History of the American Revolution
Historian Opinions are Mixed Historians have been vocal in their summation of Major General Israel Putnam’s actions and command decisions during the American Revolutionary War. The leading authorities such as Fellows, Dawson, Gordon, Ramsay, Stiles, Bancroft, Field, Lossing, Trevelyan, Ward, and Johnston (to name a few), have all offered evaluations and explanations of what occurred …
Peter Salem, a slave who was freed to fight in his master’s militia, is credited for stepping forward at a critical point in the Battle of Bunker Hill outside Boston in 1775; he fired the shot that killed British Royal Marine Major John Pitcairn. At the time of the battle, Salem was already a veteran …
O, not in vain did Attucks fall, Or Shaw sink on the death-swept wall: We, who have trod the thorny path, And shrank beneath th’ opressor’s wrath, On hill, in dale, on field and flood, They sealed it with there martyr blood! From Centennial Year by Elijah W. Smith Boston, the fifth of March, 1770. …
Brave, Humble, Firm, Dedicated There are two Revolutionary War soldiers of merit who share the same name. Colonel John Nixon of Pennsylvania and Brigadier General John Nixon of Massachusetts. Colonel Nixon of Pennsylvania has received far more attention than General Nixon of Massachusetts. Colonel Nixon, along with his father Richard, were shipbuilders and prominent citizens …
Captain Robert Rogers (Major Rogers, as listed in his Journals), was one of the more colorful characters in American history. He was an incredible military leader who adapted wilderness tactics which equipped the British in The French and Indian War (or The Seven Years War as it’s known in Europe). From 1754 until 1763, both …
For decades England’s draconian control of American imports and exports demanded that the colonists deal only with British and Scottish agents. Americans had to sell colonial goods to these agents who took a nice cut prior to distribution. The British government also kept a tidy sum. In turn, colonialists had to buy all their necessities …
It is common knowledge that the Ministerial Forces of King George the Third stationed in America during the War of Independence were as much absorbed in quarreling with one another as in fighting the rebel army, not due to differences over strategy, but because of personal friction. Simply put, there was little, if any cooperation …
Washington’s Retreat Through New Jersey. Nov 9 – Dec 8, 1776 Supreme British Commander Major General Sir [1]William Howe’s efforts to ‘bag the fox’ had failed. ‘The Fox”, first termed by British General Charles Cornwallis in and around New York City the fateful summer of 1776, was the ‘rebel’ General George Washington. Mr. Washington, as the …
Lord Dunmore, Royal Governor of Virginia, lays his knife and fork onto the plate before settling back in his chair. What seemed like tight quarters when he first set foot on the frigate HMS Fowey some months back, his cabin has now become quite comfortable like an old hunting frock. Accepting his second glass of …
A Conversation with Royal Governor Lord Dunmore “And what is the latest from Fort Murray?” “The rebels crossed the causeway at Great Bridge late last night and attacked.” Though it is a report of the first clash of arms at the newly constructed fortification at Great Bridge, Lord Dunmore features remain sullen and indifferent. It …