Journal of the American Revolution (allthingsliberty.com) is the leading online source for original research on the Revolutionary and Founding Eras.
About Michael Cecere Michael Cecere teaches U.S. History at Robert E. Lee High School in Fairfax County, Virginia and at Northern Virginia Community College in Woodbridge, Virginia. He was recognized by the Virginia Society of the Sons of the American Revolution as their 2005 Outstanding Teacher of the Year, is a former president of the […]
About Thomas Verenna Thomas Verenna is a member of the Valley Forge Chapter, Sons of the American Revolution, an Associate Board Member of the Moore Township Historical Commission, and a History student at Columbia College, MO. He is an alumnus of Valley Forge Military Academy—about five miles away from the site of 1777-1778 encampment—which he […]
About Thomas Fleming: Thomas Fleming is one of the most distinguished and productive historians and novelists of our time. He has written twenty nonfiction books that have won prizes and praise from critics and fellow historians, many with a special focus on the American Revolution. His twenty-three novels, many of them bestsellers, explore the lives […]
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 & […]
Journal of the American Revolution kicked off summer 2015 with a fun group interview and several short features about important primary sources. This source series will continue another couple days and then we will resume our traditional editorial publishing after Independence Day. We have an exciting pipeline of articles planned for July. Verenna, Ruppert, Smith, […]
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 […]
One of the newspapers featured in Reporting the Revolutionary War was the Virginia Gazette dated August 26, 1775. In the book, Don N. Hagist describes its uniqueness as it relates to the Battle of Bunker Hill: A remarkable piece of journalism appeared in Dixon and Hunter’s Virginia Gazette on August 26, 1775. The illustrations that […]
From Bunker Hill to Yorktown, a feature of military actions during the American Revolution was the redoubt. Of course, redoubts were a fixture in world-wide military operations long before, and long after, that war, but those fortifications built of earth, sod and timber were usually more complex than their simple materials suggest. At a glance, […]
Maps are vital to understanding campaigns and battles. During the American Revolution, military planners often lamented the lack of good maps and went to great lengths to obtain geographic information. Officers with the proper training and tools could quickly produce sufficiently detailed renderings of the lay of the land, adding information as it became available. […]
From mid-August to early October, 1774, huge crowds gathered in the “shiretowns” of every county in contiguous, mainland Massachusetts (except Suffolk, where Boston is located) to shut down the courts. These courts, which served executive as well as judicial functions, were the farthest outreach of Crown authority. People at the time offered estimates of the […]
Cartoons were a vital part of England’s print media in the 1770s, and were almost exclusively of the sort that today we call editorial cartoons. Artists drew images packed with symbolism expressing opinions concerning current events. Sometimes they included word balloons and captions in prose or verse, but many were simple images that left the […]
Armies thrived on paperwork. With huge amounts of information to be recorded and tracked, non-commissioned officers and soldiers with good literacy, skill at basic mathematics, and steady penmanship were highly valued. Although data had to be recorded by hand, much of it was repetitive; by the era of the American Revolution, printed forms for recording […]
In the late summer and early fall of 1774, all of Massachusetts outside of Boston shed British rule. From October 1774 to April 1775, a Provincial Congress prepared to defend this revolution against an anticipated British counter-revolution, mustering supplies to outfit an army of 15,000. After Lexington and Concord, it fell upon the Provincial Congress […]
One of the most famous and recognizable eighteenth-century newspapers is the October 31, 1765 issue of the Pennsylvania Journal, also known as the “tombstone edition.” With the hated Stamp Act set to take effect in the British North American colonies on November 1, 1765, Philadelphia printer William Bradford designed this issue to resemble a tombstone, […]
Outside of the big four (Boston, New York, Philadelphia and Charleston), which city was most critical to the success of the Revolution? Why? Newport. British land and naval forces garrisoned in the rebellious nation’s fifth largest city for four years. Although the Continental Army failed to dislodge them in 1778, Newport served no great […]
