Introduction The actions of the cavalry at the Battle of Cowpens on January 17, 1781 have been particularly difficult to understand. Previous researchers have struggled to explain the actions of the cavalry under Lt. Col. William Washington while accounting for his seeming to be in multiple places on the battlefield at different times.[1] During research […]
Worcester, Massachusetts, claims to be the site of the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence in New England. A bronze star and plaque on the sidewalk in front of Worcester’s City Hall commemorates the event. The plaque reads: Here July 14, 1776 the Declaration of Independence was first publicly read in New England […]
May 2025 will bring the 250th anniversary of a unique if obscure Revolutionary war event in Charlotte, North Carolina: the much beloved, much maligned, “first” declaration of independence in the American colonies: the Mecklenburg Declaration of May 20, 1775 (or “MeckDec” as the locals call it). The MeckDec tale and associated celebrations have ebbed and […]
For all the flaws of the framers, Americans can still look to the founding era for wisdom and guidance. That deeply learned collection of statesmen, whatever its shortcomings, committed itself to advancing the public good and securing the long-term survival of the nascent nation.[1] And when the first members of congress, justices of the bench […]
The American Declaration of Independence boldly proclaims “that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights.” These words encouraged Americans to fight for freedom and have inspired disadvantaged groups though out the world. Historian Joseph Ellis called the phrase “the most potent and consequential words in American […]
One the United States’ Founders, writing under the pseudonym Brutus, argued that the new country, spanning too great a distance and too many distinctly interested peoples, was not viable.[1] His predictions were bleak: the government would lack the support of the people, who would feel both neglected and subsumed by its distant authority. To generate […]
An unbiased observer would likely conclude that the record of George Washington’s generalship in purely military terms was a mixed bag. The intent of what follows—a highly subjective exercise, to be sure—is not to reassess the overall quality of his generalship or weigh wins against losses. It is merely to give credit where credit is […]
Charles Stedman published his two-volume History of the Origin, Progress, and Termination of the American War in 1794. For 150 years, the work enjoyed a reputation as a solid, reputable source for the history of the Revolutionary War. Light-Horse Harry Lee, an enthusiastic Patriot, was gracious in his acclaim of the Tory historian. Stedman’s work, […]
During his time in England prior to the American Revolution, Benjamin Franklin often wrote letters to The Public Advertiser, a London newspaper. In one of them, published on August 22, 1766, Franklin mentioned in passing that among his old friends he counts Lemuel Gulliver.[1] Gulliver was renowned for his voyages around the world, in which […]
In the months prior to the Revolutionary War’s culminating siege at Yorktown and Gloucester Point, Virginia in 1781, the embattled Old Dominion was the scene of an intense campaign of maneuvers and raids. These operations pitted the young Maj. Gen. the Marquis de Lafayette, commanding a small, hard-pressed but determined American force, against Lt. Gen. […]
The engagement between Abraham Buford and Banastre Tarleton at the Waxhaws has attracted controversy since it occurred. Buford has had supporters and detractors, just as students of the battle have exonerated or excoriated Tarleton. The problem has been that this kind of black-or-white determination suggests one side was entirely at fault, the other entirely blameless. […]
Introduction It is estimated that over 25,000 Blacks served in the American Revolutionary War. Of these, 20,000, many who had escaped enslavement, served on the British side, largely due to Dunmore’s Proclamation that promised emancipation for “Negroes” who “joined his Majesty’s troops.”[1] An estimated 5,000 to 8,000 served on the American side, some as fighters, […]
One day in the late winter of 1788 in Paris, the Marquis de Lafayette and two other champions of republicanism, Thomas Jefferson and Thomas Paine, held a little “convention of our own,” according to Lafayette. They were discussing the latest news from America about the debates taking place over ratifying the Constitution of 1787.[1] Jefferson […]
Aside from the commercially inspired Mount Vernon Compact of 1785, the first public acknowledgement of the enormous inability of Congress to govern the peace in the new United States was the calling of the Annapolis Convention for September 1786. William Grayson, writing to James Madison that May, sounded upon the grievances of an ineffective Congress, […]
Quotes about indigenous Native Americans are brimming with paradoxes. Benjamin Franklin praised their martial skills and the political structure of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy yet labeled them “ignorant savages.” John Adams chastised the French utilization of native warriors in the French and Indian Wars while Philip Schuyler wooed Oneida warriors with false promises of equality and […]
In 1865, at the close of the Civil War, 1,367 men were breveted as a major or a brigadier general by the United States Senate. These honorary promotions were in addition to 583 who were already serving as generals, many in a brevet rank. Confusion abounded. As an example, at the war’s close, Ranald S. […]
In the beginning, there was Congress. On May 29, 1787, a Tuesday, with delegates to the Federal Convention seated and rules settled, Virginia’s governor Edmund Randolph introduced his state’s vision for the new nation. Article 1 set the stage: “Resolved that the Articles of Confederation ought to be corrected & enlarged” to provide for “common […]
George Washington’s confrontation with Maj. Gen. Charles Lee on a near hundred-degree afternoon, two miles west of Monmouth Courthouse on Sunday, June 28, 1778, ranks as one of the most iconic moments in battle during the Revolutionary War. It has been depicted in numerous paintings and sketches beginning in the 1800s, frequented Revolutionary War and […]
The summer meeting of the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787 was an event as momentous as the eight years it took for the colonies/states to achieve independence. The failure of the Articles of Confederation, and the dismal outcome (and attendance) of the Annapolis Convention in 1786, made it clear to all concerned that a […]
