Journal of the American Revolution (allthingsliberty.com) is the leading online source for original research on the Revolutionary and Founding Eras.
Everyone loves pie, everyone loves Martha Washington, and everyone loves… well, two out of three will have to do. But if you do love calves’ feet, this recipe from Martha Washington’s cookbook is for you. The directions are bit sparse, leaving a lot of latitude for adaptation and experimentation. Sack, a Spanish wine akin to […]
Wool production was critical to the early American economy, and if there were sheep in the fields there were bound to be sheep dishes on the table. The recipes in Martha Washington’s cookbook show that no part of these utilitarian animals was wasted. The directions for the pie featured today include the wise advice to […]
We’ve all heard the expression, “eat humble pie.” It’s used at a metaphor, but humble pie was a real thing and Martha Washington had a recipe for it. It’s a type of savory meat pie, but it may seem less appealing when one learns that “humbles” are the heart, kidneys, liver and other organs of […]
Pie is a perennial favorite at Thanksgiving, and the more varieties the better. Pie was also an eighteenth century staple, with far more types than we’re familiar with today. This week we feature pie recipes from the cookbook of Martha Custis Washington, wife of America’s most famous founding father. Entertain your guests with some daring […]
The fourth and final season of the TV series TURN: Washington’s Spies premiers Saturday, June 17. We had the pleasure of interviewing Alexander Rose, whose book about the Culper spy ring inspired the series. Your book Washington’s Spies: The Story of America’s First Spy Ring is the best known of several recent works on spycraft […]
If a person ran away once, they were liable to do so again. In some cases this provides two distinctive descriptions of the same individual, but the example below shows that an ad might be largely reused. This woman ran away in August and again in October, taking almost the same clothing with her each […]
Some advertisements revealed details about the person’s history and situation, as well as their physical characteristics and possessions. This affords an avenue for further research on the individual. Two Dollars Reward. Run away from the subscriber, living in Upper Salford township, Philadelphia county, on Friday, the 27th of August last, a Dutch servant Girl, named […]
Some runaways took only the clothing they had on, and lacked even a complete ensemble. Running away without shoes shows either desperation or determination. Run away, the 13th of this instant July, from the subscriber, near Newtown, Bucks County, an Irish servant girl, named Judy Fagan, between 15 and 16 years old, of a dark […]
For some reason not all advertisements included the name of the missing person. Whether this showed an impersonal knowledge on behalf of the master, or was a simple oversight by either the person placing the ad or the publisher, we can only wonder. RAN away from the subscriber in Newport, on the night of the […]
Throughout the eighteenth century, newspapers advertised servants, slaves, soldiers, spouses and others who had fled from contractual obligations. The advertisements give us remarkable textual descriptions of everyday individuals about whom little else is known. Each day this week, we’ll present an advertisement for a runaway woman, accompanied by an illustration of carefully researched, handmade clothing […]
Our readers are avid consumers of history, continually hunting for the next great book about the Revolutionary War. And there’s no shortage of options. Amazon alone sells more than 12,000 books categorized as “Revolution and Founding.” With so many choices, where does any student of the Revolution begin? Which tomes are the most credible for […]
Journal of the American Revolution, the popular online magazine and annual book, today announced its winner and runner-up for the 2016 Book of the Year Award. The annual award goes to the non-fiction volume that best mirrors the journal’s mission: to deliver passionate, creative and smart content that makes American Revolution history accessible to a […]
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 […]
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 […]
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), […]
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 […]
Name one major misconception about the American Revolution that you would like to dispel. Nathan Hale is perhaps the best known American spy in our history. Yet, almost everything we have been told about him is incorrect or inaccurate. Even the numerous statues of Hale placed around the country are nothing more than an […]
Luckiest? Who should have bought a lottery ticket? Who benefited most from being in the right place at the right time? Explain. I believe the luckiest man in the Revolution by far was George Washington – not because he could have been killed a number of times in the war and wasn’t, but rather […]
Most famous weapon? What was the most popular, deadliest, strangest or most intimidating weapon of the Revolution? Why? There are many candidates, but my own favorite is Francis Marion’s use of a siege tower to force the surrender of Fort Watson in South Carolina in April 1781. Unable to assault the fort by conventional […]
Best counterpunch? What was the best or most effective return-action of the Revolution? A case where the Americans or British moved first, but the enemy reacted better. Explain. Major General Nathanael Greene’s decision after he lost the battle of Guilford Courthouse. Lord Cornwallis invaded Virginia, convinced that if he smashed the Revolution in that […]
Most shocking or unexpected moment of the Revolution? The most shocking moment unfolded slowly, not quickly. It was the shock the British got in late August and September 1781 when they realized that Washington had cleverly redistributed his forces to confront the British army in Virginia rather than attacking New York City. Washington’s deception […]
