George Wythe was about the last person anybody would ever want to murder. At age 80, Wythe was an exceedingly kind and generous man who could be seen ambling down the streets of Richmond, Virginia in that year of 1806. The townspeople loved him, “His countenance was exceedingly benevolent and cheerful …”[1] and “He moved […]
On late summer days, sailboats of all sizes dot the Hudson River like so many white specks against a blue-gray background. But when the changeable weather of October arrives the river can become an unpredictable waterway, covered in mist or heavy fog. In the Hudson Highlands, a majestic series of mountains beginning about a third […]
1. MYTH: The Tea Act imposed a tax on American colonists (which is why tax protestors often revere the Boston Tea Party). BUSTED: The Tea Act did no such thing; instead the actual law gave the East India Company a tax break on tea shipped to the American colonies, along with special new privileges for […]
As a young woman in Somerset in 1773 you married that handsome weaver from a neighboring parish, but now it’s two years later and a war has begun across the ocean and your husband has just come home from the nearby market town and announced that he’s enlisted in the army. You’re impressed with the […]
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 […]
For as long as there have been dispatches from the front, there have been armchair generals attempting to call the shots from afar. Some months after the battle of Bunker Hill, Britons received news of another British defeat at Great Bridge, Virginia on 9 December 1775. Although much smaller than the action outside Boston, Great […]
The famous painting of George Washington crossing the Delaware River on Christmas night 1776 is permanently etched in many minds. It graces the covers of countless books and magazines often with great attention paid to the subsequent Battle of Trenton. But just how did Washington’s army cross the river? The collector’s print edition of Journal […]
In mid May 1775, just weeks after the bloody Battle of April Nineteenth had sparked the start of the American Revolution, the perhaps first naval skirmish of the Revolution was waged. I am not referring to the Battle of Chelsea Creek near Boston on May 27-28, 1775. True, British warships were involved at Chelsea Creek, […]
General Washington received the disappointing news on August 14, 1781. Comte De Grasse’s powerful French fleet of nearly thirty warships was not sailing for New York as Washington had long hoped, but was instead destined for the Chesapeake Bay. Washington’s plan for an allied attack on British held New York City depended heavily on the […]
Military leaders since Alexander the Great have often preferred to command their battle formations from the most forward ranks. “Leading from the front,” as the practice is often known, puts officers in outstanding positions to observe the action and inspire their soldiers. It also puts them in excellent positions to end up dead. Many officers […]
The outcome of a war depends on far more than individual battles, but the battles are compelling to study; everyone has a favorite. The impacts of each one are numerous, and we can pontificate endless “what if” scenarios regarding the outcomes. There were, nonetheless, several battles that changed the momentum of the American Revolution – […]
Thanks to the numerous promotions of military leadership before, during and even after the Revolutionary War, senior military ranks tend to cause great confusion for historians. Surprisingly, one of the most puzzling American military ranks is that of George Washington. As the result of multiple post-war appointments and promotions, Washington’s true rank during the Revolutionary […]
Most have heard of Timothy Murphy and the shooting of Brigadier General Simon Fraser. However, how many have heard of Benjamin Whitcomb and the shooting of Brigadier General Patrick Gordon? Hugh Harrington in a March 25 submission to this magazine has shown the former to be mythical. The following will show the latter to be […]
“…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, […]
As we know from our history books, the War for Independence began with the shots fired at Lexington and Concord. Those shots required gunpowder, a substance that was in short supply throughout the colonies. In 1775 there was only one American gunpowder mill, the Frankford Mill in Pennsylvania, and it was turning out a miniscule […]
I first heard the term “musket-shot” many years ago in a video about the Battle of Valcour Island. Having participated in Revolutionary War living history for years, I knew well the modern talk of the inaccuracies and poor range of the musket so I assumed the term meant something like 50 to 100 yards. The […]
“I never Emplored my pen in writing more Disagreeable News than at this time,” wrote Samuel Smedley, captain of the Connecticut state ship Defence, to Connecticut governor Jonathan Trumbull in March 1779. “According to your Excellencys Orders I got the ship Defence in Readiness for Sea & having no men Belonging to the ship it […]
