In the summer of 1775, the British built two warships at St. John, Quebec, on the outlet of Lake Champlain. That fall, the American forces invading Canada captured the ships and added them to their little fleet on the lake. The largest, a 50-foot topsail schooner named the Royal Savage mounting six 6-pounder cannons, four […]
At the battle of Camden in August of 1780, Lord Cornwallis dealt the Americans under General Horatio Gates a shocking defeat. Also known as the Hero of Saratoga, General Gates had recently proven a serious competitor to George Washington’s command of the Continental Army. Because of the debate over command, the defeat drew all sorts […]
Thank you to all our readers and authors for making April 2014 our second best traffic month ever with 72,000 pageviews. Huzzay! This month we welcomed new contributors Todd Braisted, Norman Fuss, Jim Blackburn and Joshua Shepherd. Since our launch in January 2013, fifty-nine writers have joined the JAR team and we are grateful for […]
During 1780 and 1781, Brigadier General Francis Marion earned a reputation as the “Swamp Fox,” a virtually unbeatable partisan commander who foiled British efforts to pacify South Carolina and who defeated or evaded every British attempt to destroy his force. It was not until 1782 that Marion finally encountered an opponent capable of beating his […]
The path of America’s struggle for Independence was heavily traversed through the beautiful vistas, pasture land, and streams of the Mohawk Valley Region. Nearly 300 battles were fought during the American Revolution, and almost 100 of these contests were fought on New York soil. At MohawkValleyHistory.com you can explore Central New York’s rich history and […]
Captain Henry Lee III’s promotion to Major in April, 1778, capped a year of impressive service for the 22 year old cavalry officer from Virginia. Lee and the rest of Colonel Theodorick Bland’s 1st Continental Dragoon Regiment had joined General Washington’s army in New Jersey fifteen months earlier. As commander of a troop of cavalry […]
Book Review: Book of Ages: The Life and Opinions of Jane Franklin by Jill Lepore. Knopf, 464 pp., Hardcover $27.95|Paperback $16.95|eBook $13.99 “One Half of the World does not know how the Other Half lives,” wrote Benjamin Franklin in his popular Poor Richard’s Almanack. It is a phrase that is open to many interpretations. Jacob […]
Remember when I wrote that nobody ever said life on the Pennsylvania frontier was easy?[1] Well, as it turns out, it was a lot more difficult than even I previously thought. Between battling it out with Connecticut Yankees and Indians, dealing with localized violence, and having to put up with a relatively untrained and undisciplined […]
“This is a most unfortunate affair and has given me great Mortification as we have lost not only two thousand Men that were there, but a good deal of Artillery, & some of the best Arms we had.” So wrote General George Washington to his brother John Augustine Washington in November 1776.[1] The fall of […]
Go to any Revolutionary War period living history program or reenactment and you hear it again and again. “Huzzah for Great Washington and the Continental Congress!” “Huzzah for good King George and Parliament!” Huzzah this and Huzzah that all day. If our forefathers could come back to one of these events, they would be mightily […]
The biggest myth of Paul Revere’s ride may not be that Revere watched for the lantern signal from the North Church spire, as Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s poem described. Nor that he was a lone rider carrying Dr. Joseph Warren’s warning all the way from Boston to Concord. Nor even that Revere yelled, “The British are […]
Myth: “The fate of a nation was riding that night,” Longfellow wrote. Fortunately, a heroic rider from Boston woke up the sleepy-eyed farmers just in time. Thanks to Revere, the farmers grabbed their muskets and the American Revolution was underway: “And the spark struck out by that steed, in his flight, / Kindled the land […]
Lying between Vermont and New York, astride the border between the United States and Canada, accessible via canals from the St. Lawrence and Hudson Rivers, and 125 miles long, Lake Champlain is a major boating attraction. On any summer’s day, hundreds of watercraft displaying registrations from numerous states and Canadian provinces will pause for a […]
At dawn on April 19, 1775, the British detachment of light infantry under Maj. Pitcairn reached Lexington, about two-thirds the way to Concord. There they found the local Lexington Militia Company under Capt. John Parker waiting for them, all armed and formed on the central Lexington Green. Considering it a challenge, the first and second […]
It was an unfortunate expedient, but one that had grown unavoidable. On September 8, 1776, George Washington penned a lengthy report to Congress in which he detailed the pending decision to abandon New York City. Although Washington acknowledged that quitting New York would clearly have an adverse affect on the American war effort, he summed […]
The inhabitants of Alexandria, Virginia, awoke on April 11, 1781 to a disturbing sight. A flotilla of enemy ships that had spent the last ten days pillaging property on both sides of the Potomac River many miles to the south, had suddenly arrived off of Alexandria. One observer in Alexandria counted, “three Ships, two Brigs […]
Book Review: The Men Who Lost America, British Leadership, the American Revolution, and the Fate of the Empire By Andrew Jackson O’Shaughnessy Yale University Press, New Haven, CT. Hardback. $37.50 ISBN: 978-0-300-19107-3;466 pages, 7.25 x10.25. Many of us have been brought up with the understanding that the British leadership, both military and/or governmental, was made […]
After a British fleet of seventy-one warships and transports entered Narragansett Bay on December 7, 1776, and the next day landed soldiers that occupied Newport, Rhode Island, as well as the rest of Aquidneck Island, the Royal Navy had an excellent port for its ships to spend the winter. In addition, the fleet’s commander, Commodore […]
I’m a scientist by training. I received my master’s degree from MIT, which is incidentally where I fell in love with Boston’s revolutionary history. So, when I first began researching my forthcoming book on Revolutionary Boston, I approached the research very scientifically, considering things like moonlight phases, sunsets,[1] horse gaits and their associated speeds,[2] and […]
