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Don N. Hagist

Don N. Hagist

Don N. Hagist, managing editor of Journal of the American Revolution, is an independent researcher specializing in the demographics and material culture of the British Army in the American Revolution. He maintains a blog about British common soldiers (http://redcoat76.blogspot.com) and has published a number of articles in academic journals. His books include The Revolution's Last Men: the Soldiers Behind the Photographs (Westholme Publishing, 2015), British Soldiers, American War (Westholme Publishing, 2012), A British Soldier’s Story: Roger Lamb’s Narrative of the American Revolution (Ballindalloch Press, 2004), General Orders: Rhode Island (Heritage Books, 2001) and Wives, Slaves and Servant Girls (Westholme, 2016). Don works as an engineering consultant in Rhode Island, and also writes for several well-known syndicated and freelance cartoonists. He can be contacted at dhagist@mail.com.

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Newspapers, Politics During the War (1775-1783), Reviews January 27, 2023 January 26, 2023

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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1
Crime and Justice, Reviews, Women September 26, 2022 September 26, 2022

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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5
Natural History, Strategy, The War Years (1775-1783) August 2, 2022 August 2, 2022

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…

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Crime and Justice, Law, Pension Records, People, Primary Sources, The War Years (1775-1783) July 7, 2022 July 6, 2022

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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2
Letters and Correspondence, People, Primary Sources, The War Years (1775-1783) May 9, 2022 May 8, 2022

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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3
Pension Records, People, Primary Sources, The War Years (1775-1783) April 19, 2022 April 15, 2022

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…

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Crime and Justice, Primary Sources, The War Years (1775-1783) April 4, 2022 April 3, 2022

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…

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Pension Records, People, The War Years (1775-1783) February 22, 2022 February 21, 2022

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…

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Features January 11, 2021 January 9, 2021

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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4
Critical Thinking, Historiography, Primary Sources December 23, 2020 March 2, 2021

“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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8
Audiovisual, Features, People May 25, 2020 May 23, 2020

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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3
Illness and Disease, The War Years (1775-1783) April 22, 2020 April 21, 2020

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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6
Espionage and Cryptography, Primary Sources March 5, 2020 March 4, 2020

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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7
Features, Reviews February 12, 2020 February 11, 2020

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…

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Culture, Food & Lifestyle November 29, 2019 November 29, 2019

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…

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Culture, Food & Lifestyle November 28, 2019 December 20, 2019

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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1
Culture, Food & Lifestyle November 27, 2019 December 20, 2019

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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1
Culture, Food & Lifestyle November 26, 2019 December 20, 2019

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…

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Culture, Food & Lifestyle November 25, 2019 December 20, 2019

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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2
Pension Records, People, The War Years (1775-1783) October 29, 2019 October 28, 2019

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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3
Conflict & War, The War Years (1775-1783) September 3, 2019 September 3, 2019

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…

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People, Primary Sources, The War Years (1775-1783) August 22, 2019 August 21, 2019

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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4 10
Features, Reviews July 3, 2019 April 20, 2020

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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3
Features, People, The War Years (1775-1783), Weapons March 4, 2019 March 4, 2019

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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2
Culture, Features, Letters and Correspondence, People, Primary Sources October 4, 2018 October 3, 2018

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…

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People, Primary Sources, The War Years (1775-1783) August 31, 2018 August 27, 2018

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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1
People, Primary Sources, The War Years (1775-1783) August 30, 2018 August 27, 2018

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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People, Primary Sources, The War Years (1775-1783) August 29, 2018 August 29, 2018

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…

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People, Primary Sources, The War Years (1775-1783) August 28, 2018 August 26, 2018

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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1
People, Primary Sources, The War Years (1775-1783) August 27, 2018 August 26, 2018

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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Primary Sources, The War Years (1775-1783) August 2, 2018 July 28, 2018

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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Conflict & War, Features, Journals, The War Years (1775-1783) June 26, 2018 June 22, 2018

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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1
Espionage and Cryptography, Features April 12, 2018 April 10, 2018

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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Features, People, The War Years (1775-1783) March 1, 2018 February 28, 2018

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,…

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People January 8, 2018 January 10, 2018

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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Reviews September 22, 2017 September 3, 2017

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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4
People June 14, 2017 June 14, 2017

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]…

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Reviews May 30, 2017 May 30, 2017

Scars of Independence: America’s Violent Birth

Book review: Scars of Independence: America’s Violent Birth by Holger Hoock (Crown, 2017) [BUY NOW ON AMAZON] Wars take an awful human toll, no…

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People February 14, 2017 January 26, 2017

Duncan Grant’s Wife Margaret: Someone to write home about

Duncan Grant was proud of his wife. She was someone to write home about, and that’s exactly what he did. In a letter to…

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Journal of the American Revolution

Journal of the American Revolution is the leading source of knowledge about the American Revolution and Founding Era. We feature smart, groundbreaking research and well-written narratives from expert writers. Our work has been featured by the New York Times, TIME magazine, History Channel, Discovery Channel, Smithsonian, Mental Floss, NPR, and more. Journal of the American Revolution also produces annual hardcover volumes, a branded book series, and the podcast, Dispatches.

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    An Interview with Bob Thompson, author of Revolutionary Roads

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    The Purpose of the Electoral College: A Seemingly Endless Controversy

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