Journal of the American Revolution (allthingsliberty.com) is the leading online source for original research on the Revolutionary and Founding Eras.
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 […]
After another busy and exciting year, Journal of the American Revolution is taking a vacation to tackle a few other projects. Look for us again on January 2, 2017. We’ll have a new group interview and the winner of the 2016 Book of the Year Award. While we’re away, we have two important assignments for our readers and […]
The Journal of the American Revolution Book Series officially launched in 2016 with two books, Grand Forage 1778 and The Road to Concord. Between Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Goodreads, our first two series books have already received nearly thirty perfect 5-star ratings. Continuing that momentum, we are thrilled to announce our third series title—The Burning of […]
As we settle in for our November recap, we pause to express our sincere gratitude. We are thankful for our many writers, readers and advertisers, who make Journal of the American Revolution a special gathering and learning place. November was another busy month with an exceptional roster of fresh articles and new writers, including Shai […]
December is almost here! If you’re planning to order something special from the Journal of the American Revolution gift shop, please keep these rapidly approaching order-by deadlines in mind so you get your gifts on time. Since our products are all custom printed and shipped on demand by a third-party vendor, they require a longer lead […]
It’s that time of year again – time to let Journal of the American Revolution solve all your holiday gift-giving conundrums. Here are our picks for 2016, and if you don’t find the ideal gift here, take a look at our guides for 2013, 2014 and 2015. Swordfighting Pillow Cases While it’s never good to […]
JAR had another busy few weeks welcoming three new writers — Gregory J. W. Urwin, Alex Colvin, C. E. Pippenger —and making great progress on our 2017 Annual Volume (the cover art is featured here for the first time). The annual hardback will publish in spring and feature about four dozen articles by scores of JAR contributors, including […]
What a month! Fresh off one of our busiest months ever, Journal of the American Revolution welcomed nine new writers: Ian Saberton, Dennis Ness, Philip D. Weaver, Roger Smith, Phillip R. Giffin, Kelly Mielke, Charles H. Lagerbom, C. L. Bragg and Zachary Brown. We also began work on our 2017 hardcover edition—stay tuned for details next month. And last call […]
Several shiny new things were unveiled at the journal in August—new articles, new writers, new emails, new products, new videos, a new feature, a new advertiser and a refreshed design of the website. Here’s the 30-second rundown: Looking for a revolutionary tour experience? Register for Charles Baxley’s exciting new bus and boat tour, “The Swamp Fox Rides […]
Just in time for the new school year, Journal of the American Revolution has launched it’s official Teacher’s Guide, which will help engage students who are learning about the era. It features a collection of insightful, groundbreaking, myth-busting and thought-provoking articles that are sure to inspire. Bookmark this link and share it with your classroom! […]
In July, we hosted our eighth group interview series with several experts weighing in on a variety of questions. We also welcomed our 128th contributor, James E. Richmond, and unveiled several new t-shirt designs in our JAR shop. Our American Apparel tees are the smoothest and softest t-shirts you’ll ever wear. Made of fine jersey, they are a durable, vintage feel and known […]
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 […]
Did you hear the news? We opened a gift shop! Check out our rotating selection of fun history t-shirts and JAR swag. While we’re on holiday (returning July 11), we thought we’d provide a list of the top 10 articles of 2016 (so far). Enjoy! Untangling British Army Ranks by Don N. Hagist Mount Independence: […]
School’s out! Journal of the American Revolution is taking its summer holiday and will return to regular programming the week of July 11. Writers: Please continue to send your article submissions to ed****@al**************.com during the break. Readers: Please enjoy our book series, our annual volumes, or our online archives, now nearly 800 articles strong! All: Check out our new shop for […]
On this day, the 244th anniversary of the actual attack, we are thrilled to announce that the next book in the Journal of the American Revolution book series will be The Burning of His Majesty’s Schooner Gaspee: An Attack on Crown Rule Before the American Revolution by Steven Park. A minor British naval officer was bent on […]
