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British Soldiers Wounded at Eutaw Springs
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…
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Revolutionary War Defenses in Rhode Island
BOOK REVIEW: Revolutionary War Defenses in Rhode Island by John K. Robertson (Providence: Rhode Island Publications Society, 2022) Mention Rhode Island during the American…
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Misinformation Nation: Foreign News and the Politics of Truth in Revolutionary America
BOOK REVIEW: Misinformation Nation: Foreign News and the Politics of Truth in Revolutionary America by Jordan E. Taylor (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2022) Almost…
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The Sewing Girl’s Tale: A Story of Crime and Consequences in Revolutionary America
BOOK REVIEW: The Sewing Girl’s Tale: A Story of Crime and Consequences in Revolutionary America by John Wood Sweet (New York: Henry Holt and Company,…
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Top Ten Weather Interventions
“In war, as in medicine, natural causes not under our control, do much.” Gen. Horatio Gates wrote this about the terrain that so heavily…
British Soldier John Ward Wins Back His Pocketbook
We expect writers for the Journal of the American Revolution to use primary sources—things written as close as possible to the time of the events…
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Thomas Plumb, British Soldier, Writes Home from Rhode Island
“Dear Brother,” wrote Thomas Plumb from Newport, Rhode Island, on February 22, 1777, “this comes with my kind Love to you and hope these…
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The British Soldiers Who Marched to Concord, April 19, 1775
During the night of April 18-19, 1775, a force of roughly 700 British soldiers left Boston on a mission to find and destroy rebel…
Duncan Robertson, 71st Regiment of Foot, Wanders Off
Three pounds was a lot money for a working man in Scotland in the mid-1770s. More than two months’ pay for a laborer, it…
Black Drummers in a Redcoat Regiment
When British soldiers arrived in Boston in 1768 as part of the British government’s efforts to maintain peace in the colony of Massachusetts, local…
The Finalists for the 2020 JAR Book-of-the-Year Award
The pandemic of 2020 caused disruption and delays in the publishing industry just as it did to so many other facets of the global…
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“The Devil at the Helm:” A Quote that Went Astray
John Marshall Deane was a soldier in the 1st Regiment of Foot Guards, among the oldest established regiments of the British army, in March…
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The Sisters’ Revolutionary Secret
From 1952 until 1967, a popular American television show featured a panel of celebrities trying to guess a secret about a non-celebrity guest. The…
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Outbreak! New York, 1779
“The number of sick increasing every day, in all the different Camps of the army,” wrote Capt. John Peebles in his diary on September…
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How to Write Like a Revolutionary War Spy
Congratulations! You’ve been commissioned as an officer in the Continental Army, and General Washington has given you command of an important position near the…
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The Redcoat in America: The Diaries of Lieutenant William Bamford, 1757–1765 and 1776
A Redcoat in America: The Diaries of Lieutenant William Bamford, 1757-1765 and 1776 edited by John B. Hattendorf (Helion & Company, 2019) Writings of…
Thanksgiving: A Week with Martha Bradley, The British Housewife, Day 5
Martha Bradley lived in an age when a prosperous household often brewed its own beer, culturing and storing it in large wooden vessels in…
Happy Thanksgiving! Our week with Martha Bradley, Day 4
In her recipes for November, Martha Bradley included only three for “Confectionary,” all of them jellies or custards. Her pies were savory, and her…
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Thanksgiving: A Week with Martha Bradley, The British Housewife, Day 3
To accompany our roast, Martha Bradley in her 1756 work The British Housewife: or, the Cook, Housekeeper’s, and Gardiner’s Companion included recipes for stews, savory…
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Thanksgiving: A Week with Martha Bradley, The British Housewife, Day 2
Yesterday, Martha Bradley, in her 1756 publication The British Housewife: or, the Cook, Housekeeper’s, and Gardiner’s Companion, explained to us the various poultry available in…
Thanksgiving: A Week With Martha Bradley, The British Housewife
Autumn is when many North Americans celebrate Thanksgiving, a tradition that dates back to the Reformation in England in the sixteenth century. Journal of…
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A Reprieve for John Sutherland, a Poor Silly Creature
John Sutherland had intended only to visit his brother, and now he sat in confinement, awaiting a death sentence. It was not a likely…
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Top 5 Explosions of the Revolutionary War
During the era of the American Revolution, cannons did not fire exploding projectiles, so the image of explosions on the battlefield doesn’t apply. Mortars…
Augustine Barrett, Escaped British Prisoner of War, Pleads his Case
“About five weeks after he made his escape from Prospect hill,” Augustine Barrett told the board of inquiry, “he was confined in the Prison…
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Quarters: The Accommodation of the British Army and the Coming of the American Revolution
Quarters: The Accommodation of the British Army and the Coming of the American Revolution by John Gilbert McCurdy (Cornell University Press, 2019) Question: “Why did…
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Donald McCraw of the 42nd Regiment Wields his Broadsword
In March and April of 1780, there was a string of home invasions and robberies around the villages of Jamaica and Flushing on Long…
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John Row and Jenny Innes
John Row was a British officer in the 9th Regiment of Foot, and he was in love with Jane Innes. For six years their…
Guilty of Desertion? James White, 7th (Royal Fusiliers) Regiment
In today’s trial, see if you agree with the court’s verdict and sentence. In determining guilt, the court considered several factors: was the man…
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Guilty of Desertion? Daniel Holliwell, 33rd Regiment of Foot
Desertion was a capital crime, but it was up to a general court martial, a board of thirteen officers, to determine the defendant’s guilt…
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Guilty of Desertion? Hubert Römer, 22nd Regiment of Foot
If a British soldier was absent without leave, he might be charged with desertion; if caught, he could be tried by a general court…
Guilty of Desertion? John Sullivan, 5th Regiment of Foot
In this second trial, see if you agree with the court’s verdict and sentence. In determining guilt, the officers of the general court martial…
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Guilty of Desertion? Charles Hanley, 4th (King’s Own) Regiment
This week JAR Editor Don N. Hagist presents the testimony from five British desertion trials held during the American Revolution. For each trial, see…
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War Horses Gone Astray
The American Revolution’s armies got their horsepower from horses. These animals carried cavalrymen into battle, pulled cannons, carts and wagons of all description, hauled…
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Richard Augustus Wyvill: A British Officer’s Journal as the War Winds Down
The 38th Regiment of Foot disembarked in Boston in the summer of 1774, and spent the next nine years in America involved in some…
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How to be a Revolutionary War Spy Master
George Washington is credited with being a great spy master, and the feats of his Culper spy ring have become famous. How did he…
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Women on Trial: British Soldiers’ Wives Tried by Court Martial
Wives of British soldiers were allowed to accompany their husbands overseas, much like spouses of military personnel often do today. Unlike modern militaries, however,…
A Marriage Abandoned: Andrew Bruce and Henrietta Overing
A chapter in Henrietta Overing Auchmuty’s life has been overlooked by history. Perhaps she would’ve wanted it that way, for it is a story…
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The Dog Head Sword of Succasunna: Forgotten Family Patriots and Loyalists in the Revolutionary War
Book Review: The Dog Head Sword of Succasunna: Forgotten Family Patriots and Loyalists in the Revolutionary War by John Lawrence Brasher (Shelby Printing, 2016) [BUY NOW…
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James Abercrombie, much lamented victim of Friendly Fire at Bunker Hill
Bunker Hill is one of the best-known battles of the American Revolution, recognized by name even among those who know little about the war.[1]…