John Ferling, Author at Journal of the American Revolution

Author: John Ferling

John Ferling taught American history for forty years and he is the author of numerous books on the American Revolution. His most recent book is Shots Heard Round the World: America, Britain, and Europe in the Revolutionary War, published by Bloomsbury Press in April 2025.

Autobiography and Biography Posted on April 17, 2025April 16, 2025

America’s Forgotten Founder: Comte Charles Gravier de Vergennes

Historians generally agree on who were America’s principal Founders, but the roll call invariably omits the name of one individual without whose steadfast assistance the United States would have been unlikely to have gained independence. Comte Charles Gravier de Vergennes, France’s foreign minister throughout the long, desperate war, was a crucial player in America’s victory […]

by John Ferling

People Posted on July 15, 2021July 12, 2021

The Troubled Relationship Between Clinton and Cornwallis and their “War” after the War

A search for scapegoats is certain to follow a lost war, and in the wake of the British disaster at Yorktown in October 1781 a long list of potential targets existed. Both Sir Henry Clinton, who had commanded Britain’s army in America during the four years leading to Yorktown, and General Charles, Earl Cornwallis, who […]

by John Ferling

Critical Thinking Posted on April 27, 2021April 26, 2021

Sir Henry Clinton’s Generalship

“My fate is hard,” Sir Henry Clinton remarked after learning that he had been named commander of the British army in May 1778, adding that he expected to someday bear “a considerable portion of the blame” for Britain’s “inevitable” lack of success.[1] There were good reasons for Clinton’s pessimism. Not only was France entering the […]

by John Ferling