*** All JAR Articles ***

5
People Posted on

George Hanger ― His Early Life

“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 […]

by Ian Saberton
4
Interviews Posted on

Weirdest moment?

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 […]

by Editors
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Interviews Posted on

Ultimate sacrifice?

Which individual made the single greatest sacrifice, other than death, for their cause?   In 1774, Philadelphia importer Robert Morris was arguably the wealthiest man in America. He could have sat out the war in relative luxury or certainly even, as some merchants did, made a profit during the war. Instead, hearing the call to […]

by Editors
3
Interviews Posted on

Worst working relationship?

Which two people let their personal dislike of each other interfere the most with their working relationship?   It was quite obvious that generals, Charles Cornwallis and his superior officer Henry Clinton didn’t care for each other. As early as Oct. 1776 after White Plains, Clinton said some bad things about Howe (their overall commander-in-chief), […]

by Editors
3
Interviews Posted on

Best working friendship?

Which two people leveraged their friendship into a positive working relationship that delivered strong results?   The personal relationship Paris Commissioners Benjamin Franklin and Silas Deane had with Edward Bancroft give him total access to all of America’s activities and plans with France before and during their formal alliance. It was this trusting relationship that […]

by Editors
People Posted on

Fishermen and Foxhunters: Washington’s “Gentlemen of Fortune”

Before Lexington and Concord, before there was any need for an army, and before men found themselves beholden to the dictates of military service there were the many trade, social, and sporting organizations offering them opportunities to associate together.  In Philadelphia, where before the war there were no less than seventeen private fire companies engaged […]

by Gary Shattuck
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The War Years (1775-1783) Posted on

The Revolutionary War in the south: Re-evaluations of certain revolutionary actors and events

This article provides a wide-ranging set of re-evaluations compartmentalised under the sub-headings below and placed in the context of the historiography relating to them.  Based preponderantly on The Cornwallis Papers,[1] the article crystallises my reassessment of the actors and events addressed. Re-evaluations of certain revolutionary actors Thomas Sumter While adverting to the internecine warfare waged […]

by Ian Saberton
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The War Years (1775-1783) Posted on

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
1
Reviews Posted on

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
Reviews Posted on

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
4
Reviews Posted on

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
5
People Posted on

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
People Posted on

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
People Posted on

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
1
People Posted on

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
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Reviews Posted on

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
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Reviews Posted on

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