*** All JAR Articles ***

Battles Posted on May 9, 2020May 9, 2020

This Week on Dispatches: Stephen John Katzberg on Mapping the Battle of Eutaw Springs

On this week’s Dispatches host Brady Crytzer speaks with electrical engineer and JAR contributor Stephen John Katzberg on the significance of the Battle of Eutaw Springs, South Carolina. During his research he applied geographical information systems (GIS) to correct the famous 1822 map of the battle produced by William Johnson. Thousands of readers like you enjoy the […]

by Editors

Diplomacy Posted on May 7, 2020May 7, 2020

Revolutionary Revenge on Hudson Bay, 1782

French naval officer La Pérouse (Jean Francois de Galaup, Comte de la Pérouse) was one of many who actively supported the American Patriots in their war for independence from Britain. La Pérouse’s assignments included patrolling the North Atlantic where he directed the capture of numerous British merchant vessels.[1] His early 1781 outbound voyage from France […]

by Merv O. Ahrens

Features Posted on May 6, 2020May 5, 2020

Supporting American Revolution History

Restrictions on travel and gather due to the coronavirus pandemic have had a significant impact on historic sites and institutions dedicated to the American Revolution. We asked our contributors to recommend sites and organizations for our readers to consider supporting. The list is in the order received. Brady J. Crytzer Historic Hanna’s Town, Greensburg, PA: […]

by Editors

Loyalists Posted on May 5, 2020May 4, 2020

General Charles Lee Imposes Oaths of Allegiance on Newport Tories, 1775

Major General Charles Lee visited Newport, Rhode Island, in late December 1775, where he—controversially—insisted that local Loyalists take an oath of allegiance to the Continental Congress. This approach, and a similar one he took in New York City shortly thereafter, created concern in Congress on how best to handle Loyalists. But by mid-1778, Lee had changed […]

by Christian McBurney

Features Posted on May 3, 2020May 3, 2020

This Week on Dispatches: Eric Sterner on the Siege of Fort Henry

On this week’s Dispatches host Brady Crytzer interviews JAR contributor and writer Eric Sterner on the Siege of Fort Henry on the Virginia frontier in 1782. The siege is notable for the bravery of Elizabeth “Betty” Zane, who risked her life to bring much needed gunpowder back to the fort. Thousands of readers like you enjoy the […]

by Editors

People Posted on April 30, 2020April 27, 2020

Fending Chaos: The Early Years of Rufus King, Forgotten Founder

There are many ways to reach Jamaica, Queens, via public transit. From Brooklyn or Manhattan one could catch a Queens-bound F Train and remain aboard until getting off at Parsons Boulevard near the end of the line. Hundreds of thousands of commuters pass through Jamaica every day, either on the F Train, via the many […]

by Keith Muchowski

Features Posted on April 29, 2020April 27, 2020

1774: The Long Year of Revolution

1774: The Long Year of Revolution by Mary Beth Norton (Knopf, 2020) Although previous works have tried to draw attention to “The Missing 16 Months” between the Boston Tea Party in December of 1773 and the Battle of Lexington and Concord in April of 1775, Cornell history professor Mary Beth Norton argues in her latest […]

by Alec D. Rogers

People Posted on April 28, 2020April 28, 2020

Cornwallis and the Winter Campaign, January to April 1781

Leaving Colonel Francis Lord Rawdon to command in the field from Georgetown to Augusta, Lt. Gen. Charles Earl Cornwallis, the British General Officer Commanding in the South, marched from Winnsborough, South Carolina on January 8, 1781 at the start of his second campaign to conquer North Carolina.[1] With him were 1,147 rank and file present […]

by Ian Saberton

Features Posted on April 25, 2020April 25, 2020

This Week on Dispatches: Patrick Naughton on Information Control and the Battles of Lexington and Concord

