*** All JAR Articles ***

People Posted on August 17, 2016August 28, 2016

Who Killed General Agnew? Not Hans Boyer.

Part of the highly revisionist history of the American Revolution that developed in nineteenth century was an apparent obsession with identifying individual sharpshooter heroes who had brought down key individuals during the war’s important battles. Never mind that no one made any such claims when the events actually occurred, no forensic techniques existed to analyze […]

by Don N. Hagist

Reviews Posted on August 16, 2016August 2, 2016

Valiant Ambition

Book review: Valiant Ambition. George Washington, Benedict Arnold, and the Fate of the American Revolution by Nathaniel Philbrick (Viking Books. 2016) [BUY NOW ON AMAZON] Nathaniel Philbrick’s most recent offering, Valiant Ambition, tackles the difficult task of constructing a dual study of two very dissimilar men: George Washington, who led and personified the cause of independence, and […]

by Richard F. Welch

People Posted on August 15, 2016August 28, 2016

William Maxwell, New Jersey’s Hard Fighting General

Brig. Gen. William “Scotch Willie” Maxwell usually receives scant attention in books covering the American Revolution. If the author mentions Maxwell at all, the cursory biographical sketch usually focuses on his nickname, his heavy drinking, and his Irish origin. This colorful portrayal does not give credit to Maxwell’s many contributions during the war, most significantly […]

by Thomas Thorleifur Sobol

People Posted on August 11, 2016August 28, 2016

General Israel Putnam: Reputation Revisited

Entering the American Revolution, Israel Putnam enjoyed an esteemed reputation as a courageous warrior and an accomplished military officer. Putnam earned this repute through over ten years of military experience including serving in the French and Indian War and with the Connecticut militia. During French and Indian War, he rose from a captain to a […]

by Gene Procknow

Religion Posted on August 10, 2016August 28, 2016

The Great Awakening and the American Revolution

America’s Colonial Odd Couple Scholars of Jonathan Edwards have continually compared him with Benjamin Franklin. Both were born in the early eighteenth century (Edwards in 1703, only three years earlier than Franklin), and both distinguished themselves as bright young thinkers. Yet the similarities stop there, as the two have come to embody very different kinds […]

by Daniel N. Gullotta

People Posted on August 9, 2016August 28, 2016

Exploring Thomas Jefferson’s Love of Wine

Thomas Jefferson is said to have quipped that, “Good wine is a necessity of life for me.”[1] It was more than his beverage of choice though. Based on a foundation of love and a refined expertise, wine consciously assumed other diverse functions for him. Among these, it was an inviting target for scientific inquiry and […]

by Geoff Smock

Food & Lifestyle Posted on August 8, 2016August 28, 2016

Revolutionary War Olympics: The Games Our Founders Played

They may not have enjoyed major league baseball, college football, or competitive ice dancing, but the Revolutionary generation was unquestionably an athletic bunch. Colonial sportsmen practiced a number of obscure games that have largely lost currency in America, including cricket, shinny, and whirl, but also participated in contests that would look more familiar, such as […]

by Joshua Shepherd

Politics During the War (1775-1783) Posted on August 4, 2016August 28, 2016

How Article 7 Freed 3000 Slaves

The American Peace Commissioners, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, John Jay, and Henry Laurens, signed the preliminary articles of peace in Paris with Richard Oswald, the British Commissioner, at the Hotel de York on November 30, 1782. The French Foreign Minister, Count de Vergennes, learned of the treaty and wrote to the French minister to the […]

by Bob Ruppert

People Posted on August 2, 2016August 28, 2020

Alexander Hamilton’s Extramarital Escapades

There’s a legend that in the Continental Army winter camp of Morristown, Martha Washington, who spent many winters with her husband,[1] had a prowling tomcat nearby that she named “Hamilton.”[2] The myth isn’t true, but it’s not too much off the mark of the real Alexander Hamilton. But libido aside, if there was ever a […]

by John L. Smith, Jr.

Reviews Posted on August 1, 2016July 8, 2016

Abductions in the American Revolution

Book review: Abductions in the American Revolution: Attempts to Kidnap George Washington, Benedict Arnold and Other Military and Civilian Leaders by Christian McBurney (McFarland, April 2016) [BUY NOW ON AMAZON] It is always exciting when historians innovate new ways to write about the American Revolution. The dual biographies that focus on the relationship between two […]

by Michael Tuosto

People Posted on July 28, 2016August 28, 2016

Captain de Latouche-Tréville’s Strange Affair

Louis René Madeleine Le Vassor de Latouche-Tréville (1745-1804) commanded the French frigate l’Hermione which brought Maj. Gen. Marie Jean Paul Joseph du Motier Marquis de Lafayette (1757–1834) on his second voyage to America. L’Hermione returned to France on February 24, 1782, after the British surrender at Yorktown. King Louis XVI promoted de Latouche-Tréville to Commander […]

