Kelsey DeFord is currently the administrative specialist for the Department of History at Arkansas State University. An alum of A-State, she received her Bachelors' in Secondary Social Science Education in 2017 and Masters in Public History in 2019, respectively. Her master’s thesis "A Tale of Two Culpers" explored social context of war and ideologies of the Culper spy ring. One of three triplet sisters, Kelsey is used to managing chaos that comes at home and work. In her spare time, she likes to read comics, watch anime, and spend time with her tabby cats.
BOOK REVIEW: Lydia’s Tale: The Mystery of Lydia Darragh, Irish Quaker, Patriot Spy by Robert N. Fanelli (Yardley, PA: Westholme Publishing, 2025) $34.95 hardcover Robert N. Fanelli’s Lydia’s Tale attempts to contextualize the life and legacy of the famed heroine spy Lydia Darragh. Fanelli is a contributor to the Journal of the American Revolution; his […]
BOOK REVIEW: Winning the Ten Crucial Days: The Keys to Victory in George Washington’s Legendary Winter Campaign by David Price (Brookline Books, 2025) David Price’s Winning the Ten Crucial Days examines Gen. George Washington’s military campaign from December 25, 1776 to January 3, 1777. This short period was one of the most pivotal moments in […]
BOOK REVIEW: An American Triumph: America’s Founding Era Through the Lives of Ben Franklin, George Washington, and John Adams by Tom Hand (Americana Corner Press, 2023) $35.00 Hardcover. Tom Hand’s An American Triumph examines the lives of Benjamin Franklin, George Washington and John Adams. Hand, a West Point graduate, created the website “Americana Corner” in […]
BOOK REVIEW: Declarations of Independence: Indigenous Resilience, Colonial Rivalries, and the Cost of Revolution by Christopher R. Pearl (University of Virginia Press, 2024. $33.95 Paperback) Christopher Pearl’s Declarations of Independence seeks to highlight diverse experiences, motivations, and differing views on independence. Historians have examined these topics before from an ideological and theoretical point of view, […]
BOOK REVIEW: Antiquity and Loyalist Dissent in Revolutionary America, 1765-1776 by Daniel R. Moy (Anthem Press, 2024. $110.00) Daniel R. Moy’s Antiquity and Loyalist Dissent in Revolutionary America attempts to analyze ideological warfare between Whigs and Tories, with particular attention to ancient Greco-Roman and Mediterranean influences. Moy, currently a lecturer at the University of Virginia […]
BOOK REVIEW: Dishonored Americans: The Political Death of Loyalists in Revolutionary America by Timothy Compeau (University of Virginia Press, 2023) Early American scholars treated Loyalists of the American Revolution as bystanders and stereotypical villains in the story. This was part of a larger attempt to unify American colonists during and after the war. Some Loyalists wrote […]
BOOK REVIEW: The Tory’s Wife: A Woman and Her Family in Revolutionary America by Cynthia Kierner (University of Virginia Press, 2023) Linda K. Kerber’s Women of the Republic: Intellect and Ideology in Revolutionary America demonstrated women’s resilience to create their own “republican motherhood;” this later evolved into accomplishing what the revolution did not do for women. […]
