Tag: British Army

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This Week on Dispatches: Don N. Hagist on the British Soldiers who Marched to Concord

On this week’s Dispatches, host Brady Crytzer interviews  JAR managing editor Don N. Hagist on the demographics of the British soldiers who marched to Concord on April 19, 1775. New episodes of Dispatches are available for free every Saturday evening (Eastern United States Time) on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, Amazon Music, and the JAR Dispatches web site. Dispatches […]

by Editors
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Biographical Sketches of Royal Militia Commanders in the South Carolina Mid- and Lowcountry, North Carolina, and Georgia, 1780–82

Introduction This article supplements one relating to royal militia commanders in the South Carolina Backcountry that appeared in the Journal of the American Revolution on November 30, 2020. SOUTH CAROLINA MID- AND LOWCOUNTRY Commanding Officers Elias Ball Sr. A brother-in-law of Thomas Gaillard (see below), Elias Ball Sr. was of a prominent local family owning […]

by Ian Saberton
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This Week on Dispatches: Jim Piecuch on Women and Revolutionary-Era Armies

On this week’s Dispatches host Brady Crytzer interviews historian and JAR associate editor, Jim Piecuch who elaborates on his article about the suggestion for a British “Female Corp” and the role of women in the British and Continental armies during the American Revolution. Thousands of readers like you enjoy the articles published by the Journal of the American Revolution. […]

by Editors
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This Week on Dispatches: John G. McCurdy on the Quartering Act

On this week’s Dispatches host Brady Crytzer interviews historian and author John G. McCurdy, professor of history at Eastern Michigan University, about the quartering act, the subject of his recent book, Quarters: The Accommodation of the British Army and the Coming of the American Revolution. Thousands of readers like you enjoy the articles published by the […]

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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Quarters: The Accommodation of the British Army and the Coming of the American Revolution

Quarters: The Accommodation of the British Army and the Coming of the American Revolution by John Gilbert McCurdy (Cornell University Press, 2019) Question: “Why did the colonists fight the British?” Answer: “Because the British Army stayed in their houses.” This question and answer comes from a United States government practice test for the U. S. citizenship […]

by Don N. Hagist
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Patrick Ferguson and His Rifle

Maj. Patrick Ferguson’s rifle is one of the most interesting and significant early attempts at a breech-loading service rifle. Coupling a screw breech plug with rifling, Ferguson’s rifle was said to be capable of an impressive seven rounds per minute. Most importantly it has the distinction of being the first breech-loading rifle adopted for service […]

by Matthew Moss
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Untangling British Army Ranks

After a few years of editing articles for this journal, it’s become apparent that the ranks of British officers sometimes confuse people. By “sometimes” I mean “often.” And not without reason. Although titles like colonel and captain are familiar to us all, the roles associated with these ranks, and the fact that an individual could […]

by Don N. Hagist
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10 Disabled British Pensioners

Wars were fought by soldiers, but it is the campaigns and commanders that are remembered and studied. This is a shame because the soldiers had a remarkable range of fascinating experiences, often more exciting than those of the policymakers they served. And yet, the farther back in history one goes, the fewer personal stories of […]

by Don N. Hagist
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Top 10 Reasons to Join the British Army

The army that attempted to subdue rebellion in America in the 1770s and 1780s consisted primarily of soldiers from the British regular army. Although supplemented by German regiments, regiments raised in America composed of colonists, and other auxiliaries, most garrisons and campaign forces were composed largely of career soldiers who had enlisted in Great Britain […]

by Don N. Hagist
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The Aim of British Soldiers

Myth: British soldiers were taught not to aim, but merely to point the piece towards the target[1] …the British soldier was a poor marksman. Actually, he did not “aim” his musket but merely “pointed” it at the enemy. The British manual of arms did not even include the command “Aim!”[2] Its inaccuracy was reflected in […]

by Don N. Hagist
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Dogs of War Gone Astray

The article “Unleashing the Dogs of War” gave just a few examples of the canine presence that was quite widespread in the armies of the American Revolution. Newspaper advertisements reveal that dogs were common companions of British officers while also making it clear that these pets often found themselves unleashed. The ads tell us much […]

by Don N. Hagist
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The Fate of British Regulars

I read with interest Thomas Fleming’s article, “The Fate of Regulars.” Readers may be interested to know that British soldiers had much better prospects when the conflict ended than their American counterparts. With a professional standing army that had been in existence for nearly 100 years, Great Britain had long since grappled with and resolved […]

by Don N. Hagist