Author: Editors

Journal of the American Revolution (allthingsliberty.com) is the leading online source for original research on the Revolutionary and Founding Eras.

 Espionage and Cryptography Posted on

This Week on Dispatches: George Kotlik on Bartram’s Travels in Florida

On this week’s Dispatches, host Brady Crytzer interviews historian of colonial Florida and JAR contributor George Kotlik on botanist William Bartram’s travels in East Florida during the mid-1770s. Did he use any of the information he gathered to benefit the Patriot cause? New episodes of Dispatches are available for free every Saturday evening (Eastern United States Time) […]

by Editors
Features Posted on

This Week on Dispatches: Travis Copeland on the Capture of North Carolina’s Governor Thomas Burke

On this week’s Dispatches, host Brady Crytzer interviews JAR contributor Travis Copeland on the capture of North Carolina’s Patriot governor Thomas Burke by Loyalists in the waning days of the American Revolution. New episodes of Dispatches are available for free every Saturday evening (Eastern United States Time) on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, and the JAR Dispatches web site. […]

by Editors
Crime and Justice Posted on

This Week on Dispatches: Robert N. Fanelli on Cosmo Gordon of the Brigade of Guards

On this week’s Dispatches, host Brady Crytzer interviews founding member of the Washington Crossing Revolutionary War Round Table and JAR contributor Robert N. Fanelli about the remarkable and contentious life of Cosmo Gordon, lieutenant colonel of the British Brigade of Guards’ 1st Battalion, and privileged bon vivant. New episodes of Dispatches are available for free […]

by Editors
Features Posted on

This Week on Dispatches: David P. Ervin on the Continental Army on the Upper Ohio

On this week’s Dispatches, host Brady Crytzer interviews  JAR contributor David P. Ervin on his research into the Continental army operations along the upper Ohio during the American Revolution. Following the war, this region—the Northwest Territory—would become a focus of the new United States Army. New episodes of Dispatches are available for free every Saturday […]

by Editors
Features Posted on

Contributor Close-Up: Jett Conner

What inspired you to start researching and writing about the Revolution? Trained as a political scientist, I got interested in the Revolutionary period through the writings of Thomas Paine. As I taught a college course for years in early American political thought, I noticed that Paine was given credit by historians for his rebel-rousing (e.g., […]

by Editors
Features Posted on

This Week on Dispatches: Mike Matheny on How Paperwork Saved the Continental Army

On this week’s Dispatches, host Brady Crytzer interviews graduate student and JAR contributor Mike Matheny about his fascinating research and article about how the record keeping of enlistments and other data was critical to the Continental Army’s success. New episodes of Dispatches are available for free every Saturday evening (Eastern United States Time) on iTunes, Stitcher, […]

by Editors
Espionage and Cryptography Posted on

This Week on Dispatches: Charles Dewey on Abraham Bancker, Friend of the Republic

On this week’s Dispatches, host Brady Crytzer interviews JAR contributor Charles Dewey, US Army National Guard Intelligence Office and a historical interpreter and educator at Fort Lee Historic Park, on his research into Abraham Bancker, an important agent in the American intelligence network around New York City. New episodes of Dispatches are available for free […]

by Editors
News Posted on

The Latest in the JAR Book Series is Now Available

“The sad story of colonial oppression commenced in the year 1764. Great Britain then adopted new regulations respecting her colonies, which, after disturbing the ancient harmony of the two countries for about twelve years, terminated in a dismemberment of the empire.”—David Ramsay, 1789 JAR contributor Ken Shumate’s new book, 1764: The First Year of the […]

by Editors
Features Posted on

This Week on Dispatches: Philip D. Weaver on Joseph McCracken, New York’s First Revolutionary Captain

On this week’s Dispatches, host Brady Crytzer interviews researcher, author, and living history presenter Philip D. Weaver on New York’s Joseph McCracken, one of the many little-known personalities of the American Revolution who contributed to the American war effort. Weaver was able to piece together McCracken’s service record through pension applications of soldiers who served under […]

by Editors
Constitutional Debate Posted on

This Week on Dispatches: Eric Sterner on South Carolina’s John Rutledge

On this week’s Dispatches, host Brady Crytzer interviews consultant, author, and JAR contributor Eric Sterner on the life of John Rutledge, governor, president, and congressional delegate of South Carolina, a career he explored over a series of three articles. New episodes of Dispatches are available for free every Saturday evening (Eastern United States Time) on iTunes, Stitcher, […]

by Editors
Features Posted on

This Week on Dispatches: William V. Wenger on Foreign Assistance to the American Revolution

