*** All JAR Articles ***

Constitutional Debate Posted on February 11, 2019February 9, 2019

The Dark and Heroic Histories of Georgia’s Signers

Revolutions are complex multi-sided economic, political, social, and technological events. They begin as conservative movements. As each side fears losing, all of these different interests radicalize but when the struggle is over, as historian Robert Calhoon points out, each side will adopt constructive compromise to find a way to govern together.[1] In the American Revolution […]

by Robert Scott Davis

Features Posted on February 7, 2019February 6, 2019

Dispatches: The Podcast of the Journal of the American Revolution

We are pleased to announce that the Journal of the American Revolution has launched a new podcast, Dispatches. Each week Dispatches will feature interviews with contributors to the journal as well as authors and other persons of interest to the JAR community, highlighting the latest in scholarship, news, and opinions regarding the Revolutionary and Founding Eras. Hosted […]

by Editors

Features Posted on February 5, 2019February 4, 2019

Casualty of Revolution: The Sad Case of Betty Smith

On October 1, 1768, two regiments of British infantry with an artillery detachment—witnesses estimated 700 to 800 men in all—disembarked from transports in Boston Harbor and formed up on Long Wharf. Then, in a procession lasting several hours, they marched “with muskets charged, bayonets fixed, colours flying, drums beating and fifes . . . playing” […]

by Len Travers

Historiography Posted on February 4, 2019February 3, 2019

Henry Knox’s “Noble Train of Artillery:” No Ox for Knox

The best-known scene of Col. Henry Knox’s train of artillery in the winter of 1775-1776 is Tom Lovell’s painting The Noble Train of Artillery. It shows a caravan of ox-drawn artillery that the Continental Army moved from the recently conquered Fort Ticonderoga in upstate New York (pictured near the top left of the painting) through […]

by Derek W. Beck

Historiography Posted on January 31, 2019January 27, 2019

The Revolutionary Memories of New York Loyalists: Thomas Jones and William Smith, Jr.

The American Revolution produced different meanings for Patriots and Loyalists. After the end of the Revolutionary war, the pressing issue was no longer the problem of independence or the Imperial Crisis, but the problem of nationhood, and how this newly created nation should be run. Arthur Shaffer argued that the fact that “a diverse group […]

by Cho-Chien Feng

Features Posted on January 30, 2019October 21, 2019

The First Conspiracy: The Secret Plot to Kill George Washington

The First Conspiracy: The Secret Plot to Kill George Washington by Brad Meltzer and Josh Mensch (Flatiron Books, 2019). On June 28, 1776—only days before the Continental Congress voted in favor of the Declaration of Independence—a soldier named Thomas Hickey hanged in what was at the time the largest public execution in North America. Although myths […]

by Kelly Mielke

Conflict & War Posted on January 29, 2019January 27, 2019

1776—The Horror Show

The British Army held New York City from 1776 to November 25, 1783. In prisoner exchanges, royal forces in New York periodically released prisoners of war who were “sickly and emaciated.” Sometimes the prisoners numbered a few dozen, sometimes a few hundred. In 1776, however, British military commander Lt. Gen. Sir William Howe released more […]

by Brian Patrick O'Malley

Politics Posted on January 28, 2019January 26, 2019

Resolutions Shared by Two Towns 300 Miles Apart

The year was 1773. On May 10, Parliament had passed the Tea Act allowed the East India Company to sell tea directly to the American colonies without paying any customs or duties in England. This gave the company a monopoly over the production, distribution, and sale of tea. The colonists saw the Act as a […]

by Bob Ruppert

Economics Posted on January 24, 2019January 31, 2019

The Molasses Act: A Brief History

The Molasses Act of 1733 levied a duty of six pence per gallon on foreign molasses imported into British colonies in North America. The duty was not intended to raise revenue, but to be a prohibition against the importation of molasses from foreign sugar plantations. It was at first a nullity, a dead letter, but […]

by Ken Shumate

Arts & Literature Posted on January 22, 2019January 20, 2019

2018 Journal of the American Revolution Book of the Year Award Announced

The Journal of the American Revolution today announced The Indian World of George Washington: The First President, the First Americans, and the Birth of the Nation by Colin G. Calloway (Oxford University Press) as winner of the 2018 Journal of the American Revolution Book of the Year Award. Honorable mention was awarded to Frontier Rebels: The Fight […]

