Author: Hugh T. Harrington

Hugh T. Harrington, editor emeritus of Journal of the American Revolution (allthingsliberty.com), is an independent researcher and author whose books include Remembering Milledgeville (History Press, 2005), More Milledgeville Memories (History Press, 2006), Civil War Milledgeville (History Press, 2005), and biography of 1890s magician Annie Abbott, “The Little Georgia Magnet” (Createspace, 2010). His articles have appeared in the Journal of Military History, Georgia Historical Quarterly, America’s Civil War, Southern Campaigns of the American Revolution, American Revolution, Muzzle Blasts, and others. He has written extensively on Sherlock Holmes and is a member of the Baker Street Irregulars. He lives in Gainesville, Georgia.

Reviews Posted on February 10, 2016February 15, 2016

First Entrepreneur: How George Washington Built His — and the Nation’s — Prosperity

Book Review: First Entrepreneur: How George Washington Built His — and the Nation’s — Prosperity by Edward G. Lengel (Da Capo Press, 2016). [BUY NOW ON AMAZON] When one thinks of George Washington, perhaps the first image is that of the military commander of the Revolutionary War. Next might be Washington as president. Few are likely to […]

by Hugh T. Harrington

Reviews Posted on October 21, 2015October 13, 2015

The Spirit of ’74, How the American Revolution Began

Book Review: The Spirit of ’74, How the American Revolution Began (New York, The New Press, 2015) by Ray Raphael and Marie Raphael Most people understand that the American Revolution began in Massachusetts. What they may not know is that the revolution actually began well over a year before the gunfire at Lexington and Concord. Rather […]

by Hugh T. Harrington

Reviews Posted on March 20, 2015July 27, 2015

The Revolution’s Last Men: The Soldiers Behind the Photographs

Book Review: The Revolution’s Last Men: The Soldiers Behind the Photographs by Don N. Hagist (Westholme Publishing, 2015). In 1864, The Last Men of the Revolution was written by Elias Hillard. It purported to be not only the stories of these ancient warriors from the American Revolution but also included their photographs. Hillard and his […]

by Hugh T. Harrington

Techniques & Tech Posted on March 16, 2015August 28, 2016

Invading America: The Flatboats that Landed Thousands of British Troops on American Beaches

Amphibious operations, which involve landing troops and supplies from the sea to the land, are extremely difficult and require special techniques, close coordination between the navy and army, as well as specialized equipment. The British learned the required skills during the Seven Years’ War. After a failed attack on the French port of Rochefort the […]

by Hugh T. Harrington

Prewar Conflict (<1775) Posted on March 9, 2015August 28, 2016

Tides and Tonnage: A Different Take on the Boston Tea Party

The story of the Boston Tea Party has been told and retold endlessly. It has become a part of American mythos. On the evening of December 16, 1773 in Boston a group of 100 to 150 citizens, dressed like Indians, descended on three ships loaded with tea from England. Politely, but firmly, they demanded the […]

by Hugh T. Harrington

Critical Thinking Posted on February 10, 2015August 28, 2016

“The Sale of the Hessians” and the Franklin Legend

Since 1874 a growing assumption, indeed an assumption expanding to the status of “fact,” has arisen that a document known as “The Sale of the Hessians” was a piece of propaganda written by Benjamin Franklin. A quick online search using the search terms of “Sale of the Hessians” and “Franklin” will bring up many books, […]

by Hugh T. Harrington

Reviews Posted on February 6, 2015February 5, 2015

William Washington, American Light Dragoon: A Continental Cavalry Leader

Book review: William Washington, American Light Dragoon: A Continental Cavalry Leader in the War of Independence by Daniel Murphy (Westholme Publishing, 2014). William Washington, the Revolutionary War cavalry commander, is relatively unknown. However, he played an important role in the War especially in the South, and should be recognized for his skills and accomplishments. Virtually […]

by Hugh T. Harrington

The War Years (1775-1783) Posted on November 24, 2014August 28, 2016

The Bermuda Powder Raids of 1775

In 1775, the tension between the American colonies and Great Britain escalated into armed conflict at then-little-known places such as Lexington, Concord and Bunker Hill. As a result, throughout the spring and into the summer American colonial legislatures and the military were scrambling to secure supplies of every kind. Until that time much of the […]