On this week’s Dispatches, host Brady Crytzer interviews retired US Army officer Willam V. Wenger on his research into the contributions of France, Spain, and other countries to the American war effort, from munitions and soldiers to diplomatic assistance and loans. New episodes of Dispatches are available for free every Saturday evening (Eastern United States […]

by Editors
2
Arts & Literature Posted on

The 2021 Annual Volume

The seventh Journal of the American Revolution Annual Volume is now available. Each annual volume highlights articles selected by our editorial board from the previous year as best representative of the journal’s mission and for their original contributions to scholarship of the era. The 2021 annual contains thirty-five articles, covering topics from the Lenape people […]

by Editors
Economics Posted on

This Week on Dispatches: James P. Sieradzki on the New Jersey Shop License Law of 1780

On this week’s Dispatches, host Brady Crytzer interviews attorney and local historian James P. Sieradzki about New Jersey’s attempt to stop illicit trade between local shopkeepers and the British by issuing licenses that not only forbade the practice, but issued fines if violated. New episodes of Dispatches are available for free every Saturday evening (Eastern […]

by Editors
Battles Posted on

This Week on Dispatches: Gary Ecelbarger on Clement Biddle and the “Battle of the Clouds”

On this week’s Dispatches, host Brady Crytzer interviews writer and JAR contributor Gary Ecelbarger on what a letter from Clement Biddle can tell us about the “Battle of the Clouds,” one of the most enigmatic engagements in the American Revolution. New episodes of Dispatches are available for free every Saturday evening (Eastern United States Time) […]

by Editors
Features Posted on

This Week on Dispatches: Geoff Smock on the Teenage Thomas Jefferson

On this week’s Dispatches, host Brady Crytzer interviews educator and JAR contributor Geoff Smock on his research into the teenage years of Thomas Jefferson, including his education at William & Mary college. New episodes of Dispatches are available for free every Saturday evening (Eastern United States Time) on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, and the JAR Dispatches web site. […]

by Editors
2
Features Posted on

Contributor Close-Up: Robert Davis

What inspired you to start researching and writing about the Revolution? In 1974, Governor Jimmy Carter of Georgia began a state internship program. I was the state’s first history intern. Because I was at that time a cadet at North Georgia College, I chose the battle of Kettle Creek, a military topic of which I knew […]

by Editors
Diplomacy Posted on

This Week on Dispatches: Richard J. Werther on King Gustav III of Sweden Recognizing the United States

On this week’s Dispatches, host Brady Crytzer interviews researcher and JAR contributor Richard J. Werther on King Gustav III of Sweden’s recognition of an independent United States and its implications. New episodes of Dispatches are available for free every Saturday evening (Eastern United States Time) on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, and the JAR Dispatches web site. Dispatches can […]

by Editors
Features Posted on

This Week on Dispatches: John Rees on Remembrances of Black Revolutionary War Veterans

On this week’s Dispatches, host Brady Crytzer interviews writer, researcher, historian, and JAR contributor John Rees on his series of articles about nineteenth-century remembrances of Black Revolutionary War veterans, including Hannah Till, Thomas Carney, Edward Hector, Jacob Francis, and Oliver Cromwell. New episodes of Dispatches are available for free every Saturday evening (Eastern United States […]

by Editors
Features Posted on

This Week on Dispatches: Todd Braisted on Benjamin Thompson’s Black Dragoons

On this week’s Dispatches, host Brady Crytzer interviews researcher, writer, and JAR contributor Todd Braisted on loyalist Benjamin Thompson—later Count Mumford—and the provincial mounted regiment that included free Blacks and men freed from slavery he organized. New episodes of Dispatches are available for free every Saturday evening (Eastern United States Time) on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, and the JAR Dispatches web site. […]

by Editors
Features Posted on

This Week on Dispatches: Andrew Zellers-Frederick on the Impeachment of Senator William Blount, the First in American History

On this week’s Dispatches, host Brady Crytzer interviews historian and JAR contributor Andrew Zellers-Frederick on the impeachment of Senator William Blount of Tennessee, the first conducted in American history, and a crucial episode in establishing the legal strength of the United States government over elected officials. New episodes of Dispatches are available for free every […]

by Editors
Features Posted on

This Week on Dispatches: Brooke Barbier on Paul Revere’s Boston

On this week’s Dispatches, host Brady Crytzer interviews writer and podcast host Brooke Barbier about historic sites in Boston that were familiar to Paul Revere. Join Brady and Brooke for a fascinating tour of what remains of colonial Boston. New episodes of Dispatches are available for free every Saturday evening (Eastern United States Time) on iTunes, Stitcher, […]

by Editors
Espionage and Cryptography Posted on

This Week on Dispatches: William W. Reynolds on the British Naval Signals Missions of 1781