On this week’s Dispatches host Brady Crytzer interviews active US Army Major and JAR contributor Patrick Naughton on the narrative created by the Provincial Congress following the events at Lexington and Concord in order to control the message about the American rebellion and the initial British response. Thousands of readers like you enjoy the articles published […]

by Editors

Patriots Posted on April 23, 2020April 21, 2020

Lost Patriots in the Grimké Files

Buried within the papers of Lt. Col. John F. Grimké are names of hundreds of artillerymen who fought in the 4th South Carolina Regiment of Artillery during the American Revolution. Most of the men can be found in well-known military records or other revolutionary sources and are hailed as Patriots. For fifty-four, however, the Grimké […]

by Patricia Marker Hinton

Illness and Disease Posted on April 22, 2020April 21, 2020

Outbreak! New York, 1779

“The number of sick increasing every day, in all the different Camps of the army,” wrote Capt. John Peebles in his diary on September 5, 1779.[1] Encamped on Manhattan Island eight miles north of the city of New York, at the time rural farmland, the army was beginning to suffer from the consequences of an […]

by Don N. Hagist

Historic Sites Posted on April 21, 2020April 20, 2020

Stony Point: The Second Occupation, July–October 1779

Gen. George Washington, commander-in-chief of the Continental Army, arrived at the American defenses at West Point “very much fatigued.” He had ridden one his two beloved mounts, either Nelson or Blueskin, nearly fourteen miles over rugged hills. It was late afternoon on July 19, 1779, and Washington was just getting settled after “returning from Stony […]

by Michael J. F. Sheehan

Features Posted on April 18, 2020April 18, 2020

This Week on Dispatches: Andrew Zellers-Frederick on the Military Occupation of Easton

On this week’s Dispatches host Brady Crytzer interviews historian and JAR contributor Andrew Zellers-Frederick on the 0ccupation of Easton, Pennsylvania, by Continental forces gathering for the 1779 invasion of Iroquois territory in New York in order to quell Indian and Tory attacks along the New York and Pennsylvania frontiers. Thousands of readers like you enjoy the […]

by Editors

Historic Sites Posted on April 16, 2020April 16, 2020

Washington’s Head of Elk Reconnaissance: A New Letter (and and Old Receipt)

The Philadelphia Campaign of 1777 took definitive shape when Gen. William Howe successfully landed his 16,000 officers and men near Head of Elk (now Elkton), Maryland, on August 25, 1777, the very day that Washington set up his headquarters at a house atop Quaker Hill in the southwestern portion of Wilmington, Delaware, while his advanced […]

by Gary Ecelbarger

Myths and Legends Posted on April 15, 2020April 12, 2020

The Fighting Parson’s Farewell Sermon

The history of the American Revolution is rife with heroic tales and amazing myths of patriotic American heroes that offer inspiring and entertaining stories. Sadly however, many of these stories have little basis in fact or documentation to support their occurrence. Some are completely fabricated while others are the result of misreported or misunderstood accounts. […]

by Michael Cecere

Loyalists Posted on April 14, 2020April 12, 2020

Attack up the Connecticut River: The First British Raid on Essex

By April 1782, the war in America was supposed to be over. It had been nearly six months since Lord Cornwallis surrendered his army to Generals Washington and Rochambeau at Yorktown. The previous February, the British Parliament had voted to stop funding the war. Peace negotiations between British and American representatives had begun in Paris. […]

by Matthew Reardon

Features Posted on April 12, 2020

This Week on Dispatches: Justin McHenry on John Morgan, William Shippen, and the Fate of the Continental Medical Department

On this week’s Dispatches host Brady Crytzer interviews archivist and JAR contributor Justin McHenry about the heated rivalry between John Morgan and William Shippen over control of the Continental Medical Department. Their professional feud provides an insight into the petty politics and personalities that were as much a part of the Revolutionary era as the great decision […]

by Editors

Espionage and Cryptography Posted on April 9, 2020April 8, 2020

Scouting the American Revolution: The French Intelligence Community

We often hear about intelligence activities which take place during times of war. Having good intelligence is indeed critical to military and diplomatic success. But there is also intelligence work that goes into the decision to enter a war in the first place, either as a primary combatant or as a participant in an alliance. […]

by Richard J. Werther

Features Posted on April 8, 2020April 6, 2020

Welcome to my Podcast!

With our popular podcast Dispatches now in its second year, we asked our contributors a whimsical question: Which person from the American Revolution and the founding era would you like to hear give a podcast, and on what topic? The responses reflect the range of interests of our readers, and how much remains unknown about this […]

by Editors

Battles Posted on April 7, 2020April 7, 2020

What They Saw and Did at Yorktown’s Redoubts 9 and 10

Receiving orders from Sir Henry Clinton, British commander in chief in North America, Lt. Gen. Charles Cornwallis led his troops to a position between Virginia’s York and James Rivers. On August 1, 1781 his army started building earthworks with both ends anchored on the York River. American Maj. Gen. Marquis de Lafayette, possibly alerted by […]

by Kim Burdick

Features Posted on April 4, 2020April 4, 2020

This Week on Dispatches: Brian Patrick O’Malley on Philadelphia’s Yellow Fever Epidemic

