*** All JAR Articles ***

 Books and Publications Posted on

This Week on Dispatches: Ray Raphael on Whether the Declaration of Independence was Signed on July 4, 1776

On 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 Thomas McKean about the Declaration of Independence and when it was actually signed. New episodes of Dispatches are available for free every Saturday evening (Eastern United States Time) on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, Amazon […]

by Editors
1
Law Posted on

The Fall of 1774 in Boston

Parliament responded to the Boston Tea Party by imposing on the colony of Massachusetts four laws including the Boston Port Bill. This bill received King George III’s royal assent on March 31, 1774 and would go into effect on June 1, 1774. The first sentence of the Bill made its purpose clear, “An act to […]

by Bob Ruppert
Loyalists Posted on

Unfriendly to Liberty: Loyalist Networks and the Coming of the American Revolution in New York City

BOOK 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 University Press, 2023) Who were the New York Loyalists? Why did they retain British allegiance? What is their lasting impact on American society? Revolutionary War historian and digital documentary editor Christopher […]

by Gene Procknow
4
Battles Posted on

British Soldiers Wounded at Eutaw Springs

After the Battle of Eutaw Springs in South Carolina on September 8, 1781, the commander of the British forces reported, among other casualties 313 rank and file (that is, corporals and private soldiers) wounded and another 224 missing.[1] While surviving muster rolls can be used to determine which men were killed in a battle, it is […]

by Don N. Hagist
Battles Posted on

This Week on Dispatches: William M. Welsch on the Battle of Petersburg

On 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 episodes of Dispatches are available for free every Saturday evening (Eastern United States Time) on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, Amazon Music, and the JAR Dispatches web site. Dispatches can now be easily accessed on […]

by Editors
9
Critical Thinking Posted on

Was the Declaration of Independence Signed on July 4? How Memory Plays Tricks with History

Early in 1814, thirteen years into his retirement, John Adams received a bizarre letter from Thomas McKean, a former colleague in the First and Second Continental Congresses. “I will give you an historical fact respecting the declaration of Independence, which may amuse, if not surprize,” McKean wrote. “In the printed public journal of Congress for […]

by Ray Raphael
Reviews Posted on

Spanish New Orleans and the Caribbean

BOOK REVIEW: Spanish New Orleans and the Caribbean edited by Alfred Lemmon (New Orleans, Louisiana: Historic New Orleans Collection, 2022) For anyone interested in the Spanish Colonial period of New Orleans’ history, a recent English-Spanish bilingual anthology, Spanish New Orleans and the Caribbean, edited by Alfred Lemmon, would serve as an excellent introduction. Though there are […]

by Al Dickenson
4
Critical Thinking Posted on

Charles Lee’s First Inklings of Fractious American Political Battles

Unique among the Continental Army generals, Charles Lee expressed prescient insights into the upcoming political issues dividing Americans during the Early Republic era. Born and educated in England, Lee espoused pre-Revolution British Whig views seeking to moderate the monarchy’s powers and engender a more representative government. As a recent immigrant, Lee brought his radical republican […]

by Gene Procknow
Battles Posted on

Hobkirk Hill: A Major Minor Battle

The Battle of Hobkirk Hill (or Hobkirk’s Hill), sometimes referred to as the Second Battle of Camden, remains one of the less prominent engagements of the Revolutionary War, even as John Buchanan’s masterful study of the campaign in the Deep South terms it “a major and controversial battle” in the American effort to reclaim South […]

by David Price
Economics Posted on

Summer of ’74 in Boston

Parliament responded to the Boston Tea Party by imposing on the colony of Massachusetts a series of Acts, collectively called the Coercive Acts. The four Acts were the Boston Port Bill, the Quartering Act, the Impartial Administration Act and the Massachusetts Government Act. The first one, the Boston Port Bill, received King George III’s royal […]

by Bob Ruppert
Critical Thinking Posted on

This Week on Dispatches: Douglas R. Dorney, Jr. on Lord Cornwallis, Defender of American and British Liberty?