Biggest jerk of the Revolution? Who seemed to be the most despicable person of the era? Why? This award goes to Benedict Arnold, but not because he changed sides (lots of people did that); instead, the reasons are twofold: Regardless of his tactical skills and overall abilities on the battlefield, many of his peers […]
Deserter advertisements and runaway notices, fascinating though they are, provide only single elements of what were certainly more complex stories. In rare cases, further research reveals much more about a person. Take this ad, for example: Twenty Dollars Reward. Deserted from Captain Jacob Mauser’s company, of the sixth Pennsylvania regiment, on Monday the 11th instant, […]
The soldiers from several German principalities who were contracted to supplement the British army in America are often called mercenaries, a misnomer propagated during the war itself to vilify these soldiers and enhance the impression of British oppression. Although the British government did pay for these soldiers, they paid the German princes who then sent […]
Desertion was as much a problem for the British army as it was for the American. Once the war began, however, British officers seldom placed ads for deserters in newspapers. This may be because the British army was largely confined to areas around major cities where information about deserters could be circulated in army orders, […]
The deserter advertisement presented today illustrates several important facets of the Continental Army. Looking at this list of thirteen deserters, we see: Men born on both sides of the Atlantic A variety of ages A soldier accompanied by his wife Some men with short hair Desertion was sometimes a very, very big problem Deserted from […]
Newspapers are among our favorite things at Journal of the American Revolution, providing endless information and insight about America’s Revolutionary era. In addition to news, notices, and opinion pieces, newspapers carried advertising that reveals important aspects of the people who placed ads and read them. Some of the ads were actually about people. When soldiers […]
Journal of the American Revolution, the popular online magazine and annual book, today announced its winner and runners-up for the 2015 Book of the Year Award. The annual award goes to the non-fiction volume that best mirrors the journal’s mission: to deliver passionate, creative and smart content that makes American Revolution history accessible to a […]
What’s the funniest thing you’ve come across in researching this period? In Paris, while negotiating the treaty with France, Ben Franklin stopped for a bite to eat in a popular cafe. On the other side of the room he saw Edward Gibbon, member of Parliament and author of the already famous Decline and Fall […]
What two people from the Revolutionary period who never met (so far as we know) do you wish you could introduce? Why? I would like to have seen Dr. Joseph Warren, who died tragically at Bunker Hill, meet Dr. Benjamin Rush. Warren would have soon concluded Rush was an airhead and not even a […]
Since you began studying the American Revolution, how has your perspective on it changed? My perspective has become more complex. As I followed Ben Franklin to France, I saw the war become an international struggle. As I watched Washington think his way to the strategy that won the war in America, he emerged as […]
How do you define “Founding Fathers”? You can define it either broadly or narrowly. By consensus, most historians limit the narrow definition to six. Washington, Franklin, Adams, Jefferson, Hamilton and Madison. A broader definition would include many worthwhile individuals, such as Sam Adams, John Hancock, Joseph Warren, Nathanael Greene etc. –Thomas Fleming I don’t. […]
Which side do you think benefited the most from the Native American involvement in the war? Why? The British benefited the most, from one point of view. Most of the Indians fought on their side. These Indians perpetrated no massacres or torture of prisoners on British soldiers or civilians. But from another more long range […]
Learning that one of the most acclaimed military writers of our time has turned his narrative expertise towards the American Revolution is exciting news indeed. Three-time Pulitzer prize winner Rick Atkinson is working on a trilogy about the conflict that founded the United States, and even though the first book won’t be in print for […]
If he had lived in the eighteenth century, Henry Cooke would have been called a Master Tailor. Today we call him a historical costumer, but his tailoring is no less masterful. In an era when all clothing was hand made, proper fit was important. Achieving the right fit and the right look means understanding the […]
The March 18, 1777 Pennsylvania Packet (Philadelphia) published an essay by “S.” that classified five political characters of Americans. The article was republished in the April 23 Connecticut Journal (New Haven) and is transcribed below: THE people of America with respect to their political characters may be divided into the five following classes. – 1. […]
When a soldier’s term of service was complete, he was discharged. Besides having arrears of pay and other obligations resolved, he was given a document called, aptly enough, a discharge. This piece of paper was vitally important for the soldier, for it proved that he had departed the army legally and was not a deserter. […]
So you’ve been elected Captain of the militia company of your small Massachusetts town in 1774, and now you’ve got to train your men. Where do you begin? Probably by sending to a Boston bookseller (maybe Henry Knox) for a copy of a militia training manual. Several were published in England during the French & […]
The British government’s policies toward the American colonies in the 1760s and 1770s were controversial in Great Britain; some people favored the government’s actions while others were sympathetic to the grievances of the colonists, with a wide range of opinions in between. When war broke out, the controversy continued, with some believing in reconciliation, some […]