All at Sea: Naval Support for the British Army During the American Revolution
byAll At Sea: Naval Support for the British Army During the American Revolutionary War by John Dillon. (Warwick, England: Helion & Company Limited, 2019) The…
1
The Most Unlucky Man: Patrick Ferguson’s Early Years
byInto a house at 333 High Street in what is now Edinburgh’s “Old Town” was born the strange adventurer Patrick Ferguson on June 4, 1744.[1] The…
5
African Americans in the American Revolution
byEditor’s note: Originally published in JAR in May 2013, this important article about the contribution of African Americans to our nation’s liberty was written…
This Week on Dispatches: Greg Aaron on Lord Dartmouth’s War of Words
byDispatches returns for another season, and on this week’s episode host Brady Crytzer interviews cybersecurity expert and JAR contributor Greg Aaron on Lord Dartmouth, Secretary of…
2
The British Naval Signals Missions of 1781
byRichard Peters’ letter of October 19, 1781, to Gen. George Washington mentioned two missions to obtain copies of certain British naval signals and convey…
Noble Volunteers: The British Soldiers Who Fought the American Revolution
byNoble Volunteers: The British Soldiers Who Fought the American Revolution by Don Hagist. Foreword by Rick Atkinson. (Yardley, PA: Westholme Publishing, 2020) Back in the…
1
Congress’s “Committee on Spies” and the Court-Martial Policies of General Washington
byIn the weeks before it declared independence, the Continental Congress was already hard at work building the institutions it would need to maintain the…
The Finalists for the 2020 JAR Book-of-the-Year Award
byThe pandemic of 2020 caused disruption and delays in the publishing industry just as it did to so many other facets of the global…
2
Plight of the Seamen: Incarceration, Escape, or Secured Freedom
byDuring the Revolutionary War, the British were particularly sensitive to challenges to their maritime sovereignty. Members of the Continental Navy, states’ navy sailors or…
Contributor Question: My Favorite Year
byWith the start of a new year, this month we asked our contributors: Which year of the American Revolution and the founding era (circa…
James Lovell: Schoolteacher, Prisoner, Patriot
byJames Lovell, delegate from Massachusetts to the Second Continental Congress and the Confederation Congress from 1777 to 1782, the only member of Congress to…
6
Fourteenth Colony: The Forgotten Story of the Gulf South During America’s Revolutionary Era
byFourteenth Colony: The Forgotten Story of the Gulf South During America’s Revolutionary Era by Mike Bunn. (Montgomery, AL: NewSouth Books, 2020) In Fourteenth Colony, Mike…
Best of Dispatches: Colin G. Calloway and The Indian World of George Washington
byIn this week’s program from the Dispatches archives, recorded in February 2019, host Brady Crytzer interviews distinguished historian Colin G. Calloway about his book, The Indian…
5
Ethan Allen’s “Motley Parcel of Soldiery” at Montreal
byWhen Ethan Allen described his defeat and capture outside Montreal at Longue Pointe on September 25, 1775, he observed that “it was a motley…
1
Texas and the American Revolution
byIn discussions on the American Revolutionary War, the contributions of Texas are seldom brought up.[1] But in the 1770s, Texas, inhabited by Spaniards and…
Best of Dispatches: Michael W. Twitty on the Legacy of African American Cuisine
byOver the next several weeks, we’ll be looking back in the Dispatches archives to replay a selection of notable interviews. In this episode, first…
18
Christmas Night, 1776: How Did They Cross?
