*** All JAR Articles ***

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Critical Thinking Posted on

Loyalist Slave-Owning Refugees in Postwar Jamaica

The two forces of paternalism and slavery shaped the lives of Loyalist slaveowners in the postwar British Empire. Historians rarely connect these forces in attempts to understand the relationship between refugees, colonial hosts, and British officials. In the postwar era, British officials treated Loyalists as an itinerant population to resettle to aid imperial expansion. In […]

by Patrick E. Brady
Diplomacy Posted on

This Week on Dispatches: Richard J. Werther on King Gustav III of Sweden Recognizing the United States

On this week’s Dispatches, host Brady Crytzer interviews researcher and JAR contributor Richard J. Werther on King Gustav III of Sweden’s recognition of an independent United States and its implications. New episodes of Dispatches are available for free every Saturday evening (Eastern United States Time) on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, and the JAR Dispatches web site. Dispatches can […]

by Editors
Loyalists Posted on

Five Women of British East Florida

In the male-dominated historical record of East Florida during the era of the American Revolution, a few women stand out as noteworthy. Most women in eighteenth-century East Florida were from the working classes, of whom there are scant records of individuals or their accomplishments. A few had sufficient wealth and status, enough to leave behind […]

by George Kotlik
Features Posted on

This Week on Dispatches: John Rees on Remembrances of Black Revolutionary War Veterans

On this week’s Dispatches, host Brady Crytzer interviews writer, researcher, historian, and JAR contributor John Rees on his series of articles about nineteenth-century remembrances of Black Revolutionary War veterans, including Hannah Till, Thomas Carney, Edward Hector, Jacob Francis, and Oliver Cromwell. New episodes of Dispatches are available for free every Saturday evening (Eastern United States […]

by Editors
Features Posted on

Review: Valley Forge to Monmouth

Valley Forge to Monmouth: Six Transformational Months of the American Revolution by Jim Stempel (McFarland, 2021) Captivated by the short preface, it was evident this was just not another history addressing a brief period of conflict during the American Revolution, but an effort by the author to place the events of a formative six-month period (December […]

by Patrick H. Hannum
Features Posted on

This Week on Dispatches: Todd Braisted on Benjamin Thompson’s Black Dragoons

On this week’s Dispatches, host Brady Crytzer interviews researcher, writer, and JAR contributor Todd Braisted on loyalist Benjamin Thompson—later Count Mumford—and the provincial mounted regiment that included free Blacks and men freed from slavery he organized. New episodes of Dispatches are available for free every Saturday evening (Eastern United States Time) on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, and the JAR Dispatches web site. […]

by Editors
Features Posted on

This Week on Dispatches: Andrew Zellers-Frederick on the Impeachment of Senator William Blount, the First in American History

On this week’s Dispatches, host Brady Crytzer interviews historian and JAR contributor Andrew Zellers-Frederick on the impeachment of Senator William Blount of Tennessee, the first conducted in American history, and a crucial episode in establishing the legal strength of the United States government over elected officials. New episodes of Dispatches are available for free every […]

by Editors
Features Posted on

This Week on Dispatches: Brooke Barbier on Paul Revere’s Boston

On this week’s Dispatches, host Brady Crytzer interviews writer and podcast host Brooke Barbier about historic sites in Boston that were familiar to Paul Revere. Join Brady and Brooke for a fascinating tour of what remains of colonial Boston. New episodes of Dispatches are available for free every Saturday evening (Eastern United States Time) on iTunes, Stitcher, […]

by Editors
Features Posted on

Nineteenth-Century Remembrances of Black Revolutionary Veterans: New Jersey Soldier Oliver Cromwell

Harriet Tubman escaped from slavery in 1849. She became a major conductor on the Underground Railroad, as well as an advocate for Women’s Rights. A year later the Compromise of 1850 included a controversial Fugitive Slave Law that compelled all citizens to help in the recovery of fugitive slaves. Free Blacks formed more Vigilance Committees […]

by John Rees
2
People Posted on

Incredible Insults and Hardships: The Hostage Experience of Ebenezer Sullivan

When twenty-three-year-old Capt. Ebenezer Sullivan nobly volunteered himself as a prisoner-exchange hostage in the last weeks of the Canadian invasion, he had no way to foresee the devastating trials and tribulations that he would face as a result of his courageous decision. At the time, he was one of almost five hundred Continentals captured by […]

by Mark R. Anderson
Espionage and Cryptography Posted on

This Week on Dispatches: William W. Reynolds on the British Naval Signals Missions of 1781

On this week’s Dispatches, host Brady Crytzer interviews retired engineer and JAR contributor William W. Reynolds on how the Americans were able to obtain the British Naval Signals and pass them to French admiral de Grasse during the Yorktown campaign in 1781. Knowing an enemy’s signals could change the outcome of a battle. New episodes of […]

by Editors
Features Posted on

The Impeachment of Senator William Blount—the First in American History

It is easy to suggest that William Blount made no significant contribution to the development of the United States. His achievements, although not negligible, were only on par at best, and far less than many of his more famous contemporaries. Blount served in the North Carolina militia during the American Revolution, but with little acclaim […]

by Andrew A. Zellers-Frederick
Frontier Posted on

Review: Anatomy of a Massacre

Anatomy of a Massacre: The Destruction of Gnadenhutten, 1782 by Eric Sterner (Yardley, PA: Westholme Publishing, 2020) Eric Sterner’s Anatomy of a Massacre: The Destruction of Gnadenhutten, 1782, offers readers a deeply insightful illustration of one of eighteenth-century America’s most tragic incidents of frontier violence. Concisely written and incredibly rich in primary research, this work supplies […]

by Megan King
Features Posted on

This Week on Dispatches: Louis Arthur Norton on the Plight of the Seamen

On this week’s Dispatches, host Brady Crytzer interviews historian and JAR contributor Louis Arthur Norton on what happened to captured Continental Navy, states’ navies, and privateer sailors and officers when captured by the British. Most were interred onboard prison hulks where many perished, but others attempted to escape. New episodes of Dispatches are available for […]

by Editors
Features Posted on

Nineteenth-Century Remembrances of Black Revolutionary Veterans: Jacob Francis, Massachusetts Continental and New Jersey Militia

Philadelphia Blacks, under the leadership of well-to-do Robert Purvis, organized the Vigilance Committee to aid and assist fugitive slaves in 1837. Purvis’s wife, Harriett Forten Purvis, the daughter of successful Black businessman James Forten, led the Female Vigilant Society. Robert Purvis was referred to by some as the “President of the Underground Railroad.” Also that […]

by John Rees