John Adams and Nathanael Greene Debate the Role of the Military
byNathanael Greene is rightly remembered as one of the great combat leaders of the American Revolution. But he was also a deep political thinker,…
Nathanael Greene is rightly remembered as one of the great combat leaders of the American Revolution. But he was also a deep political thinker,…
The standard interpretation of the Continental Army in the dark and waning months of 1776 often features ragged soldiers, devoid of clothing and basic…
While Daniel Shays (1747-1825) has basked posthumously in the glory of leading the 1786-87 populist rebellion that bears his name, Luke Day (1743-1801) was…
The threat of resigning one’s military commission under protest is almost a matter of tradition. If your leaders made a decision you did not…
Jemima Howe (1724–1805) reflects the strength it took to endure the harsh realities of the Vermont frontier during the American colonial and Revolutionary War…
BOOK REVIEW: Daniel Shays’s Honorable Rebellion: An American Story by Daniel Bullen (Yardley, PA: Westholme, 2021) There is truth to the adage that history is told…
Elk Landing, Head of Elk and Elkton all refer to the same geographic area in Cecil County, Maryland. Head of Elk was a key…
We asked our contributors: Which personality of the American Revolution or the founding era (other than Benedict Arnold) is remembered for the wrong reasons,…
On this week’s Dispatches, host Brady Crytzer interviews USMA graduate and JAR contributor John DeLee on how the policy toward Indigenous Americans changed during…
While the Articles of Confederation are often viewed as a failed attempt at governing the newly independent United States, this period did provide for…
Editors Note: We first published this article on this date two years ago, but because it is such a good piece and we have…
By noon on Saturday, September 20, 1777, Gen. William Howe watched his window of opportunity to cross the shallowing upper fords of the Philadelphia…
This month we asked our contributors: If George Washington had not run for President in 1789, who would you like to have had as…
During the American War of Independence, the British Army officer corps routinely relegated its surgeons and physicians to a secondary status among its ranks….
Aside from being outmanned by the best army in the world when the American Revolution started, it was clear that the American forces were…
On this week’s Dispatches host Brady Crytzer interviews author and University of Central Florida historian David Head on his recent article about events leading up…
The officers of the Continental Army were sullen. It was December 1782, and they were stationed in and around Newburgh, New York, and neighboring…
Between 1775 and 1784 Catharine Macaulay’s social and personal life was one traumatic event after another. She accepted the invitation from Rev. Dr. James…
Some people are drawn to flame, perhaps just a momentary fascination, but it can get one scolded, especially by the Commander-in-Chief. “I had just…
History occasionally provides a pleasant surprise by revealing the record of an ordinary person who, thrust into a unique role, performed extraordinary services for…
The best-known scene of Col. Henry Knox’s train of artillery in the winter of 1775-1776 is Tom Lovell’s painting The Noble Train of Artillery….
When the Continental Congress first met it was intended to bring the American colonies together to find a solution to the growing disputes with…
On my way to Boston’s Logan Airport a while ago a taxi driver pointed towards Boston Harbor and started telling me about a Revolutionary…
Documents that contain the original signatures of more than one Continental Army general are rare. During the eight years of the Revolutionary War, generals…
Book review: The Revolutionary War Lives and Letters of Lucy and Henry Knox by Phillip Hamilton (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2017) [BUY NOW ON…
Being ten unexpected and edifying quotations from the third winter encampment. I – “We live uncommonly well for Camp…We have Milk and sugar in…
Two men are sitting drinking pints of ale in a Boston tavern. One is a strapping, full-faced young merchant given to loud laughter; the…
How many times does someone get the chance to read through the business correspondence files of one of the Founding Era’s most fascinating personalities?…
In a period of heightened awareness surrounding liberties and democracy, stories from the age of America’s founding are particularly timely and poignant. Now, a…
If you want to visit a town named for a Revolutionary War veteran, it’s pretty easy to do. There’s the nation’s capital, of course,…
In addition to George Washington, during the course of the American Revolution, the Continental Congress commissioned seventy-seven other men as general officers, with four…
Unending Passions: The Knox Letters, by Pamela Murrow, is a remarkable collection of never before transcribed personal letters between Revolutionary War Major General Henry…