On this week’s Dispatches host Brady Crytzer interviews JAR contributor Brian Patrick O’Malley on the social and medical response to the Yellow Fever epidemic that ravaged Philadelphia in 1793 and how the city and community ultimately prevailed. Thousands of readers like you enjoy the articles published by the Journal of the American Revolution. Dispatches is a free […]

by Editors

Battles Posted on April 2, 2020April 2, 2020

The British Invasion of the Bahamas, 1783: One of the Final Actions of the American Revolution

Tucked away in a small corner of history and buried deep beneath mountains of text lie brief mentions of the British invasion of the Bahamas in 1783.[1] As far as major battles are concerned, it does not make the list. It was not really a battle at all. Action is the more appropriate word. Whatever word […]

by George Kotlik

Interviews Posted on April 1, 2020March 31, 2020

“Revolution Road” on the Dave Nemo Show to Air this Friday for Free

SiriusXM Radio announced today that they will be offering their programs for free through May 15. This means JAR readers who don’t have a SiriusXM radio subscription can hear the monthly program, Revolution Road, featuring JAR contributors interviewed by legendary radio host David Nemo. Revolution Road with guests provided by JAR has been a regular […]

by Editors

Diplomacy Posted on March 31, 2020March 30, 2020

An Economist’s Solution to the War: Adam Smith and the Rebelling Colonies

Adam Smith, considered by many to be the Father of Modern Economics, was born in Kirkcaldy, Scotland, on June 16, 1723. His father, also Adam Smith, was a senior solicitor and judge advocate; his mother, Margaret Douglas, was the daughter of a well-landed gentleman. Smith entered the University of Glasgow when he was fourteen years […]

by Bob Ruppert

Features Posted on March 28, 2020March 28, 2020

This Week on Dispatches: Patrick H. Hannum on Lord Dunmore’s Proclamation

On this week’s Dispatches host Brady Crytzer interviews military veteran and history professor Patrick H. Hannum on Lord Dunmore’s proclamation to emancipate slaves who joined the British military. Thousands of readers like you enjoy the articles published by the Journal of the American Revolution. Dispatches is a free podcast that puts a voice to the writing in […]

by Editors

Critical Thinking Posted on March 26, 2020March 25, 2020

The Yellow Fever Outbreak of 1793: Nine Observations and Lessons

“I often thought that the situation of a people in a bombarded city, was not much worse, and on some accounts not so bad; we had no respite night nor day.” Writing to a friend in his native Massachusetts, newspaper publisher John Fenno was trying to convey the effect of the 1793 yellow fever outbreak […]

by Brian Patrick O'Malley

Law Posted on March 24, 2020March 21, 2020

The Revolutionary War Origin of the Whistleblower Law

The so called “whistleblower law” had a salty source. It did not emanate from the shrill sound of a boatswain’s pipe, but rather a Revolutionary War naval episode.[1] Its origin can be traced to the Continental Congress’s 1775 appointment of Esek Hopkins, formerly a merchantman and privateer, as commander-in-chief of the Continental Navy. As a […]

by Louis Arthur Norton

Features Posted on March 21, 2020March 20, 2020

This Week on Dispatches: Kevin A. Conn on the Lenape Origins of an Independent America

On this week’s Dispatches host Brady Crytzer interviews history teacher and JAR contributor Kevin A. Conn on his recent research on the Lenape and how their role in Pontiac’s Rebellion may have presaged the coming conflict between American colonists and Great Britain. Thousands of readers like you enjoy the articles published by the Journal of the […]

by Editors

Features Posted on March 19, 2020March 19, 2020

Journal of the American Revolution, Annual 2020 Now Available

The Journal of the American Revolution, Annual 2020 is now available. Our sixth annual uniform volume is a jacketed hardback, with 356 pages, composed of thirty-seven articles, and retails for $35.00. Each annual volume presents a selection of the finest writing and research over the past year, weaving a common narrative thread that is impossible to […]

by Editors

The War Years (1775-1783) Posted on March 19, 2020March 19, 2020

The Slings and Arrows of Outrageous Misfortune: The Fall of Fort Motte

The Revolutionary War in the Carolinas after the fall of Charleston was a great arena of war with hundreds of small battlefields. Some were battles involving a few dozen men, Tory or Whig Americans fighting each other or Whigs fighting British regulars. Other engagements involved hundreds of men, with dozens of casualties. Today, most of […]

