“Light Horse Harry” Lee in the War for Independence
Book Review: “Light Horse Harry” Lee in the War for Independence by Jim Piecuch and John Beakes. Charleston, SC: The Nautical and Aviation Publishing Co. of America, 2013. Hardback: $26.95. ISBN...
View ArticleFor Love of the Footnote
I love footnotes. I won’t read a historical article if it does not have proper footnotes; why waste my time? When thumbing a book and contemplating a purchase I thumb from the back. The book must have...
View ArticleBand of Giants: The Amateur Soldiers Who Won America’s Independence
Book Review: Band of Giants: The Amateur Soldiers Who Won America’s Independence by Jack Kelly. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. Hardback. $27.00. ISBN: 978-1-137-27877-7; 368 pages, Index. It is...
View ArticleThe Great West Point Chain
Control of the Hudson River was important strategically during the American Revolution. The river, along with lakes George and Champlain, was a potential invasion route from Canada. It also was a...
View ArticleThe Return of George Washington 1783-1789
Book Review: The Return of George Washington 1783-1789 by Edward J. Larson. New York: William Morrow, 2014. Hardcover $29.99. ISBN 978-0-06-224867-1. Pp 384. Index, bibliography, illustrations. While...
View ArticleAnthony Wayne’s 1782 Savannah Campaign
In the minds of many people the surrender at Yorktown in the fall of 1781 brought the Revolutionary War to a close. However, the war in the South was not over. Charleston and Savannah were occupied by...
View ArticlePropaganda Warfare: Benjamin Franklin Fakes a Newspaper
“The Press, Watson, is a most valuable institution, if you only know how to use it,” said the fictional detective Sherlock Holmes.[1] Benjamin Franklin had a lifetime of experience with the Press and...
View ArticleThe Bermuda Powder Raids of 1775
In 1775, the tension between the American colonies and Great Britain escalated into armed conflict at then-little-known places such as Lexington, Concord and Bunker Hill. As a result, throughout the...
View ArticleWilliam Washington, American Light Dragoon: A Continental Cavalry Leader
Book review: William Washington, American Light Dragoon: A Continental Cavalry Leader in the War of Independence by Daniel Murphy (Westholme Publishing, 2014). William Washington, the Revolutionary War...
View Article“The Sale of the Hessians” and the Franklin Legend
Since 1874 a growing assumption, indeed an assumption expanding to the status of “fact,” has arisen that a document known as “The Sale of the Hessians” was a piece of propaganda written by Benjamin...
View ArticleTides and Tonnage: A Different Take on the Boston Tea Party
The story of the Boston Tea Party has been told and retold endlessly. It has become a part of American mythos. On the evening of December 16, 1773 in Boston a group of 100 to 150 citizens, dressed like...
View ArticleInvading America: The Flatboats that Landed Thousands of British Troops on...
Amphibious operations, which involve landing troops and supplies from the sea to the land, are extremely difficult and require special techniques, close coordination between the navy and army, as well...
View ArticleThe Revolution’s Last Men: The Soldiers Behind the Photographs
Book Review: The Revolution’s Last Men: The Soldiers Behind the Photographs by Don N. Hagist (Westholme Publishing, 2015). In 1864, The Last Men of the Revolution was written by Elias Hillard. It...
View ArticleThe Spirit of ’74, How the American Revolution Began
Book Review: The Spirit of ’74, How the American Revolution Began (New York, The New Press, 2015) by Ray Raphael and Marie Raphael Most people understand that the American Revolution began in...
View ArticleFirst Entrepreneur: How George Washington Built His — and the Nation’s —...
Book Review: First Entrepreneur: How George Washington Built His — and the Nation’s — Prosperity by Edward G. Lengel (Da Capo Press, 2016). [BUY NOW ON AMAZON] When one thinks of George Washington,...
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