There is never a dull month at Journal of the American Revolution. In February, we continued to experience impressive reader traffic and welcomed three new writers: Geoff Benton, A.K. Fielding and Jett Conner. Plus, we have been busy sorting out the details of a major announcement that will be shared in a few weeks. And then there […]
Sound the alarm! Journal of the American caught fire in January with a record-setting 495,000 views by 327,000 users! The surge in traffic was primarily caused by three major events: 1) Our “Ages of Revolution” article going viral; 2) Inquiring minds wanting to discover the truth behind History Channel’s Sons of Liberty series; and 3) […]
Being ten unexpected and edifying quotations from the third winter encampment. I – “We live uncommonly well for Camp…We have Milk and sugar in plenty…I have my hair powdered every day.…”Samuel Ward, Jr. to Phebe Ward, Valley Forge, 5 May 1778.[1]The letters of “Sammy” Ward, who had been married only a month when he came […]
Milestones Westholme Publishing Partnership Announced (Volume 2015 publishing in May) Book of the Year Award Unveiled (winner being announced in January 2015) Volume 1 Earns 17 Five-Star Reviews on Amazon “What an adventure to enjoy the articles in this fabulous treasure trove…” (C. Weatherhead) “This book is a no brainer for anyone with even the […]
As we begin to slow down for the holiday season, we wish all our writers and readers cheerful memories and happy celebrations. This November, we welcomed Carol Sue Humphrey to our roster of contributors and saw John L. Smith, Jr.’s article about Washington’s wooden teeth featured by Smithsonian.com. We also welcomed our latest advertiser, America’s […]
It’s that time of year again – time to find the perfect holiday gift for the history lover in your life, even if that person is you! Sharpen up your quill, mix up some ink powder, smooth out a new sheet of laid paper and start making out that list. The Editors here at Journal […]
For Americans in the Revolutionary era, newspapers provided a major source of information about events related to the conflict with Great Britain. The people who produced these publications played a key role in getting the news out because they believed it was important for people to know what was happening. They also strongly supported their […]
At the war’s outset, there was a dearth of proven military leadership within the thirteen colonies severely limiting the Continental Army’s ability to engage the British on equal terms. This paucity of military leadership was especially pronounced in the technical aspects of war including engineering, artillery and cavalry. To fill the void, the Continental Congress […]
First and foremost, thank you for making October 2014 our best traffic month ever. More than 94,000 visits by 54,000 unique visitors! Another major milestone was reached in October: Our one-millionth pageview since launch in January 2013. ONE MILLION PAGEVIEWS! Second, a hearty welcome to our newest authors: Steven M. Richman, Kim Burdick, and Will […]
A frequent discovery when reading 18th Century newspapers is the runaway ads. In an era when people could be owned by or contractually bound to others, individuals who absconded were often advertised by their masters. These ads give us amazing descriptions of individuals and show the society’s remarkable diversity of physical attributes, demographics, personalities, situations […]
Journal of the American Revolution is having a productive sophomore year on all fronts. Since launching in January 2013, we have published nearly 450 articles by 70+ writers and our readership continues to increase. For the last half-year we have averaged 65,000 readers per month. If you’re a talented nonfiction writer with a passion for […]
Journal of the American Revolution (JAR) takes great pride in its mission to be the leading source of information about the American Revolution and Founding era — a mission worth emphasizing during the back to school month of August. In a world of increasing historical illiteracy and apathy, JAR publishes passionate, creative and smart content […]
By the start of the American Revolution, the British military was spread thinly across their global empire. Despite having tens of thousands of troops in America throughout the war, it was still necessary to supplement their numbers by hiring foreign troops. By 1776 thousands of soldiers from Hesse-Cassel were pouring into New York. They served […]
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 […]
July was another monumental month for Journal of the American Revolution. We exceeded 80,000 pageviews (our second best month since launch), hosted our fourth group interview and welcomed three new contributors: Joseph Manca, Jack Kelly and Mary Nesnay. Plus, we published our 1 millionth word! Word counts are a major part of our process as […]
Crotchety old John Adams had finally had enough. It was bad enough that after George Washington’s battlefield victories at Trenton and Princeton, the idol worshipping of the general had already started in America. Ironically, John Adams was the delegate who introduced George Washington’s name in Congress to be the commander of the new army. But […]
The focus of my studies on the American Revolution is the militia activities in the southern campaigns. In this context, I believe the term ‘Partisan’ is best used when describing those men who turned from any thought of surrender after the fall of Charleston in May 1780. In considering candidates for the Top Ten Partisans […]
1. On July 4, 1776, the United States declared itself an independent nation. This is almost true, but the timing is a tad off. According to the historical record, we should be celebrating Independence Day on July 2, the day Congress finally approved the motion made by Richard Henry Lee on June 7: “That these […]
Following such a cold and snowy winter, Journal of the American Revolution used the beginning of summer as a good excuse to temporarily slow things down. While articles were published less frequently for a few weeks, we still welcomed four new writers: Nancy K. Loane, John Beakes, Mary V. Thompson and Richard F. Welch. Starting […]
Did you miss our big May news? Journal of the American Revolution and Westholme Publishing have joined forces to publish annual hardcover volumes with the inaugural book slated for May 2015 in a multi-year agreement. This past month we also welcomed Greg Brooking and Larry Kidder to our roster of writers. Below are our top […]
