I recently asked our readers via Facebook who they’d most like to see interviewed next and T.H. Breen was among the handful of historians named (hat tip to Matthew Kroelinger). Breen is the William Smith Mason Professor of American History at Northwestern University and a specialist on the American revolution. He is the author of […]
In January I made a list of the 10 best, in my opinion, Revolutionary War films. I neglected to include a film that deserves to be in the top half of that list; Mary Silliman’s War. This 1994 film is based on the true story of Mary Silliman and her husband, General Gold Selleck Silliman […]
On Sunday, September 28, 1975, six hundred Revolutionary War reenactors appeared in Winslow, Maine. Some paddled the eighteen miles up the Kennebec River from Augusta in four flat-bottomed boats called bateaux. Others walked part of the journey by land, or took wheeled transportation and emerged from their gas guzzling muscle cars. Their destination was Fort […]
Yesterday marked the 170th anniversary of the commemoration of the Bunker Hill Monument. It took the Bunker Hill Monument Association, thousands of individual donors, a craft and bake sale organized by Sarah Josepha Hale, a large donation from philanthropist Judah Touro, and seventeen years to complete construction of the 221-foot tall obelisk, the first major […]
When studying the American Revolution, there are several books that provide an overview of the events and people of that epic period in American history. A reader can choose from a popular history such as Bruce Lancaster’s “From Lexington to Liberty” or a deep study that provides an abundance of facts and background information such […]
Google Gordon S. Wood and you’ll find dozens of well-earned introductions: One of the foremost scholars on the American Revolution… One of the most esteemed historians… One of the most important authors… One of the most distinguished, celebrated, prominent… “Gordon S. Wood is more than an American historian. He is almost an American institution,” wrote […]
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 […]
Today we pick up where we left off yesterday with our J. L. Bell interview. 8 // As someone who knows the start of the Revolution better than most, what books do you recommend most to fellow history buffs who are eager to learn more about the 1763-1776 period? If you ask me again tomorrow, […]
When we think of prolific writers of American Revolution history, the names Bailyn, Ellis, Fleming, Morgan, Raphael, Wood and Young may come to mind. Another name that easily rivals those in quantity of words authored about the subject is Bell. John L. (J. L.) Bell is the author of one of, if not the, most […]
Nathaniel Philbrick is the author of Bunker Hill: A City, a Siege, a Revolution, a compelling, dramatic and extraordinarily well written narrative of Boston 1773-1775. The book caused a major media stir recently with news that Ben Affleck and Warner Bros. purchased the film rights. We asked the New York Times bestselling author a few […]
Nathaniel Philbrick’s Bunker Hill: A City, a Siege, a Revolution is an extraordinarily well written narrative of Boston and the beginning of the American Revolution. Philbrick presents history in a compelling and dramatic manner that will engage even the hardest to reach non-history reader. Despite a title that suggests a narrow focus on a single […]
It’s tough to bring history alive, particularly when all of the participants have been reduced to dust and bones by the inexorable flow of time. It’s even harder to make historical events interesting and vital to teenagers, as most any high school teacher of history can probably tell you. With her popular webcomic The Dreamer […]
Let’s face it. New, high-quality video content about the American Revolution is in short supply. More institutions and individuals are realizing the importance of video in education and marketing (thank you Yale and Joanne Freeman, and the American Revolution Center), but fear of the camera and perceived high costs still scare many away. One organization […]
Ben Edwards is a lot of things–a children’s book author, Boston historian, collector of historic documents, relative of Paul Revere, and the No. 1 private tour guide in Boston with 100+ five-star reviews on TripAdvisor. Given his proximity to history and insider knowledge of Revolutionary tourism, I asked Ben to participate in an interview so […]
Our spring break road trip concludes the same way as the major fighting of the Revolutionary War did — in the south. The first stop is New Bern, North Carolina, to stroll the garden paths and grounds of Tryon Palace, “the place where governors ruled, legislators debated, patriots gathered and George Washington danced.” Ninety minutes […]
After an early morning drive-by of multiple Maryland monuments and historical sites, we focused our attention on Virginia. Whoever said doing Mount Vernon and Colonial Williamsburg in one day was impossible never drove a Porsche Cayenne. George Washington’s estate opens at 8 am, Colonial Williamsburg closes at 5 pm, and they are separated by a […]
Today we start our spring break road trip in Newark, Delaware, with a quick stop at the historic Hale-Byrnes House, site of a council of war on September 6, 1777, five days before the Battle of Brandywine. Considering the homes relation to Brandywine, our next stop will be the Brandywine Battlefield State Park in Chadds […]
After sleeping in a bit, today’s first stop is “Ye Most Ancient Towne” in Connecticut – Wethersfield (see video below), which was founded in 1633-34 and boasts 300 historic homes (50 built before the American Revolution)! The highlight of our stop is sure to be the Webb-Deane-Stevens Museum: “The 1752 Joseph Webb House served as […]
Journal of the American Revolution is closing its office this week and heading on a road trip, making stops at historic Revolution sites along our fictional drive from New Hampshire to Georgia. Our first stop will be where the first shots of the Revolution were fired – Portsmouth. In December 1774, the first armed exchange […]
What was revolutionary about the American Revolution? “We went from a bunch of rich white guys running the show all the way to a bunch of rich white guys running the show.” This Crash Course video is a great teaching tool and sure to spark great discussion.