by Editors

Economics Posted on January 21, 2019January 21, 2019

Continental Congress vs. Continental Army: Paying For It All

When the Second Continental Congress met in June 1775, they were not prepared for what they found. Several months earlier on April 19 the war of words with Great Britain had become a shooting war. The individual colonies found themselves at war with one of the greatest military powers of the age. It would fall […]

by Stuart Hatfield

Features Posted on January 17, 2019January 13, 2019

Alexander Milliner, Age Ten, Enlisted September 1780

To create an organized and effective force the Continental Army required more than just soldiers and officers. Camp followers helped to maintain and even provide supplies, and drummers were critical for signaling routines in camp and coordinating movements. In many cases the war would become a family affair, calling on men, women, adults, and children […]

by Lindsey Wood

Reviews Posted on January 16, 2019October 21, 2019

Light-Horse Harry Lee

Light-Horse Harry Lee: The Rise and Fall of a Revolutionary Hero and the Father of Robert E. Lee by Ryan Cole. (Washington, DC: Regnery History, 2019) Henry “Light Horse Harry” Lee, lieutenant colonel in the Continental Army, politician, and bankrupt businessman, has been the subject of renewed interest among historians and biographers in recent years. After […]

by Jim Piecuch

Politics Posted on January 15, 2019January 13, 2019

The Earl of Dartmouth: Secretary of State for the Colonies, Third Year: August 1774–November 1775

While the Earl of Dartmouth, Secretary of State for the Colonies, was on holiday in the summer of 1774, his office continued to receive and send communications concerning the political divergence with the American colonies. The general issues were the Quebec Act, the Massachusetts Provincial Congress, the Declaration of Rights and Grievances, the Non-Importation Agreement, […]

by Bob Ruppert

Features Posted on January 14, 2019January 13, 2019

Contributor Close-Up: Alec D. Rogers

What is the focus of your research and writing? I review books about the Revolutionary period. I’ve always enjoyed reading book reviews, but often felt frustrated when they would fail in what I regard as their essential mission: to give me a sense of whether I’d enjoy reading the book being reviewed. I hope that […]

by Editors

Conflict & War Posted on January 10, 2019January 9, 2019

Death Had Almost Lost Its Sting: Disease on the Prison Ship Jersey

“There, rebels, there is a cage for you.”[1] Forced to row under guard of British marines, a boatload of captured American sailors approached the forbidding black hulk of the old British warship, HMS Jersey. Nicknamed “The Hell Afloat,”[2] the Jersey and other decommissioned British warships were moored in Wallabout Bay, just off Brooklyn, New York, where […]

by Katie Turner Getty

Conflict & War Posted on January 8, 2019February 15, 2019

The Decision that Lost Britain the War: An Enigma Now Resolved

In this article I address the absurdity of Cornwallis’s decision to march from Wilmington, North Carolina, to Virginia and the light thrown on it by The Cornwallis Papers.[1] The central enigma of the Southern Campaigns, it had until their publication never been able to be satisfactorily resolved. Lt. Gen. Charles Earl Cornwallis, the British General […]

by Ian Saberton

Reviews Posted on January 7, 2019October 21, 2019

Daniel Morgan: A Revolutionary Life

Daniel Morgan: A Revolutionary Life by Albert Louis Zambone (Westholme Publishing, 2018) Few figures in the American Revolution contributed more towards victory over Great Britain than Daniel Morgan of Virginia. His leadership in two of the most significant engagements of the Revolutionary War, the battles of Saratoga and Cowpens, as well as his bold conduct […]

by Michael Cecere

Conflict & War Posted on January 3, 2019January 2, 2019

Captain Lambert Wickes and “Gunboat Diplomacy, American Revolution Style”

The Continental Navy. Words that didn’t exactly strike fear into the heart of the mighty British Royal Navy. For most Americans, knowledge of the early American Navy likely begins and ends with the daring exploits of John Paul Jones, starting in 1778. Indeed, it was not the Continental Navy, but the French Navy, that was […]

by Richard J. Werther

Features Posted on January 1, 2019January 2, 2019

Who was the most promising person of the Founding Era?