The strategy approved by King George and his government for the defeat of the American rebellion in 1777 was to invade upstate New York from Canada supported by a thrust up the Hudson River from British-occupied New York City. The Canadian attack was to have two prongs. The first would have Lieutenant-General John Burgoyne lead […]
The historical debate concerning the Loyalists in the Revolutionary South has generally focused on matters such as the Loyalists’ numbers and motivations. While these are issues deserve study, one aspect of the Loyalists’ role in the southern campaign has received far less attention: that of leadership. The British government’s “Southern Strategy” depended to a great […]
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 […]
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 […]
A Frontier Crossroads Today a remote and quiet corner of South Carolina, Ninety Six was once a bustling center of activity, and one of the most important sites in the state at the start of the Revolution. It began as a trading post that saw service in both the Cherokee War of the 1750s and […]
On February 25, 1781, the Continental cavalry of Lieutenant Colonel Henry “Light Horse Harry” Lee’s Legion and Brigadier Andrew Pickens’s militia encountered several hundred loyalists commanded by Colonel John Pyle at Holt’s Race Paths in North Carolina. Pretending that he was British Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton, and his Continentals the similarly clad troops of Tarleton’s […]
A bit of time in the summer of 1777 nearly turned the conception of a United States into a stillborn notion. It is commonly accepted that the alliances with other European powers gave the American colonies the impetus to see their struggle through and those alliances resulted, in large part, from the surrender of General […]
September 8, 1781 Francis Marion is best known for his leadership in the partisan war of 1780-1781, during which he and his volunteer militia harassed British troops and the Loyalist militia in South Carolina, first disrupting the British occupation of the state and later helping to clear royal forces from a considerable area. Once this […]
Fought on June 28, 1778, the Battle of Monmouth is correctly remembered as one of the largest battles of the American Revolution, and the last major engagement fought in the North. But almost no one remembers that a smaller clash took place on roughly the same ground eighteen months earlier. Although a much smaller and […]
One of the most striking aspects of the Battle of Camden is the vast amount of material that was written about it. Officers and soldiers who fought in Revolutionary War battles always wrote something about their experiences, but in regard to the Battle of Camden, they wrote much more than they did about other battles: […]
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 […]
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 […]
To be a Tory in the northern colonies was to understand and fear the consequences of confinement at the infamous copper mine of Simsbury, Connecticut. Although already in use as a Loyalist prison, the mine gained official approval for use by the Assembly early in 1776. It quickly gained a reputation as a dismal environment […]
While recently watching “The Ten Commandments,” starring Charlton Heston, I pondered a few thoughts. First, they don’t make flicks like that anymore. Secondly, wouldn’t the Patriots have benefited from having a set of rules like the Ten Commandments to guide their struggle for independence? Lastly, that the editors of this Journal were waiting for me […]
One of the genuine pleasures of research is the discovery of someone whose contributions are barely noticed in classroom histories, but without whom, events would have turned out dramatically differently. The Spanish Governor-General of Louisiana, Bernardo de Gálvez, is one such figure. His energetic and often brilliant contributions to the American Revolution ensured that the […]
Cannon boomed 13 rounds and the stylishly dressed citizens of Annapolis, Maryland, swarmed into the streets. General George Washington was arriving, accompanied by only two aides. The next day, Washington wrote to Thomas Mifflin, the president of Congress, informing him of his desire to resign his commission as commander in chief. The president read Washington’s […]
Because the heat was oppressive, and perhaps because the dinner and drink sat heavy in his gut, John Jouett Jr. curled up beneath the great elm in the yard at Cuckoo Tavern to catch a few winks.[1] Despite the revelry droning on in the background, “Jack,” as his friends called him, was soon fast asleep. […]
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 […]
During my recent book tour, the Stamp Act riot part of my talk generated the loudest audience reactions so I thought I’d re-purpose what I call the “Stamp Act riot to-do list” for readers of the Journal of the American Revolution. In late 1765 and early 1766, protests against the stamp duty took place throughout […]
Who can call to mind the Pine Tree Riot? Until recently, this act of defiance to accepting British authority was one with which I was unfamiliar. In 1722, the New Hampshire General Court passed a law making it illegal to cut down any white pine trees larger than 12 inches in diameter. These trees were […]
