*** All JAR Articles ***

The War Years (1775-1783) Posted on December 2, 2016November 26, 2017

The “P” is for Profit: Revolutionary War Privateers and the Slave Trade

The American Revolutionary War was fought largely by armies on the North American continent, however, like waves in a pond the conflict inevitably rippled out across the Atlantic world. The flow of people, supplies, and information was crucial to waging war across the Atlantic, and they were linked by who could control the sea. While […]

by Michael Thomin

Reviews Posted on December 1, 2016November 4, 2016

Manufacturing Independence: Industrial Innovation in the American Revolution

Book review: Manufacturing Independence: Industrial Innovation in the American Revolution by Robert F. Smith (Westholme Publishing, August 2016) [BUY NOW ON AMAZON] In his 1961 Farewell Address, President Eisenhower famously warned his fellow citizens to “guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military industrial complex.” While his warning endured, he […]

by Eric Sterner

News Posted on November 30, 2016November 30, 2016

Last Call! Order Deadlines for Revolutionary Gifts

December is almost here! If you’re planning to order something special from the Journal of the American Revolution gift shop, please keep these rapidly approaching order-by deadlines in mind so you get your gifts on time. Since our products are all custom printed and shipped on demand by a third-party vendor, they require a longer lead […]

by Editors

Reviews Posted on November 29, 2016November 20, 2016

Confounding Father: Thomas Jefferson’s Image in His Own Time

Book review: Confounding Father: Thomas Jefferson’s Image in His Own Time by Robert M.S. McDonald (University of Virginia Press, August 2016). [BUY NOW ON AMAZON] Thomas Jefferson’s contemporaries often acknowledged his quiet, meek, and at times downright awkward disposition, and yet this mild-mannered man became one of the most controversial figures of his time. In […]

by Kelly Mielke

People Posted on November 28, 2016November 15, 2016

Abigail Hartman Rice, Revolutionary War Nurse

The lives of the Revolutionary era’s extraordinary women have long been celebrated. At historic sites throughout our country, visitors can learn the stories of Margaret Corbin, Phyllis Wheatley, Abigail Adams, and others. But the experiences of women who did not fight in battle, write poetry, or dabble in politics are not as often interpreted. Nostalgia […]

by Blake McGready

Reviews Posted on November 25, 2016November 4, 2016

War on the Middleline

Book review: War on the Middleline: The Founding of a Community In the Kayaderosseras Patent In the Midst of the American Revolution by James E. Richmond (Lulu Publishing, September 2016) [BUY NOW ON AMAZON] The schoolbook story of the American Revolution in New York State is a series of well-celebrated dramatic exclamation points: the capture of […]

by Nicholas Westbrook

Beyond the Classroom Posted on November 24, 2016November 25, 2016

2016 Revolutionary War Geek Gift Guide

It’s that time of year again – time to let Journal of the American Revolution solve all your holiday gift-giving conundrums. Here are our picks for 2016, and if you don’t find the ideal gift here, take a look at our guides for 2013, 2014 and 2015. Swordfighting Pillow Cases While it’s never good to […]

by Editors

People Posted on November 23, 2016November 23, 2016

The Remarkable Spanish Pilgrimage of John Adams

The ship carrying John Adams was sinking in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean! The awful thought must have been crippling for Adams, chosen almost unanimously by Congress to travel to France for this second time. It was November 1779 and Adams was being sent as minister to negotiate treaties of commerce, and most importantly […]

by John L. Smith, Jr.

