Category «Historical Background»

Thomas Heyward Jr. Signer of the Declaration of Independence: The Largest Slaveholding Family in America

Thomas Heyward Jr (July 28, 1746 – March 6, 1809) was a planter, lawyer, judge, politician, and soldier. One of the Founding Fathers who attended the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia, he was among the last to sign the Declaration of Independence on August 2, 1776. On February 3, 1779, as captain of artillery in …

Battles of Thomas Creek and Alligator Bridge: Florida in the American Revolution

Battle of Thomas Creek. Artwork by Jackson Walker.

At the start of the American Revolution, not all British colonies on the mainland of North America rebelled against the mother country. Thirteen did; however, the four distinct colonies to the north that made up Canada and, in the south, East and West Florida, did not. They remained loyal to England. As such, the rebellious …

General George Washington’s Mystery Firearm

Strict. Rigid. Aloof. Dogmatic. Ambitious. Taskmaster. Determined. Emphatic. Fair. Honorable. Tenacious. Meticulous. Dedicated. And Enforcer. Bundled up in one who could explode in such sudden fury, as to send the devil running for cover. General George Washington. The Commander-in-Chief. Whose carefully crafted persona became a physical and mental force that transformed a tattered rabble of …

General William Woodford: Battlefield to Prison Ship

William Woodford of Virginia (October 6, 1734 – November 13, 1780), southern aristocratic plantation owner, was born to a prestigious family of military tradition. At the very start of the American Revolution, he commanded the 2nd Virginia militia during the Battle of Great Bridge, resulting in a decisive victory labeled the southern Bunker Hill. Among …

Declaration of Independence: Physician Josiah Bartlett of New Hampshire, First to Vote and Second to Sign

There were approximately 1,400 military ‘doctors’ during the American Revolution who treated American soldiers either on the battlefield or in hospitals. Of this number, only 400 were actually trained physicians; the other thousand or so were assistants or young apprentices who basically ‘learned on the job’. Several doctors put aside their scalpels for the sword …

Elizabeth Freeman: African American Woman Sued 1780 State Constitution Over Slavery and Won

In 1780, as the War for Independence raged throughout North America, a crier standing in the central square of Sheffield, Massachusetts, a small town in the western part of the former colony, read from the state’s newly enacted constitution. When he came to Article 1 he clamored, “All Men are born Free and Equal,” a …

Wrong Governor DeSantis! Fact – Millions Had Questioned Slavery Prior to the American Revolution

Fact: The slave trade was banned in England in 1102, 674 years before the American Revolution! A recent claim by Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida at a “Stop Woke Act’ event, stating that prior to the American Revolution no one questioned slavery, is shocking and has absolutely zero factual basis. This is alarming, especially when …

Interview with African American Reenactor Noah “Ned Hector” Lewis: Part One

It is a pleasure to present my good friend and American Revolution Photographer Ken Bohrer’s interview with American Revolution reenactor Noah “Ned Hector” Lewis – Black Revolutionary War Hero. This is the first interview of a three part series. Ken Bohrer’s website American Revolution Photos has over eight thousand outstanding photos and dozens of videos of …

Navigation Acts: England’s First Attempt to Keep the Lid on American Independence

Often misunderstood, the Navigation Act was not born of a punitive measure against a rebellious colony; such as the Coercive Acts of 1774 (labeled the Intolerable Acts by American patriots) which punished Massachusetts after a band of rowdy Bostonians dumped a fortune of East Indian tea in the harbor. The legislation that established England’s Laws …

The Turtle: Infernal Vessel Became the First Submarine Used in War

David Bushnell (1740 – 1824), while a patriot student at Yale University, imagined a submersible craft capable of underwater attack upon enemy shipping. To achieve his vision, the future combat engineer and munitions expert had to develop several innovations that ultimately modernized naval warfare. But unfairly, history has pretty much credited Bushnell as the sole …

Oneida Iroquois: America’s Ally and Polly Cooper who Helped Feed Washington’s Army at Valley Forge

Polly Cooper’s generosity and courage have long been honored by the Oneida Native American people over the generations as exemplar of the indomitable spirt of the Oneida. With the unveiling of the Oneida memorial at the Smithsonian Museum in Washington DC that honors Polly and her people’s contribution to the American Revolution, the United States …

Devotion to an Autocrat is NOT Patriotism

Honor is like an island; Steep and without Shore; They who once leave; Can never return.  French poet Nicholas Boileau Originally Published January 26, 2021 It is with a heavy heart that as senior editor of Revolutionary War Journal, I must share with my readers my outrage over the horrendous attack on our nation’s capitol …

Colonial Slave Clothing

African American slaves and bondsmen were issued clothing based on the master’s financial means and his/her willingness to provide for their ‘property’s’ wellbeing. On larger estates, those chosen to work the land or labor in the many outbuildings wore either homespun clothing or simple cloth imported from England. They would finish work and return directly …