The Tory’s Wife: A Woman and Her Family in Revolutionary America
byBOOK REVIEW: The Tory’s Wife: A Woman and Her Family in Revolutionary America by Cynthia Kierner (University of Virginia Press, 2023) Linda K. Kerber’s Women…
Margaret (Montcrieffe) Coghlan: The Making of Her Memoirs (Part Two of Two)
byMargaret Moncrieffe Coghlan was many things—the privileged daughter of a highly-regarded British Army officer who served in North America, an alleged British spy, hapless…
Margaret (Moncrieffe) Coghlan: The Descent from Riches to Rags (Part One of Two)
byIn 1805, Margaret (Moncrieffe) Coghlan’s options were running out. For more than a decade, she had been back and forth to the King’s Bench…
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The Perfidious Benjamin Church and Paul Revere
byFor many years Paul Revere was not prominent in the history of the Revolutionary War. Extremely versatile, he was a Massachusetts militia officer and…
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Ten Crucial Days, Five Crucial Factors
byThe “Ten Crucial Days” winter campaign of 1776-1777 reversed the tide of war just when Washington’s army appeared near collapse. Beginning with the Christmas…
Prisoners of Congress: Philadelphia’s Quakers in Exile, 1777–1778
byBOOK REVIEW: Prisoners of Congress: Philadelphia’s Quakers in Exile, 1777-1778 by Norman E. Donoghue II. )Penn State University Press 2023) This carefully researched book…
Smallpox Threatens an American Privateer at Sea
byTwo important books in the twenty-first century have focused on the impact of terrifying smallpox contagions on the American Revolutionary War.[1] Understandably, most of…
This Week on Dispatches: William H. J. Manthorpe on the Dewees Family
byOn this week’s Dispatches, host Brady Crytzer interviews JAR contributor William H. J. Manthorpe on the Dewees family and their contributions to the Patriot cause….
United for Independence: The American Revolution in the Middle Colonies, 1775–1776
byBOOK REVIEW: United for Independence: The American Revolution in the Middle Colonies, 1775-1776 by Michael Cecere (Yardley, Pa.: Westholme, 2023) In the American Revolutionary War,…
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Black Soldiers of Liberty
byEstimates have appeared in print for generations that 3,000 to 5,000 Black soldiers served in the American military in the Revolution. These claims seldom…
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At Ease: Baron von Steuben’s Final Resting Place
byFriedrich Wilhelm von Steuben, more commonly known as Baron von Steuben, served as a military officer in both the Prussian and American armies. He…
Father and Son: Patriots Who Gave Their All
byWilliam Mehls Dewees (1711-1777) The “Father” of this history is William M. Dewees. He was the son of William Dewees of Germantown (1680-1745), “the…
This Week on Dispatches: Eric Wiser on the Abraham Clark and William Livingston Rivalry
byOn this week’s Dispatches, host Brady Crytzer interviews JAR contributor Eric Wiser on the bitter political rivalry between Abraham Clark and William Livingston. New episodes…
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A Frog Feast
byLet’s admit it. Most of us have used or have heard the word “frog” as a derogatory term to refer to the French. But…
The Charles Asgill Affair: Setting the Record Straight
byBOOK REVIEW: The Charles Asgill Affair: Setting the Record Straight by Anne Ammundsen (Heritage Books, 2023) What happened to British officer Charles Asgill at the…
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John Adams and Nathanael Greene Debate the Role of the Military
byNathanael Greene is rightly remembered as one of the great combat leaders of the American Revolution. But he was also a deep political thinker,…
This Week on Dispatches: Victor J. DiSanto on the Fidelity Medallion
byOn this week’s Dispatches, host Brady Crytzer interviews JAR contributor Victor J. DiSanto on the Fidelity Medallion presented to Isaac Van Wart and the other…
Colonel Andrew Pickens and the Long Cane Skirmish
byAndrew Pickens is the very image of the hard-nosed Patriot, but after the surrender of Charleston, South Carolina on May 12, 1780, he gave…
The Whiskey Rebellion: A Distilled History of an American Crisis
byBOOK REVIEW: The Whiskey Rebellion: A Distilled History of an American Crisis by Brady J. Crytzer (Yardley, PA: Westholme Publishing, 2023) In late July 1794,…
Clark versus Livingston: Pettiness, Paper Money, and Elections
byJohn Adams said of his Whig contemporaries that they had views as “various as the Colors of their Cloths.”[1] Such was the paradigm in…
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The Fidelity Medallion
byThe Fidelity Medallion awarded to Isaac Van Wart has been donated to the New York State Museum in Albany by the estate of Rae…