The War Years (1775-1783) Posted on November 22, 2016February 16, 2022

The 3rd New Jersey Regiment’s Ill-Fated Patrol

In the summer of 1776, the restored Fort Stanwix (renamed as Fort Schuyler) sat on what was the western edge of civilization in present day Rome, New York. The surrounding area was barely populated, but immediately to the west was unoccupied Indian territory. Therefore, the threat of Indian attack was a serious concern of the […]

by Philip D. Weaver

People Posted on November 21, 2016November 30, 2016

The Revolutionary War in the south: Re-evaluations of certain British and British American actors

Prefatory remarks Wide-ranging and to some degree disparate as they are, my re-evaluations are, on the one hand, compartmentalized under the sub-headings set out below and, on the other, placed in the context of the historiography relating to them. Based preponderantly on The Cornwallis Papers,[1] they crystallize my reassessment of the persons addressed. As ever, […]

by Ian Saberton

Reviews Posted on November 18, 2016November 18, 2016

Revolutionary Delaware: Independence in the First State

Book review: Revolutionary Delaware: Independence in the First State by Kim Rogers Burdick (History Press, November 2016) [BUY NOW ON AMAZON] There needs to be twelve more books just like this one. Only one for each colony will suffice. Kim Burdick has found a way to foster debate and discussion amongst Revolutionary War enthusiasts that […]

by Michael Tuosto

People Posted on November 17, 2016March 15, 2021

Benjamin Franklin and Judaism

Though not always able to offer definitive evidence of a link between the two men, since the nineteenth century Jewish scholars have affirmed that Sefer Heshbon Ha-nefesh (The Book of Spiritual Accounting) — a Hebrew work published in 1808[1] by the early Eastern European maskil (Jewish enlightener)[2] Rabbi Menahem Mendel Lefin of Satanow (1749-1826)[3] — […]

by Shai Afsai

The War Years (1775-1783) Posted on November 16, 2016November 4, 2016

The Revolution told by one of the Navy’s Greatest Ships

The importance of the maritime history of the American Revolution is often overlooked. Most of the war was fought on land, and what few ships the American’s could muster failed to achieve significant wins throughout the course of the war. Many history books record one significant battle and its hero, John Paul Jones. In recent […]

by Joel W. Thurman

People Posted on November 15, 2016November 4, 2016

Rochambeau’s Arrest

The French army was returning from Yorktown, Virginia in 1782 on their way to Newport and Boston. Lt. Gen. Jean Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur Comte de Rochambeau, preferring his duty to his comfort, always ordered his general staff to select the house closest to the camp for his headquarters. When the army reached Crompond, New […]

by Norman Desmarais

People Posted on November 14, 2016November 4, 2016

The Winter of His Discontent: Casimir Pulaski’s Resignation as Commander of Horse

Casimir Pulaski, an exiled Polish nobleman, through the influence of well-placed individuals in the French Court and based on his experience as the de facto military leader of the rebel forces in Poland[1] was able to obtain interviews and letters of recommendation from both Silas Deane and Benjamin Franklin.[2] He arrived at Marblehead, Massachusetts, with […]

by Joseph E. Wroblewski

Food & Lifestyle Posted on November 10, 2016November 4, 2016

Society at Auction: Coffee-House Culture in Occupied New York

In 1779, three years into the British occupation of New York during the American Revolution, a man returned to the city to “attend the usual hours of business at [Merchants’] Coffee House.”[1] He must have been destined to pursue his particular trade, for his name was “William Tongue, Licensed Auctioneer.”[2] The institution to which the […]

by Jonathan Bayer

The War Years (1775-1783) Posted on November 9, 2016November 4, 2016

The Three Letters that determined the Campaign to Yorktown

In the spring of 1781, Washington’s army was small (he would report on July 15 that he had only 5,835 rank and file); “the civil departments [were] totally destitute of money,” and with no money supplies could not be secured. Washington knew that France was not going to continue to support the United States with […]

by Bob Ruppert

The War Years (1775-1783) Posted on November 8, 2016November 8, 2016

“The Celebrated and Notorious” Ned Turner

Deep in South Carolina’s back country the Loyalist world came apart in the fall of 1781. British occupation ended with their retreat into the Charleston area and proclamations concerning safety of the loyalist families had been largely ignored by local Patriots. Vengeance and plunder were the priorities for far too many. The time of oppression […]