by Jeff Dacus

Features Posted on March 18, 2020March 17, 2020

Tea in 18th Century America

Tea in 18th Century America by Kimberly K. Walters. (K. Walters at the Sign of the Gray Horse, 2019) Best-selling author Lucinda Brant offers enthusiastic praise in her Foreword for Kimberly K. Walters’s Tea in 18th Century America, citing their shared interest in “all things 18th century.” Brant briefly describes the contents of the book and […]

by Timothy Symington

Politics During the War (1775-1783) Posted on March 17, 2020March 17, 2020

Trading Generals

During the American Revolution, many players were removed from the chess board of war as a result of capture. From individual soldiers and sailors to entire armies, captives fell into the hands of the enemy, the largest numbers usually after defeats. Negotiations to repatriate these men varied from fairly successful to complete failures. In fact, […]

by William M. Welsch

Features Posted on March 14, 2020March 14, 2020

This Week on Dispatches: Katie Turner Getty on Combating the Spread of Disease Eighteenth-Century Style

On this week’s Dispatches host Brady Crytzer interviews attorney and JAR associate editor Katie Turner Getty on the use of smoke to fumigate refugees from Boston in 1775 in an attempt to stop the spread of the deadly virus, smallpox. Thousands of readers like you enjoy the articles published by the Journal of the American Revolution. […]

by Editors

Critical Thinking Posted on March 12, 2020March 11, 2020

Teaching the American Revolution with Simulations

What most Americans know about the Revolutionary War they learned when they were in elementary or middle school. The curricular timing is fortunate in some ways, unfortunate in others. On the one hand, fifth or sixth graders are at the peak of their learning curve. They are delightfully curious, and they read and converse intelligently. […]

by Ray Raphael

Features Posted on March 11, 2020March 17, 2020

Two Reviews: Journal of the Hessian Jäger Corps and The Disaffected

Journal of the Hessian Jäger Corps 1777-1779 by W. Steedman, translator, and Ian Saberton, translator and editor (Tolworth, Surrey, UK: Grosvenor House Publishing Ltd., 2018) The Disaffected: Britain’s Occupation of Philadelphia During the American Revolution by Aaron Sullivan (Philadelphia PA: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2019) Recently this reviewer had the good fortune to tackle two books at once. […]

by Timothy Symington

Critical Thinking Posted on March 10, 2020March 9, 2020

Aggressive-Minded Gamblers: Washington, Howe, and the Days Between Battles, September 12–16, 1777

On Tuesday afternoon, September 16, 1777—five days after the Battle of Brandywine—George Washington and most of his 11,000-member Continental army stood atop the South Valley Hills in Chester County, Pennsylvania, ill-prepared to repel the approach of 14,000 British, Hessians and Loyalists composing Sir William Howe’s Crown Forces. Aside from skirmishing on the flanks, a fierce, […]

by Gary Ecelbarger

Features Posted on March 7, 2020March 6, 2020

This Week on Dispatches: Matthew Skic on “Cost of Revolution, The Life and Death of an Irish Soldier”

On this week’s Dispatches host Brady Crytzer interviews Museum of the American Revolution Associate Curator Matthew Skic on the development, installation, and writing the accompanying book for the recent exhibition, “Cost of Revolution, The Life and Death of an Irish Soldier.” Thousands of readers like you enjoy the articles published by the Journal of the American […]

by Editors

Espionage and Cryptography Posted on March 5, 2020March 4, 2020

How to Write Like a Revolutionary War Spy

Congratulations! You’ve been commissioned as an officer in the Continental Army, and General Washington has given you command of an important position near the front lines. You’ve assessed information gathered from patrols, deserters, prisoners, and local inhabitants, and you realize that something very important is about to happen. You must send a message to Washington […]

by Don N. Hagist

Features Posted on March 4, 2020

Revolutionary Brothers: Thomas Jefferson, the Marquis de Lafayette, and the Friendship That Helped Forge Two Nations

Revolutionary Brothers: Thomas Jefferson, the Marquis de Lafayette, and the Friendship That Helped Forge Two Nations by Tom Chaffin (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2019) There are countless streets, monuments, and other features in the United States named for the Marquis de Lafayette. However, despite this prevalence of tributes, Tom Chaffin asserts that most Americans know […]

by Kelly Mielke