Will Monk, Author at Journal of the American Revolution

Letters and Correspondence Posted on August 1, 2023

Thomas Hutchinson and His Letters

We often remember the controversy surrounding the Hutchinson Letters, which inspired many colonists to oppose the provincial government in Massachusetts, by talking about Benjamin Franklin (who found and sent the letters) and Samuel Adams (who helped publish them). Our memory of the letters’ author, Thomas Hutchinson, is often colored by a 1774 print by Paul Revere, […]

by Will Monk

War at Sea and Waterways (1775–1783) Posted on September 17, 2020September 15, 2020

Battle of the Saintes

We often think that the Siege of Yorktown, Virginia, and the surrender ceremony of October 19, 1781, was the effective end to fighting in the American Revolution. There were smaller skirmishes in isolated places, and some fights, but the two main armies never fought again. Yet the surrender allowed the French navy to return to […]

by Will Monk

Culture Posted on January 23, 2020January 23, 2020

Henry Laurens and the Grand Tour of Europe

In the fall of 1771, the South Carolina rice merchant Henry Laurens sailed to Britain with his teenaged sons. They toured the countryside and settled in London, where Laurens conducted business and oversaw the loading of ships to America. He also wanted to give his sons an education, placing them with men who would help […]

by Will Monk

Culture Posted on December 6, 2018December 5, 2018

Henry Laurens in England, 1771–1772

On October 9, 1771, a ship arrived at the southwestern tip of England. The Earl of Halifax had spent twenty nine days crossing the Atlantic from New York, and now its captain and crew peered at the shore to find the entrance to Falmouth harbor. The sun was going down in the west, but the sails […]

by Will Monk

Conflict & War Posted on August 23, 2018August 22, 2018

Communities Divided: Massachusetts, January to March 1775

On January 1, 1775, Charles Stockbridge visited his neighbor’s house in Hanover, Massachusetts, twenty five miles south of Boston. He heard a rumor that opponents of the government would visit nearby Marshfield to harass Tories (supporters of the king), who were well known and vulnerable to trouble. His neighbor doubted the rumor was true.[1] Yet […]

by Will Monk

Culture Posted on May 22, 2018May 21, 2018

The Love Letters of Alexander Scammell

One of our oldest known stories is The Odyssey, in which Odysseus travels from the Siege of Troy on various adventures to reach his long suffering wife and son, who wait for him to return. Recent movies like Cold Mountain, The Patriot, and Free State of Jones show men going great distances to see their loved […]

by Will Monk

Politics During the War (1775-1783) Posted on February 2, 2016August 28, 2016

Traveling to the Second Continental Congress

On April 24, 1775, Samuel Adams and John Hancock arrived in Worcester, Massachusetts, forty miles west of Boston. They hoped to find three more men – John Adams, Thomas Cushing and Robert Treat Paine – who were the other three delegates from the colony to the upcoming second Continental Congress, but they had not been […]

by Will Monk

Politics During the War (1775-1783) Posted on September 10, 2015August 28, 2016

A Brief Guide to the British Government

We know the familiar figure of King George III, often portrayed by painters in either military uniform or his coronation robes. He is the central villain in the Declaration of Independence, the unhappy victim of the crowd pulling him down, vicariously, as his statue rides a horse in New York City. Dozens of books portray […]

by Will Monk

The War Years (1775-1783) Posted on November 11, 2014August 28, 2016

The Twice Captured Lusanna

We often see books which boast of an “unknown story” or “secret history” of an era, and the American Revolution remains ripe fodder for this claim. A quick look on Amazon shows dozens of recently published books, revealing the “untold” story of King’s Mountain, Saratoga, women, prisoners, African Americans, spies, George Washington’s marriage, and a […]

by Will Monk

Critical Thinking Posted on October 2, 2014March 20, 2015

The Myth of “Granny Gates”

Earlier this year the AMC network aired a new series, Turn, about the Continental Army’s Culper Spy Ring, based on Alexander Rose’s book, Washington’s Spies. In one episode, the character of Benedict Arnold refers derisively to General Horatio Gates as “Granny Gates.” One might think it was a bit of literary license on behalf of […]

by Will Monk

Author: Will Monk