by Wayne Lynch

Religion Posted on November 7, 2016October 25, 2016

Thomas Paine, Deism, and the Masonic Fraternity

Thomas Paine’s close associations with famous Freemasons in America, England, and France have not only frequently been taken as evidence that he was a Freemason himself, but have also been seen as explaining his sudden rise to literary and political prominence after arriving in the American colonies from England. His writing of an essay “On […]

by Shai Afsai

Reviews Posted on November 4, 2016November 8, 2016

American Revolutions: A Continental History

Book review: American Revolutions: A Continental History, 1750-1804 by Alan Taylor (W.W. Norton and Company, 2016). [BUY BOOK ON AMAZON] Nathaniel Hawthorne’s tale of a young Englishman seeking the favor of his wealthy relation in colonial America opens Alan Taylor’s new book on the American Revolution.[1] Instead of encountering his prosperous relation presiding peacefully over his […]

by Alec D. Rogers

Critical Thinking Posted on November 3, 2016October 25, 2016

The Mythology of Stony Point

The American War for Independence, like any great historical episode, has its share of legends and mythology. The period from 1775 to 1783, perhaps more than any other period in our short history, went through the wringer of nineteenth century romanticism perhaps a little worse for the wear. Students of the period too often find […]

by Michael J. F. Sheehan

Arts & Literature Posted on November 2, 2016October 25, 2016

Joseph Addison’s Cato: Liberty on the Stage

The study of ancient Greece and Rome was a significant part of upper class education in Colonial and Revolutionary America. The founders were familiar with spread of Greek democracy, the fall of the Roman Republic, concepts of citizenship, and the rise of tyrants and dictators. They drew cautionary lessons, particularly about the vulnerabilities of democracies […]

by Eric Sterner

Places Posted on November 1, 2016October 8, 2016

The ABC’s of the Valley Forge Encampment

Six months of struggle shaped into twenty-six characters. A – Arrival The Continental Army under Gen. George Washington trudged into Valley Forge on December 19, 1777. About 14,000 soldiers and hundreds of women and children came to this winter encampment, the third of the Revolutionary War. The army left Valley Forge six months later, on […]

by Nancy K. Loane

News Posted on October 31, 2016October 31, 2016

Drunk and Disorderly: The Dreadful Havoc of Spirituous Liquors

Drink does not drown care, but waters it, and makes it grow faster.[1] Valley Forge. For most Americans, the very name of the Pennsylvania winter encampment conjures up images of destitute soldiers woefully lacking the basic necessities of life: food, clothing, shelter. It would seem, however, that there was a good bit of liquor to […]

by Joshua Shepherd

Reviews Posted on October 26, 2016September 18, 2016

Hector Maclean: The Writings of a Loyalist-Era Military Settler in Nova Scotia

Book review: Hector Maclean: The Writings of a Loyalist-Era Military Settler in Nova Scotia by Jo Currie, Keith Mercer, John G. Reid (Gaspereau Press, 2015) [BUY NOW ON AMAZON] Recent scholarship has placed more focus on the plight of Loyalists who were displaced from their homes and livelihoods in the United States, and the struggles they […]

by Don N. Hagist

People Posted on October 25, 2016February 16, 2022

The Worthy but Troubled Continental Service of Capt. Barent J. Ten Eyck

With the clash of arms that began the American Revolution, Capt. Barent J. Ten Eyck, of the Albany County Militia, served as courier for the Committee of Safety, Correspondence, and Protection in Albany, NY. The first week of May 1775, the “worthy” Ten Eyck delivered a letter of solidarity to the Massachusetts Committee of Safety […]

by Philip D. Weaver

The War Years (1775-1783) Posted on October 24, 2016September 18, 2016

Washington Heeds Jeney, Takes Trenton

Attacking at night, during a snowstorm: genius or folly? For Gen. Richard Montgomery at Quebec on December 31, 1775, it was a fatal disaster, but for Gen. George Washington at Trenton, New Jersey on December 26, 1776, it was a stroke of tactical brilliance that resulted in a complete and game-changing victory. There were many […]

by Don N. Hagist

The War Years (1775-1783) Posted on October 21, 2016October 7, 2016

How Yorktown Almost Couldn’t Afford to Happen

Gen. George Washington, from the point of view of Americans being trapped at “York,”[1] wrote these prophetic words- These by being upon a narrow neck of land, would be in danger of being cut off. The enemy might very easily throw up a few ships into York and James’ river, as far as Queens Creek; […]

by John L. Smith, Jr.

