On this week’s Dispatches, host Brady Crytzer interviews JAR contributor Victor J. DiSanto on the Fidelity Medallion presented to Isaac Van Wart and the other captors of John André. The medallion has now been donated to the New York State Museum. New episodes of Dispatches are available for free every Saturday evening (Eastern United States Time) […]
Andrew Pickens is the very image of the hard-nosed Patriot, but after the surrender of Charleston, South Carolina on May 12, 1780, he gave the British good reason to hope he would join them. In order to understand Pickens’ thinking, it is instructive to begin with Andrew Williamson, who did join the British and lived […]
BOOK REVIEW: The Whiskey Rebellion: A Distilled History of an American Crisis by Brady J. Crytzer (Yardley, PA: Westholme Publishing, 2023) In late July 1794, at least 1,500 armed rebels assembled at Braddock’s Field, about eight miles southeast of Pittsburgh, in what Brady Crytzer, a professor of history at Robert Morris University, describes as “the largest […]
John Adams said of his Whig contemporaries that they had views as “various as the Colors of their Cloths.”[1] Such was the paradigm in the civil yet often contentious political relationship of Abraham Clark and William Livingston. Both men were, as the saying goes, cursed with being born in interesting times. They were the top […]
The Fidelity Medallion awarded to Isaac Van Wart has been donated to the New York State Museum in Albany by the estate of Rae Faith Van Wart Robinson, late of Westchester County and a direct descendant of Van Wart, in accordance with Robinson’s stated wishes.[1] Ms. Robinson passed away on October 19, 2020 at the […]
BOOK REVIEW: Long Island City in 1776: The Revolution Comes to Queens by Richard Melnick (The History Press, 2023) Richard Melnick’s Long Island City in 1776: The Revolution Comes to Queens comes to us from The History Press. The 222-page book that serves to highlight the role a portion of Queens borough in New York City played […]
During the trial years under the Federal Constitution, some political observers contributed to the national discourse by employing one of the period’s most ambitious and creative ornaments: the classical pseudonym. Cloaked behind these ancient disguises, commenters added a historically nuanced layer to their arguments that enlisted the ubiquitous gravity of the classical past.[1] These signatures […]
On this week’s Dispatches, host Brady Crytzer interviews JAR contributor Benjamin George on how George Washington used information tactically and strategically to manipulate the course of the war. New episodes of Dispatches are available for free every Saturday evening (Eastern United States Time) on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, Amazon Music, and the JAR Dispatches web site. Dispatches can now […]
We often remember the controversy surrounding the Hutchinson Letters, which inspired many colonists to oppose the provincial government in Massachusetts, by talking about Benjamin Franklin (who found and sent the letters) and Samuel Adams (who helped publish them). Our memory of the letters’ author, Thomas Hutchinson, is often colored by a 1774 print by Paul Revere, […]
BOOK REVIEW: To the Last Extremity: The Battles for Charleston, 1776-1782 by Mark Maloy (El Dorado Hills, CA: Savas Beatie LLC, 2023) “Walking through historic Charleston, the sight of hundreds of 18th- and 19th-century buildings will transport you back in time. The sound of horse hooves clopping on the city streets echoes off the buildings and sea […]
Thomas Anderson’s journal, covering May 1780 through April 1782, has been lost, but a nineteenth century transcription resides in the Peter Force Collection of the Library of Congress, as Series 7E, Mss. 19,061, Item 4, Reel 1. Here is the portion of the journal from April 1781 through its conclusion on April 7, 1782. Anderson […]
In 1867, The Historical Magazine published “Extracts from the Journal of Lieutenant Thomas Anderson.” The original manuscript at that time belonged to the Maryland Historical Society. Unfortunately the original document cannot be found. Anderson’s journal has been quoted in numerous histories of the Revolutionary War in the South in 1780-1782, but the 1867 published version leaves […]
BOOK REVIEW: South Carolina Provincials: Loyalists in British Service During the American Revolution by Jim Piecuch (Yardley, PA: Westholme, 2023) In his recently published text, South Carolina Provincials, Jim Piecuch provides a well-researched and informative account of South Carolina’s Provincial Loyalists units and their actions in the southern theater during the American Revolution. These units are often […]