For our first post of the New Year—a time when resolutions are announced, new leaves are turned, and anticipation and hope for a fulfilling life renews, it is appropriate that this month we asked our contributors the following question: During the Founding Era, which we’ll consider as 1765 thru 1805, who was the most promising […]

by Editors

Reviews Posted on December 31, 2018December 30, 2018

Frontier Rebels: The Fight for Independence in the American West, 1765–1776

Frontier Rebels: The Fight for Independence in the American West, 1765-1776, by Patrick Spero (W.W. Norton & Company, 2018) In most standard histories of the Revolution, affairs in the west are often seen, somewhat understandably, as little more than a sideshow to the rebellion that unfolded on the eastern seaboard. Recent years, however, have fortunately […]

by Joshua Shepherd

Maps and Cartography Posted on December 27, 2018December 23, 2018

Rediscovering British Surveyor John Hills

While conducting research for my essay on General Washington’s plight in the New Jersey short hills in the spring of 1777, I was fortunate to have stumbled upon a series of maps held at the David Library of the American Revolution in Washington Crossing, Pennsylvania. These maps, twenty reprinted copies in all, focus attention on the New […]

by Adam E. Zielinski

Conflict & War Posted on December 20, 2018December 20, 2018

The Loyalist Declaration of Dependence, 1776

Our ancestors often believed in fate, and so do I. It was fate one day that brought me to the Fraunces Tavern in New York City. Fate that day that the waiter overheard me talking to my daughter. Fate that that same waiter told me of the museum on the top floor of the Fraunces […]

by Sandra McNamara

Conflict & War Posted on December 18, 2018January 23, 2020

The Treaty of Fort Pitt, 1778: The First U.S.–American Indian Treaty

In June 1777, Henry Hamilton, the British lieutenant governor for Quebec and Superintendent for Indian Affairs at Detroit, held a council at Detroit with all who would attend. His goal was simple: mobilize the western Indian nations to attack Americans all along the Ohio frontier, just as the Six Nations were doing along the northern […]

by Eric Sterner

Features Posted on December 17, 2018December 16, 2018

Recognizing the Skirmish at Kemp’s Landing

November 10, 1775 was an important day in both Great Britain and America. Lord George Germain assumed duties as the Secretary of State for the American Department—“he was virtually War minister in the British cabinet”—and the Continental Congress authorized two battalions of marines, giving birth to the United States Marine Corps.[1] Two hundred and forty-three […]

by Patrick H. Hannum

Conflict & War Posted on December 13, 2018December 8, 2018

Patrick Ferguson and His Rifle

Maj. Patrick Ferguson’s rifle is one of the most interesting and significant early attempts at a breech-loading service rifle. Coupling a screw breech plug with rifling, Ferguson’s rifle was said to be capable of an impressive seven rounds per minute. Most importantly it has the distinction of being the first breech-loading rifle adopted for service […]

by Matthew Moss

Features Posted on December 11, 2018December 9, 2018

Putting a Price on Loyalty: Mary Loring’s List of Losses

The Revolutionary War took a heavy toll on Great Britain. The Treaty of Paris in 1783 left it not just bereft of former colonies but militarily humiliated, politically divided, and financially straightened. The cost of the eight-year war had averaged £12 million per annum and left the Treasury with a national debt of £250 million.[1] […]

by John Knight

Conflict & War Posted on December 10, 2018December 8, 2018

Hammond’s Store: The “Dirty War’s” Prelude to Cowpens

Little is known about the colonial-era history of Hammond’s Store, though the site appears to have been a local meeting place prior to the American Revolution. A 1775 proclamation of South Carolina’s Second Provincial Congress listed “Hammond’s old store” as the election polling place for the newly established “Little River” electoral district.[1] A letter from […]

by Andrew Waters

Culture Posted on December 6, 2018December 5, 2018

Henry Laurens in England, 1771–1772

On October 9, 1771, a ship arrived at the southwestern tip of England. The Earl of Halifax had spent twenty nine days crossing the Atlantic from New York, and now its captain and crew peered at the shore to find the entrance to Falmouth harbor. The sun was going down in the west, but the sails […]