Lord Cornwallis dealt General Horatio Gates a terrible defeat at Camden in South Carolina. The battle represented a rather rude jolt to the reputation of the American general who had orchestrated the victory at Saratoga a few years earlier; to make matters even worse, rumors of personal cowardice followed the general for the rest of […]
People characterize the American Revolution in terms of Patriots and Loyalists – those who supported the rebellion, and those who supported the British government. When assessing individuals, it is tempting to assume we know which side they were on based on specific things that they did. But it’s not always so cut and dry. Is […]
An armed conflict between British Regulars and armed Colonials prior to 1775? Oh yes, yes indeed. In fact this conflict raged for several months between 1765 and 1766, all along the Western Pennsylvania frontier (what is now Franklin County). It resulted in the wounding of one civilian, dozens of horses slain, wagons destroyed, money lost, […]
With April 19 nearing, marking the anniversary of the start of the American Revolutionary War (the official regional holiday of Patriot’s Day in New England), it seems only fitting to delve into the popular tale of the secret informant of Dr. Joseph Warren. As the story often goes, Dr. Joseph Warren, the de facto revolutionary […]
They were always there, but are seldom mentioned. Name any major battle or campaign: New York, Brandywine, Germantown, Saratoga, Yorktown, Camden, Kings Mountain, Guilford Courthouse, Cowpens, Charleston; there are accounts of Camp Followers at each of them. Who were they? What did they do? Does it matter? Think you know about soldiers’ wives? Read on […]
Danger, secrets, intrigue and revenge were all part of the Culper spy ring, and the new AMC series “Turn,” premiering April 6 (Sundays 9/8 central), offers a fascinating look into how these intrepid American spies helped win the Revolutionary War. AMC provided Journal of the American Revolution an early screening of the first three episodes. […]
The Journal of the American Revolution today announces the launch of its Book of the Year Award, an annual book prize to the non-fiction volume that best mirrors the mission of Journal of the American Revolution, which is to deliver passionate, creative and smart content that makes American Revolution history more palatable for a broad […]
March was a very exciting month for Journal of the American Revolution (JAR). We welcomed Andrew O’Shaughnessy and Jerome Palliser as new contributors, and we hosted another group interview series with historians sounding off on the following questions: What is the most underrated battle? What is the most overrated battle? How would you describe the […]
Most underrated battle of the Revolutionary War? Why? The most underrated battle of the war was Springfield, New Jersey, in 1780. If the Americans had lost, the war would have been virtually over. –Thomas Fleming In the Battle of Pollilur on 10 Sept 1780, the forces of Mysore wiped out a British army of more […]
Most overrated battle of the Revolutionary War? Why? Saratoga. It wasn’t a turning point and the general who theoretically won it, Horatio Gates, was a coward and a fake. –Thomas Fleming Not a battle, but one of the most famous events of the war: Paul Revere’s ride was a brave, stirring act, but […]
Twitter is the enormously popular social networking tool that enables one user to send “tweets” to many followers, or subscribers. The text message-like tweets are limited to 140 characters. Hence, the question: How would you describe the American Revolution in 140 characters or less? The American Revolution was a complex eight year semi-civil war that was […]
What is your favorite quote by a Revolutionary? “I see one head turning into thirteen.” Washington said this several times in the closing years of the war. After independence, it was THE crucial issue. –Thomas Fleming “But what is government itself, but the greatest of all reflections on human nature? If men were angels, […]
What’s the one unanswered question about the American Revolution you’d most like answered? Put another way, what’s one remaining mystery of the Revolution that you’d most like solved? Did General Washington order New York City burned in 1776? There is evidence that he discussed it. But no definite proof that he gave the order. […]
This past weekend, scores of professional and amateur historians converged in Williamsburg, Virginia, for the 3rd Annual Conference on the American Revolution, a three-day event hosted by America’s History, LLC. Journal of the American Revolution (JAR) Editors Todd Andrlik and Don Hagist were among the conference speakers, which included: Edward G. Lengel: “Philadelphia is the […]
The American army during the Revolution consisted of three basic varieties of units—militia, state troops, and the Continental Army. Beginning with the earliest communities, militia served as a short-term local defense force raised by towns. The men who responded to the call on April 19, 1775, and laid siege to the British in Boston came […]
Four years into the Seven Years’ War, an expensive global conflict known better as the French and Indian War in America, a twenty-two-year-old prince was crowned King of the British Empire upon the death of his grandfather, King George II. The London Gazette was the first to publish news of the accession of King George […]
Dear Readers: This month we address a comment from fellow contributor Ray Raphael. In January, after a discussion of the 1781 mutiny by the Pennsylvania Line, Ray astutely noted that a similar revolt by New Jersey troops presents an interesting contrast in how the Continental Army dealt with mutinies. So what happened with the New […]
The American Revolutionary War was a war Britain seemingly should have won. Its failure is popularly blamed upon the incompetence of the political and military leaders who have consequently become objects of satire. This is particularly true of portrayals in the movies and media which of course have a greater impact on perceptions than books. […]
During the sweltering hot day of June 28, 1778, the Continental Army and the British Army fought the longest battle of the Revolutionary War at Monmouth Court House. Major General Charles Lee reluctantly agreed to lead the initial American effort, after first turning it down. Instructed by George Washington to attempt some type of action […]
The circumstances that forced the surrender of Cornwallis’s army at Yorktown are familiar enough. The British were trapped on a peninsula, Washington’s Continental Army preventing a land escape, a large French fleet preventing their escape by sea. Pounded by artillery and short on supplies, Cornwallis had no choice but to surrender his army. Afterward, the […]
