Tag: Abigail Adams

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Charles Lee—The Continental Army’s Most Prolific Essayist General

Maj. Gen. Charles Lee’s substantial literary contributions to the American independence movement have been overshadowed by his challenging Gen. George Washington for Continental Army leadership and the 1860 discovery of a potentially treasonous document.[1] Initially, Revolutionary Era Americans viewed Charles Lee as a highly accomplished military officer and a learned scholar and admired his ardently-argued […]

by Gene Procknow
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Benjamin Franklin, Fireman

Benjamin Franklin was a man of many talents and titles. He was a printer, writer, scientist, inventor, politician, diplomat, and philosopher, among other things. But did you know he was also a firefighter? In 1736, Franklin helped found the Union Fire Company of Philadelphia, one of the first volunteer fire departments in America. He was […]

by Jack Campbell
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10 Amazing Women of the Revolutionary War

“I desire you would remember the ladies”—March 31, 1776, Abigail Adams to her husband, John Adams After reading the “Most Overrated Revolutionary” and the “Most Underrated Revolutionary,” and the amazing contributions by each and every person, it started me thinking about “the ladies” that I feel, in their own ways, helped achieve independence. The impact that […]

by Pamela Murrow
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Thomas Knowlton’s Revolution

The story of Thomas Knowlton in the American Revolution is brief but meaningful. He was only thirty-five at his death, arguably a full-fledged hero in what George Washington termed “the “glorious Cause”[1] of American independence. The Connecticut colonel remains largely obscure in our collective historical consciousness but has been long recognized by serious students of […]

by David Price
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This Week on Dispatches: Jane Hampton Cook on “Remember the Ladies,” Abigail Adams on Women’s Right to Vote

On this week’s Dispatches host Brady Crytzer interviews author and former White House webmaster, Jane Hampton Cook on Abigail Adams’s advice to her husband John to “Remember the Ladies”—consider the voices of women during the debate over how a new country should be governed—an early act in recommending the vote to both women and men. Thousands […]

by Editors
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A Plan for a British “Female Corps”

The thought of allowing women to serve in combat was considered ridiculous only a few decades ago in most western nations; it was an even more bizarre concept during the American Revolution. Although both the British and Continental armies accepted the presence of female camp followers—usually the wives of soldiers—and issued them rations as compensation […]

by Jim Piecuch
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Contributor Question: What Scene Do You Wish Had been Depicted Accurately by an Artist?

We asked our contributors what seemed like a simple question: What scene from the American Revolution or the Founding Era (1765–1805, approximately) do you wish had been depicted accurately by an artist? Quite unintentionally, the wording was ambiguous. Some described scenes that they’d like to see an artist render, while others offered events that they […]

by Editors
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The Early Years: John Adams Lists Abigail’s Faults and Abigail Replies!

As a young country lawyer, John Adams thought he seemed to lack focus. “Ballast is what I want, I totter, with every Breeze. My motions are unsteady.”[1] History has shown that he eventually would find his “Ballast” in the steady personage of Abigail (Smith) Adams, his almost-equally-famous better half. Over the course of their fifty-four-year-long […]

by John L. Smith, Jr.