by Will Monk

Features Posted on December 4, 2018December 3, 2018

Stephen Moylan: More than a War Hero

Serving on George Washington’s staff were many talented young men, including some who became famous later. Alexander Hamilton served on the staff ably for several years; his extraordinary career has earned him a place in theatrical history. Joseph Reed became president of Pennsylvania’s Supreme Executive Council, Thomas Mifflin was the first governor of Pennsylvania and […]

by Jeff Dacus

Conflict & War Posted on December 3, 2018December 2, 2018

The Extraordinary Life of Isaac Grant of Judea, Connecticut

The old man stepped out into the sun, shut his door, and turned north, leaving his home in Gainesville, New York, for the county seat in Batavia; a roundtrip journey that would take him a few days and near fifty miles. Luckily, the weather was cool and clear for the middle June, and he had […]

by Michael J. F. Sheehan

Constitutional Debate Posted on November 29, 2018November 26, 2018

The Constitutional Debate over a Standing National Navy

There is a gap in most histories of the United States Navy. The blank space lies between the end of the American Revolution and the re-establishment of the Navy in the 1790s. This is not the product of poor research; it is difficult to write about a Navy that did not exist. After the standing […]

by Jason Yonce

Features Posted on November 28, 2018November 27, 2018

Recent JAR News

The Journal of the American Revolution reaches a wide audience and is regularly cited on other web sites, in scholarly books and articles, newspapers, and in social media. We are all making a difference toward a greater understanding and appreciation of our founding era. We thought our readers would appreciate some of the recent news about […]

by Editors

People Posted on November 27, 2018November 26, 2018

Major James Wemyss: Second Most Hated British Officer in the South

No British officer was more reviled by Patriots in the South during the American Revolution than Lt. Col. Banastre Tarleton. Based partly on fact and partly on myth, Tarleton’s name became synonymous with brutality to many Americans. Another British officer, although less infamous, earned a similar reputation for his actions in South Carolina in 1780. […]

by Randy A. Purvis

Reviews Posted on November 26, 2018December 24, 2018

Valley Forge

Valley Forge by Bob Drury and Tom Clavin (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2018) Americans refer to many of their nation’s most iconic events by simple reference. The Alamo. Pearl Harbor. The Fourth of July. They are etched in our collective memories and once invoked are still capable of unleashing emotion and memory. Valley Forge, […]

by Alec D. Rogers

Politics During the War (1775-1783) Posted on November 22, 2018November 18, 2018

Continental Congress vs. Continental Army: Strategy and Personnel Decisions

When the American Revolution became a shooting war, it was left to the Continental Congress to become the body of state for the thirteen colonies. They had to build a functioning central government, build an economy, find allies and build a military force that would help them stand up to Great Britain. Over the course […]

by Stuart Hatfield

Conflict & War Posted on November 20, 2018November 18, 2018

Alexander Clough: Forgotten Patriot Spymaster

Television series and popular books such as TURN: Washington’s Spies and Alexander Rose’s Washington’s Spies: The Story of America’s First Spy Ring recreate and immortalize the exploits of intelligence officers and spymasters such as Maj. Benjamin Tallmadge, Lt. Caleb Brewster, and Maj. John André. In the late summer of 1778, Washington’s intelligence services did provide him with reports […]

by Charles Dewey

Reviews Posted on November 19, 2018November 18, 2018

Rush: Revolution, Madness, and the Visionary Doctor Who Became a Founding Father

Stephen Fried, Rush: Revolution, Madness, and the Visionary Doctor Who Became a Founding Father (New York: Crown, 2018) BUY THIS BOOK FROM AMAZON When asked by a few non-historian friends why I was reading a new biography titled Rush, their assumption was that this book was about Rush Limbaugh. No, not that Rush, rather one […]

by James Kirby Martin

Audiovisual Posted on November 15, 2018November 14, 2018

What is the best audiovisual material to teach students about the American Revolution or Founding Era?

One of our readers, an educator, asked the JAR editors a question that we chose to put before our contributors: What is the best audiovisual material for use in the classroom to teach K-12 students about the American Revolution or the Founding Era (approximately 1765–1805)? Geoff Smock The only real choice for this is the […]

by Editors