George Washington closed a July 31, 1788 letter to Noah Webster noting that Webster’s “desire of obtaining truth is very laudable, I wish I had more leizure to gratify it . . . the knowledge of innumerable things, of a more delicate and secret nature, is confined to the perishable remembrance of some few of […]
It was the letter that forced Washington to give up his dream of recapturing New York. Gen. Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, comte de Rochambeau, encamped with his French army at Phillipsburg on the Hudson River, received it on August 14, 1781 and showed it immediately to Gen. George Washington, whose headquarters was nearby. Written on […]
Continental Army general George Washington sat atop his horse ignoring the “smart skirmish” raging around him.[1] He could have joined his soldiers in attacking the Hessian troops “very much allarm’d” by the Americans’ “sudent appeerence before their works.” [2] Instead, Washington focused on the fortifications just beyond the Germans. The skirmish that occurred on July […]
Two months after Spain entered the American Revolutionary War on June 21, 1779, the governor of Spanish Louisiana, Don Bernardo de Galvez, launched an invasion of the British province of West Florida on August 27. The defenders, consisting of two British infantry regiments, a detachment of the Royal Artillery, two understrength provincial battalions, a regiment […]
Almost anyone that develops a passion for history can point to an event deep within themselves that spawned an imaginative interpretation of events, and out of that, perhaps a lifelong passion for a certain historical period. The battlefield at Yorktown, Virginia covering the 1781 siege, certainly excites the imagination as one treks through the British […]
The definitions of joint command of land, maritime, air and other forces as practiced by the United States military today were unknown to those who practiced warfare in the eighteenth century. However, the concepts outlined in contemporary definitions were known to military practitioners during that period.[1] General Washington understood the importance of unifying his efforts […]
The highest ranking Continental Army officer to be killed during the Siege of Yorktown in 1781 was Col. Alexander Scammell, 34-year old commander of the New Hampshire Regiment.[1] The descriptions of his capture and wounding in the many published accounts of the siege contain inconsistencies about where he was captured and associated events. In addition, […]
One of the finest sources for anecdotal, first-hand accounts of the Revolution is the U.S. Pension & Bounty Land Applications in the National Archives. They contain vivid snippets of military service, actions, genealogical information, social culture, and many other matters of 18th Century life. They can also be highly confusing and misleading when taken completely […]
When de Grasse’s fleet left Yorktown for the Caribbean on November 4, 1781, he was already planning how to pursue the second objective of the July 17, 1781, de Grasse/Saavedra Conventions. The objectives that he had agreed to with the Secretary of State and General Bureau for the Spanish Indies, Don Francisco Saavedra, were “to […]
On Tuesday, October 9, 1781, at 5:00 that afternoon, as an American flag unfurled over Grand Battery 13A at Yorktown, George Washington personally set light to an eighteen-pounder announcing to Charles Cornwallis that his end was not far off. As the hurtling ball spent itself, it left behind a wake of devastation killing the British […]
After the Americans’ stunning victory at Saratoga on October 17, 1777, King Louis XVI ordered his ministers to negotiate a formal alliance between France and the United States. Conrad Alexander Gérard of France and Benjamin Franklin, Silas Deane, and Arthur Lee of the United States negotiated the terms of the Franco-American alliance in the Treaty […]
It had been a tense three weeks in the Carolinas for General Nathanael Greene, the commander of the American southern army. In the wake of General Daniel Morgan’s decisive victory at Cowpens on January 17th, 1781, General Greene moved to reunite his divided army. While Morgan’s 550 man light corps slowly withdrew northeastward into North […]
“…the sword is the most destructive and almost only necessary weapon a dragoon carries.”[1] So wrote Major Richard Call of the 3d Light Dragoons to Governor Thomas Jefferson in March of 1781. At first glance it may seem odd that a light horseman would make such a statement given the wide use of firearms on […]
Dear Mr. History: What happened with the famous mutiny of the Pennsylvania Line that occurred January, 1781? Did the soldiers have legitimate grievances? What does such a mutiny say about the professionalism of the Continental Army? Sincerely, Miffed About Mutinies Dear Miffed: When the soldiers of the Pennsylvania Line mutinied most of them had not […]
When the Continental Congress first commissioned the use of private ships and boats of war in April 1776, they specified that each vessel’s commander had to deliver a bond payable to the president of the Congress before the privateering commission — called a letter of marque and reprisal — could be granted. These bonds were […]
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 […]
Prior to September 1780, Benedict Arnold earned a great reputation among Patriots for his bold, brave actions at Quebec, Valcour and Saratoga. In return for his treason, Arnold received commission as a General in the British army but the question remained unanswered as to whether he actually possessed the formal military command skills expected of […]
In the courtroom of the American Revolution, historical analysis – no matter how comprehensive or thorough – often results in competing opinions and conclusions. New facts, new narratives and new conclusions are constantly being presented, so historians do their best to argue their cases and appeal to a jury of peers. While historical litigation may […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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: […]
On the morning of January 17, 1781, Lt. Colonel Tarleton led a British army against Daniel Morgan at a place called the Cowpens. We all know that Morgan treated the rash young officer to ‘A Devil of a Whippin’. However, even with the setback, Lord Cornwallis remained determined to make his invasion of North Carolina. […]
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 […]
The American Revolution was fought not only by soldiers, seamen and politicians; it was also fought by civilians. Some of these civilians bore arms; others provided supplies; still others such as Haym Salomon fought with their wits and their administrative skills.