What impact did British involvement elsewhere in the world have on operations in North America? Explain. As brilliantly told in Andrew Jackson O’Shaughnessy’s Men Who Lost America, in February 1781 Rodney sacked St. Eustatius, a Dutch-held Caribbean island that served as a major trading port for the shipment of arms and munitions to the […]
A lot has been written about the greatest writers and orators of the Revolution, but effective communication also requires good listening. Who was the best listener during the Revolution and what demonstrates or supports your selection? I’d give Henry Knox the prize for best listener. He seldom took the lead in discussions when he […]
During the protracted conflict, nations, colonies, committees and individuals had several opportunities to learn from their mistakes. In your opinion, what is the best example of a person or people learning from a mistake early in the Revolution, and applying the lesson learned later on? Gen. George Washington spent over two years of the […]
Which Revolutionary artifact do you wish was mistakenly delivered to your doorstep rather than the curator of a museum? Washington’s draft of The Farewell Address. As I tell the story in my new book, The Great Divide, the newspaper editor who printed said he liked it so much, he felt regret at returning it. […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Mark your calendars! To celebrate the launch of Annual Volume 2015 and our recently announced book series, Journal of the American Revolution is hosting its second RevWar Schmoozer in Boston. The event is confirmed for Friday, May 8, upstairs at The Point (147 Hanover St.) from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. The space is reserved exclusively […]
This was a momentous month for Journal of the American Revolution. Yesterday, we officially announced our new book series with Westholme and the first two titles that will publish next March: The Road to Concord: How Four Small Cannons Set Off the American Revolution by J. L. Bell Grand Forage 1778: The Revolutionary War’s Forgotten […]
The Journal of the American Revolution (https://allthingsliberty.com) is launching a new book series on the American Revolution in partnership with Westholme Publishing, LLC. The journal and Westholme will jointly serve as the editorial board of the series, known as Journal of the American Revolution Books. Two titles will serve as the inaugural volumes of the […]
Journal of the American Revolution (JAR) is 27 months old. Already. It’s growing up so fast. And thanks to an ever-increasing cadre of contributors and a wonderfully large and diverse audience, there’s much more to come in the future. The goal for JAR has always been to provide impeccable historical information in an approachable format […]
There is never a dull month at Journal of the American Revolution. In February, we continued to experience impressive reader traffic and welcomed three new writers: Geoff Benton, A.K. Fielding and Jett Conner. Plus, we have been busy sorting out the details of a major announcement that will be shared in a few weeks. And then there […]
Sound the alarm! Journal of the American caught fire in January with a record-setting 495,000 views by 327,000 users! The surge in traffic was primarily caused by three major events: 1) Our “Ages of Revolution” article going viral; 2) Inquiring minds wanting to discover the truth behind History Channel’s Sons of Liberty series; and 3) […]
Journal of the American Revolution, the popular online magazine and annual book, today announced its 2014 Book of the Year Award winner. The annual honor goes to the non-fiction volume that best mirrors the journal’s mission, which is to deliver passionate, creative and smart content that makes American Revolution history more palatable for a broad […]
After two years of publishing at a vigorous pace, we are finally taking a short vacation. Although it won’t be much of a vacation as we’ll be busy working on our Annual Volume 2015, selecting our Book of the Year Award winner(s) and editing new article submissions. While we’re away, we have two important assignments […]
Milestones Westholme Publishing Partnership Announced (Volume 2015 publishing in May) Book of the Year Award Unveiled (winner being announced in January 2015) Volume 1 Earns 17 Five-Star Reviews on Amazon “What an adventure to enjoy the articles in this fabulous treasure trove…” (C. Weatherhead) “This book is a no brainer for anyone with even the […]
Who was the biggest oddball of the founders? Why? Every Founder had his “foibles,” as Washington acknowledged about himself, but Charles Lee was hands down the most eccentric of the bunch. But his eccentricity did not diminish his military talents. He made mistakes (what general didn’t), but at times his presence and leadership were […]
Of all the disputed topics, events, reputations or battles of the Revolution, which is the greatest? Explain. Militarily, Howe’s failure to pursue Washington’s beleaguered force trapped on the tip of Long Island remains something of a puzzle, despite attempts to reconstruct an answer. On a different note, this question intrigues me. I think we […]
