On this week’s Dispatches, host Brady Crytzer interviews writer, historian, and twenty-five year US Army veteran Mark Sullivan on his recent JAR article about the fluidity of identifying as a Patriot or Loyalist during the course of the American Revolution, in this case, the Otto brothers of upstate New York. New episodes of Dispatches are […]
In a country in which one of the main constitutional principles is separation of church and state, it is counter-intuitive to find that there are chaplains for the two houses of Congress. Aside from a couple of unsuccessful court challenges, the position has managed to survive into modern times largely due to custom and tradition. […]
The Road to Charleston, Nathanael Greene and the American Revolution by John Buchanan (University Press of Virginia, 2019) John Buchanan’s latest account of the southern theater in the American Revolution is appropriately titled, The Road to Charleston: Nathanael Greene and the American Revolution (2019). This work is a companion to his first work on the southern campaign, The Road […]
Jordi Ferragut Mesquida, better known by his anglicized name George Farragut, was the only known Spanish volunteer who fought under the American flag in the War of American Independence. Over one hundred thousand Spanish soldiers and sailors fought against Britain during that war, such as Bernardo de Gálvez in the Gulf Coast, as well as […]
Although by 1775 hostilities between Great Britain and the American colonies had commenced, there were still those within the colonies who believed that the relationship between the two parties could be restored. Joseph Galloway’s 1775 pamphlet A Candid Examination of the Mutual Claims of Great Britain, and the Colonies: With a Plan of Accommodation on […]
Southern Gambit: Cornwallis and the British March to Yorktown by Stanley D.M. Carpenter (University of Oklahoma Press, 2019) In his recent book, Stanley Carpenter produced a thoughtful analysis of the British southern strategy during the American Revolution. A professor at the Naval War College, he evaluates enduring concepts and elements of warfare framed in contemporary language […]
According to the Virginia Gazette between 400 and 500 merchants gathered in Williamsburg in early November 1774 and “voluntarily and generally signed” the Continental Association.[1] The Association provided for a boycott of Britain, with provisions not to import from, export to or consume products of the mother country. On November 9, 1774, the merchants presented their […]
“But while a confidence trickster, a play actor or a gambler can return from his performance to the ranks of his admirers, the secret agent enjoys no such relief. For him, deception is first a matter of self-defense.”—John le Carré, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold Throughout the Revolution, the American intelligence apparatus […]
Thomas Moultrie was one of five sons of a successful South Carolina planter. He served in the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War as a captain of the 2nd South Carolina Regiment. He was killed on April 24, 1780, during a dramatic dawn sortie from the besieged city of Charleston. His heroic death was in […]
“Connecticut: Still Revolutionary,” is the official slogan of Connecticut’s tourism program since about 2014. As a historian who worked in architecture as the son of an architect, I have often been fascinated by the wealth of historic homes still standing in Connecticut. There are hundreds upon hundreds from the eighteenth century, among which a handful stand […]
A councilman by profession, James Allen, esquire, lived in Philadelphia during the early years of the American Revolution. A man of considerable social prominence and stature within the colony, Allen held much influence. Indeed, the entire Allen family was held in high esteem, particularly since most of its members enjoyed positions of privilege and respect. […]
When one thinks of the American Revolution, the places that most quickly come to mind are Lexington, Concord, Bunker Hill, Valley Forge, Yorktown. Yet during the War for Independence, Eastchester, New York, located only a few miles north of Manhattan, experienced with few exceptions calamitous depredations more constant and severe than any other area of […]
The American Revolution was in effect a civil war. It included all the heightened acrimony associated with one. In what became the United States, there was hostility and outright violence between those supporting the rebellion (“Patriots”) and those against it (“Loyalists”). Soldiers and families alike faced social ostracism, physical danger, loss of property, and for […]
At what point during the American Revolution is it most acceptable to classify colonists as either Patriots or Loyalists? 1776. Before this, many people who were indisputably Patriots (John Dickinson, James Wilson) were also loyal; in fact, most still professed loyalty. They were being forced to make choices in 1773, 1774, 1775—but after July […]