On January 4, 1881, historian James Watts de Peyster delivered an address to the New-York Historical Society in New York City. The lengthy oration dealt with the Battle of Kings Mountain, fought on October 7, 1780, in South Carolina, where the Revolutionaries achieved a decisive victory over a force composed of Loyalists. Although de Peyster […]
In 1688, King James II of England, a Catholic, was deposed by Mary II, an Anglican, and William III of Orange, a Protestant. The invasion, the battles and the deposition have become known as the Glorious Revolution. In December 1688, James fled to France. The Convention Parliament declared that James’s action was an abdication of […]
On this week’s Dispatches, host Brady Crytzer interviews JAR contributor Liam Connor on the use of Roman and other ancient persons, including the Iceni leader Boudica, in contemporary discussions about the American Revolution. New episodes of Dispatches are available for free every Saturday evening (Eastern United States Time) on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, Amazon Music, and […]
In December 2023, intellectual history lost one of its greatest innovators: J. G. A. Pocock. Professor Pocock, who dedicated his life to reconstructing the relationship between written text and historical context, leaves behind a body of work that has dramatically altered our understanding of Atlantic political thought. Underpinning much of his scholarship is a strong […]
In 1991, Queen Elizabeth II gave an address to a joint session of the United States Congress, the first address of its kind delivered by a British monarch. As part of her remarks, she reflected on the end of the American Revolution and eventual partnership between the United States and the United Kingdom. “Some people […]
“On the 18th of June, the British army, now under the command of Clinton, evacuated Philadelphia for New-York. The figure they made on the road had something the air of the sublime; for their baggage, loaded horses, and carriages, formed a line not less than twelve miles in length. General Washington, whose eye, like that […]
“If one is to truly love a country, one must be acquainted with its history and what it took for that country to stand today. In this particular field, I was, and I believe still am, lacking. After reading and studying My Brother Sam is Dead, however, I have come to a better understanding of […]
James III of England, although born as the rightful and lawful heir to the English throne, never became King of England. In early 1689, while he was still an infant, Parliament, after having declared that his father, James II, had abdicated the throne, proceeded to inaugurate William of Orange and his wife Mary as the […]
In April 1775, Isaac Bissell was a crucial link between the Patriots of Massachusetts and the government of neighboring Connecticut. His actions contributed to alerting many communities along the Atlantic coast about the outbreak of war in Lexington. Nevertheless, through a chain of circumstances, Isaac Bissell’s name has been overwritten in history books.[1] This story […]
General histories of the Battle of Connecticut Farms, New Jersey, that was fought on June 7, 1780 tend to miss their mark with the very first shots. The intrusion of local myth impacts our understanding of the sequence of battle and distorts some of its key elements. In the process, the battalion that suffered nearly […]
A good story spreads like glitter on a craft table: one spill and suddenly it’s everywhere. Readers picking up almost any history book about the American Revolution in the southern colonies will learn about the 1780 Battle of Kings Mountain and the plot point of British Major Patrick Ferguson threatening the Patriots of the southern […]
Just sixty days after the start of armed hostilities at Lexington Green, the Continental Congress’s decision to invade Canada resulted in one of the worst defeats in the War for Independence.[1] While exact casualty figures are difficult to discern, likely half of the American forces sent north were killed in battle, wounded, captured, or died […]
The once-promising Continental invasion of Canada was clearly headed for disaster by May 1776. With British forces chasing the American Army out of the Province of Quebec, Continental leaders started grappling with the fact that their ten-month strategic offensive in the north had failed. Canada would not be joining the Continental Congress as a fourteenth […]
Did Thomas Paine actively write against the American cause after emigrating from England in late 1774 and only opportunistically pretend to support the cause? When Paine was nominated for a Congressional position in April 1777, did delegate John Witherspoon hurl those accusations against Paine?[1] As other delegates were undoubtedly well aware, Witherspoon knew Paine personally. […]
On April 18, 1775, Dr. Joseph Warren, leader of the Patriots still inside Boston, gathered information about a possible British army march from many sources. Nineteenth-century accounts spoke of hints coming in from a groom in the governor’s stable, a boy who held horses for redcoat officers, a woman who employed a soldier’s wife as […]
The description of the United States as an “Empire of Liberty” is one of the most often repeated phrases of the American founding. Long associated with Thomas Jefferson, the phrase has been used by statesmen and authors alike. But what does “Empire of Liberty” mean? What were Jefferson’s intentions with the phrase and what are […]
The court martial of Maj. Gen. Charles Lee, who had been George Washington’s second in command during the Monmouth campaign, centered on three charges against him for his conduct during the Battle of Monmouth, fought near Freehold, New Jersey, on June 28, 1778. Lee was found guilty by the court on all three charges. The […]
On November 16, 1775, Robert Dixon lay dying not far from Quebec. Among the first American troops commissioned by the Continental Congress, he was a sergeant in Matthew Smith’s Company of Thompson’s Rifle Battalion. The previous July, he had walked with his company from the backcountry of Pennsylvania all the way to Boston, a distance […]
The traditional story of Valley Forge tells of an encampment where a weakened and stripped-down army of 11,000 men endured the hardships of a winter cantonment rife with depravations. Overcoming crippling deficiencies and benefitting from superb training by the first Inspector General of the United States, Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben, the army got healthy and […]
George Washington’s perseverance kept the American army in the field long enough to win negotiated independence, and later saw him through the first presidency under the Constitution. Benjamin Franklin’s ingenuity and sagacity guided the formation of the young nation before it yet realized it could be a country of its own. Thomas Jefferson’s eloquence gave […]