Bite the Bullet: An Impressive Collection from the Mohawk Valley Campaign
byI recently attended the Third Annual Conference of the American Revolution Mohawk Valley Conference in Fort Plain, New York where I met an eighty-seven-year-old…
Reamstown Provides: A Pennsylvania Town’s Contribution to Valley Forge
byIn a cemetery behind the Salem United Church of Christ, in Reamstown, Lancaster County, a boulder stands: This grinding bowl from East Cocalico is…
Cornwallis and the autumn campaign of 1780 ― His advance from Camden to Charlotte
byAs events would prove, the autumn campaign was a very risky venture indeed, yet despite the operational difficulties attending it Cornwallis saw no option…
Contributor Close-up: Joshua Shepherd
byAbout Joshua Shepherd Joshua Shepherd, a sculptor and freelance writer, has created over 20 public monuments. His articles, with a special focus on Revolutionary…
7
10
Dunmore’s War: The Last Colonial Conflict of America’s Colonial Era
byBook review: Dunmore’s War: The Last Colonial Conflict of America’s Colonial Era by Glenn Williams (Westholme, 2017) [BUY NOW ON AMAZON] In 1763, King…
2
Offering of the Ladies: Esther Reed’s Sentiments, Washington’s Objections
byWashington, Jefferson, Adams, Madison, Franklin and, to a much greater extent, lesser notables such as Reed, Rush, Morris and dozens more profoundly understood what…
2
King George III’s Twitter War
byIn 1775 London was the largest, most prosperous and economically important city in the world. [1] Though it was Britain’s capital, politically and economically…
3
The Battle of Bennett’s Island: The New Jersey Site Rediscovered
byIt is not often the site of a Revolutionary War battle is rediscovered. It is even more unusual that the probable site is in…
Top 10 Articles of June 2017
byBefore we break for Independence Day, we want to extend a hearty welcome to several new writers who joined the JAR squad in June—Katie Turner…
3
Five Walkers of Sandy River
byThe conflict in the south is often referred to as a civil war, pitting family members against each other. I haven’t really found too…
5
The April 19, 1775 Civilian Evacuation of Lexington
by“This is My Little Girl That I Was So Afraid the Red Coats Would Get” One important aspect of the Battle of Lexington that…
Avenging Francis Bradley, the Mecklenburg Marksman: A Family Story
byAs I summarized in The ‘Battle at McIntire’s Farm’, on October 3, 1780 Lord Cornwallis sent Maj. John Doyle on a foraging party north…
From Yorktown to England ― Cornwallis’s fraught passage home
byBased preponderantly on The Cornwallis Papers,[1] this article describes in part Cornwallis’s last days in Virginia, his brief sojourn in New York, and events…
1
9
Theaters of the American Revolution: Northern, Middle, Southern, Western, Naval
byBook review: Theaters of the American Revolution: Northern, Middle, Southern, Western, Naval by James Kirby Martin, Mark Edward Lender, Edward G. Lengel, Charles Neimeyer, Jim…
6
The Scandalous Divorce Case that Influenced the Declaration of Independence
byDuring the hot, humid Philadelphia summer of 1776, the writing of the Declaration of Independence was just another Congressional housekeeping chore which the delegates…
3
Anti-Indian Radicalisation in the Early American West, 1774-1795
bySetting aside the question of whether or not the American Revolution was as radical as Gordon Wood famously argued that it was, at least…
2
Interview with Alexander Rose, the Author who Inspired TURN
byThe fourth and final season of the TV series TURN: Washington’s Spies premiers Saturday, June 17. We had the pleasure of interviewing Alexander Rose,…
4
James Abercrombie, much lamented victim of Friendly Fire at Bunker Hill
byBunker Hill is one of the best-known battles of the American Revolution, recognized by name even among those who know little about the war.[1]…
3
New JAR Book: The Invasion of Virginia 1781 by Michael Cecere
byWe are thrilled to announce that our newest JAR book—Invasion of Virginia, 1781 by Michael Cecere—is now available for sale. [BUY NOW ON AMAZON] …
Le Plus Détaillée: The July 1781 Reconnaissance of New York
byContinental Army general George Washington sat atop his horse ignoring the “smart skirmish” raging around him.[1] He could have joined his soldiers in attacking…
One famous, one forgotten: John Eager Howard and Patrick Duffey
byIn late November 1777, Col. William Grayson and a group of gentlemen gathered in a tavern near Whitemarsh, Pennsylvania, a mile and half in…
5
William Bingham: Forgotten Supplier of the American Revolution
byWilliam Bingham. Does the name sound familiar to you? Some of the readers of this journal will recognize it. For many others, including myself,…
1
Before the Bayonetting: The Untold Story of Capt. Samuel Whittemore
byCapt. Samuel Whittemore, a seventy-eight year old American farmer, became a legend on April 19, 1775 when he was shot in the face by…
4
Action At Sabbath Day Point,
March 20, 1777
by
Samuel MacKay The American invasion of Canada of 1775 failed during the following winter when the siege of Quebec City was raised by the…
For God and Country: The Intelligence Role of the Rev. John Vardill
byOn September 26, 1776, the Continental Congress appointed an official Commission to France. It was composed of Benjamin Franklin, Silas Deane and Arthur Lee….
