Though he was just twenty-two years of age, Walter Stirling already possessed enviable social advantages. He had powerful family connections and enormous personal wealth. A successful banker himself, his renowned father was on the verge of being raised to one of the most prestigious posts in the Royal Navy as Commander-in-Chief, The Nore.[1] If he […]
An incongruous spectacle greeted a scorching Caribbean sun that shone upon a stone quay. Tall slim palms seemed to wave a mournful farewell while providing a much-needed cooling sea breeze. A crowd of darkly dressed Jewish men, their bearded faces hidden in the shadows of broad-brimmed dark hats, huddled on the pier. They were surrounded; […]
Brand new! Retro 70s Revolutionary War t-shirts have finally arrived in our JAR shop. More than 30 new vintage tees are now available and make the perfect gift. Don’t forget Father’s Day! The 1770s take on new meaning with more than 30 different variations of this vintage tee: Stamp Act 1765, Detestable Tea 1773, Lexington […]
Mark your calendars! The grand opening celebration of the American Revolution Museum at Yorktown is March 23-April 4, 2017, officially launching the impressive new museum that replaces the Yorktown Victory Center. Through comprehensive indoor exhibits and outdoor living history, the American Revolution Museum at Yorktown offers a truly national perspective, conveying a sense of the transformational […]
Book review: The American Revolution Reborn, edited by Patrick Spero and Michael Zuckerman (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2016) [BUY NOW ON AMAZON] For decades, the American Revolution’s scholarship has mostly fallen within the same interpretive schools with little departure. In The American Revolution Reborn, a collection of essays edited by Patrick Spero and Michael Zuckerman, […]
In February, we welcomed two new writers, Matthew Wigler and Douglas J. Gladstone, and announced our online magazine’s 2017 advertising rates. If you missed it, we also recently launched pre-orders of our 2017 annual hardcover edition and hosted our ninth group interview. Last call for one of the biggest American Revolution conferences of the year. If you’re free the weekend of […]
Strong in the memories of North Carolina veterans of the Revolution were images of Tory (Americans loyal to the British government) terrorists, mounted on horses (some stolen from Patriots) and flourishing guns and swords.[1] Few of these soldier veterans had been at home during a Tory raid. More often, what the men said in their […]
Before ever he was a president, vice president, ambassador, Continental Congressmen, or Massachusetts lawyer, John Adams was a schoolmaster in a rural hamlet in Colonial Massachusetts. And he was in a state of torment. “I find myself very much inclined to an unreasonable absence of mind, and to a morose and unsociable disposition,” he lamented […]
The war between Britain and her North American colonies shut off the availability of raw materials, specifically timber, tar, and pitch, for the British Royal Navy and her commercial fleet. This placed greater concern on protecting their second biggest supplier, the Baltic States. Part of that protection included confiscating all contraband and naval stores […]
As the colonies of South Carolina and Georgia moved closer to open rebellion against Great Britain in the summer of 1775, leaders of the revolutionary movement found themselves facing a host of potential threats. In addition to the numerous loyalists in both colonies, the tribes of pro-British Indians on their frontiers, and the possibility of […]
Book review: The Ides of War: George Washington and the Newburgh Crisis by Stephen Howard Browne (University of South Carolina Press, 2016) [BUY BOOK ON AMAZON] The Ides of War is an in-depth analysis of the Newburgh Crisis. The author, Stephen Howard Browne, is a professor of rhetorical studies and his expertise informs his analysis of […]
THE CHARLESTOWN CAMPAIGN Beginning with the siege of Charlestown, the southern campaigns would prove to be Britain’s last throw of the dice in the Revolutionary War. As preparations for the Charlestown campaign got under way, Hessian general orders on December 10, 1779 again sought volunteers for a chasseur company to accompany it under George Hanger’s […]
Journal of the American Revolution (JAR) has just finalized its 2017 advertising rates. Companies interested in reaching thousands of enthusiastic history consumers in a short amount of time can request a media kit by submitting this form. Our online magazine boasts an impressive archive of more than 1000 articles (authored by 150+ expert writers) and continues to […]
He describes it as “the best role” of his career. Yet actor William Daniels, whose portrayal of John Adams in both the Broadway and movie versions of 1776 – the Tony Award-winning musical about the signing of the Declaration of Independence – left an indelible mark on a generation of theatergoers, film aficionados and history […]
Duncan Grant was proud of his wife. She was someone to write home about, and that’s exactly what he did. In a letter to his father, he boasted that she kept him “more like a gentleman than a Soldier.” That was quite a compliment; if it was true, Margaret Grant must have been quite an […]
Over the years, historians have written countless works on the military and political aspects of the Siege of Boston. Unfortunately, little attention has been given to the impact of the siege upon the residents of the city. As British military and political authorities attempted to recover from the disaster of April 19, 1775, the residents […]
Due to the work done by many people since 1976 in uncovering the lost history of the American Revolution, for the first time in more than two centuries the people who risked and sacrificed so much in that conflict are no longer just names but human beings. An excellent example of how far the historiography […]
The prevailing academic theories that attempt to interpret the motivations of those American colonists who rebelled against British taxation of, and ultimately, British sovereignty over the Thirteen North American colonies during the American Revolutionary War tend to center their focus on one of two broad themes: either political ideology or economic self-interest. While proponents of […]
Reflecting on the service of American soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines this past Veteran’s Day prompted an interesting question: Who was the first Continental soldier to die in combat during the American Revolution? The death of the first general officer, Brigadier General Richard Montgomery, during the failed American assault on Quebec on December 31, 1775, […]