On this week’s Dispatches, host Brady Crytzer interviews JAR contributor Douglas R. Dorney, Jr. on his recent article about how Lord Cornwallis has been viewed by many as the general that lost the American Revolution, but his commitment to his own personal values made him a valuable asset to the larger British Empire, particularly in India. New […]

by Editors
4
Autobiography and Biography Posted on

James Forten, Revolutionary: Forgotten No More

A recent trip to the Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia unearthed the institution’s continued shift towards presenting narratives and stories that most students—and adults—are unfamiliar with. When images of the era are discussed, one would be correct to assume the museum’s focus centers on the Washingtons, Hamiltons, and Franklins of lore, and no […]

by Adam E. Zielinski
7
Battles Posted on

The Revolutionary Battle of Petersburg

When one mentions the Battle of Petersburg in Civil-War-centric Virginia, the immediate reaction is Ulysses S. Grant versus Robert E. Lee in 1864 and 1865. True. But the first Battle of Petersburg was a revolutionary encounter on April 25, 1781, between the Americans and their British adversaries. And instead of Grant and Lee, the leaders […]

by William M. Welsch
Battles Posted on

This Week on Dispatches: David Price on the Battle of Eutaw Springs

On this week’s Dispatches, host Brady Crytzer interviews historian, author, and JAR contributor David Price on the Battle of Eutaw Springs, South Carolina, September 8, 1781, the last major open-field battle of the Revolutionary War. New episodes of Dispatches are available for free every Saturday evening (Eastern United States Time) on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, Amazon Music, and […]

by Editors
2
Logistics Posted on

The French Depart Newport

Lt. Gen. Jean Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur Comte de Rochambeau did not wake up on the morning of June 18, 1781 and order his army of more than 6,000 men to break camp and begin their march south. Such an operation would take months to plan and execute. He sent the artillery company to Providence […]

by Norman Desmarais
Politics During the War (1775-1783) Posted on

East Florida in the Revolutionary Era 1763–1785

BOOK REVIEW: East Florida in the Revolutionary Era 1763-1785 by George Kotlik (Athens, GA: NewSouth Books, University of Georgia Press, 2023) Historian and JAR contributor George Kotlik’s new book, East Florida in the Revolutionary Era 1765-1785, explores a topic that he considers to be on the fringe of Revolutionary War scholarship: East Florida. There is a […]

by Timothy Symington
Historic Sites Posted on

This Week on Dispatches: Alexandra I. Griffeth on Patrick Henry and Hanover County, Virginia

On this week’s Dispatches, host Brady Crytzer interviews history student and Virginia Army National Guard employee Alexandra I. Griffeth about historic sites in Hanover County, Virginia, associated with Patrick Henry. New episodes of Dispatches are available for free every Saturday evening (Eastern United States Time) on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, Amazon Music, and the JAR Dispatches web site. Dispatches […]

by Editors
4
Battles Posted on

Eutaw Springs and the Ambiguity of Victory

The Battle of Eutaw Springs, South Carolina, on September 8, 1781 was the last major open-field battle of the Revolutionary War and perhaps its most savage. The close-quarter fighting that occurred there ranks among the bloodiest and most intensely contested military encounters in young America’s quest for independence.[1] It has, however, been eclipsed in historical […]

by David Price
Battles Posted on

The Battle of Upper Sandusky, 1782

BOOK REVIEW: The Battle of Upper Sandusky, 1782  by Eric Sterner. Small Battles Series. (Yardley, PA: Westholme Publishing, 2023) Eric Sterner’s recent release, The Battle of Upper Sandusky, 1782, provides a readable and interesting account of one of the lesser known and studied battles of the American Revolution. The battle, often referred to as Crawford’s Campaign […]

by Patrick H. Hannum
Autobiography and Biography Posted on

This Week on Dispatches: Shawn David McGhee on George Washington’s “Rules of Civility”

On this week’s Dispatches, host Brady Crytzer interviews historian and JAR contributor Shawn David McGhee on the mystery of George Washington’s “Rules of Civility.” New episodes of Dispatches are available for free every Saturday evening (Eastern United States Time) on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, Amazon Music, and the JAR Dispatches web site. Dispatches can now be easily accessed on […]

by Editors
3
Autobiography and Biography Posted on

Remembering John Adams

BOOK REVIEW: Remembering John Adams: The Second President in History, Memory and Popular Culture by Marianne Holdzkom (Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Co, 2023) Marianne Holdzkom does not hide her fascination with John Adams anywhere in her book, Remembering John Adams: The Second President in History, Memory and Popular Culture. She starts off in the Preface explaining […]

by Timothy Symington
Battles Posted on

This Week on Dispatches: Eric Sterner on the Engagement Between the Glasgow and the Fledgling Continental Navy

