On the blazing afternoon of June 17, 1775, two forces met on the Charlestown peninsula just outside Boston, Massachusetts. An unstoppable force of red-clad British troops swept ashore and broke upon the immovable walls of the provincial fortifications atop Breed’s Hill, crashing across the Charlestown peninsula like a blood-red wave. Flood waters of British soldiery […]| Journal of the American Revolution
We often remember the controversy surrounding the Hutchinson Letters, which inspired many colonists to oppose the provincial government in Massachusetts, by talking about Benjamin Franklin (who found and sent the letters) and Samuel Adams (who helped publish them). Our memory of the letters’ author, Thomas Hutchinson, is often colored by a 1774 print by Paul Revere, […]| Journal of the American Revolution
William Franklin, son of Benjamin Franklin, was the last Royal Governor of New Jersey, from 1763 to 1776. He is usually identified in U. S. History texts negatively as an ardent Loyalist and opponent of the American War of Independence. Historian Larry Gerlach offers a different view: “He was one of the most popular and […]| Journal of the American Revolution
William Legge, the second Earl of Dartmouth, had three interests: his family, his estates, and his religion. He was known by many as “the good Lord Dartmouth.” It is very likely that he would never have entered politics if he had not been related by marriage to Frederick, Lord North. When he became the Secretary […]| Journal of the American Revolution
If one looked into Benjamin Franklin’s time on Craven Street, they might initially believe he lived at 36 Craven Street the entirety of his two stays in London based on the plethora of articles on the internet that say so. If they dug a little deeper they might read that he lived at No. 27 […]| Journal of the American Revolution
Edward Snowden and the NSA documents. Julian Assange and the WikiLeaks diplomatic cables. Daniel Elsberg and the Pentagon papers. Benjamin Franklin and the Hutchinson letters? Snowden, Assange, and Elsberg all considered themselves to be self-appointed whistleblowers. Individuals who wanted to open governments by disclosing sensitive government documents. Without a doubt, all three started huge controversies […]| Journal of the American Revolution
He was arguably the greatest “anti-Hero” produced by either side during the Revolutionary War. From Washington Irving to Mel Gibson, so much has been written about the career of Banastre Tarleton that it is difficult, even today, to separate man from myth. Yet many of the most persistent and damning indictments of him are also […]| Journal of the American Revolution
We return to the courtroom of the American Revolution for another debate between Journal of the American Revolution contributors Jim Piecuch and Wayne Lynch. This time the subject is the 1780 Battle of Waxhaws. The debate process is similar to last, but reversed: Piecuch first used 800 words to present his opinion on the matter […]| Journal of the American Revolution
Joseph Warren was the embodiment of the American colonists’ struggle to secure their rights. In 1775 he was a widowed father of four young children and an esteemed Boston physician. He served as chairman of the Committee of Safety and president of the Massachusetts Provincial Congress. He authored the Suffolk Resolves, which was unanimously endorsed […]| Journal of the American Revolution
On February 6, 1778, the American colonies signed a Treaty of Amity and Commerce and a Treaty of Alliance with the country of France. The former treaty recognized the absolute sovereignty and independence of the colonies and established commercial rights in direct opposition to England’s Navigation Acts; the latter guaranteed financial and military support. On […] The post 1778 Naval Strategy: French Actors and British Reactors appeared first on Journal of the American Revolution.| Journal of the American Revolution
BOOK REVIEW: Enemies to Their Country: The Marblehead Addressers and Consensus in the American Revolution by Nicholas W. Gentile. (Amherst and Boston, MA: University of Massachusetts Press, 2025) Paperback, $32.95. The first book by independent historian Nicholas W. Gentile brings to light an almost completely unknown incident that occurred in the coastal town of Marblehead, […] The post Enemies to Their Country: The Marblehead Addressers and Consensus in the American Revolution appeared fi...| Journal of the American Revolution
In the months prior to the Revolutionary War’s culminating siege at Yorktown and Gloucester Point, Virginia in 1781, the embattled Old Dominion was the scene of an intense campaign of maneuvers and raids. These operations pitted the young Maj. Gen. the Marquis de Lafayette, commanding a small, hard-pressed but determined American force, against Lt. Gen. […] The post “We Will Cross at Ely’s Ford Today”: Is the Yorktown Campaign Historical Marker at the Right Location? appeared first ...| Journal of the American Revolution
