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 Reviews Posted on

New JAR Book: John Adams vs Thomas Paine: Rival Plans for the Early Republic by Jett B. Conner

We are very happy to announce our newest JAR book is now available for sale. John Adams vs Thomas Paine: Rival Plans for the Early Republic by Jett B. Conner [BUY NOW ON AMAZON] How Paine’s Common Sense and Adams’s Thoughts on Government shaped our modern political institutions. Initially admiring Thomas Paine’s efforts for independence, John Adams nevertheless was […]

by Editors
2
People Posted on

The Earl of Dartmouth, Secretary of State for the Colonies, Second Year: November 1773 – August 1774

During the three months that the Earl of Dartmouth, Secretary of State for the Colonies, was on holiday from August to November 1773, the Secretary of State’s office received only routine dispatches from the colonies. Shortly after he returned in November, he was faced with another colonial issue -the Boston Tea Party. In 1772, the […]

by Bob Ruppert
1
Politics During the War (1775-1783) Posted on

John Adams and the Molding of William Vans Murray, Peacemaker

John Adams had a nose for good character. He could sniff out individuals of talent and integrity like a bloodhound. He famously nominated George Washington as commander-in-chief of the Continental army in 1775, urged Thomas Jefferson to spearhead the drafting of the Declaration of Independence, appointed John Marshall as secretary of state and chief justice […]

by Nick DeLuca
1
People Posted on

Compelled to Row: Blacks on Royal Navy Galleys During the American Revolution

For many Americans, their only knowledge of galleys and the men who rowed them comes from movies such as Ben-Hur. Suffice it to say, movies’ depictions of galleys and their crews are often historically inaccurate. But there is a more significant historiographical gap regarding galleys than movies having presented a false depiction of galley crews: […]

by Charles R. Foy
Features Posted on

Norfolk, Virginia, Sacked by North Carolina and Virginia Troops

If the headline of a January or February 1776 edition of any North American Tory newspaper read, “Norfolk, Virginia, Sacked by North Carolina and Virginia Troops,” it would not have constituted propaganda. Loyalists in Tidewater Virginia, under the leadership of Lord Dunmore, Virginia’s Royal Governor, were under siege by rebel Whig or Patriot troops from […]

by Patrick H. Hannum
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Features Posted on

The Connecticut Captivity of William Franklin, Loyalist

War, an odious invention of man, attempts to portray the enemy as subhuman, unworthy of normal sympathy. Civilized societies respected the sanctity of human life; but enemy prisoners were a byproduct of conflict and open to abuse via military policies designed to debase and dehumanize. Historically, prisoner-of-war internment facilities were harsher than those used for […]

by Louis Arthur Norton
Features Posted on

Top 10 Articles of October 2017

Happy Halloween to all our readers! Before we look back at our most popular articles of the month, please join us in welcoming three new JAR writers: Michael R. Derderian, Robert Grandchamp and Michael Aikey. Last month, we also welcomed a new JAR advertiser, a Kickstarter campaign for Patriots & Redcoats, the hidden-identity card game capturing the […]

by Editors
Features Posted on

Jacob’s Land: Revolutionary War Soldiers, Schemers, Scoundrels and the Settling of New York’s Frontier

Book Review: Jacob’s Land: Revolutionary War Soldiers, Schemers, Scoundrels and the Settling of New York’s Frontier by Charles Yaple (CreateSpace Independent Publishing, March 2017) [BUY NOW ON AMAZON] Jacob’s Land by Charles Yaple is a fascinating, multigenerational narrative history of an immigrant family, their migration into the wilderness, and of the native tribes who populated […]

by Phillip R. Giffin
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Features Posted on

Analyzing the Founders: A Closer Look at the Signers of Four Founding Documents

Writing about Roger Sherman, the only man to sign our four most important founding documents – the Continental Association, the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, and the Constitution – got me wondering why there weren’t more who had done so, and in particular why our most famous Founding Fathers hadn’t. I decided it […]

by Richard J. Werther
2
People Posted on

From Wannabe Redcoat to Rebel: George Washington’s Journey to Revolution

From the ministry’s point of view, affairs in America really were quite appalling. The unpardonable brashness of a cocksure young provincial had instantly escalated a minor diplomatic dispute in the wilderness fringe of North America into a war between the world’s two great powers – a war for which His Majesty’s government was woefully unprepared. […]

by Geoff Smock
Reviews Posted on

What Remains: Searching for the Memory and Lost Grave of John Paul Jones

Book Review: What Remains: Searching for the Memory and Lost Grave of John Paul Jones by Robert Hornick (University of Massachusetts Press, 2017) [BUY NOW ON AMAZON] The title Robert Hornick selected for his recent analytic and meticulously researched and documented book on John Paul Jones says it all, “What Remains.” John Paul Jones’s journey into […]

by Patrick H. Hannum
2
People Posted on

General John Dagworthy: George Washington’s Forgotten American Rival

Every summer, millions of tourists flock to the beaches and resorts on the Delaware-Maryland-Virginia (Delmarva) peninsula sandwiched between the Chesapeake Bay and Atlantic Ocean.  Those headed for Bethany Beach, Fenwick Island, or the state parks that line the Atlantic shores of Delaware may well pass by Prince George’s Chapel in Dagsboro.  Authorized in 1755 by […]

by Eric Sterner
The War Years (1775-1783) Posted on

The Affair At Egg Harbor: Massacre Of The Pulaski Legion

On the Topographic-Bathymetric Series Map, Eastern United States, 1:250,000, Wilmington: NJ 18-2 (1972) prepared by the United States Geological Survey located at grid WU5.5, 8.0 is a symbol for a landmark labeled, “Pulaski Monument.” This monument indicates the site of the “massacre” of the Pulaski Legion in the pre-dawn hours of October 15, 1778.[1] In […]

by Joseph E. Wroblewski
2
Prewar Conflict (<1775) Posted on

This Licentious Republic: Maritime Skirmishes in Narragansett Bay 1763-1769

As a British colony located on the Atlantic Ocean, Rhode Island’s wealth grew by utilizing the ocean’s vast resources. Rhode Island’s Narragansett Bay is roughly two hundred and fifty square miles, which includes small islands and bays. Hundreds of ships carrying both raw materials from the colonies and manufactured products from England traveled through Narragansett […]

by Michael R. Derderian
News Posted on

Top 10 Articles of September 2017

This September we welcomed two new writers—Bradley Sussner and Tom Shachtman—and published a flurry of fascinating articles. We are all anxiously awaiting the publication of our latest book series book, John Adams vs Thomas Paine: Rival Plans for the Early Republic by Jett B. Conner. Below are the top 10 most popular articles of September: Roger Sherman: The […]

by Editors
Reviews Posted on

The Dog Head Sword of Succasunna: Forgotten Family Patriots and Loyalists in the Revolutionary War

Book Review: The Dog Head Sword of Succasunna: Forgotten Family Patriots and Loyalists in the Revolutionary War by John Lawrence Brasher (Shelby Printing, 2016) [BUY NOW ON AMAZON] Artifacts hold a special place in our appreciation for history. When we see, or better still, touch, an object that came from another era, we feel connected to that […]

by Don N. Hagist
People Posted on

Unknown and forgotten: James Hogun

Generals appointed by the Continental Congress often owed their commissions to their state of residence as the congressmen tried to ensure that the rank of general be equally spread among the colonies based upon population. Five generals were appointed from the state of North Carolina during the Revolution: Francis Nash, James Moore, Robert Howe, Jethro […]

by Jeff Dacus