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Advertising Posted on

THE MUST-ATTEND AMERICAN REVOLUTION CONFERENCE OF 2016

The must-attend American Revolution conference of 2016 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 18-20, 2016, at the Colonial Williamsburg Woodlands Hotel in Williamsburg, Virginia. Friday, March 18 (7 pm) – Sunday, March 20 (Noon) Colonial Williamsburg Woodlands […]

by Editors
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Food & Lifestyle Posted on

Fever

Throughout the American Revolution, opposing armies fought a common enemy. Primary documents on both sides are full of complaints, descriptions and responses to the attacks of a stubborn adversary; fever. As the Declaration of Independence was being prepared, Joseph Hewes of North Carolina complained from Philadelphia on May 17, 1776, “An obstinate ague and Fever, […]

by Kim Burdick
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People Posted on

The American Vicars of Bray

Loyalists, those Americans who openly supported the British Government during the American Revolution, have been largely assumed to have had unchanging allegiance during the conflict; once a Loyalist, always a Loyalist. Similarly, those supporters of Congress and the new United States are assumed to have been constant in their beliefs throughout the war, with one […]

by Todd W. Braisted
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Reviews Posted on

After Yorktown: The Final Struggle for American Independence

Book Review:  After Yorktown:  The Final Struggle for American Independence by Don Glickstein (Westholme Publishing, November 2015). Key tenets of America’s founding ethos are that rugged, independent minded farmers and tradesmen rose up in righteous rebellion to throw off the shackles of British tyranny and they succeeded by winning the last battle of the Revolution […]

by Gene Procknow
News Posted on

Top 10 Articles of October 2015

Things never slow down. October was another busy month for Journal of the American Revolution. We are hard at work compiling the next annual volume (March 2016) and working with our authors to wrap up the two inaugural volumes of our book series. We also had a flurry of book award nominations (November 15 deadline) and welcomed four […]

by Editors
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The War Years (1775-1783) Posted on

New Light on Battle Casualties: The 9th Pennsylvania Regiment at Brandywine

Recognizing the contributions and sacrifices of all combat veterans from any war is a meaningful American tradition. On June 2, 2015, the President of the United States awarded Medal of Honor to Army Sgt. William Shemin and Private Henry Johnson, both World War I soldiers. The President remarked, “We know who you are.  We know […]

by Patrick H. Hannum
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Techniques & Tech Posted on

Winter Soldiering in the Lake Champlain Valley

From the beginning, the American army knew south-facing Fort Ticonderoga did little to protect against an attack coming up Lake Champlain from British-controlled Canada.[1] To address the problem, they decided to fortify the north-facing peninsula, called East Point or Rattlesnake Hill, that poked out into the lake across from Ticonderoga. During the summer of 1776, […]

by Michael Barbieri
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Reviews Posted on

Native Americans in the American Revolution

Book Review: Native Americans in the American Revolution: How the War Divided, Devastated, and Transformed the Early American Indian World by Ethan A. Schmidt (Praeger, 2014) Native Americans in the American Revolution discusses the American Revolution in a way that most have never encountered. This conflict typically depicts “American colonists” against the British, with colonists on both sides […]

by Joshua Butler
News Posted on

Top 10 Articles of September 2015

Students across the United States are back in school and using Journal of the American Revolution as a key resource in history classes and coursework. We can tell by all the traffic stemming from .edu referrers. And with more than 650 articles to search, they’re smart to do so.  In September, we welcomed Robert Carver […]

by Editors
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Reviews Posted on

Hessians: Mercenaries, Rebels, and the War for British North America

Book Review:  Hessians: Mercenaries, Rebels, and the War for British North America by Brady J. Crytzer (Westholme Publishing, 2015). Students of the American Revolution are at least superficially familiar with the soldiers sourced by the British who were principally from the Hesse-Cassel state of Germany and dubbed “Hessians,” however their many contributions, varied roles and […]

by J. Brett Bennett
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Interviews Posted on

Contributor Close-up: Don N. Hagist

About Don N. Hagist Don N. Hagist, editor of Journal of the American Revolution, is an independent researcher specializing in the demographics and material culture of the British Army in the American Revolution. He maintains a blog about British common soldiers and has published a number of articles in academic journals. His books includeThe Revolution’s Last […]

by Editors
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Reviews Posted on

The Queen’s American Rangers

Book Review: The Queen’s American Rangers by Donald J. Gara (Yardley, PA: Westholme Publishing, 2015). There have been very few studies of specific Revolutionary War units, an unusual situation given the number of Civil War unit histories. This is a field where a diligent historian can illuminate particular aspects of a regiment’s service as well as its […]

by Jim Piecuch
Politics During the War (1775-1783) Posted on

Russia and the American War for Independence

The use of foreign troops in time of war was not an uncommon practice in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Much as we have treaties, like NATO, for mutual support, eighteenth-century countries banded together, particularly along family lines, as royal families intermarried to secure and promote their economic and political interests. When the troubles between […]

by Norman Desmarais
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The War Years (1775-1783) Posted on

A Tale of Two Cities: The Destruction of Falmouth and the Defense of Hampton

Destruction of Falmouth (modern day Portland, Maine) On October 8, 1775, a British naval squadron of four ships, led by the lightly armed vessel Canceaux, sailed from Boston Harbor.1  The squadron’s commander, Lieutenant Henry Mowat, had orders from Admiral Samuel Graves, to “chastise” a number of coastal settlements north of Boston. Ten towns were identified as […]

by Michael Cecere
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Reviews Posted on

Independence Lost: Lives on the Edge of the American Revolution

Book Review:  Independence Lost:  Lives on the Edge of the American Revolution by Kathleen DuVal (New York:  Random House, 2015). Increasingly, historians are interpreting the American Revolution from two wider perspectives. First, it was a global war fought on five continents with major battles outside of the thirteen colonies critical to the war’s outcome. Second, […]

by Gene Procknow
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People Posted on

Forgotten Volunteers:  The 1st Company, Governors Foot Guard During the Saratoga Campaign

It is considered the oldest, continuously serving military unit in the United States.  The 1st Company, Governors Foot Guard has as much a storied history as the state that it serves.  It came into existence in 1771, when the Connecticut General Assembly approved a petition that had been submitted by a group of prominent Hartford […]

by Matthew Reardon