On this week’s Dispatches, host Brady Crytzer interviews JAR Contributor Patrick H. Hannum about a little known, but important river crossing during the 1775 campaign in Virginia that eventually led to Royal Governor Lord Dunmore’s departure from the state. New episodes of Dispatches are available for free every Sunday evening(Eastern United States Time), first on […] The post This Week on Dispatches: Patrick H. Hannum on Col. William Woodford’s James River Crossing in 1775 appeared f...| Journal of the American Revolution
Georgia’s legendary John Twiggs had a distinguished public career during and after the American Revolution, but he left almost no other information about himself, as reflected in the extremely concise and brief text on his tombstone and obituary. The family descends from the Twiggs family of Devonshire, England, reportedly including Thomas Twiggs (died 1614) of […] The post General John Twiggs and the American Revolution appeared first on Journal of the American Revolution.| Journal of the American Revolution
Nowhere in the struggle that was the American Revolution was outside assistance more significant than at the siege of Yorktown during the autumn of 1781.[1] The French provided significant support from land troops, but it was the French Navy that really clinched the affair with their naval blockade that ultimately trapped the British army of […] The post Francisco de Saavedra de Sangronis: A Spainard’s Pivotal Role in the Yorktown Triumph appeared first on Journal of the American Revolution.| Journal of the American Revolution
On this week’s Dispatches, host Brady Crytzer interviews JAR Contributor Richard Gardiner. For the last two centuries historians have speculated as to the identity of George Washington’s first teacher. Richard Gardiner provides compelling new evidence. New episodes of Dispatches are available for free every Sunday evening(Eastern United States Time), first on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, […] The post This Week on Dispatches: Richard Gardiner on George Washington’s First Teacher appe...| Journal of the American Revolution
As his London Packet approached the colonies in November 1774, Thomas Paine was not scanning for land. After turning northwards towards Philadelphia in Delaware Bay, the former privateer was not visualizing where, during the Seven Years War, French privateer ships awaited English prey within the folds of the eastern shore.[1] Stricken with typhus fever that […] The post The Loyalist Who Gave Birth to His Nightmare appeared first on Journal of the American Revolution.| Journal of the American Revolution
In the spring of 1775, after war broke out at Lexington and Concord, a British garrison in Boston was surrounded by militia troops from all over New England. News of British reinforcements enroute made it clear that further violence was likely. Doctor Joseph Warren, a widower and one of the key organizers of the American […]| Journal of the American Revolution
In Hollywood terms, biographies of Daniel Boone might be advertised as, “Based on a true story.” Daniel Boone being known as a legendary Kentucky trailblazer is an undisputed fact in American history. That he was a backcountry militia leader during the Revolutionary War is a fact substantiated primarily by sketchy frontier rosters and pension statements […]| Journal of the American Revolution
I keep promising myself to write on how David Fanning, the Tory guerrilla turned British colonel, became a psychotic murderer off the battlefield in North Carolina in 1782. But was it late 1781? First, I have to try to settle tough questions. Did Fanning really do no harm to any human being in South Carolina?[1] […]| Journal of the American Revolution
On March 10, 1782, Colonel David Fanning led a band of vengeful Loyalists on a path of slaughter and arson in northern Randolph County, North Carolina, his Bloody Sabbath house-calls. Most of our information about this episode has been from E. W. Caruthers’s 1854 Revolutionary Incidents and Fanning’s own Narrative, first published in 1861, thirty-six […]| Journal of the American Revolution
Introduction Perhaps the most important facet for understanding and appreciating a military campaign is a solid grasp of the composition of the armies engaged in it; the quantity of troops shares equal importance to the identity and quality of them. The multitude of books and monographs dedicated to the 1777 Philadelphia campaign, whether in part […]| Journal of the American Revolution
Book Review: Brandywine: A Military History of the Battle that Lost Philadelphia but Saved America, September 11, 1777 by Michael C. Harris (Savas Beatie, 2014). Author Harris was a former Brandywine Battlefield Museum educator and battlefield guide who quickly became frustrated with a lack of ready sources with which to explain this important battle. The […]| Journal of the American Revolution