by Norman Desmarais

People Posted on July 27, 2016August 28, 2016

Decoding Connecticut Militia 1739-1783

In May 1665, the separate colonies of New Haven and Connecticut joined to form the colony that later became the State of Connecticut. Each colony had laws requiring military training.[1] The oldest book of Connecticut laws I have been able to view is that of 1715, a reprint of the 1702 Acts and Laws.[2] These […]

by John K. Robertson

The War Years (1775-1783) Posted on July 26, 2016August 28, 2016

Eyewitnesses at the Cowpens

Daniel Morgan’s victory over Banastre Tarleton at the Cowpens is one of the most celebrated battles of the revolutionary war. Some historians consider it the greatest tactical victory of the contest and the only time Patriot forces completely routed an army of British regulars in the field. Daniel Morgan’s synchronized use of militia, regulars, and […]

by Wayne Lynch

The War Years (1775-1783) Posted on July 25, 2016August 28, 2016

War on the Middleline: The October 1780 British Raid on Ballston

The war on the New York frontier did not end with Burgoyne’s surrender at Saratoga in October 1777. Year after year the conflict raged on, taking on the characteristics of a civil war. This conflict was not fought by grand armies facing off in titanic struggles, but rather initiated by British Loyalists garrisoned in western […]

by James E. Richmond

The War Years (1775-1783) Posted on July 21, 2016August 28, 2016

March to Quebec and the Fog of War

On June 13, 1775, writing from Crown Point on Lake Champlain, Benedict Arnold reported to the Continental Congress that Britain had only 550 “effective men” guarding all of Canada. Further, according to his intelligence, “great numbers of the Canadians” were “determined to join us whenever we appear in the Country with any force to support […]

by Ray Raphael

Reviews Posted on July 20, 2016July 6, 2016

The Public Universal Friend: Jemima Wilkinson and Religious Enthusiasm in Revolutionary America

Book Review: The Public Universal Friend: Jemima Wilkinson and Religious Enthusiasm in Revolutionary America by Paul B. Moyer (Cornell University Press, 2015) [BUY ON AMAZON] Paul Moyer’s The Public Universal Friend explores the history of a particular sectarian movement in the late eighteenth century and early nineteenth century. The connection to the American Revolution seems tenuous […]

by Michael Tuosto

Places Posted on July 19, 2016August 28, 2016

Mount Vernon During the American Revolution

On June 18, 1775, soon after learning that he had been chosen to lead the Continental Army, George Washington sat down to write a difficult letter to his wife, Martha, who was back home at Mount Vernon, to tell her about this unexpected change in circumstances and what it would mean for her: “… I […]

by Mary V. Thompson

Critical Thinking Posted on July 18, 2016August 28, 2016

Was Richard Stockton a Hero?

With helpful research from two stalwart Journal of the American Revolution authors, Todd Braisted and J. L. Bell, I have concluded that Richard Stockton, a signer of the Declaration of Independence for New Jersey, while not a traitor to the Patriot cause, should not be celebrated as a great Whig hero. New Jersey treats Stockton […]

by Christian McBurney

The War Years (1775-1783) Posted on June 8, 2016August 28, 2016

Drummer Fisher Hung from a Tree

John Fisher hung from a tree. “Near the high road” from Fostertown to Mount Holly, New Jersey, he was in plain sight to the soldiers who marched past.[1] He hung there as an example of what deserters could expect, especially if they were caught bearing arms for the enemy. The impact Fisher’s dangling corpse had […]

by Don N. Hagist

The War Years (1775-1783) Posted on June 7, 2016August 28, 2016

Joshua Barney’s Victory in Delaware Bay

Joshua Barney was born to sail the seas. Between 1771 and 1782, he served as an apprentice aboard a pilot boat; a second mate on the unarmed brig Sidney; a Master’s Mate on the ten-gun sloop Hornet; a first mate on the four-gun schooner Wasp; and a lieutenant aboard the ten-gun sloop Sachem, the fourteen-gun […]

by Bob Ruppert

People Posted on June 2, 2016April 28, 2017

Benjamin Franklin’s Battery of Lovers

If there was ever a theme song for Benjamin Franklin, it would definitely be the 1970 Steven Stills folk-rock ditty, “If You Can’t Be With the One You Love, Love the One You’re With.” Walter Isaacson summed up Franklin’s personal life: “Throughout his life he had few emotional bonds tying him to any one place, […]

by John L. Smith, Jr.