On this week’s Dispatches, host Brady Crytzer interviews author and JAR contributor Eric Sterner on the April 1776 engagement between the British vessel Glasgow and the raw Continental navy off Block Island. The battle had surprising implications. New episodes of Dispatches are available for free every Saturday evening (Eastern United States Time) on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, Amazon Music, […]

by Editors
3
Arts & Literature Posted on

George Washington’s “Rules of Civility”: An Early American Literary Mystery

Tucked away in George Washington’s papers rests a thirty-five-page handwritten folio labeled “Forms of Writing.”[1] In Washington’s neat and ornate cursive, the first roughly two-thirds of this artifact are comprised of carefully copied examples of legal mechanisms such as promissory notes, bills of exchange, short- and long-form wills, and, ominously, a “Form of a Servants […]

by Shawn David McGhee
2
Battles Posted on

Danger at the Breach

American Patriots won a pivotal victory at Charlestown, South Carolina, on June 28, 1776, six days before the Declaration of Independence. The Battle of Sullivan’s Island was the Patriots’ first defeat of a joint attack by the British army and navy and one of their most decisive victories of the entire war. The astonishing win […]

by Doug MacIntyre
2
Interviews Posted on

This Week on Dispatches: Don N. Hagist on the new JAR annual volume and the Website

On this week’s Dispatches, host Brady Crytzer interviews author and JAR managing editor Don N. Hagist on the new 2023 Annual Volume and updates on the forthcoming JAR website facelift. New episodes of Dispatches are available for free every Saturday evening (Eastern United States Time) on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, Amazon Music, and the JAR Dispatches web site. Dispatches […]

by Editors
3
Battles Posted on

Engaging the Glasgow

On April 18, 1776 Captain Tyringham Howe of His Majesty’s Ship Glasgow arrived in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Two weeks prior, the twenty-gun sloop had engaged a task force from the Continental Navy and given better than she received. Vice Admiral Molyneux Shuldham, who briefly commanded Royal Navy in American waters, expected Glasgow to be carrying dispatches from […]

by Eric Sterner
3
Reviews Posted on

Victory Day—Winning American Independence: The Defeat of the British Southern Strategy

BOOK REVIEW: Victory Day—Winning American Independence: The Defeat of the British Southern Strategy by Kenneth Scarlett (North Charleston, SC: Palmetto Publishing, 2023) In his recent book, Victory Day, Winning American Independence, The Defeat of the British Southern Strategy, Kenneth Scarlett addresses the Southern theater of the American Revolution, highlighting several themes. It is important to point out […]

by Patrick H. Hannum
8
Autobiography and Biography Posted on

Remember Baker: A Green Mountain Boy’s Controversial Death and Its Consequences

Despite the imperative nature of his unusual name, Remember Baker has garnered significantly less historical attention than fellow Green Mountain Boys Ethan Allen and Seth Warner. Baker seemed destined for an important role in the Revolutionary War, but his life was cut short in an August 22, 1775 incident across the Quebec border. As a result of […]

by Mark R. Anderson
Interviews Posted on

The Week on Dispatches: John Settle on Col. Abraham Buford’s Virginia Battalion

On this week’s Dispatches, host Brady Crytzer interviews history teacher and JAR contributor John Settle on the fascinating story of Col. Abraham Buford and his Virginia Battalion in 1780 and 1781 . New episodes of Dispatches are available for free every Saturday evening (Eastern United States Time) on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, Amazon Music, and the JAR Dispatches web […]

by Editors
2
Constitutional Debate Posted on

American Inheritance: Liberty and Slavery in the Birth of a Nation, 1765–1795

BOOK REVIEW: American Inheritance: Liberty and Slavery in the Birth of a Nation 1765-1795 by Edward J. Larson (New York, NY: WW Norton & Company, Inc., 2023) The 1619 Projectundeniably makes the case that American history can only be properly understood if slavery is a central pillar (perhaps THE central pillar). The peculiar institution was always […]

by Timothy Symington