After the outbreak of hostilities Lexington and Concord in April 1775, Congress met at Philadelphia to address issues of the new war. Initially the decisions made were not made for independence, but to compel the British Parliament to change its policy toward America. Congress took legislative and executive authority into its hands and was an […]
There are many, many founding fathers in the story of America’s Revolution and unfortunately only a few are really known to the general public. Yet without those who are less known, there would have been no revolution. One of those men was the official secretary of the Continental Congress, Charles Thomson. He was the sole […]
Editors Note: We first published this article on this date two years ago, but because it is such a good piece and we have so many new readers, we thought it would be appropriate, like any great holiday tradition, to share this inspiring article again this year. When the two columns of the Continental Army […]
During the Revolutionary War, Pittsburgh was a place of constant political and economic intrigue, double-dealing, subversion, back-stabbing, disloyalty, and treachery. One of the earliest and most jaw-droppingly ambitious plans to secure the city for the British came from the mind of Dr. John Connolly.[1] Word of his “plot” spread widely across the colonies in 1775 […]
For a brief seven weeks, the Pennsylvania frontier village of Easton became the second largest community within the state. With an estimated 25,000 inhabitants, Philadelphia was the largest city in Pennsylvania (and North America); under normal circumstances, Lancaster was second with between 3,000-3,500 inhabitants followed by York with under 2,000.[1] In 1752 it was estimated that […]
On this week’s Dispatches host Brady Crytzer interviews budding scholar Tristan J. New about Joseph Galloway and his proposal for a peaceful political resolution with Great Britain rather than armed rebellion. His proposal was rejected by Congress and sent him firmly into the Loyalist camp once the war began. As your host Brady Crytzer says, “Sit […]
Born in Straw Dungiven, County Londonderry, Ireland,[1] thirty-year-old John Haslet was the young, widowed minister of Ballykelly Presbyterian Church. Arriving in America in 1757, he became a captain in the Pennsylvania militia and participated in the November 26, 1758 action at Fort Duquesne. Twenty years later, he would be killed at the Battle of Princeton. Russ […]
The small village of Newtown played a noteworthy role during the American Revolution from the time when General Washington’s army retreated in 1776 across New Jersey into Pennsylvania through the British occupation of American capital of Philadelphia until mid-1778. This was due to its geographical location in Bucks County, having been since 1726 the seat […]
In the fall of 1777, the Continental Congress had reached one of its most desperate points of the American Revolution. In September of that year George Washington had been defeated by the forces of Sir William Howe at Brandywine, the Battle of the Clouds, Paoli, and Germantown. Because of this failure the British captured the […]
Editor’s Note: This is part two of a five-part series. Part one. Part three. The portion of James McMichael’s journal covering November 1, 1776 through June 3, 1777 begins after his participation in the Battles of Brooklyn and White Plains.[1] McMichael participated in the “Long Retreat” from New York, across New Jersey, and into Pennsylvania. […]
On September 11, 1780, a detachment of forty-one Northampton County, Pennsylvania, militiamen was surprised by a force consisting of thirty Seneca warriors and Tories. When the fighting was over, fifteen American patriots lay dead on the ground.”[1] “As the summer of 1780 began to wane, a detachment of forty-one of the veteran Van Etten’s Company […]
I’ve written before about the darker side of the militia, but what hasn’t yet been detailed is the general incompetence of the Pennsylvania militia. Look no further than the year 1778. While the militia might generally have been untrustworthy throughout the war, especially in Pennsylvania, 1778 stands out among the rest. This is partly because […]
Many of the officers who became generals in the Continental Army started out with noble intentions but politics and business often pulled them away from fighting against Great Britain to more personal goals. John Sullivan returned to Congress after his successful expedition against the Indians and Tories. Joseph Reed served as aide to George Washington […]
In a previous article I said that there are “times when a gun would have come in real handy” but there were no guns to be found.[1] Well the flip side to that coin is when guns aren’t so useful—at least not to you—and those incidents generally involve guns that are being aimed at you. […]
When it comes to Pennsylvania military hospitals during the Revolution apart from Philadelphia, Bethlehem has received a great deal of (appropriate) attention by scholars mainly because (1) it became the new Headquarters of the Hospital Department under Dr. Shippen, and (2) shortly after wounded arrived, the town began to see a very high mortality rate. […]
Since writing several articles for this journal about the role of Pennsylvania’s militia in America’s War for Independence, I’ve received a lot of confused inquiries about the organization of the militia because, well, it’s a confusing subject. I’ve also seen a lot of people who are searching for revolutionary ancestors get a lot wrong about […]
On the afternoon of April 5, 1778, four feisty women, accompanied by an escort, Israel Morris, boarded their coach in British-occupied Philadelphia and set out for a visit with General George Washington. The journey took the four friends—Elizabeth Drinker, Susanna Jones, Phebe Pemberton, and Mary Pleasants—twenty miles or so from Philadelphia to the Continental Army, […]
Remember when I wrote that nobody ever said life on the Pennsylvania frontier was easy?[1] Well, as it turns out, it was a lot more difficult than even I previously thought. Between battling it out with Connecticut Yankees and Indians, dealing with localized violence, and having to put up with a relatively untrained and undisciplined […]
People characterize the American Revolution in terms of Patriots and Loyalists – those who supported the rebellion, and those who supported the British government. When assessing individuals, it is tempting to assume we know which side they were on based on specific things that they did. But it’s not always so cut and dry. Is […]
An armed conflict between British Regulars and armed Colonials prior to 1775? Oh yes, yes indeed. In fact this conflict raged for several months between 1765 and 1766, all along the Western Pennsylvania frontier (what is now Franklin County). It resulted in the wounding of one civilian, dozens of horses slain, wagons destroyed, money lost, […]
On November 8, 1808, in his eighth State of the Union address, Thomas Jefferson uttered the now famous lines, “For a people who are free, and who mean to remain so, a well organized and armed militia is their best security.”[1] These words intimate the fears held by many of the founders of a standing […]
“Living on the frontier is easy!” said no one, ever. Case in point, on July 3, 1778, over 100 loyalist rangers under the command of Lieutenant Colonel John Butler along with a few hundred Seneca warriors descended upon Wyoming Valley, Pennsylvania and slaughtered over 300 soldiers at Forty Fort (named after the first 40 settlers […]
Dear Mr. History: What happened with the famous mutiny of the Pennsylvania Line that occurred January, 1781? Did the soldiers have legitimate grievances? What does such a mutiny say about the professionalism of the Continental Army? Sincerely, Miffed About Mutinies Dear Miffed: When the soldiers of the Pennsylvania Line mutinied most of them had not […]
If not for a single unfortunate letter that Colonel Lewis Nicola of the Continental Army addressed to Commander-in-Chief General George Washington on May 22, 1782, this accomplished soldier and scholar would be entirely unknown today. Regrettably, this simple letter has subsequently been wildly misinterpreted by historians, and Nicola today is best remembered as the man […]
This time, we’re going to visit the farm country of Pennsylvania, settled by German-speaking immigrants who formed a fairly cohesive community starting in the 1680s, as war convulsed their homeland. They comprised almost half of Pennsylvania’s population, and were supportive of the American Revolution, volunteering to serve in numbers even greater than the Congress asked […]
Dear Mr. History: How did General “Mad” Anthony Wayne get his nickname? Was he some kind of lunatic in battle? I’ve also heard that Wayne’s ghost haunts Pennsylvania because the general died sort of a gruesome death. What’s the story? Sincerely, Mad Man. Dear Mad Man: Glad you asked about Anthony Wayne! He was born […]