About Gene Procknow Gene Procknow is a frequent contributor to the Journal of the American Revolution and his article on loyalist American officers was selected for publication in the 2015 Annual Volume. His research concentrations include interpreting the Revolution from a non-American perspective, better understanding the Revolution’s global aspects and in Ethan Allen and the […]
We are putting a bow on a busy May, which welcomed two new writers—Isabel Friedman, Ron Morgan—and featured a healthy menu of fresh research. In case you didn’t hear, three new books are now available at your favorite book stores: Journal of the American Revolution: Annual Volume 2016 “Even better this year!” —Gene Procknow, contributing writer, Journal of the American […]
We love the smell of freshly printed books. Following a brief distribution delay, retailers are processing orders of the much-anticipated Journal of the American Revolution: Annual Volume 2016 as well as Todd Braisted’s Grand Forage 1778. Look for the reprint of our 2015 volume and J. L. Bell’s The Road to Concord in the weeks […]
Todd W. Braisted is a leading expert on Loyalist studies, a die-hard Mets fan and craft beer connoisseur. In addition to his many articles for Journal of the American Revolution, Todd is the author of the first volume in our book series, Grand Forage 1778: The Battleground Around New York City. Since 1979, Todd has amassed and […]
Despite April being shortened by spring break, we still had time to publish several great articles and welcomed our newest writer, Richard Sambasivam. We also received an important update from Westholme Publishing on the status of all current JAR book projects: The reprint of our 2015 volume ships to distributors/retailers on May 13 and orders will be […]
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 […]
Just as many schools are going on spring break now, so is Journal of the American Revolution. We will be taking a short hiatus to recover from all the exciting activity in our world and will return to our regular programming the week of April 11. Writers: Please continue to send your article submissions to ed****@al**************.com during […]
This month we gave a hearty hello to four new writers: Stephen Brumwell, Michelle Porter, Alec D. Rogers and David Turnquist. We also welcomed a new advertiser, which has planned one of the most impressive history conference itineraries we’ve ever seen. If the Fort Plain Museum’s Second Annual Conference on the American Revolution (June 9-12) isn’t already on […]
February felt like National New JAR Contributor Month with four new writers: Ennis Duling, Anthony J. Minna, Thomas Thorleifur Sobol and Tyler Rudd Putman. Welcome aboard! That makes seven new JAR authors in the first two months of 2016 and 120 total JAR contributors since we launched! Together we have now published more than 725 articles with many more fascinating pieces on […]
We are pleased to introduce our newest collectible hardback, which is now available for pre-order via Amazon and will deliver in April. The Journal of the American Revolution, Annual Volume 2016, presents the journal’s best historical research and writing over the past calendar year. Articles are carefully selected by the editorial board and authors are given […]
January 2016 was triple-A rated for featuring plenty of new announcements, authors and articles. We crowned Independence Lost by Kathleen DuVal as our 2015 book award winner and shared our top 30 articles of the previous 12 months. The first two books of our new series—The Road to Concord by J. L. Bell and Grand […]
With our finger on the pulse of great research and writing about the American Revolution, it seemed natural to launch a namesake book series. Early in 2015, we were fortunate to find a partner who shared our vision for publishing microhistories with meticulous, groundbreaking research and well-written narratives about unknown or lesser-known topics. The Journal […]
The year 2015 was our best ever. Online, we published 200 articles by scores of expert writers and welcomed 1.1 million unique readers. Our existing content has become an authoritative source with high search rankings, ensuring that our articles reach researchers and fact-finders around the world. In print, we published our 2015 Annual Volume and […]
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 […]
After an extremely busy and exciting year, Journal of the American Revolution is taking a short vacation to tackle a few time sensitive projects. Look for us again on January 4, 2016. We’ll have news to share about Annual Volume 2016 and our forthcoming book series. Plus, we’ll be announcing the winner of the 2015 Book of […]