The standard interpretation of the Continental Army in the dark and waning months of 1776 often features ragged soldiers, devoid of clothing and basic human comforts, facing harsh winter conditions while encamped in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, prior to crossing the Delaware River. Dramatic imagery of cold and discomfort, with regiments, or what was left of […]
Information has been as powerful a weapon as any in the history of warfare. Modern militaries continue to grapple with the power of information by developing and incorporating specific information strategies into their warfighting arsenals. In 2017, the U.S. military established information as a warfighting function to define and harness “the military role of information […]
BOOK REVIEW: American Traitor: General James Wilkinson’s Betrayal of the Republic and Escape from Justice by Howard W. Cox (Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press, 2023) Beginning in his late teens, James Wilkinson developed the reputation of being an all-around abhorrent human being and history has continued to support that view. Howard Cox decided to investigate this […]
Northern Ohio has a surprising number of historical sites related to the American Revolution and beyond. Travelers or residents have their choice between the Historic Fort Steuben in Steubenville, the General Moses Cleaveland statue in Cleveland, Ohio, or the Moravian missionary village massacre site at Gnadenhutten, to name a few. Maumee, Ohio, just outside of […]
On this week’s Dispatches, host Brady Crytzer interviews author, historian, and JAR Editorial Board member Ray Raphael on the memories of John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and Thomas McKean about the Declaration of Independence and when it was actually signed. New episodes of Dispatches are available for free every Saturday evening (Eastern United States Time) on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, Amazon […]
Parliament responded to the Boston Tea Party by imposing on the colony of Massachusetts four laws including the Boston Port Bill. This bill received King George III’s royal assent on March 31, 1774 and would go into effect on June 1, 1774. The first sentence of the Bill made its purpose clear, “An act to […]
BOOK REVIEW: Unfriendly to Liberty: Loyalist Networks and the Coming of the American Revolution in New York City by Christopher F. Minty (Ithaca [New York]: Cornell University Press, 2023) Who were the New York Loyalists? Why did they retain British allegiance? What is their lasting impact on American society? Revolutionary War historian and digital documentary editor Christopher […]
After the Battle of Eutaw Springs in South Carolina on September 8, 1781, the commander of the British forces reported, among other casualties 313 rank and file (that is, corporals and private soldiers) wounded and another 224 missing.[1] While surviving muster rolls can be used to determine which men were killed in a battle, it is […]
On this week’s Dispatches, host Brady Crytzer interviews JAR contributor William Welsch on the importance of the overlooked battle of Petersburg, April 25, 1781. New episodes of Dispatches are available for free every Saturday evening (Eastern United States Time) on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, Amazon Music, and the JAR Dispatches web site. Dispatches can now be easily accessed on […]
Early in 1814, thirteen years into his retirement, John Adams received a bizarre letter from Thomas McKean, a former colleague in the First and Second Continental Congresses. “I will give you an historical fact respecting the declaration of Independence, which may amuse, if not surprize,” McKean wrote. “In the printed public journal of Congress for […]
BOOK REVIEW: Spanish New Orleans and the Caribbean edited by Alfred Lemmon (New Orleans, Louisiana: Historic New Orleans Collection, 2022) For anyone interested in the Spanish Colonial period of New Orleans’ history, a recent English-Spanish bilingual anthology, Spanish New Orleans and the Caribbean, edited by Alfred Lemmon, would serve as an excellent introduction. Though there are […]
Unique among the Continental Army generals, Charles Lee expressed prescient insights into the upcoming political issues dividing Americans during the Early Republic era. Born and educated in England, Lee espoused pre-Revolution British Whig views seeking to moderate the monarchy’s powers and engender a more representative government. As a recent immigrant, Lee brought his radical republican […]
The Battle of Hobkirk Hill (or Hobkirk’s Hill), sometimes referred to as the Second Battle of Camden, remains one of the less prominent engagements of the Revolutionary War, even as John Buchanan’s masterful study of the campaign in the Deep South terms it “a major and controversial battle” in the American effort to reclaim South […]