The Culper Spy Ring. An espionage network composed primarily of civilians funneling military intelligence to Gen. George Washington out of British-occupied New York City and Long Island. Washington once referred to it as “the channel upon which I most depend.”[1] It has been the subject of several books and a television show, so many would […] The post Culper Spy Austin Roe . . . the Joiner? appeared first on Journal of the American Revolution.| Journal of the American Revolution
River crossings during the American Revolution were common events. Historians, patriotic organizations and living history enthusiasts focus on several of these crossings with commemorations and reenactments. The most celebrated of all crossings is Washington’s Crossing of the Delaware on December 25, 1776. State parks, in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, recognize the crossing and events of […] The post “It is Incredible How Much They Dread a Rifle”: Col. William Woodford’s 1775 James R...| Journal of the American Revolution
Along the banks of the Delaware River—in what is now Upper Makefield Township on the Pennsylvania side and Hopewell Township on the New Jersey side—lie a pair of preternaturally venerated sites, indelibly linked by their shared connection to one of the most notable military enterprises the world has ever known. That would be the legendary […] The post Washington Crossing: A Tale of Two Parks appeared first on Journal of the American Revolution.| Journal of the American Revolution
The third and final debate for the bill, For Regulating the Government of Massachusetts, took place on May 2, 1774. The House of Commons unfortunately did not realize that they had arrived “at the Rubicon”; the question by the end of the day was on which side of the Rubicon would they find themselves. What […] The post The Wrong Remedy appeared first on Journal of the American Revolution.| Journal of the American Revolution
BOOK REVIEW: Fighting for Philadelphia: Forts Mercer and Mifflin, the Battle of Whitemarsh, and the Road to Valley Forge, October 5-December 19, 1777 by Michael C. Harris (El Dorado Hills, CA: Savas Beatie, 2025) When examining the 1777 Philadelphia campaign, historians often skip from the Battles of Brandywine and Germantown, in September and early October, […]| Journal of the American Revolution
After the Americans’ stunning victory at Saratoga on October 17, 1777, King Louis XVI ordered his ministers to negotiate a formal alliance between France and the United States. Conrad Alexander Gérard of France and Benjamin Franklin, Silas Deane, and Arthur Lee of the United States negotiated the terms of the Franco-American alliance in the Treaty […]| Journal of the American Revolution
According to some local sources, “Long island was the Thermopylae of the Revolution and the Pennsylvania Germans were its Spartans.”[1] While laden with hyperbole and bias, this is the claim made about the Northampton County Flying Camp battalion under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Peter Kichline.[2] Kichline’s battalion, made up of four companies—two of which […]| Journal of the American Revolution
Historical Spotlight | Journal of the American Revolution
George Washington’s childhood is a rather elusive historical research topic. It is not that there is a lack of stories, tales, and legends published about Washington’s early years, but the task of separating authentic information from widespread mythology has compelled judicious historians to exercise tremendous skepticism when offered an assertion about his youngest days. Much […] The post Unraveling the Mystery of George Washington’s Earliest Teacher appeared first on Journal of the...| Journal of the American Revolution
Historian Richard Kohn argued in 1981 that to make progress in military history, the first thing historians would need to do would be to seek the “true identity of soldiers” grounded in the community and time from which they came. Among those soldiers was John Shee, an Irish gentleman from Ballyreddin, County Kilkenny born to […]| Journal of the American Revolution
The genteel glass rattled through the windows of the “flying machine” as Maj. William Trent tried to stay awake on the coach ride from Bristol to London.[1] The passage across the ocean had been anything but accommodating after he was delayed a week off the coast of Ireland to wait out the angry winds of […]| Journal of the American Revolution
Introduction As America enters its semiquincentennial year in 2026, there will be numerous celebrations and remembrances of the nation’s founding. The names George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, Samuel Adams, Paul Revere, and others will ring familiar as patriots who drafted key documents such as the Declaration of Independence, rode across the countryside to alert […]| Journal of the American Revolution
