Category: Plus

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New Hampshire and Independence

BOOK REVIEW: New Hampshire and Independence: Rediscovered Writings from the Sons of the American Revolution edited by William Edmund Fahey (Charleston, SC: History Press, 2026). $34.99 Cloth, $24.99 Paperback The guidelines set for submissions to the Journal of the American Revolution ensure the articles exhibit the best practices of today’s historiography. They mandate that the […]

by Michael Barbieri
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The American Revolution at 250

BOOK REVIEW: The American Revolution at 250: Twenty-Four Historians Reflect on the Founding edited by Francis D. Cogliano (University of Virginia Press, 2026) $32.95 hardcover The 250th anniversary of the American Revolution has engendered a crowded commemorative landscape. This volume, The American Revolution at 250: Twenty-Four Historians Reflect on the Founding is University of Virginia […]

by Kevin Diestelow
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This Week on Dispatches: Michael Adelberg on the Monmouth County Jail Break in 1781

On this week’s Dispatches, host Brady Crytzer interviews JAR contributor Michael Adelberg on the attempt to jail Loyalists in Monmouth County, New Jersey, and the eventual jail break by prisoners in 1781. New episodes of Dispatches are available for free every Sunday evening(Eastern United States Time), first on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, Amazon Music, and […]

by Editors
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Atlas of Independence: John Adams and the American Revolution

BOOK REVIEW: Atlas of Independence: John Adams and the American Revolution by Chris Mackowski, (El Dorado Hills, CA: Savas Beatie, LLC, 2026) $16.95 Paperback Chris Mackowski’s Atlas of Independence positions John Adams as just that, a self-sacrificing man who attempts to direct his “reluctant colleagues” towards America’s independence. Mackowski is pretty plain in his argument […]

by Kelsey DeFord
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Siege: The Canadian Campaign in the American Revolution, 1775-1776

BOOK REVIEW: Siege: The Canadian Campaign in the American Revolution, 1775-1776 by Donald Grady Shomette (Heritage Books, 2025) Two volumes, paperback, $77.00 In its first year, the American Revolution was unstoppable. The outbreak of war at Lexington and Concord was followed by the capture of Fort Ticonderoga and victories at Moore’s Creek Bridge (North Carolina), […]

by Gabriel Neville
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The Home Front: Revolutionary Households, Military Occupation, and the Making of American Independence

BOOK REVIEW: The Home Front: Revolutionary Households, Military Occupation, and the Making of American Independence by Lauren Duval (Charlotte: University of North Carolina Press) $45.00 hardcover The Home Front by Lauren Duval, published by the Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture in conjunction with the University of North Carolina Press, offers a comprehensive […]

by Nichole Louise
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The Killing of Jane McCrea

BOOK REVIEW: The Killing of Jane McCrea: An American Tragedy of the Revolutionary Frontier by Paul Staiti (Yardley, PA: Westholme Publishing, 2025). My introduction to the Jane McCrea story came fifty years ago as part of a Revolutionary War reenactment weekend. The organizers chose my group to be part of the opening of the battle […]

by Michael Barbieri
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The Course of Human Events

BOOK REVIEW: The Course of Human Events: The Declaration of Independence and the Historical Origins of the United States by Steven Sarson. (Charlottesville, VA: University Press of Virginia) $35.00 paperback Modern interpretation of the Declaration of Independence is distressingly polarized. To some, it was the contrivance of hypocrites engaged in a war to perpetuate slavery.[1] […]

by Gabriel Neville
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Being Thomas Jefferson: An Intimate History

BOOK REVIEW: Being Thomas Jefferson: An Intimate History by Andrew Burstein (Bloomsbury Publishing, 2026) In Being Thomas Jefferson: An Intimate History, Andrew Burstein tackles the inner life of Thomas Jefferson and seeks to provide a fuller picture of the man in both public and private. Although Jefferson spent much of his life in public service, […]

by Kelly Mielke
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The American Revolution and the Fate of the World

BOOK REVIEW: The American Revolution and the Fate of the World by Richard Bell (New York, NY: Riverhead Books, 2025) $35.00 hardcover University of Maryland professor Richard Bell’s latest work, The American Revolution and the Fate of the World, shows how the North American struggle for independence from British control was a global conflict, changing […]

by Timothy Symington
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New Jersey’s Revolutionary Rivalry

BOOK REVIEW: New Jersey’s Revolutionary Rivalry: The Untold Story of Colonel Tye & Captain Huddy by Rick Geffken (Charleston, SC: The History Press, 2025) $24.99 Paperback Rick Geffken’s New Jersey’s Revolutionary Rivalry revolves around two antagonists. Titus was an enslaved man who escaped to British lines and, as the leader of a mixed group of […]

by Jeff Broadwater
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Entangled Alliances: Racialized Freedom and Atlantic Diplomacy During the American Revolution