by Hugh T. Harrington

Arts & Literature Posted on November 10, 2014April 20, 2015

Propaganda Warfare: Benjamin Franklin Fakes a Newspaper

“The Press, Watson, is a most valuable institution, if you only know how to use it,” said the fictional detective Sherlock Holmes.[1] Benjamin Franklin had a lifetime of experience with the Press and knew well how to use it. In the spring of 1782, five months after Yorktown, Franklin was in Paris working on the […]

by Hugh T. Harrington

The War Years (1775-1783) Posted on October 9, 2014August 28, 2016

Anthony Wayne’s 1782 Savannah Campaign

In the minds of many people the surrender at Yorktown in the fall of 1781 brought the Revolutionary War to a close. However, the war in the South was not over. Charleston and Savannah were occupied by the enemy. Physical possession and control of territory would be important in any peace negotiations. In consequence, Major […]

by Hugh T. Harrington

Reviews Posted on October 6, 2014February 16, 2015

The Return of George Washington 1783-1789

Book Review: The Return of George Washington 1783-1789 by Edward J. Larson. New York: William Morrow, 2014. Hardcover $29.99. ISBN 978-0-06-224867-1. Pp 384. Index, bibliography, illustrations. While mountains of books have been written about George Washington most have covered his wartime or presidential careers. Few have discussed in any depth the period between his remarkable […]

by Hugh T. Harrington

Places Posted on September 25, 2014August 28, 2016

The Great West Point Chain

Control of the Hudson River was important strategically during the American Revolution. The river, along with lakes George and Champlain, was a potential invasion route from Canada. It also was a physical separator of the colonies. Men as well as supplies crossed the river. To split off the northern colonies from the South and interrupt […]

by Hugh T. Harrington

Reviews Posted on September 9, 2014January 2, 2015

Band of Giants: The Amateur Soldiers Who Won America’s Independence

Book Review: Band of Giants: The Amateur Soldiers Who Won America’s Independence by Jack Kelly. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. Hardback. $27.00. ISBN: 978-1-137-27877-7; 368 pages, Index. It is difficult to condense the Revolutionary War into one volume and make it readable, informative, entertaining and even fascinating. Jack Kelly has done just that by focusing on […]

by Hugh T. Harrington

Beyond the Classroom Posted on July 18, 2014August 28, 2016

For Love of the Footnote

I love footnotes. I won’t read a historical article if it does not have proper footnotes; why waste my time? When thumbing a book and contemplating a purchase I thumb from the back. The book must have an index[1] and it must have footnotes.[2] If there is no index or no foot/endnotes then I lay […]

by Hugh T. Harrington

Reviews Posted on June 27, 2014January 2, 2015

“Light Horse Harry” Lee in the War for Independence

Book Review: “Light Horse Harry” Lee in the War for Independence by Jim Piecuch and John Beakes. Charleston, SC: The Nautical and Aviation Publishing Co. of America, 2013. Hardback: $26.95. ISBN 978-1-877853-73-9. Pp. xi, 268. Index, bibliography, maps, illustrations. There is a need for a quality, impartial military biography of Henry “Light Horse Harry” Lee. […]

by Hugh T. Harrington

Reviews Posted on April 11, 2014January 2, 2015

The Men Who Lost America

Book Review: The Men Who Lost America, British Leadership, the American Revolution, and the Fate of the Empire By Andrew Jackson O’Shaughnessy Yale University Press, New Haven, CT. Hardback. $37.50 ISBN: 978-0-300-19107-3;466 pages, 7.25 x10.25. Many of us have been brought up with the understanding that the British leadership, both military and/or governmental, was made […]

by Hugh T. Harrington

Reviews Posted on March 4, 2014January 2, 2015

Parker’s Guide to the Revolutionary War in South Carolina

Book Review: Parker’s Guide to the Revolutionary War in South Carolina; Battles, Skirmishes and Murders (2nd edition) By John C. Parker, Jr. Infinity Publishing, West Conshohocken, PA, 2013. Paper. $39.95 ISBN 978-0-9841058-1-6; 530 pages, 8.5 x11. Historian John C. Parker, Jr. has created an incredible resource for anyone caring to trace the Revolutionary War in […]

by Hugh T. Harrington

The War Years (1775-1783) Posted on February 7, 2014August 28, 2016

Ambushed! Victim’s Bones at Fort Laurens

For a few terrifying minutes the air was filled with the sound of gunshots, war-whoops and the screams of the dying. It was over quickly. Within plain sight of Fort Laurens, but beyond musket range, 19 members of a work party were ambushed and overwhelmed by Indians and British. Seventeen were killed outright, their scalped […]