The engagement between Abraham Buford and Banastre Tarleton at the Waxhaws has attracted controversy since it occurred. Buford has had supporters and detractors, just as students of the battle have exonerated or excoriated Tarleton. The problem has been that this kind of black-or-white determination suggests one side was entirely at fault, the other entirely blameless. […]| Journal of the American Revolution
“They are by no means such Troops, in any respect, as you are led to believe of them from the [Accounts] which are published.”[1] So declared General George Washington to his cousin, Lund Washington, nearly two months into his command of the newly formed Continental Army outside Boston. Appointed by the Continental Congress on June […]| Journal of the American Revolution
The “Ten Crucial Days” winter campaign of 1776-1777 reversed the tide of war just when Washington’s army appeared near collapse. Beginning with the Christmas night crossing of the Delaware River, Washington recorded his first three significant victories over the British and their Hessian auxiliaries under the overall command of Maj. Gen. William Howe and the […]| Journal of the American Revolution
The “Ten Crucial Days” winter campaign of 1776-1777 reversed the momentum of the War for Independence at a moment when what George Washington termed the “glorious Cause” of American independence appeared on the verge of final defeat.[1] During the period from December 25, 1776 through January 3, 1777, beginning with the fabled Christmas night crossing of […]| Journal of the American Revolution
On this week’s Dispatches, host Brady Crytzer interviews JAR Contributor Josh Wheeler on Loyalist David Fanning’s raid against Patriots in North Carolina after the British surrender at Yorktown. New episodes of Dispatches are available for free every Sunday evening(Eastern United States Time), first on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, Amazon Music, and the JAR Dispatches web site. Each […]| Journal of the American Revolution
Eighteenth-century America was predominantly Protestant, and the Thirteen Colonies suffered from a virulent strain of anti-Catholicism. Despite this, the mostly-Protestant Founding Fathers, while being greatly inspired by their Protestant English forebears, were greatly inspired by Catholic thinkers as well. The United States was not established as a Christian country, with American diplomats asserting in 1797: […]| Journal of the American Revolution
The pivotal military events that transpired in the northern theatre of war during the American Revolution are well known. A chronological list of the main ones would include: the failed American invasion of Canada in 1775-76; the British naval victory on Lake Champlain at the Battle of Valcour Island in 1776; the decisive American victory […]| Journal of the American Revolution
A few weeks after the Lexington alarm on April 19, 1775 a team of four men set out with congressional approval on a spying expedition through the Maine wilderness, heading for Quebec. Their goal was to determine whether Maine was threatened by the French Canadians, or whether the French wished to cooperate with the Revolution. […]| Journal of the American Revolution
By March 1782 Loyalist Col. David Fanning had been a thorn in the side of Patriot forces for some time. Fanning’s perpetually violent methods were well known to Patriots throughout North Carolina, as was his desire to visit retribution upon previous foes. But the story of one of his most infamous raids for that revenge […]| Journal of the American Revolution
BOOK REVIEW: Winning the Ten Crucial Days: The Keys to Victory in George Washington’s Legendary Winter Campaign by David Price (Brookline Books, 2025) David Price’s Winning the Ten Crucial Days examines Gen. George Washington’s military campaign from December 25, 1776 to January 3, 1777. This short period was one of the most pivotal moments in […]| Journal of the American Revolution
The coming of the American Revolution traumatized the North American frontier, and many old orders were left shattered in its wake. While historians often focus on the establishment of a new nation, few recognize the destruction of one of the continent’s oldest superpowers. The battle of Oriskany in New York’s Mohawk River Valley stands out […]| Journal of the American Revolution
A British cannonball decapitated James McNair, a Continental artillerist, at the Battle of Monmouth on June 28, 1778. Thomas Bliss, another American cannoneer, was captured that day. Col. John Durkee, commanding Varnum’s brigade, escaped death that Sunday but his right hand was permanently disabled from a wound received in the morning. Col. Henry Livingston, commanding […]| Journal of the American Revolution
Introduction It is estimated that over 25,000 Blacks served in the American Revolutionary War. Of these, 20,000, many who had escaped enslavement, served on the British side, largely due to Dunmore’s Proclamation that promised emancipation for “Negroes” who “joined his Majesty’s troops.”[1] An estimated 5,000 to 8,000 served on the American side, some as fighters, […]| Journal of the American Revolution
