The scribe of the Declaration of Independence—and perhaps the first man to read it in public—was born on March 28, 1736 in Haddonfield, New Jersey. His family moved to Philadelphia eight years later. At the age of thirteen, Timothy Matlack began an apprenticeship under a prosperous Quaker merchant named John Reynell. Looking forward to a […]
John Adams was certain he made a mistake by going to church. Philadelphia’s yellow fever outbreak only ended in November 1793. On Sunday, December 22, Adams attended a Presbyterian service in the morning and an Episcopalian service in the afternoon, “but I am not Sure it is prudent to go to Church or to Meeting […]
Occupied America: British Military Rule and the Experience of Revolution by Donald F. Johnson (Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2020) Several cities in Revolutionary America were taken by British forces and the residents found themselves in an unexpected predicament. Many welcomed the return of law and order and a stable economy under British rule; the […]
To Thomas Jefferson, great plagues were within the genus of republican antibodies. Like the occasional popular insurrection that warned rulers “the spirit of resistance” still existed, a few hundred deaths or so before the pathogenic scythe of a virus discouraged “the growth of great cities in our nation, & I view great cities as pestilential […]
On this week’s Dispatches host Brady Crytzer interviews JAR contributor Brian Patrick O’Malley on the social and medical response to the Yellow Fever epidemic that ravaged Philadelphia in 1793 and how the city and community ultimately prevailed. Thousands of readers like you enjoy the articles published by the Journal of the American Revolution. Dispatches is a free […]
John Morgan and William Shippen, Jr. stood shoulder to shoulder in the crowd outside of old Westminster Hall on September 22, 1761. They were awaiting the appearance of the empire’s new king, George III, and queen, Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz—their new king and queen. The two men were a few of the vast throng the likes […]
Those who write “local history” without documenting or citing their sources may as well be writing historical fiction. There may be some truth in what they write, but it is hard to sort out fact from fiction in local and family stories. Even experienced historians who ordinarily provide citations to primary sources—documents, letters and first […]
James W. Whitall (1717-1808) was a prominent Quaker businessman and farmer in the southern region of New Jersey. In 1739 he married Ann Cooper (1716-1797), a devout, no-nonsense Quaker, and together they built a house situated on a farm consisting of over four hundred acres of land along the Delaware River in Red Bank, New […]
On this week’s Dispatches host Brady Crytzer interviews educator and JAR contributor Joseph Wroblewski on the operations of the Queen’s Rangers during the British occupation of Philadelphia in 1777–1778. Thousands of readers like you enjoy the articles published by the Journal of the American Revolution. Dispatches is a free podcast that puts a voice to the writing […]
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. […]
Today, Jacob Jones’s portrait as a naval officer hangs in the assembly room of the Old State House in Dover, Delaware. It honors his victory in one of the first five naval battles of the War of 1812. That victory was the only one not won by a stronger American frigate; it was between the […]
In this week’s Dispatches host Brady Crytzer interviews distinguished journalist and historian Harlow Giles Unger about Robert Morris and his critical role in financially supporting the American cause; in addition, Morris developed strategies and techniques of trade and investment at the core of capitalism that are still used today. As your host Brady Crytzer says, “Sit back, […]
“Of the forty or more battalions of Loyalists, which enlisted in the service of the Crown during the Revolutionary war, none has been so widely celebrated as the Queen’s Rangers.”—James Hannay.[1] The Queen’s Rangers, named in honor of King George III’s wife Queen Charlotte, were mustered into service in August 1776 on Staten Island. It […]
“There has been hell to pay in Philadelphia,” exclaimed Samuel Shaw, referring to the Fort Wilson Riot of October 4, 1779 in a letter to Winthrop Sargent.[1] The riot was the culmination of three years of factional political tension within the city of Philadelphia. Members of the city’s “lower sort,” nominally backed by politically powerful men […]
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. […]
The year was 1773. On May 10, Parliament had passed the Tea Act allowed the East India Company to sell tea directly to the American colonies without paying any customs or duties in England. This gave the company a monopoly over the production, distribution, and sale of tea. The colonists saw the Act as a […]
While conducting research for my essay on General Washington’s plight in the New Jersey short hills in the spring of 1777, I was fortunate to have stumbled upon a series of maps held at the David Library of the American Revolution in Washington Crossing, Pennsylvania. These maps, twenty reprinted copies in all, focus attention on the New […]
When the American Revolution became a shooting war, it was left to the Continental Congress to become the body of state for the thirteen colonies. They had to build a functioning central government, build an economy, find allies and build a military force that would help them stand up to Great Britain. Over the course […]