by Hugh T. Harrington

The War Years (1775-1783) Posted on October 24, 2013August 28, 2016

The Long Shot of September 1776

In September 1776[1] there occurred an incident of long distance marksmanship, or luck, that deserves a close look. The eyewitness, Private Joseph Plumb Martin[2] of the Continental Army, describes the scene. Martin was on the east shore of Manhattan Island marching north with the East River on his right. He wrote that: “…here I saw […]

by Hugh T. Harrington

Critical Thinking Posted on September 25, 2013October 27, 2014

The History of Parson Weems

Mason Locke Weems, better known as Parson Weems, considered himself an historian. But, he was far more interested in pleasing people than he was with writing history. His exaggerations and fabrications of fact led one commentator to remark that Weems had “a touch of the confidence man in him.” Weems was born in 1759 and […]

by Hugh T. Harrington

Techniques & Tech Posted on September 10, 2013August 28, 2016

Bows and Arrows – Pikes and Spears

“…good weapons not wisely laid aside” Wartime brings urgency to the quest for better weapons systems. That is as true today as it was during the American Revolution. However, the search for effective weapons does not always require seeking out the new or untried inventions. The needs may sometimes be met using old technology. Indisputably, […]

by Hugh T. Harrington

Critical Thinking Posted on August 20, 2013August 28, 2016

Was General Anthony Wayne Murdered?

One of the most extraordinary coincidences in history? Or, was it murder? You be the judge. Anthony Wayne Anthony Wayne is generally remembered as one of the more successful fighting generals of the American Revolution. He served at Brandywine, Germantown, Valley Forge, Stony Point and the Savannah Campaign of 1782, among others. However, his post-war […]

by Hugh T. Harrington

Techniques & Tech Posted on July 15, 2013August 28, 2016

The Inaccuracy of Muskets

A musket is not an accurate weapon. That’s a well known fact. But, why is it inaccurate and what can we learn from its shortcoming we can apply to studies of the Revolutionary War battlefield. There are innumerable variables concerning the musket. To keep this analysis simple most of the variables will be ignored (things […]

by Hugh T. Harrington

Techniques & Tech Posted on July 10, 2013August 28, 2016

Charles Willson Peale’s “Riffle with a Tellescope to it”

When one thinks of a telescopic sight on a rifle one does not think of the Revolutionary War. However strange, there was one documented rifle with a telescopic sight. It was conceived and test fired by a very improbable rifleman: Charles Willson Peale. Charles Willson Peale (1741-1827) was the most prominent American portrait painter of […]

by Hugh T. Harrington

Reviews Posted on July 3, 2013January 2, 2015

Washington and the Final British Campaign for the Hudson River, 1779

In 1779 General George Washington and British Lieutenant-General Sir Henry Clinton were locked in a stalemate around New York City. Clinton desperately wanted to lure Washington into a climactic battle that would destroy the Continental Army but his forces were not strong enough to fight Washington on his own ground. Clinton attacked Connecticut in an […]

by Hugh T. Harrington

Reviews Posted on June 21, 2013September 27, 2016

Mary Silliman’s War

In January I made a list of the 10 best, in my opinion, Revolutionary War films. I neglected to include a film that deserves to be in the top half of that list; Mary Silliman’s War. This 1994 film is based on the true story of Mary Silliman and her husband, General Gold Selleck Silliman […]

by Hugh T. Harrington

Techniques & Tech Posted on May 16, 2013August 28, 2016

Battle Wounds: Never Pull an Arrow Out of a Body

Often in western films there is a scene where an arrow is yanked from the body of a fallen comrade. As dramatic as that may be it is definitely not the recommended method for removing an arrow. Battle wounds in the American Revolutionary War were of a wide variety, none of which were easy to […]

by Hugh T. Harrington

Techniques & Tech Posted on May 14, 2013August 28, 2016

How to Treat a Scalped Head

When one thinks of injuries received in battle during the Revolutionary War wounds from gunshots, bayonets and swords come to mind. A far less common wound was that of a scalping victim. In most cases the scalping victim was already dead or soon would be dead when the scalping took place. There were however instances […]