Reviews Posted on June 1, 2016June 1, 2016

The War Before Independence: 1775-1776

Book review: The War Before Independence: 1775-1776 by Derek W. Beck (Sourcebooks, May 2016) [BUY ON AMAZON] The War Before Independence: 1775-1776 is the second volume in Derek Beck’s history of the Revolution following Igniting the Revolution: 1773-1775. Covering the period shortly before Bunker Hill and concluding with the British evacuation of Boston in March of […]

by Alec D. Rogers

People Posted on May 30, 2016November 15, 2016

A General’s Funeral: The Burial of Enoch Poor

Untold thousands died during the American Revolution, some by bullets or bayonets, cannon balls or cutlasses, but the vast majority were carried away from life by the innumerable diseases present in both armies. Death came to privates as well as generals, but few accounts of their interment are as detailed as that of Brig. Gen. […]

by Todd W. Braisted

The War Years (1775-1783) Posted on May 26, 2016August 28, 2016

Battle of Gwynn’s Island: Lord Dunmore’s Last Stand in Virginia

With the Revolutionary War entering its second year in May of 1776, the focus of most Virginians was not on events to the north in Massachusetts, but rather, in Williamsburg and Norfolk. On May 15, the 5th Virginia Convention in Williamsburg (comprised of delegates from all the counties) voted unanimously to support independence from Great […]

by Michael Cecere

Beyond the Classroom Posted on May 25, 2016August 28, 2016

The American Revolution on Stage

If you are a theatre fan who is interested the American Revolution, you may have realized how few shows exist on the subject. While “American theater has seldom been kindly to history plays of any sort,” the Revolution in particular is hardly remembered through theater.[1] There may not be many of pieces of theatre about […]

by Isabel Friedman

Reviews Posted on May 24, 2016May 31, 2016

Musket Ball and Small Shot Identification: A Guide

Book review: Musket Ball and Small Shot Identification: A Guide by Daniel M. Sivilich (Oklahoma Press, 2016) [BUY NOW ON AMAZON] The title of this book makes it sound like a highly technical tract interesting only to those doing very sophisticated analysis or hoping to attach significance to a relatively featureless object. How much can be said about […]

by Don N. Hagist

People Posted on May 23, 2016August 28, 2016

The Loyalist Guides of Lexington and Concord

When Parliament passed the Boston Port Bill in 1774, in an attempt to break the Massachusetts colonists of their resistance to crown policy, it also authorized Gen. Thomas Gage to undertake any military measures necessary to help bring the colony under control. Gage quickly responded by requesting naval warships be sent to the New Hampshire […]

by Alexander Cain

Techniques & Tech Posted on May 19, 2016January 26, 2017

Untangling British Army Ranks

After a few years of editing articles for this journal, it’s become apparent that the ranks of British officers sometimes confuse people. By “sometimes” I mean “often.” And not without reason. Although titles like colonel and captain are familiar to us all, the roles associated with these ranks, and the fact that an individual could […]

by Don N. Hagist

The War Years (1775-1783) Posted on May 18, 2016August 28, 2016

Command and Control During the Yorktown Campaign

The definitions of joint command of land, maritime, air and other forces as practiced by the United States military today were unknown to those who practiced warfare in the eighteenth century. However, the concepts outlined in contemporary definitions were known to military practitioners during that period.[1] General Washington understood the importance of unifying his efforts […]

by Patrick H. Hannum

The War Years (1775-1783) Posted on May 17, 2016August 28, 2016

The Loyalist Exodus of 1778

In March 1778, several hundred South Carolina Loyalists began a march to the British province of East Florida to seek refuge from persecution and assist the British. Their successful effort threw the Whigs of South Carolina and Georgia into a panic and provided a valuable accession of military manpower to East Florida. The Loyalists’ actions […]

by Jim Piecuch

The War Years (1775-1783) Posted on May 16, 2016August 28, 2016

Arthur St. Clair’s Decision to Abandon Fort Ticonderoga and Mount Independence

On the night of July 5-6, 1777, an American army under the command of Maj. Gen. Arthur St. Clair abruptly withdrew from the twin fortifications of Ticonderoga and Mount Independence, abandoning them (along with a massive quantity of supplies and ordnance) to an advancing British and German force from Canada under the command of L. […]

by Ron Morgan

The War Years (1775-1783) Posted on May 12, 2016August 28, 2016

Did the First Cedar Springs Skirmish really happen?

Select any narrative from the dozens of sources that tell the story of what happened on July 12, 1780 at Cedar Springs, South Carolina, and basically here is what you get: Sometime during the night of July 12 a group of Tory militia, said to be one hundred and fifty strong, less than half a […]

by Conner Runyan

People Posted on May 11, 2016August 28, 2016

Paoli: Hero of the Sons of Liberty

In April of 1769, a party was held at James Burne’s house in Philadelphia at which forty-four toast were made. It was common practice that the first toast was to the King and Queen and those that followed were to favorite individuals of the Patriots or to those who represented the issues most front and […]

by Bob Ruppert

People Posted on May 9, 2016August 28, 2016

Paddy Carr, “a honey of a Patriot”

Known primarily through a mix of fact and legend as the most notorious Patriot of the southern campaigns, Paddy Carr was also claimed to have an “amiable and benevolent” nature. As if that contradiction were not enough to create complexity of character, Carr, a stone cold killer of Tories, never swore or uttered blasphemy. Instead, […]

by Wayne Lynch