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 …

Pyle’s Massacre and Battle of Haw River Dashed British Hopes of Loyalist Support

Battle of Cowpens by Don Troiani.

February 24, 1781. Lt. Col. Henry “Light Horse Harry” Lee, Virginia patriot leader of cavalry and light infantry, rode before four hundred North Carolina loyalists. The militia, eager to join British Lt. General Charles Cornwallis’ army, had lined up for review. With Lee’s cavalry by his side, the Continental Army commander was enthusiastically greeted by …

23rd Regiment of Foot Royal Welch Fusiliers: Eight Bloody Years in America

“For damned fighting and drinking, I’ll match you against the world!” Lt. Col. William Meadows cries out leading the 23rd at the Battle of Brandywine Creek, Sept. 11, 1777. The British 23rd Regiment of Foot (Royal Welch Fusiliers) played a crucial role in nearly every major battle during the American Revolution; from the very beginning …

Gaspee Affair: Major Link in the Chain to Revolution

“A downright democracy!“ British officer describes Rhode Island. In the summer of 1772, angry New England zealots carried out a far more hostile and dangerous attack against the British crown’s authority a year and a half later, December 16, 1773, when a bunch of patriots dressed up as Native Americans dumped a ton of tea …

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 …

Minuteman and Militia: Lousy Shots Who Indeed Could Not Hit the Side of a Barn

Militia and Continental firing

“Contrary to general opinion, only thirteen percent of colonial Americans owned a gun at the start of the American Revolution and of those, clearly half did not work.” Michael Bellesiles, noted author and researcher The Myth of Minutemen looms large in legends surrounding the American Revolution. Statues with robust colonials grasping their musket line New …

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 …

Colonel Christopher Greene: Commanded the Rhode Island 1st of African American Continental Soldiers

Christopher Greene was leading the Rhode Island 1st, the first African American Regiment in the Continental Army [the first black regiment of the war was British – Virginia Royal Governor Dunmore’s Ethiopian Brigade in 1775], when he was killed and mutilated at the Battle of Pines Bridge in a vicious attack by British Loyalist ‘Cowboys’, …

January 6, 2021 and the Attack on the US Capital and Democracy

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 Revolutionary War Journal must post this opinion. I must share with my readers my outrage over the horrendous attack on our nation’s capitol …

Military Books that Influenced George Washington

Military literature was of little or no value to the early colonists.  There were no vast spreads of farmlands and meadows where massive armies could deploy.  Their terrain was wilderness and their forces small.  Militias of farmers and merchants, properly armed to protect themselves from the “savages” adopted the same methods as their native opponents.  …

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 …

Colonial Governments in the Thirteen Original Colonies

American colonies claimed by European nations were for the most part initially run by the private sector through investors in joint corporations. Later, once the colonies proved profitable; two other types of colonial governments would emerge. It required a large sum of money to extract the natural resources and establish trade for each new territory. …