Should the War Continue? The Motion in the House of Commons, December 12, 1781
byFollowing the surrender of General Cornwallis at Yorktown on October 19, 1781, the House of Commons began to debate whether or not the war…
John Burgoyne
British Soldier John Ward Wins Back His Pocketbook
byWe expect writers for the Journal of the American Revolution to use primary sources—things written as close as possible to the time of the events…
3
Constant Avery, Continental Soldier
byConstant Avery of Eaton, in New York’s Madison County, travelled sixteen miles to the county seat in Wampsville in the first week of October…
4
Brown’s Raid on Ticonderoga and Mount Independence
byThis story begins five weeks after Gen. John Burgoyne’s army forced the Americans to abandon positions on Lake Champlain in July 1777. On August…
Continental and Militia Cavalry Compared: A Case Study from Saratoga, 1777
byGeorge Washington and various of his generals had their doubts about the effectiveness of volunteer militia units as the Revolutionary War intensified. The solution…
2
Morale Manipulation as the Central Strategic Imperative in the American Revolutionary War
byMost people think of wartime propaganda as atrocity stories about the enemy. But commanders also disseminate false and true information in hopes of boosting…
2
In Defense of Mount Independence
byIt’s an understatement to say that the spring of 1776 had not gone well for the American army in Canada. After a campaign that…
8
Sir Henry Clinton’s Generalship
by“My fate is hard,” Sir Henry Clinton remarked after learning that he had been named commander of the British army in May 1778, adding…
2
Incredible Insults and Hardships: The Hostage Experience of Ebenezer Sullivan
byWhen twenty-three-year-old Capt. Ebenezer Sullivan nobly volunteered himself as a prisoner-exchange hostage in the last weeks of the Canadian invasion, he had no way…
9
Trading Generals
byDuring the American Revolution, many players were removed from the chess board of war as a result of capture. From individual soldiers and sailors…
15
The Last Vestige of the Clove Road
byWith no actionable intelligence, General Washington had to guess where British Maj. Gen. William Howe was taking his army. So in July 1777, he…
2
The Braunschweig : A German-Flagged Ship on Lake Champlain, 1777?
by“The Radeau was magnificently decked out today; from her two masts were flying the English flag and in honor of the nation of Braunschweig,…
2
The Thunderer, British Floating Gun-Battery on Lake Champlain
byThe radeau (French, singular for “raft”) was co-opted for eighteenth century warfare on and along Lake George and Lake Champlain, to deal with the challenges…
2
John Row and Jenny Innes
byJohn Row was a British officer in the 9th Regiment of Foot, and he was in love with Jane Innes. For six years their…
3
Revolutionary Rookies
byPerforming as a general atop an independent command is the most difficult military assignment and for which prior experience critically fosters improved strategic and…
Map of Burgoyne’s Army after Bemis Heights
byMaps are vital to understanding campaigns and battles. During the American Revolution, military planners often lamented the lack of good maps and went to…
4
Top 10 British Losers
byThe American Revolutionary War was a war Britain seemingly should have won. Its failure is popularly blamed upon the incompetence of the political and…
8
British Spy Plot to Capture
Fort Ticonderoga in 1777
by
Peter Livius, chief justice of the province of Quebec and former justice of New Hampshire, wrote a letter on June 2, 1777 to American…
4
Bennington Fatally Delays Burgoyne
byA bit of time in the summer of 1777 nearly turned the conception of a United States into a stillborn notion. It is commonly…
15
Repercussions of the Battle of Camden
byOne of the most striking aspects of the Battle of Camden is the vast amount of material that was written about it. Officers and…