The American Revolution in Alexandria, Virginia: Upheaval in George Washington’s Hometown
byAlexandria, Virginia, is well known as George Washington’s hometown, but its role during the American Revolution is not widely understood. Like the rest of…
Patrick Henry
This Week on Dispatches: Michael Cecere on Patrick Henry’s March on Williamsburg
byOn this week’s Dispatches host Brady Crytzer interviews JAR contributor, author, and educator Michael Cecere on his recent article about Patrick Henry’s March on Williamsburg and…
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Patrick Henry’s March on Williamsburg, May 1775
byIt had been a very hectic week in Williamsburg for Peyton Randolph, the Speaker of Virginia’s House of Burgesses and the President of the…
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Williamsburg Becomes an Armed Camp, 1775
byNo one disputes that the fighting that erupted at Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775 ignited a war between Great Britain and her…
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The Sons of Liberty and Mob Terror
byThe day did not start out well for Andrew Oliver. The recently appointed Stamp Act Distributor for colonial Massachusetts awoke on the morning of…
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Officers Who Never Saw Combat
byWe asked our contributors, “Who is your favorite military officer that never saw any combat?” The intent was to showcase officers who saw no…
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Reconciliation between the Colonies and Great Britain—A Close Call
byThere were many attempts, before and during the American Revolution, to avoid armed conflict via negotiation, or to stop the war after it began….
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How Robert Morris’s “Magick” Money Saved the American Revolution
byThe year 1780 ended badly, and the new year boded worse for America’s War of Independence. Maj. Gen. Benedict Arnold’s treason and defection to…
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The Constitutional Debate over a Standing National Navy
byThere is a gap in most histories of the United States Navy. The blank space lies between the end of the American Revolution and…
The “Parson’s Cause:” Thomas Jefferson’s Teacher, Patrick Henry, and Religious Freedom
byAs Tidewater lands played out, exhausted from repeated tobacco plantings, or were encumbered by inheritance, the established church moved with young planters like Peter…
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Patrick Henry’s “Liberty or Death”—Granddaddy of Revolution Mythologies
byI first encountered Patrick Henry in fifth grade. He was the patriot of “Give me liberty, or give me death!” fame—not to be confused…
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A Posture of Defense: Virginia’s Journey from Nonimportation to Armed Resistance
byA month into the historic 1774 meeting of the 1st Continental Congress, delegates John Adams of Massachusetts and Richard Henry Lee of Virginia sparked…
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Reaction to the 1775 Gunpowder Episode by the Independent Company of Albemarle County
byThe Royal Governor’s April 21, 1775 removal from Williamsburg’s Powder Magazine of gunpowder essential to Virginia’s defense caused an immediate furor among Virginians as…
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Celts in the American Revolution
by“Give me liberty or give me death!” shouted Patrick Henry to the members of the Second Virginia Convention in 1775. His words became the…