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Long Island City in 1776: The Revolution Comes to Queens
byBOOK REVIEW: Long Island City in 1776: The Revolution Comes to Queens by Richard Melnick (The History Press, 2023) Richard Melnick’s Long Island City in…
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“Those Noble Qualities”: Classical Pseudonyms as Reflections of Divergent Republican Value Systems
byDuring the trial years under the Federal Constitution, some political observers contributed to the national discourse by employing one of the period’s most ambitious…
This Week on Dispatches: Benjamin George on George Washington’s Information War
byOn this week’s Dispatches, host Brady Crytzer interviews JAR contributor Benjamin George on how George Washington used information tactically and strategically to manipulate the course…
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Thomas Hutchinson and His Letters
byWe often remember the controversy surrounding the Hutchinson Letters, which inspired many colonists to oppose the provincial government in Massachusetts, by talking about Benjamin…
To The Last Extremity: The Battles for Charleston, 1776–1782
byBOOK REVIEW: To the Last Extremity: The Battles for Charleston, 1776-1782 by Mark Maloy (El Dorado Hills, CA: Savas Beatie LLC, 2023) “Walking through historic Charleston,…
The Journal of Thomas Anderson, Delaware Regiment, Part 2, April 1781–April 1782
byThomas Anderson’s journal, covering May 1780 through April 1782, has been lost, but a nineteenth century transcription resides in the Peter Force Collection of…
The Journal of Thomas Anderson, Delaware Regiment, Part 1, May 1780–March 1781
byIn 1867, The Historical Magazine published “Extracts from the Journal of Lieutenant Thomas Anderson.” The original manuscript at that time belonged to the Maryland Historical…
South Carolina Provincials: Loyalists in British Service During the American Revolution
byBOOK REVIEW: South Carolina Provincials: Loyalists in British Service During the American Revolution by Jim Piecuch (Yardley, PA: Westholme, 2023) In his recently published text, South…
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A Study in Sustainability: The Continental Encampment in Bucks County, December 1776
byThe standard interpretation of the Continental Army in the dark and waning months of 1776 often features ragged soldiers, devoid of clothing and basic…
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George Washington’s Information War
byInformation has been as powerful a weapon as any in the history of warfare. Modern militaries continue to grapple with the power of information…
American Traitor: General James Wilkinson’s Betrayal of the Republic and Escape from Justice
byBOOK REVIEW: American Traitor: General James Wilkinson’s Betrayal of the Republic and Escape from Justice by Howard W. Cox (Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press, 2023)…
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A Visit to the Battle of Fallen Timbers Monument
byNorthern Ohio has a surprising number of historical sites related to the American Revolution and beyond. Travelers or residents have their choice between the…
This Week on Dispatches: Ray Raphael on Whether the Declaration of Independence was Signed on July 4, 1776
byOn this week’s Dispatches, host Brady Crytzer interviews author, historian, and JAR Editorial Board member Ray Raphael on the memories of John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and…
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The Fall of 1774 in Boston
byParliament responded to the Boston Tea Party by imposing on the colony of Massachusetts four laws including the Boston Port Bill. This bill received…
Unfriendly to Liberty: Loyalist Networks and the Coming of the American Revolution in New York City
byBOOK REVIEW: Unfriendly to Liberty: Loyalist Networks and the Coming of the American Revolution in New York City by Christopher F. Minty (Ithaca [New York]: Cornell…
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British Soldiers Wounded at Eutaw Springs
byAfter the Battle of Eutaw Springs in South Carolina on September 8, 1781, the commander of the British forces reported, among other casualties 313 rank…
This Week on Dispatches: William M. Welsch on the Battle of Petersburg
byOn this week’s Dispatches, host Brady Crytzer interviews JAR contributor William Welsch on the importance of the overlooked battle of Petersburg, April 25, 1781. New…
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Was the Declaration of Independence Signed on July 4? How Memory Plays Tricks with History
byEarly in 1814, thirteen years into his retirement, John Adams received a bizarre letter from Thomas McKean, a former colleague in the First and…