Prewar Politics (<1775) Posted on October 20, 2016September 18, 2016

Election Fraud and Voter Suppression: 18th-century Style

There was certainly no love lost between two of the three Virginia gentlemen from Prince William County who stood for office in the county’s 1761 election for the House of Burgesses. Five years earlier, in 1756, Henry Peyton’s petition to the House of Burgess accusing Henry Lee II of electoral misconduct (specifically that “he had […]

by Michael Cecere

People Posted on October 19, 2016January 13, 2017

Hezekiah Munsell Goes to War with the Connecticut Militia

In the spring of 1841, a correspondent from the Hartford Courant went to East Windsor, Connecticut looking for an elderly man who was a bit of a local celebrity. The Courant, which had originated as a weekly newspaper in 1764, played a large influential role in affecting the opinions of many within Connecticut during the […]

by Matthew Reardon

The War Years (1775-1783) Posted on October 18, 2016October 7, 2016

With Cornwallis to the Dan: Deconstructing the “Forbes Champagné Letter”

The American War of Independence produced many dramatic episodes, but none surpassed the campaign that Lt. Gen. Charles, Second Earl Cornwallis, conducted in North Carolina during the first three months of 1781 for hair-raising suspense and heartbreak. Things got off to a bad start for the British on January 17, 1781, at the Battle of […]

by Gregory J. W. Urwin

People Posted on October 17, 2016September 18, 2016

Continental Generals: Backgrounds and Fates

On the pages of the Journal of the American Revolution there have been articles on the best and worst generals of the Revolutionary War. It is not a question of the best or worst but rather how could a group of amateur generals leading a force of civilians abruptly turned into fighting men defeat a […]

by Jeff Dacus

Religion Posted on October 14, 2016October 18, 2016

Religious Liberty in Virginia: How “Dissenters” Parlayed Oppression into Freedom

Virginia’s role in helping to spearhead disestablishment and religious freedom has not received the treatment it deserves although it was, itself, a moving force behind Virginia’s entrée into the revolution. It was, in fact, Virginia which ultimately spearheaded and codified separation of church and state, after a reform movement which itself played a significant role […]

by Alex Colvin

The War Years (1775-1783) Posted on October 13, 2016October 13, 2016

A New Eyewitness Account of Valcour Island Resolves the Pringle Controversy

The Battle of Valcour Island was, in many ways, a waterborne version of the Battle of Bunker Hill: a greatly superior British force rushed, with little forethought or planning, into a fight against Americans making a stand on ground (or water) of their choosing. After a long and bloody battle, the British drove the American […]

by C. E. Pippenger

The War Years (1775-1783) Posted on October 12, 2016September 18, 2016

Skirmish at the Thomas House: America’s First Sniper Team?

Even under the strange, somewhat inept leadership of Loyalist Col. John Moore, the task of hampering Spartanburg’s Fair Forest role as a Patriot stronghold should have been straightforward. What could not have been known is what would happen when the frontier’s best sharpshooter teamed up with three lovely, most remarkable of women along with a […]

by Conner Runyan

The War Years (1775-1783) Posted on October 11, 2016October 11, 2016

Recently Discovered Letters Shed New Light on the Battle of Valcour Island

In July 1776, two hundred and forty years ago this year, the Continental Congress signed the Declaration of Independence, declaring the United Colonies to be the United States. Three months later, on the waters of Lake Champlain, a naval battle took place that would, as much as any event in the war, make that declaration […]