History of the American Revolution
The Battle of Gloucester, fought on August 8, 1775, between the British sloop of war HMS Falcon and Gloucester townspeople, resulted in a resounding American victory. Many British seamen and marines were captured, with casualties on both sides, before the British warship broke off the fight and departed. The result of the clash proved to …
The Framers of America’s Constitution had an almost hysterical fear of standing armies, and of governments backed by them. A standing army of professionals, they were sure, would eventually do one of two things: agitate for foreign military adventures to keep itself employed, or turn against its civilian masters to create a military dictatorship. To …
Colonial leaders always had misgivings about black enlistments in militias during pre-Revolutionary War years and later among those who fought for American Independence. Though there was a large population of available African Americans to fill the ranks of colonial enlistments, the number one fear both north and south was the apprehension that slaves trained in …
The Battle of Lenud’s Ferry, South Carolina, May 6, 1780, also known as Lanneau’s Ferry, was a sounding patriot loss and further blow to American cavalry in the south. It was a continuation of the sudden and vicious attacks on patriot dragoons and militia by Banastre Tarleton’s Loyalist Legion of Dragoons and Mounted Infantry. At …
By Harry Schenawolf, author of the Shades of Liberty Series about African American soldiers in the American Revolution. June 27, 2015, a plaque marking the site of New York City’s 18th century Slave Auction House was unveiled in Lower Manhattan by Mayor Bill de Blasio. The plaque commemorates the location of where thousands of lives …
By Harry Schenawolf, author of the Shades of Liberty Series about African American soldiers in the American Revolution. Rivers that were too wide to construct a bridge (or too expensive), yet needed to be crossed to populate the new world’s wilderness and countryside provided the earliest setters with commercial potential. As these rural and soon …
By Harry Schenawolf, author of the Shades of Liberty Series about African American soldiers in the American Revolution. Like the horse, honey bees were once native to North America. And like the horse, the species died out, only to be reintroduced by Europeans thousands of years later, millions in the case of honey bees. The …
In 18th century America, where news and the powers of persuasion depended on pamphlets or word of mouth, coffeehouses rose supreme among all outlets of media. Politicians, merchants, businessmen, farmers, and mekanics – the working-class muscle of rebellion – consumed pages upon pages of lengthy opinions detailed in pamphlets and distributed among the colonial American …
Local Carolina residents had already responded to the threat by strengthening Fort Sullivan. Palmetto logs were laid into the partially completed fort which proved to be a blessing. Though General Lee recommended that the fort be abandoned, Colonel William Moultrie and Colonel William Thomson, who commanded militia from South and North Carolina, including some native …
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 …