Stephen Fried, Rush: Revolution, Madness, and the Visionary Doctor Who Became a Founding Father (New York: Crown, 2018) BUY THIS BOOK FROM AMAZON When asked by a few non-historian friends why I was reading a new biography titled Rush, their assumption was that this book was about Rush Limbaugh. No, not that Rush, rather one […]
JAR: In a nutshell, can you give us a basic overview of The General’s Cook? RG: The General’s Cook is about George Washington’s enslaved chef, Hercules, a man who was known in his own time for his skills in the kitchen. I often call him America’s first celebrity chef. By period accounts, he was something like an […]
The lives of the Revolutionary era’s extraordinary women have long been celebrated. At historic sites throughout our country, visitors can learn the stories of Margaret Corbin, Phyllis Wheatley, Abigail Adams, and others. But the experiences of women who did not fight in battle, write poetry, or dabble in politics are not as often interpreted. Nostalgia […]
Deserter advertisements and runaway notices, fascinating though they are, provide only single elements of what were certainly more complex stories. In rare cases, further research reveals much more about a person. Take this ad, for example: Twenty Dollars Reward. Deserted from Captain Jacob Mauser’s company, of the sixth Pennsylvania regiment, on Monday the 11th instant, […]
On April 24, 1775, Samuel Adams and John Hancock arrived in Worcester, Massachusetts, forty miles west of Boston. They hoped to find three more men – John Adams, Thomas Cushing and Robert Treat Paine – who were the other three delegates from the colony to the upcoming second Continental Congress, but they had not been […]
Recognizing the contributions and sacrifices of all combat veterans from any war is a meaningful American tradition. On June 2, 2015, the President of the United States awarded Medal of Honor to Army Sgt. William Shemin and Private Henry Johnson, both World War I soldiers. The President remarked, “We know who you are. We know […]
By the time he arrived in Boston with the 44th Regiment of Foot, Martin Hurley was an experienced soldier. He’d joined the army in 1767, and learned the military trade well enough to be put into the regiment’s grenadier company, men distinguished by their martial competence as well as their tall stature.[1] The 44th was […]
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 […]
From the intelligence provided by his New York and New Jersey spies, General Washington believed, early in 1777, that General Howe would eventually strike at Philadelphia though he knew not when or whether he would travel by land or sea. In a letter dated July 24, 1777, from Col. Matthias Ogden, he was informed that […]
On August 25, 1777 General William Howe with 17,000 men landed at Head of Elk, Maryland; he was 57 miles south of the city of Philadelphia. Over the next month, he battled the Continental Army at Brandywine Creek and the South Valley Hills before marching into Philadelphia on September 26. Because he planned to spend […]
By 1768, Pennsylvania political activist John Dickinson became a true triple threat. He was already one of the most successful lawyers and businessmen in all of Pennsylvania and Delaware, and was the author of the “Letter from a Farmer” essays, one of the most widely admired and reprinted political pamphlets of the decade. And that […]
This article was originally published in Journal of the American Revolution, Vol. 1 (Ertel Publishing, 2013). It was a day of mourning all across America. The Boston Port Act, which closed the port of Boston as punishment for the Tea Party, took effect on June 1, 1774. Business ceased precisely at noon at the customs […]
The front page of April 18, 1765, Pennsylvania Gazette featured one of the earliest American printings of the Stamp Act. “Printed by B. Franklin, Post-Master, and “D. Hall,” the newspaper offered no critical comment on the new law as threatening people’s liberties. Benjamin Franklin became publisher of the Gazette in 1729. He took on Scottish […]
Continued from yesterday. Click here to read part 1. When British attack upon Philadelphia threatened in 1776, Nicola was appointed Town Major for the city. In this assignment, he was responsible for the city guards, protection of Continental Army stores and property in the town, and establishment and maintenance of barracks and billets for all […]
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 […]
“The day will be most memorable in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, bonfires, and illuminations from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever […]
While curating the collection of American Revolution newspapers featured in Reporting the Revolutionary War, I stumbled upon a rare 18th century American newspaper loaded with mystery and intrigue. Most newspapers of the era are well documented and catalogued by academic research institutions, but this one seemed to have slipped through the cracks for more than […]
Myth: Within months of its publication, 120,000 copies (or 100,000 or 150,000 or 500,000) of Thomas Paine’s Common Sense were sold in the rebellious colonies. Busted: Although the pamphlet circulated widely and certainly made its mark, only scant print records and no sales records survive, so we simply do not know how many copies were […]