BOOK REVIEW: Disunion Among Ourselves: The Perilous Politics of the American Revolution by Eli Merritt (Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 2023) In many ways, the history of the United States is one of union and disunion. From the Civil War to rumors of secession in the present, it has long been an open question of whether […]
Parliament responded to the Boston Tea Party by imposing on the colony of Massachusetts a series of Acts, collectively called the Coercive Acts. The four Acts were the Boston Port Bill, the Quartering Act, the Impartial Administration Act and the Massachusetts Government Act. The first one, the Boston Port Bill, received King George III’s royal […]
BOOK REVIEW: In Dependence: Women and the Patriarchal State in Revolutionary America by Jacqueline Beatty (New York University Press, 2023) When we think of the American Revolution, we think of colonists swept away by ideals of freedom and independence. Yet, the paradox we also know is that those ideals in action were reserved for a […]
Located at the junction of the Acushnet River and thedeep waters of Buzzards Bay, the New Bedford and Fairhaven area became a hub for whaling, fishing, and trading during Colonial times. Whaling, in particular, became the main driving force for the area’s economy after Capt. Christopher Hussey of Nantucket began hunting sperm whales in 1712.[1] […]
On this week’s Dispatches, host Brady Crytzer interviews JAR contributor Douglas R. Dorney, Jr. on his recent article about how Lord Cornwallis has been viewed by many as the general that lost the American Revolution, but his commitment to his own personal values made him a valuable asset to the larger British Empire, particularly in India. New […]
A recent trip to the Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia unearthed the institution’s continued shift towards presenting narratives and stories that most students—and adults—are unfamiliar with. When images of the era are discussed, one would be correct to assume the museum’s focus centers on the Washingtons, Hamiltons, and Franklins of lore, and no […]
When one mentions the Battle of Petersburg in Civil-War-centric Virginia, the immediate reaction is Ulysses S. Grant versus Robert E. Lee in 1864 and 1865. True. But the first Battle of Petersburg was a revolutionary encounter on April 25, 1781, between the Americans and their British adversaries. And instead of Grant and Lee, the leaders […]
On this week’s Dispatches, host Brady Crytzer interviews historian, author, and JAR contributor David Price on the Battle of Eutaw Springs, South Carolina, September 8, 1781, the last major open-field battle of the Revolutionary War. New episodes of Dispatches are available for free every Saturday evening (Eastern United States Time) on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, Amazon Music, and […]
Lt. Gen. Jean Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur Comte de Rochambeau did not wake up on the morning of June 18, 1781 and order his army of more than 6,000 men to break camp and begin their march south. Such an operation would take months to plan and execute. He sent the artillery company to Providence […]
BOOK REVIEW: East Florida in the Revolutionary Era 1763-1785 by George Kotlik (Athens, GA: NewSouth Books, University of Georgia Press, 2023) Historian and JAR contributor George Kotlik’s new book, East Florida in the Revolutionary Era 1765-1785, explores a topic that he considers to be on the fringe of Revolutionary War scholarship: East Florida. There is a […]
On this week’s Dispatches, host Brady Crytzer interviews history student and Virginia Army National Guard employee Alexandra I. Griffeth about historic sites in Hanover County, Virginia, associated with Patrick Henry. New episodes of Dispatches are available for free every Saturday evening (Eastern United States Time) on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, Amazon Music, and the JAR Dispatches web site. Dispatches […]
General Charles, 1st Marquess, Cornwallis remains one of the most recognizable British figures of the American Revolution. Over the past two centuries, he has come to be invariably known as one of the “men who lost America.” This appellation has greatly overshadowed his less heralded service in Parliament, India, Europe, and Ireland. In Parliament, during […]
The Battle of Eutaw Springs, South Carolina, on September 8, 1781 was the last major open-field battle of the Revolutionary War and perhaps its most savage. The close-quarter fighting that occurred there ranks among the bloodiest and most intensely contested military encounters in young America’s quest for independence.[1] It has, however, been eclipsed in historical […]
