“Earned By Veteran Intrepidity”: Spencer’s Ordinary, June 26, 1781
byCaptain Johann Ewald had much to thank the Almighty for.[1] A heroic stand on the picket line before Norfolk, Virginia, parried an American thrust…
Williamsburg
This Week on Dispatches: Michael Cecere on the French Army in Williamsburg
byOn this week’s Dispatches, host Brady Crytzer interviews author, historian, and JAR contributor Michael Cecere on the French occupation of Williamsburg, Virginia, after the British…
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The French Army in Williamsburg, Virginia, 1781–1782
byFor most of 1781, the inhabitants of Williamsburg lived in a constant state of anxiety. Already economically devastated by the loss of the state…
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The Battle of Green Spring: A Footnote on the Road to Yorktown
byEnsign Ebenezer Denny calculated that he went from a green officer to a combat veteran in all of four minutes. Yet in those harsh…
6
In the Footsteps of Captain Johann Ewald at Yorktown
byAs night slowly gives into morning the salty breeze brings a mist across the suffocating sulphury air filled with fireballs. The fireballs pass each…
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…
3
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…
6
Williamsburg on the Eve of War
byA visitor to Williamsburg prior to the outbreak of the Revolutionary War would have discovered a city of just 1,900 inhabitants, roughly 900 of…
1
Lord Dunmore’s Proclamation: Information and Slavery
byLord Dunmore, John Murray, the 4th Earl of Dunmore (1730-1809) and Royal Governor of Virginia (1771-1776),[1] was an important political and military figure during…
10
Shenandoah Martyr: Richard Campbell at War
byThere is no dignity in being forgotten. A case in point is Virginia Lt. Col. Richard Campbell, a Continental officer who died bravely for…
5
The Mystery of “The Alternative of Williams-burg”
byAccording to the Virginia Gazette between 400 and 500 merchants gathered in Williamsburg in early November 1774 and “voluntarily and generally signed” the Continental…
The Seizure of the Virginia Gazette, or Norfolk Intelligencer
byOn April 20, 1775, John Hunter Holt announced to the public his recent acquisition of the Norfolk newspaper, the Virginia Gazette or Norfolk Intellingencer….
6
Prelude to Rebellion: Dunmore’s Raid on the Williamsburg Magazine
byApril in Virginia is regarded by many as the best month of the year. Sandwiched between the chilly bluster of March and the growing…
3
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…
George Washington Makes the Case for a Boycott
byThe news that many dreaded reached Virginia in May 1774. The British parliament, determined to punish the inhabitants of Boston for the destruction of…
4
2014 Conference on the American Revolution
byThis past weekend, scores of professional and amateur historians converged in Williamsburg, Virginia, for the 3rd Annual Conference on the American Revolution, a three-day…
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Murder of a Declaration Signer (Part 2)
byTHE TRIAL THAT GRIPPED THE NEW NATION The Grand Jury in Richmond determined that there was ample evidence of George Wythe Sweeney’s guilt. Virginia…
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Murder of a Declaration Signer (Part 1)
byGeorge Wythe was about the last person anybody would ever want to murder. At age 80, Wythe was an exceedingly kind and generous man…
3
Will the Real Lord Botetourt Please Stand?
byIn the center of the Botetourt Gallery at the Swem Library of William & Mary stands a curious statue, one that time and torment…