by Hugh T. Harrington

Interviews Posted on April 30, 2013April 30, 2013

9 Questions with Author Nathaniel Philbrick

Nathaniel Philbrick is the author of Bunker Hill: A City, a Siege, a Revolution, a compelling, dramatic and extraordinarily well written narrative of Boston 1773-1775. The book caused a major media stir recently with news that Ben Affleck and Warner Bros. purchased the film rights. We asked the New York Times bestselling author a few […]

by Hugh T. Harrington

Reviews Posted on April 29, 2013January 2, 2015

Bunker Hill by Nathaniel Philbrick

Nathaniel Philbrick’s Bunker Hill: A City, a Siege, a Revolution is an extraordinarily well written narrative of Boston and the beginning of the American Revolution. Philbrick presents history in a compelling and dramatic manner that will engage even the hardest to reach non-history reader. Despite a title that suggests a narrow focus on a single […]

by Hugh T. Harrington

Critical Thinking Posted on March 25, 2013August 28, 2016

The Myth of Rifleman Timothy Murphy

Every historical researcher, and readers of history books and magazines, must constantly keep in mind the power of the written word. Whether reading for pleasure or serious study one constantly weighs the evidence to determine whether it is accurate and credible or not. Regrettably, the written word itself attaches credibility to a statement by the […]

by Hugh T. Harrington

The War Years (1775-1783) Posted on March 4, 2013August 28, 2016

Unleashing the Dogs of War

Nearly everyone loves a dog. This is especially true of soldiers to whom a dog is a friendly reminder of home, a companion and distraction from the day to day life. Regrettably, these furry friends have been lost in the mists of time. A few however can still be glimpsed, although dimly, doing what dogs […]

by Hugh T. Harrington

Reviews Posted on February 25, 2013January 2, 2015

British Soldiers, American War – Voices of the American Revolution

Americans, even Americans who enjoy studying the American Revolution, don’t know much about the British soldiers. While British officers have left some written accounts of themselves and their experiences the private soldiers’ left very, very little. Don Hagist has filled the knowledge void for the private soldier as well as it can be filled. Personal […]

by Hugh T. Harrington

Reviews Posted on February 21, 2013January 2, 2015

Liberty Tavern

Published in 1976 but currently available in an electronic version via Amazon and Barnes and Noble. This is historical fiction at its finest. The setting, characters and history are all very well developed. The reader is drawn into the Revolutionary War as experienced by a family and their neighbors as they are forced to take […]

by Hugh T. Harrington

Reviews Posted on February 19, 2013January 2, 2015

Private Yankee Doodle by Joseph Plumb Martin

This book is must reading for anyone interested in the American Revolution. It is by far the best account written by a private soldier. Some officers wrote about their experiences but few private soldiers writings survive. The book was first published by Martin in 1830 with the title A Narrative of Some of the Adventures, […]

by Hugh T. Harrington

Beyond the Classroom Posted on February 13, 2013August 28, 2016

The Essential American Revolution Library

The American Revolution is quite obviously a very broad topic. It would require a huge quantity of books, even watered down to the “essentials,” to adequately cover all facets of the war. The hypothetical library would have to contain volumes on politics, biographies of major and minor players, continent-wide strategies, battles, tactics, equipment and supply. […]

by Hugh T. Harrington

Beyond the Classroom Posted on February 7, 2013August 28, 2016

Revolutionary War 101: Beginning Books

When any reader is new to a subject it often is hard to know where to start. Once underway studying the American Revolution the sky’s the limit as far as breadth and depth of research is concerned. It’s a lifetime endeavor that has given me a great deal of pleasure as well as some understanding […]

by Hugh T. Harrington

Beyond the Classroom Posted on February 1, 2013August 28, 2016

Top 10 Revolutionary War Novels

When we speak of history books normally we refer to non-fiction. But, what of fiction? There is a definite place for novels in our understanding of the Revolutionary War. A good, I stress “good,” historical novel puts flesh on the bones of facts. And, they can be a fun read. They also attract many people […]

by Hugh T. Harrington

Beyond the Classroom Posted on January 25, 2013January 27, 2017

Top 10 Revolutionary War Movies

This ranking of the best American Revolution films is based on my own appreciation of the movies. Obviously, any attempt to rank films in order is subjective and my opinions may make others cringe. Keep in mind that films are made to make money, not to be models of historical accuracy. However, some films handle the […]

by Hugh T. Harrington