On this week’s Dispatches, host Brady Crytzer interviews retired engineer and JAR contributor William W. Reynolds on how the Americans were able to obtain the British Naval Signals and pass them to French admiral de Grasse during the Yorktown campaign in 1781. Knowing an enemy’s signals could change the outcome of a battle. New episodes of […]

by Editors
Features Posted on

This Week on Dispatches: Louis Arthur Norton on the Plight of the Seamen

On this week’s Dispatches, host Brady Crytzer interviews historian and JAR contributor Louis Arthur Norton on what happened to captured Continental Navy, states’ navies, and privateer sailors and officers when captured by the British. Most were interred onboard prison hulks where many perished, but others attempted to escape. New episodes of Dispatches are available for […]

by Editors
Critical Thinking Posted on

This Week on Dispatches: Serena Zabin on The Boston Massacre: A Family History

On this week’s Dispatches, host Brady Crytzer interviews historian, author, and JAR Book-of-the-Year Award winner, Serena Zabin on her book, The Boston Massacre: A Family History. New episodes of Dispatches are available for free every Saturday evening (Eastern United States Time) on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, and the JAR Dispatches web site. Dispatches can now be easily accessed […]

by Editors
Arts & Literature Posted on

The 2020 JAR Book-of-the-Year

The Journal of the American Revolution is pleased to announce The Boston Massacre: A Family History by Serena Zabin (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt) as winner of the 2020 Journal of the American Revolution Book-of-the-Year Award. Honorable Mention is awarded to A Crisis of Peace: George Washington, the Newburgh Conspiracy, and the Fate of the American Revolution by David […]

by Editors
Critical Thinking Posted on

This Week on Dispatches: Brian Gerring on “La Petite Guerre” and Native American Irregular Warfare

On this week’s Dispatches, host Brady Crytzer interviews retired Special Forces soldier and educator Brian Gerring on his comparison of European La Petite Guerre, “small war,” and military tactics favored by Native Americans in the eighteenth century. Did the Continental army or militia incorporate tactics used by Native Americans? New episodes of Dispatches are available for […]

by Editors
Features Posted on

This Week on Dispatches: Greg Aaron on Lord Dartmouth’s War of Words

Dispatches returns for another season, and on this week’s episode host Brady Crytzer interviews cybersecurity expert and JAR contributor Greg Aaron on Lord Dartmouth, Secretary of the State for the Colonies, and his fateful order to Gen. Thomas Gage, “to arrest and imprison the principal actors & abettors in the Provincial Congress” in Massachusetts, a group that […]

by Editors
Features Posted on

Best of Dispatches: Colin G. Calloway and The Indian World of George Washington

In this week’s program from the Dispatches archives, recorded in February 2019, host Brady Crytzer interviews distinguished historian Colin G. Calloway about his book, The Indian World of George Washington, winner of the 2018 Journal of the American Revolution Book of the Year. Later this month, the 2020 Journal of the American Revolution Book Award will be […]

by Editors
Features Posted on

Best of Dispatches: Michael W. Twitty on the Legacy of African American Cuisine

Over the next several weeks, we’ll be looking back in the Dispatches archives to replay a selection of notable interviews. In this episode, first aired in March 2019, host Brady Crytzer interviews writer, culinary historian, and educator Michael W. Twitty, about the legacy and influence of enslaved Africans on American and world culture and cuisine. He is […]

by Editors
Features Posted on

This Week on Dispatches: Don N. Hagist on His Latest Book, Noble Volunteers

On this week’s Dispatches host Brady Crytzer interviews historian and Journal of the American Revolution editor-in-chief, Don N. Hagist on his latest book, Noble Volunteers: The British Soldiers Who Fought the American Revolution. New episodes of Dispatches are available for free every Saturday evening (Eastern United States Time) on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, and the JAR Dispatches web site. […]

by Editors
2
Features Posted on

Contributor Question: What is Your Favorite Beverage of the Revolutionary Era?

This month, we asked our contributors: With many different holidays and celebrations approaching, what is your favorite beverage known to have been consumed during the era of the American Revolution (for holidays or otherwise)? Tom Shachtman Corn-based whiskey distilled in Western Pennsylvania, the booze at the center of the understudied Whiskey Rebellion of 1794. As […]

by Editors
Features Posted on

This Week on Dispatches: Kevin A. Conn on the Remarkable Career of Loyalist Soldier and Spy James Moody

On this week’s Dispatches host Brady Crytzer interviews AP History teacher and JAR contributor Kevin A. Conn on the remarkable career of New Jersey Loyalist soldier and spy, James Moody, who carried out daring raids, was captured by Patriots and escaped, and ended up in England after the war. New episodes of Dispatches are available for […]

by Editors