Last month, Americans observed the peaceful transition of power from one president to another, from one political party to another. Some will point to a tradition that begins with George Washington, who voluntarily stepped down as the first president under the new U.S. Constitution when his second term ended. In fact, the new nation was […]
Its list of battle honors nearly constitutes a history of the Revolution itself. During seven years of service, the Delaware Regiment earned a staggering combat record at the most legendary engagements of the war, including Long Island, White Plains, Trenton, Brandywine, Germantown, Monmouth, Camden, Cowpens, Guilford Courthouse, Hobkirk’s Hill, Ninety-Six, and Eutaw Springs.[1] They were […]
Book review: The Swamp Fox: How Francis Marion Saved the American Revolution, by John Oller (Da Capo Press, 2016) [BUY NOW ON AMAZON] Given the important role that Francis Marion played in the American Revolution, it is surprising that no biography of the famous South Carolinian has been published since Robert D. Bass’s The Swamp Fox: […]
Cheers to the shiny new 2017, our fifth year of publishing educational content! Woo hoo! Talk about a busy January. We announced our 2016 book award winners, launched pre-orders of our 2017 annual hardcover edition, welcomed back an important advertiser, and hosted our ninth group interview. Never a dull moment at the JAR. If you’re free the […]
PHILADELPHIA TO RHODE ISLAND Having pursued a chequered and colourful path in Europe, including a rake’s progress through London high society,[1] George Hanger reached New York City on May 16, 1778 and three days later set sail for Philadelphia to join the Hessian Jäger Corps as a staff captain. He was not unduly surprised to […]
Armies are tasked with enforcing government policies. When it came time for the British military to enforce parliamentary policies concerning the American colonies, however, some members of the army and navy found themselves unable to answer the call because they disagreed with their government. A number of officers across all grades, who were distinguished for […]
Under English rule, trading vessels sailed back and forth from the Delaware River and Bay to Philadelphia, New York, the British Isles, Southern Europe, Madeira, and the West Indies. Raw materials were sent to England for manufacture, traded with non-British entities, and the proceeds spent on British-made goods. Daily runs between Cape Henlopen, New Castle […]
Many of those who served with George Washington in the French and Indian War also served during the Revolutionary War. Some of his former comrades, like Thomas Gage, served the British in both conflicts and were Washington’s enemies in the Revolution. Others, Horatio Gates and Adam Stephen for instance, later served with Washington against the […]
Book review: Brothers at Arms: American Independence and the Men of France and Spain Who Saved It (Knopf, 2016) by Larrie D. Ferreiro. [BUY NOW ON AMAZON] American students of the Revolutionary War may not like to hear it, but author Larrie D. Ferreiro, in his excellent new book, persuasively argues that the United States […]
Hans Christian Febiger was born on the island of Funen, Denmark in 1746. Around the age of sixteen his father died. For the next two years he received a military education, most likely in Copenhagen. In 1765 he travelled to the West Indies with his uncle who had been appointed the governor of the island […]
In June 1780, Gen. George Washington told a lie. In fact, he planned a major deception. But as it was intended to deceive the British high command during the midst of the Revolutionary War, most Americans would likely forgive him. General Washington, with the aid of Major General Lafayette, wanted the British to believe that […]
Book review: From Revolution to Reunion: The Reintegration of the South Carolina Loyalists by Rebecca Brannon (University of South Carolina Press, September 2016) [BUY NOW ON AMAZON] First and foremost, let me just start by saying what a unique and interesting subject Ms. Brannon chose for her book. There are many books out on what […]
We are pleased to introduce our newest collectible hardback, which is now available for pre-order via Amazon and will deliver this spring. The Journal of the American Revolution, Annual Volume 2017, presents the journal’s best historical research and writing over the past calendar year. Articles are carefully selected by the editors and then authors are given […]
Book review: Frontier Country: The Politics of War in Early Pennsylvania by Patrick Spero (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2016). [BUY NOW ON AMAZON] For many Americans, few historical topics elicit such a visceral reaction as the frontier. Decades of Hollywood potboilers have certainly perpetuated distorted misconceptions, but as author Patrick Spero illuminates in his book […]
Ask a group of my 8th grade U.S. History students what the causes of the American Revolution were and they are likely recite a catalogue of British actions: the Navigation Acts, the Stamp Act, “No Taxation without Representation,” the Proclamation of 1763, and the Boston Massacre, among others (or at least their teacher would hope […]
On January 10, 1776, the British governor of North Carolina, Josiah Martin, then bobbing on the HMS Scorpion off Wilmington, appointed just over two dozen Loyalists as colonels, nine of them Cross Creek Highlanders (notably Donald MacDonald) and at least six former Regulators (five in Guilford, one in Chatham).[1] These men, having raised companies of […]
“The lives of malefactors in general are prefaced with a strong outline of their birth, parentage and education, with other peculiar circumstances belonging to them. As for instance, A.B. was born in the parish of ―――――, in the county of ―――――, of reputable and genteel parents, but falling early in life into bad company both […]
Journal of the American Revolution, the popular online magazine and annual book, today announced its winner and runner-up for the 2016 Book of the Year Award. The annual award goes to the non-fiction volume that best mirrors the journal’s mission: to deliver passionate, creative and smart content that makes American Revolution history accessible to a […]
The must-attend American Revolution conference of 2017 is being hosted by America’s History, LLC, one of the nation’s leading history tour and conference companies. The conference will take place the weekend of March 24-26, 2017, at the Colonial Williamsburg Woodlands Hotel in Williamsburg, Virginia. Friday, March 24 to Sunday, March 26, 2017 (conference begins at 6:30 […]
What do you think was the strangest or most unconventional moment, battle or event of the Revolution? The “Salem Alarm” occurred when Gen. Gage heard a rumor that rebel cannon were hidden in a Salem blacksmith’s shop, north of Boston. Gage sent Lt. Col. Alexander Leslie and troops on a secret nighttime sail to […]
