Dorney, Jr.
7
Critical Thinking Posted on

The Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence: The Present Status of the Controversy

May 2025 will bring the 250th anniversary of a unique if obscure Revolutionary war event in Charlotte, North Carolina: the much beloved, much maligned, “first” declaration of independence in the American colonies: the Mecklenburg Declaration of May 20, 1775 (or “MeckDec” as the locals call it). The MeckDec tale and associated celebrations have ebbed and […]

by Scott Syfert
1
Prisoners of War Posted on

The Monmouth County Gaol and the Jailbreak of February 1781

As the Revolutionary War began, the fledgling Continental and state governments were faced the huge burden of holding and provisioning thousands of captured enemy soldiers and insurgent Loyalists. In 1776, prisons were improvised across the states—with the infamous Simsbury Mine in Connecticut as the most notable example.[1] By the end of the year, a chain […]

by Michael Adelberg
Reviews Posted on

The Home Front: Revolutionary Households, Military Occupation, and the Making of American Independence

BOOK REVIEW: The Home Front: Revolutionary Households, Military Occupation, and the Making of American Independence by Lauren Duval (Charlotte: University of North Carolina Press) $45.00 hardcover The Home Front by Lauren Duval, published by the Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture in conjunction with the University of North Carolina Press, offers a comprehensive […]

by Nichole Louise