byEditors Note: We first published this article on this date two years ago, but because it is such a good piece and we have…
4
“The Devil at the Helm:” A Quote that Went Astray
byJohn Marshall Deane was a soldier in the 1st Regiment of Foot Guards, among the oldest established regiments of the British army, in March…
2
The Mount Vernon Slave Who Made Good: The Mystery of William Costin
byWilliam “Will” Costin was found dead in his own bed on the morning of May 31, 1842. Washington City’s leading newspaper, the Daily National…
1
John Haslet’s World: An Ardent Patriot, the Delaware Blues, and the Spirit of 1776
byJohn Haslet’s World: An Ardent Patriot, the Delaware Blues, and the Spirit of 1776 by David Price. (Nashville, TN: Knox Press, 2020) “‘Noted for his…
This Week on Dispatches: Don N. Hagist on His Latest Book, Noble Volunteers
byOn this week’s Dispatches host Brady Crytzer interviews historian and Journal of the American Revolution editor-in-chief, Don N. Hagist on his latest book, Noble Volunteers:…
Women of Revolutionary War Georgia
byThe September 3, 2020 issue of the Journal of the American Revolution published “Margaret Eustace and Her Family Pass Through the American Revolution.” Margaret Eustace, the…
Captives of Liberty: Prisoners of War and the Politics of Vengeance in the American Revolution
byCaptives of Liberty: Prisoners of War and the Politics of Vengeance in the American Revolution by T. Cole Jones (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2020)…
8
Ten Graves of Patriot Spies
bySpies. They lived in the shadows playing a very dangerous, life-or-death game while they served in various roles of espionage for the patriot cause…
2
Contributor Question: What is Your Favorite Beverage of the Revolutionary Era?
byThis month, we asked our contributors: With many different holidays and celebrations approaching, what is your favorite beverage known to have been consumed during…
This Week on Dispatches: Kevin A. Conn on the Remarkable Career of Loyalist Soldier and Spy James Moody
byOn this week’s Dispatches host Brady Crytzer interviews AP History teacher and JAR contributor Kevin A. Conn on the remarkable career of New Jersey Loyalist…
2
The Revolutionary Language and Behavior of the Whiskey Rebels
byThe image of a nation united in the aftermath of the American Revolution, content with hard-fought for and hard-won independence, is largely a grade…
1
Yellow Fever and Church Attendance
byJohn Adams was certain he made a mistake by going to church. Philadelphia’s yellow fever outbreak only ended in November 1793. On Sunday, December…
1
9
The Colonists’ American Revolution: Preserving English Liberty, 1607–1783
byThe Colonists’ American Revolution: Preserving English Liberty, 1607-1783, by Guy Chet (Hoboken, NJ: Wiley Blackwell, 2020) To my way of thinking, when we try…
This Week on Dispatches: Ken Daigler on Nathanael Greene and His Spy Network
byOn this week’s Dispatches host Brady Crytzer interviews espionage expert, former CIA operations officer, and JAR contributor Ken Daigler on General Nathanael Greene and his…
3
La Petite Guerre and American Indian Irregular Warfare: Siblings, But Not Twins
byWhen the major European powers began to use light troops in the mid-eighteenth century, they typically employed them in a manner of war that…
1
William Allen and His Family: Tories or Patriots?
byCommon wisdom paints William Allen, a wealthy and prominent Pennsylvanian, as a traitor to the cause of American independence. As the revolution grew, the…
Biographical Sketches of Royal Militia Commanders in the South Carolina Mid- and Lowcountry, North Carolina, and Georgia, 1780–82
byIntroduction This article supplements one relating to royal militia commanders in the South Carolina Backcountry that appeared in the Journal of the American Revolution…
3
Biographical Sketches of Royal Militia Commanders in the South Carolina Backcountry, 1780–82
byIntroduction After the British capture of Charlestown in mid May 1780 the Crown hoped to raise substantial numbers of militia not only to maintain…
This Week on Dispatches: Joseph E. Wroblewski on John Paul Jones and Thaddeus Kosciuszko in Warsaw, 1789
byOn this week’s Dispatches host Brady Crytzer interviews JAR contributor Joseph E. Wroblewski about the chance encounter of two legendary figures of American independence, John…
Cicero and the American Revolution
byDespite Cicero’s significant reputation and widespread readership, little scholarship has focused upon Cicero’s reputation and oratorical practices’ influence upon the Founding Generation. Once Cicero…
4
7
Occupied America: British Military Rule and the Experience of Revolution
byOccupied America: British Military Rule and the Experience of Revolution by Donald F. Johnson (Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2020) Several cities in Revolutionary…
1
Contingencies, Capture, and Spectacular Getaway: the Imprisonment and Escape of James Moody
byOne of the most famous or notorious of Tory partisans in the American Revolution was the New Jersey soldier and spy James Moody. Moody…
The Aborted Virginia Campaign and Its Aftermath, May to August 1781
byLt. General Earl Cornwallis, the British general officer commanding in the south, arrived at Petersburg in the morning of May 20, 1781, having marched…