The next several weeks will be a short break from the usual content featured at Journal of the American Revolution, so we wanted to take this opportunity to give you a preview of what’s planned. Next week (June 8-12) will be our sixth group interview. Five days of Q&A with multiple historians. Spoiler alert: The […]
We are having a blast working with our contributors and Westholme Publishing to produce collectible hardbacks in 2015 and beyond, and we can’t wait to share the finished product, the inaugural fruits of the JAR-Westholme collaboration, with everyone. Yesterday, we received a box of our new books from our distributor, University of Chicago Press, and […]
When researching the Revolutionary War one is constantly keeping an eye out for primary source materials. Some of those sources are the very same books read by the people we study, including the wide range of books on military science published during the seventeen hundreds. Thomas Simes was one of the most prolific military writers […]
On June 8th, 1783, Gen. George Washington issued the following orders to the Continental army from his headquarters in Newburgh, New York: Serjeant Bissel of the 2d Connecticut regt. having performed some important services, within the immediate knowledge of the Commander in chief, in which the fidelity, perseverence, and good sense of the said serjeant […]
About Michael Schellhammer: Michael Schellhammer is a former U.S. Army infantry, intelligence, and civil affairs officer. He served in the Persian Gulf War, Haiti, Bosnia, and Iraq. His work has appeared in The Washington Post, The Washington Times and The Military Intelligence Professional Bulletin. He is the author of The 83rd Pennsylvania Volunteers in the […]
For those who don’t know, Journal of the American Revolution‘s three publishing pillars include the free online magazine at allthingsliberty.com, an annual hardback collector’s edition and a recently-announced book series of original monographs. Journal of the American Revolution, Annual Volume 2015 presents the journal’s best historical research and writing of the previous year. Designed for […]
About Bob Ruppert: Bob Ruppert is a retired high school administrator from the greater Chicago-land area. He received his undergraduate degree from Loyola University and his graduate degree from the University of Illinois. He has been researching the American Revolution, the War for Independence and the Federal Period for more than ten years. His interest […]
I, poor creature, worn out with scribbling, for my Bread and my Liberty, low in Spirits and weak in Health, must leave others to wear the laurels which I have sown; others, to eat the Bread which I have earned. John Adams to Abigail Adams June 23, 1775[1] … flour was laid upon a flat […]
A Quaker miller named Daniel Byrnes (1730-1797) began appearing in New Castle County, Delaware land records in 1760, buying and selling land bordering the south side of Wilmington’s Brandywine River.[1] That year, Byrnes and William Moore built a mill with an overshot wheel “across the Brandywine near French Street” and fellow Quaker, William Marshall built […]
In the late summer of 1776, Nathan Hale was a handsome, tall, charismatic twenty-one-year-old school teacher from Coventry, Connecticut with no battle experience but eager to do his duty for his country’s rebellion. “I owe to my country the accomplishment of an object so important…”[1] His accomplishment is well known, but not in the way […]
The highest ranking Continental Army officer to be killed during the Siege of Yorktown in 1781 was Col. Alexander Scammell, 34-year old commander of the New Hampshire Regiment.[1] The descriptions of his capture and wounding in the many published accounts of the siege contain inconsistencies about where he was captured and associated events. In addition, […]
In August 1780, Lieutenant-Colonel Abraham Van Buskirk of the 4th Battalion, New Jersey Volunteers, received orders to form a light infantry company.[1] The commanding officers of five other Provincial battalions around New York City also were directed to form light infantry companies composed of men drawn from the rest of their battalions. It was typical […]
About Wayne Lynch: Wayne Lynch is an independent researcher and frequent writer of American history. Since 2010, he has been researching and writing a book about the Southern Campaigns of the American Revolution. With several ancestors who were active on both sides of Revolutionary fighting in the south, Wayne has enjoyed a lifelong attachment to […]
In December 1775, British Colonel William Faucitt and Hessian minister Martin Ernst von Schlieffen drafted a treaty promising the Hessian Landgraf Friedrich II a large sum of money in return for soldiers.[1] The British had spent the fall of 1775 offering subsidies to German states of the Holy Roman Empire they were allied with in […]
Jamaican-born Scotsman Colonel Ann Hawkes Hay of the 2nd Regiment of Orange County Militia looked over his property in Haverstraw, New York towards the wide expanse of Haverstraw Bay in the Hudson River on the morning of March 23, 1777. What he saw shocked him: British sails in the river. Col. Hay wrote to General […]
Following the Battle of Monmouth in late 1778, the traditional narrative of the American Revolution becomes lost for many non-specialists. With the existing dichotomy of “American Patriot” versus “British Redcoat” in popular culture, newcomers are often bewildered by the terrible brand of violent politics that so typifies the war on the frontiers of New York […]
Mount Vernon is proud to serve as the 2015 conference host and co-sponsor for the Sons of the American Revolution (SAR)’s Annual Conference on the American Revolution. Other partner organizations include the Richard Lounsbery Foundation and Friends of Hermione – Lafayette in America. This conference will highlight the well-known alliance between the United States and […]
In the summer of 1774 when the 38th Regiment of Foot arrived in Boston harbor, amongst the 450 officers and men who disembarked were two trained artists – Joseph Dunkerley and Richard Brunton. While miniature painter Dunkerley’s history and accomplishments have been well documented, new details concerning engraver Brunton’s life and times and his artistic […]
But what still hightens our Apprehensions is that those unexpected proceedings may be preparatory to new Taxations upon us: For if our Trade may be taxed why not our Lands? Why not the produce of our Lands and every Thing we possess or make use of? This we apprehend annihilates our Charter Rights to Govern […]