For the enhanced e-version of Reporting the Revolutionary War, I filmed interviews with several of the book’s historian contributors. My questions covered a lot of ground, including military strategy, print culture, politics, health, logistics, etc. We finished with 100+ video segments totaling more than five hours of Q&A. Frequently, our conversations went off on tangents […]
Americans, even Americans who enjoy studying the American Revolution, don’t know much about the British soldiers. While British officers have left some written accounts of themselves and their experiences the private soldiers’ left very, very little. Don Hagist has filled the knowledge void for the private soldier as well as it can be filled. Personal […]
Published in 1976 but currently available in an electronic version via Amazon and Barnes and Noble. This is historical fiction at its finest. The setting, characters and history are all very well developed. The reader is drawn into the Revolutionary War as experienced by a family and their neighbors as they are forced to take […]
This book is must reading for anyone interested in the American Revolution. It is by far the best account written by a private soldier. Some officers wrote about their experiences but few private soldiers writings survive. The book was first published by Martin in 1830 with the title A Narrative of Some of the Adventures, […]
YouTube is synonymous with Gangnam Style, Giant Double Rainbows and the Evolution of Dance, but not the American Revolution, right? Wrong. When it comes to fun and funny videos about the Revolution era, YouTube has a surplus of choices. I’m not talking about Yale’s American Revolution course, classic School House Rock episodes, crazy mash-ups of […]
The American Revolution is quite obviously a very broad topic. It would require a huge quantity of books, even watered down to the “essentials,” to adequately cover all facets of the war. The hypothetical library would have to contain volumes on politics, biographies of major and minor players, continent-wide strategies, battles, tactics, equipment and supply. […]
Ask any Civil War or Rev War buff to name one modern day historical artist and chances are Don Troiani will come to mind first. Straight from the bio: “While there are other painters who have turned their attention to historical art, none have done so with the enthusiasm, insight and historical accuracy of this […]
When any reader is new to a subject it often is hard to know where to start. Once underway studying the American Revolution the sky’s the limit as far as breadth and depth of research is concerned. It’s a lifetime endeavor that has given me a great deal of pleasure as well as some understanding […]
When we speak of history books normally we refer to non-fiction. But, what of fiction? There is a definite place for novels in our understanding of the Revolutionary War. A good, I stress “good,” historical novel puts flesh on the bones of facts. And, they can be a fun read. They also attract many people […]
This ranking of the best American Revolution films is based on my own appreciation of the movies. Obviously, any attempt to rank films in order is subjective and my opinions may make others cringe. Keep in mind that films are made to make money, not to be models of historical accuracy. However, some films handle the […]
Thomas Fleming is one of the most prolific authors of American Revolution history. He has written 20 nonfiction books that have won prizes and praise from critics and fellow historians, as well as 23 novels, many of them bestsellers. He is perhaps best known for his appearances on C-SPAN, PBS and the History Channel. I […]
What if the Declaration of Independence was written with today’s technology and collaboration tools? This two-minute “History Reimagined” video shows us how it might have looked.
Revolutionary War films are a rarity. Good ones are as scarce as hens teeth. All For Liberty is a great one. In the past we have seen story lines that play fast and loose with history and with realism. Not so with All for Liberty. The film centers around Captain Henry Felder, an upcountry South […]
Every day, we are bombarded by visually stunning infographics about virtually every subject. Data visualizations help people digest large chunks of info and have strong viral potential on social media channels like Twitter and Facebook, so they have skyrocketed in popularity in recent years. There are infographics about water, the Civil War, web usage, bankruptcies, […]
For over 230 years books and articles have been written about George Washington. Every facet of his life, his personality, his accomplishments and his failures have been told and retold with varying degrees of insight and accuracy. One may well question the need for yet another biography of Washington. The answer is simple. General George […]
April Morning is a novel covering a 24 hour period in Lexington, Massachusetts when the American War for Independence began. The story is compellingly told by a 15 year old Lexington boy, Adam Cooper. The reader sees young Cooper’s life on the afternoon and evening before the fateful day in such a realistic manner that […]
After writing seven books, New York Times bestselling author John Green stopped textual communication and began vlogging, or video blogging. Working with his brother, Hank, the two use videos to teach others about world history and biology. Five months ago, they published an educational piece summarizing the American Revolution. Enjoy! For more Crash Course entertainment, […]