Top Articles of May 2017
byLast call for Fort Plain Museum’s 2017 American Revolution Conference! The sign-up deadline has been extended to Tuesday, June 6. It was a busy…
5
9
Scars of Independence: America’s Violent Birth
byBook review: Scars of Independence: America’s Violent Birth by Holger Hoock (Crown, 2017) [BUY NOW ON AMAZON] Wars take an awful human toll, no…
8
We Have Sacrificed Our All
by“We Have Sacrificed Our All.” Thus, stated eleven loyalist officers from Ninety-Six and Camden Districts of South Carolina in a petition intended for the…
32
The South Carolina backcountry in mid 1780
byIts occupation by the British, the character of its inhabitants, and its flora, fauna and terrain Overall, I am of opinion that militarily the…
1
Benjamin Franklin: “Our Salvation depends on you”
byBenjamin Franklin was appointed an American Commissioner to France on September 26, 1776. [1] One month later he set sail for France where he…
8
The Setauket Raid – December 1777
byOn the 1st of December 1777 Colonel Samuel B. Webb noted in his journal,[1] … At Horseneck [Greenwich, CT]. This day my Regiment marched…
Contributor Close-up: Jeff Dacus
byAbout Jeff Dacus Jeff Dacus is a retired U.S. Marine. He presently lives in Vancouver, Washington where he teaches middle school U.S. History. He’s…
3
The 3rd New Jersey Regiment’s Plundering of Johnson Hall
byThe newly formed 3rd New Jersey Regiment, commanded by Col. Elias Dayton, was mustered into the Continental Army on May 2, 1776. It was…
1
“The Man Unmasked”: Henry Laurens, Egerton Leigh, and the Making of a Revolutionary
byHenry Laurens, one of colonial South Carolina’s wealthiest and most politically powerful planter-merchants, was a conservative by nature.[1] When the imperial crisis began to…
4
Unappreciated Allies: Choctaws, Creeks, and the Defense of British West Florida, 1781
byTwo months after Spain entered the American Revolutionary War on June 21, 1779, the governor of Spanish Louisiana, Don Bernardo de Galvez, launched an…
9
Thomas Jefferson — Revolutionary: A Radical’s Struggle to Remake America
byBook review: Thomas Jefferson—Revolutionary: A Radical’s Struggle to Remake America by Kevin R. C. Gutzman (St. Martin’s Press, 2017) [BUY NOW ON AMAZON] Few of…
The “Battle at McIntire’s Farm”: Joseph Graham as Historian of the Revolution
byOn September 25, 1780 as Lord Cornwallis entered North Carolina he was harassed by “a few light troops” commanded by Col. William R. Davie[1]…
3
How many troops did Cornwallis actually bring to the Battle of Guilford?
byA re-evaluation in the light of The Cornwallis Papers Works about the Revolutionary War are littered with references to troop numbers, whether to…
The American Gunners at Yorktown
byThe Siege of Yorktown began subsequent to the movement of about fifty thousand American and French soldiers and sailors to eastern Virginia, twenty-eight thousand…