While researching my book Kidnapping the Enemy: The Special Operations to Capture Generals Charles Lee and Richard Prescott (Westholme, 2014), I was thrilled to learn that the Continental Congress had passed a resolution directing that an “elegant sword” be awarded to Lieutenant Colonel William Barton for planning and executing the spectacular cross-bay raid that led to […]
Name calling, fearing mongering and demonizing the enemy were all on the propaganda menu during the American Revolution. Once hostilities commenced, another game played a significant role in the war for mind control. A game of numbers. Simply inflating the size of your enemy’s forces on paper and deflating your own helped to magnify victory […]
Thank you to all our readers and authors for making April 2014 our second best traffic month ever with 72,000 pageviews. Huzzay! This month we welcomed new contributors Todd Braisted, Norman Fuss, Jim Blackburn and Joshua Shepherd. Since our launch in January 2013, fifty-nine writers have joined the JAR team and we are grateful for […]
They were always there, but are seldom mentioned. Name any major battle or campaign: New York, Brandywine, Germantown, Saratoga, Yorktown, Camden, Kings Mountain, Guilford Courthouse, Cowpens, Charleston; there are accounts of Camp Followers at each of them. Who were they? What did they do? Does it matter? Think you know about soldiers’ wives? Read on […]
March was a very exciting month for Journal of the American Revolution (JAR). We welcomed Andrew O’Shaughnessy and Jerome Palliser as new contributors, and we hosted another group interview series with historians sounding off on the following questions: What is the most underrated battle? What is the most overrated battle? How would you describe the […]
The American Revolutionary War was a war Britain seemingly should have won. Its failure is popularly blamed upon the incompetence of the political and military leaders who have consequently become objects of satire. This is particularly true of portrayals in the movies and media which of course have a greater impact on perceptions than books. […]
A belated happy Valentine’s Day to all our loyal readers! We hope you enjoyed our action-packed month of articles, which included gripping features about battles, retreats, espionage, mobs, drugs, ambushes, massacres and, oh yeah, our first celebrity interview (Hal Stalmaster, the actor who played Johnny Tremain in the Disney film). Below our the 10 most […]
Many historical accounts over look the impact of American loyalist military leaders and their revolutionary war contributions to the British cause. 50,000 or more soldiers in loyalist combat units actively participated in most major revolutionary battles throughout North America[1]. In addition to much needed combat power, they provided valuable scouting, battlefield intelligence and geographic knowledge. […]
Welcome to 2014 and a fresh face for Journal of the American Revolution. The new year came in like a lion with several fantastic articles, many new contributors, a shiny new design of allthingsliberty.com, and, oh yeah, those polar vortexes! Or is it vortices? We anticipate an even more exciting year ahead and hope you’ll […]
Although half the population was female, writings by women make up only a small portion of the available literature on the American Revolution. There are, nonetheless, quite a number of published tracts to inform and entertain the researcher seeking a woman’s perspective on the events of the era. This list presents only a few, in […]
History is best served through teamwork and collaboration, so thanks to the team of 48 writers who all made Journal of the American Revolution‘s first year a huge success. Special thanks to Hugh Harrington, Don Hagist and J. L. Bell for their extraordinary editing and writing contributions. And as a thank you to our loyal […]
1. Myth: Tarring and feathering could be fatal. Busted: The notion that hot tar caused severe, sometimes fatal burns is based on the assumption that “tar” meant the asphalt we use on roads, which is typically stored in liquid state at about 300°F (150°C). But in the eighteenth century “tar” meant pine tar, used for […]
We had a lot to be thankful for in November. Aside from several great articles and new contributors, we celebrated the launch of our collector’s hardcover edition. If you’ve enjoyed the the full year of free content we’ve been providing, please pick up a couple copies as gifts for those special RevWar buffs in your […]
With the 2013 holiday season upon us, it’s important that we take special care of those Revolutionary War history geeks in our lives. All too often they get nothing more than gift cards or Civil War books. This year, give the 18th century lover on your list a gift that says “I know the American […]
1. MYTH: The Tea Act imposed a tax on American colonists (which is why tax protestors often revere the Boston Tea Party). BUSTED: The Tea Act did no such thing; instead the actual law gave the East India Company a tax break on tea shipped to the American colonies, along with special new privileges for […]
Every now and then I meet someone who thinks that people “back then” were all highly religious and led straight-laced, pious lives. Those people haven’t read newspapers of the era. Legal notices appeared frequently in which husbands and wives absolved themselves of responsibility for the debts and dissipations of spouses who’d abandoned them. Sometimes competing […]
October was a month of many amazing milestones for us. We surpassed 250,000 readers, 1000 comments and 200 articles. We also sent our first collector’s hardcover edition to the printer (read the official press announcement). If you’ve enjoyed the 100% free daily content we’ve been providing since January, please show your support by buying a […]
Recently, I offered my choices for the ten most important Continental Army generals. Not the best or the worst, but the most important. But attempting to suggest the ten least important would likely be an exercise in futility, as well as somewhat disparaging of those patriotic men who had an actual, but minimal, impact on […]
Normally, we share our monthly top 10 list on the last day of the month or first day of the following one. This time, we are publishing it a bit earlier to make room for something very special for our readers — an American Revolution group interview series. Each day next week, Journal of the […]