When a party is formed within the State which ceases to obey the sovereign and is strong enough to make a stand against him, or when a Republic is divided into two opposite factions, and both sides take up arms, there exists a civil war. … it is perfectly clear that the established laws of […]
On March 10, 1782, Colonel David Fanning led a band of vengeful Loyalists on a path of slaughter and arson in northern Randolph County, North Carolina, his Bloody Sabbath house-calls. Most of our information about this episode has been from E. W. Caruthers’s 1854 Revolutionary Incidents and Fanning’s own Narrative, first published in 1861, thirty-six […]
Journal of the American Revolution is hosting a RevWar Schmoozer next Friday, May 8, to celebrate our 2015 annual volume and new book series. The networking event for history professionals and amateurs will be held at The Point, 147 Hanover Street in Boston. The Point’s second floor is reserved from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. The […]
In 1779 George Washington moved the Continental Army into New Jersey. He wanted to be within striking distance of New York City but at the same time be able to respond to an attack in or around Philadelphia. He chose Morristown at Jockey Hollow in the Watchung Mountains as his camp and headquarters. To protect […]
In August 1779 Continental army surgeon Jabez Campfield wrote, “How hard is the soldier’s lott who’s least danger is in the field of action? Fighting happens seldom, but fatigue, hunger, cold & heat are constantly varying his distress.” In the same vein, eighteenth century common soldiers spent much more time preparing meals, digging fortifications or […]
Co-authored with Don N. Hagist An inevitable facet of warfare is prisoners. During the American Revolution, thousands of soldiers and sailors were captured by each side and the prisoners suffered in many ways. The impact of these captures extended far beyond immediate manpower concerns, compelling each side to confront unwanted, huge logistical considerations concerning their […]
A soldier’s life in the eighteenth century was surely difficult. Most people think only of the total war that raged on, where troops marched towards uncertainty and possible death in battle lines, firing volleys at one another. But it wasn’t always about facing the enemy; military life was full of its own dangers even while […]
Most people don’t know this, but Hugh T. Harrington is the reason that the Journal of the American Revolution exists. I remember calling him one night in August 2012 and sharing my crazy idea. I spent several minutes explaining the master plan for an online magazine, the need for a memorable website address, and the […]
The Fred W. Smith National Library for the Study of George Washington, home of the George Washington Leadership Institute, is proud to host George Washington’s Yorktown: From Mount Vernon to Victory, June 6-7, 2015. Join us for a two-day tour and battlefield excursion experience that highlights the strategic, operational, and tactical levels of the Yorktown […]
“For it’s a tall old tree and a strong old tree. And we are the sons, yes, we are the sons… the sons of liberty”[1]. So went the catchy song that the tea-dumping Sons of Liberty sang loudly in the streets that night, all in perfect harmony and accompanied by mysterious instruments that came out […]
In 1775, Gilbert du Motier de Lafayette was an eighteen-year-old French soldier assigned to military maneuvers at Metz. At Metz, he attended an official dinner where the Duke of Gloucester, younger brother of England’s King George III, was expounding upon the American Revolution.[1] Amazed by what he heard, Lafayette later wrote, “My heart was enlisted, […]
On April 24, General Gage sent his account of the confrontations at Lexington and Concord aboard the 200-ton, cargo-ladened Sukey to Lord Barrington, the Secretary of War and to the Earl of Dartmouth, the Secretary of State for the Colonies.[1] His letter to Lord Barrington, written on the 22nd, began with an understated opening sentence: […]
It is not by coincidence that almost every battle of the American Revolution was fought along a road. Everything an army needed was carried on wagons which could only travel on roads. While a detachment of soldiers could operate independently for a short time by carrying their provisions or foraging for food, the movement of […]
Shortly after the onset of the Revolutionary War, Americans started to harass British commercial shipping close-to-home. One ship captain who engaged in this type of naval warfare was Gustavus Conyngham. He was credited with the most ships apprehended, but received little gratitude, remuneration or recognition in maritime history, and in performing his service, he may […]
By the time he arrived in Boston with the 44th Regiment of Foot, Martin Hurley was an experienced soldier. He’d joined the army in 1767, and learned the military trade well enough to be put into the regiment’s grenadier company, men distinguished by their martial competence as well as their tall stature.[1] The 44th was […]
A soldier writes his wife: Mount Independence, June 8, 1777 I heartily embrace the opportunity to write to you, hoping that these will find you and yours in good health as I am now. I have been vary hearty since I left home. I herd last week that you were all well. Mr. Church said […]
Book Review: The Royalist Revolution: Monarchy and the American Founding, by Eric Nelson (Cambridge: Belknap Press, 2014) The Royalist Revolution, by Eric Nelson, provides a fresh take on the American Revolution by examining motives behind the rebellion. The book explains that the war distinguishes itself from any other revolution, in that the colonists’ revolted against […]
I’ve written before about the darker side of the militia, but what hasn’t yet been detailed is the general incompetence of the Pennsylvania militia. Look no further than the year 1778. While the militia might generally have been untrustworthy throughout the war, especially in Pennsylvania, 1778 stands out among the rest. This is partly because […]
Of the many thousands of soldiers and seamen serving during the Revolutionary War, only a select few were singled out by the Continental Congress to receive its highest honors. Seventeen men had the distinction of being named, but of them, only seven received the ultimate award, a gold medal. The names of those seven are […]
The Committee of Secret Correspondence was established by the Continental Congress on November 29, 1775.[1] It was responsible for employing secret agents abroad, developing a courier system for dispatches, and disseminating and funding propaganda. The first intelligence agent recruited by the Committee was Arthur Lee, a doctor living in London. He was appointed on November […]