Philadelphia, The Revolutionary City exhibit at the American Philosophical Society (founded by Benjamin Franklin in 1743) positions the historic city as the most consistently politically engaged throughout the war. While New York was occupied by the British for a large portion of the war and Boston saw action at the onset and beginning of the […]| Journal of the American Revolution
Six indigenous nations in upstate New York—the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca and Tuscarora—were joined in an alliance for mutual protection. Known as the Haudenosaunee, which means people of the longhouse, or the misnomer Iroquois, at the beginning of the American Revolution they assured the upstart patriots that they would adopt a neutral stance and […]| Journal of the American Revolution
In December 1775, Pope Pius VI released his famed encyclical entitled Inscrutabilie Divinae Sapientiae. Translated as “The Inscrutable Divine Wisdom,” the Pope used his platform to issue a commentary on the most pressing issues of the time. Among the many topics he touched on were threats to the Catholic Church, the shifting politics of Europe, […]| Journal of the American Revolution
One day in the late winter of 1788 in Paris, the Marquis de Lafayette and two other champions of republicanism, Thomas Jefferson and Thomas Paine, held a little “convention of our own,” according to Lafayette. They were discussing the latest news from America about the debates taking place over ratifying the Constitution of 1787.[1] Jefferson […]| Journal of the American Revolution
BOOK REVIEW: Under Alien Skies: Environment, Suffering, and the Defeat of the British Military in Revolutionary America by Vaughn Scribner (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2024) $29.95 Paperback Historians’ interest in the environment has remade our understanding of the past in recent years. We are now more inclined to appreciate the role that […]| Journal of the American Revolution
Lord North officially presented the second Coercive Act entitled the Bill for Regulating the Government of the Massachusetts’ colony on April 15, 1774. It was read for the first time, ordered to be published and commented on by some of the members of the House. On April 22, the bill was read for a second […]| Journal of the American Revolution
It has been said of Edward Hand that he was “the stuff of which the hard core” of Washington’s army was made.[1] Indeed, he may have been the most unsung Patriot military hero of the American Revolution. On the second day of 1777, Hand organized a remarkable defensive action along the road from Princeton to Trenton, […]| Journal of the American Revolution
The American Revolution west of the Appalachians produced a number of stories, which in their constant retelling evolved into legends. They created a unique frontier mythology. Just as ancient Greece had Achilles and Odysseus, America west of the Appalachians had Daniel Boone and Simon Kenton. An American officer and frontier scout, Samuel Brady, became one […]| Journal of the American Revolution
In the year 1775, two days after the spring equinox, a meeting was held in Pennsylvania’s York County of over one hundred freemen and an agreement was written to bind them into an Association. The agreement, now in the Rare Book Room of the York County History Center in York, Pennsylvania, read as follows: The […]| Journal of the American Revolution
The Paradox as Context The literature of the Revolution is replete with references to the Founding Fathers’ recognition of the anguishing contradiction between the ideals they ostensibly endorsed in the Declaration of Independence—specifically Thomas Jefferson’s rhetoric about human equality and inalienable rights—and the commitment many of them made to sustaining the institution of human bondage […]| Journal of the American Revolution
BOOK REVIEW: John Hancock: First to Sign, First to Invest in America’s Independence by Willard Sterne Randall (Dutton, 2025). Trends of historical research over the past few decades have steadily moved away from the “Great Man” study of the past that produced a slew of works on singular characters of important periods in favor of […]| Journal of the American Revolution
Nathanael Greene famously wrote of his experience during the Southern Campaign that “The whole Country is in Danger of being laid Waste by the Whigs and Tories who pursue each other with as much relentless Fury as Beasts of Prey.” Historian John Pancake comments that “This observation was made by Nathanael Greene, a man already […]| Journal of the American Revolution
Alarming news of violence on the Upper Ohio flooded Pittsburgh in the late summer of 1777. On August 2, Joseph Ogle reported from Wheeling that a Native war party had wounded two men. James Booth, further south in Monongalia County, wrote that a mother and child had been killed and scalped and another captured. Col. […]| Journal of the American Revolution