John Cadwalader Archives - Journal of the American Revolution

Arts & Literature Posted on March 30, 2023

Burlington 1776: The Forgotten Opportunity

The 1776 campaign season had ended badly for General George Washington and the Continental Army as the dejected Patriots struggled through foul weather over primitive New Jersey roads as they marched toward Trenton in early December. To compound matters, Washington was faced with certain termination of the conflict if the situation did not dramatically improve. […]

by Colin Zimmerman

Arts & Literature Posted on September 22, 2022October 10, 2022

The Significance of John Cadwalader

In 1776, John Cadwalader was a thirty-four-year-old merchant and prominent member of the Philadelphia gentry who had risen to command the volunteer militia known as the Philadelphia Associators. In his capacity as a militia colonel, he would play a distinctive—and today largely unappreciated—role in what historians have termed the “Ten Crucial Days” of the Revolutionary […]

by David Price

Arts & Literature Posted on September 13, 2022September 16, 2022

John Cadwalader, Twice Refuses to be a General

During the Revolutionary War, several men refused commissions as generals in the Continental Army. Seth Pomeroy and John Whitcomb were unable to accept the honor due to ill health. John Philip de Haas concentrated on his business after distinguished service as a colonel. One officer, John Cadwalader of Pennsylvania, not only turned the down the […]

by Jeff Dacus

Arts & Literature Posted on August 11, 2022August 15, 2022

Colonel Daniel Hitchcock of Rhode Island

As a collateral descendant of Daniel Hitchcock (first cousin, nine times removed), I have always been fascinated by the short but important life of this colonel from Providence, Rhode Island, who was taken by illness following the Battle of Princeton at the young age of thirty-seven. Likely because there is neither an existing house nor […]

by Damien Cregeau

Arts & Literature Posted on March 8, 2021March 5, 2021

Thomas Read of Delaware, Part 3: Continental Navy Commander

Thomas Read (1740-1788) began his seafaring career as a merchant captain, sailing for the Philadelphia firm of Willing and Morris in the ship Aurora, alongside his friend John Barry in Black Prince, as we read in Part 1 of this series. In the early stages of the revolution he served as de facto commodore of […]

by William H. J. Manthorpe, Jr.

Arts & Literature Posted on April 27, 2016August 28, 2016

Top 10 Patriot Militia Commanders of the Revolutionary War

Having recently discovered Journal of the American Revolution, I have spent many hours reading through the archive. I particularly enjoy reading the discussions that Top 10 Lists provoke and benefiting from such an incredible exchange of information and opinions. As there is a Top 10 List for Continental Army Generals, I decided to compile this […]

by Thomas Thorleifur Sobol

Arts & Literature Posted on August 7, 2014August 28, 2016

Duels of Honor

Dear Mr. History: I’ve read about some duels of honor involving senior Continental Army officers and something doesn’t make sense to me; why were they dueling in the middle of a war? Signed, At Your Service, Sir. Dear Service: Some officers took to dueling like ducks to water. Here’s an example. In the summer of […]

by Michael Schellhammer

Tag: John Cadwalader