BOOK REVIEW: Entangled Alliances: Racialized Freedom and Atlantic Diplomacy During the American Revolution by Ronald Angelo Johnson (Ithica, NY: Cornell University Press, 2025) The years between the two well-known peace treaties that ended conflicts in North America were a time of significant social upheaval. Two places in particular, the thirteen British colonies and the Caribbean […]

by Timothy Symington
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This Week on Dispatches: Geoffrey Hoerauf on American Spies around Fort Detroit

On this week’s Dispatches, host Brady Crytzer interviews Geoffrey Hoerauf, JAR contributor and reenactor, on the role of American spies and sympathizers around British Fort Detroit and how they informed the American efforts along the frontier. New episodes of Dispatches are available for free every Sunday evening(Eastern United States Time), first on iTunes, Stitcher, Google […]

by Editors
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This Week on Dispatches: Stuart Lillie on Henry Knox’s Artillery Train

On this week’s Dispatches, host Brady Crytzer interviews Stuart Lillie, vice president of Public History at Fort Ticonderoga, on their new exhibit on Henry Knox’s Artillery Train. New episodes of Dispatches are available for free every Sunday evening(Eastern United States Time), first on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, Amazon Music, and the JAR Dispatches web site. Each episode […]

by Editors
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This Week on Dispatches: Brett Bannor on Gulliver’s Travels and the Founding Generation

On this week’s Dispatches, host Brady Crytzer interviews JAR Contributor Brett Bannor on the surprising influence of Jonathan Swift’s “Gulliver’s Travels” on members of the Founding Generation. How often did they refer back to this classic political satire? New episodes of Dispatches are available for free every Sunday evening(Eastern United States Time), first on iTunes, […]

by Editors
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George Washington: His Quest for Honor and Fame

BOOK REVIEW: George Washington: His Quest for Honor and Fame by Peter R. Henriques (Charlottesville, VA: University of VA Press, 2025) $24.95 hardcover Famed Washington scholar Peter R. Henriques (author of Realistic Visionary: A Portrait of George Washington) turned the content of some recent talks given at Colonial Williamsburg into a brief “interpretive biography” of […]

by Timothy Symington
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A Dispatches Special: Prof. Alexander S. Burns discusses his new book, Infantry in Battle, 1733–1783

This week Brady Crytzer’s guest is Alexander S. Burns, assistant professor of History at Franciscan University of Steubenville. Prof. Burns discussed his new book Infantry In Battle: 1733-1783, at the 2025 Braddock’s Road Preservation Association Seminar at Fort Ligonier in Ligonier, Pennsylvania. New episodes of Dispatches are available for free every Sunday evening(Eastern United States […]

by Editors
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This Week on Dispatches: G. Patrick O’Brien on the Cessation of Hostilities on the New York Frontier in 1783

On this week’s Dispatches, host Brady Crytzer interviews historian and JAR Contributor G. Patrick O’Brien on how the news of the end of the American Revolution was conveyed along the New York frontier in 1783. New episodes of Dispatches are available for free every Sunday evening(Eastern United States Time), first on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, […]

by Editors
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Enemies to Their Country: The Marblehead Addressers and Consensus in the American Revolution

BOOK REVIEW: Enemies to Their Country: The Marblehead Addressers and Consensus in the American Revolution by Nicholas W. Gentile. (Amherst and Boston, MA: University of Massachusetts Press, 2025) Paperback, $32.95. The first book by independent historian Nicholas W. Gentile brings to light an almost completely unknown incident that occurred in the coastal town of Marblehead, […]

by Timothy Symington
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This Week on Dispatches: Patrick H. Hannum on Col. William Woodford’s James River Crossing in 1775

On this week’s Dispatches, host Brady Crytzer interviews JAR Contributor Patrick H. Hannum about a little known, but important river crossing during the 1775 campaign in Virginia that eventually led to Royal Governor Lord Dunmore’s departure from the state. New episodes of Dispatches are available for free every Sunday evening(Eastern United States Time), first on […]

by Editors
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This Week on Dispatches: Richard Gardiner on George Washington’s First Teacher

On this week’s Dispatches, host Brady Crytzer interviews JAR Contributor Richard Gardiner. For the last two centuries historians have speculated as to the identity of George Washington’s first teacher. Richard Gardiner provides compelling new evidence. New episodes of Dispatches are available for free every Sunday evening(Eastern United States Time), first on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, […]

by Editors
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Fighting for Philadelphia

BOOK REVIEW: Fighting for Philadelphia: Forts Mercer and Mifflin, the Battle of Whitemarsh, and the Road to Valley Forge, October 5-December 19, 1777 by Michael C. Harris (El Dorado Hills, CA: Savas Beatie, 2025) When examining the 1777 Philadelphia campaign, historians often skip from the Battles of Brandywine and Germantown, in September and early October, […]

by Gene Procknow
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This Week on Dispatches: Josh Wheeler on David Fanning’s Murderous Raid

On this week’s Dispatches, host Brady Crytzer interviews JAR Contributor Josh Wheeler on Loyalist David Fanning’s raid against Patriots in North Carolina after the British surrender at Yorktown. New episodes of Dispatches are available for free every Sunday evening(Eastern United States Time), first on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, Amazon Music, and the JAR Dispatches web site. Each […]

by Editors