A Loyalist Provincial Regiment is Formed

On November 3, 2026October 31, 2026 By erwguestIn 1777, America 250, Battlefields & Historic Places, British Leadership, Common Soldier, Emerging Revolutionary War, Loyalist, Memory, Militia (Loyalist) Leadership, Personalities, Revolutionary WarLeave a comment

Emerging Revolutionary War welcomes back guest historian Drew Palmer for Part II of his Maryland Loyalist series (for Part I, click here).

 A Loyalist Provincial Regiment is Formed

In August 1777, a massive British fleet sailed up the Chesapeake Bay. On board were 17,000 men under the command of General William Howe, Commander-in- Chief of all British forces in North America. Howe’s objective was the Patriot capital of Philadelphia. As the British force moved up the Chesapeake, a contingent stopped in Chestertown. Accompanying the British in Chestertown was none other than James Chalmers. In the previous winter, Chalmers was attacked by a violent Patriot mob energized by the recent Patriot victories at Trenton and Princeton. Inspired by the recent victories, Patriot governments renewed their commitment to stamp out Tory activity, and they knew where Loyalist threats loomed the largest. Loyalist sentiment on the Eastern Shore began to threaten the stability that the Patriots had created. Maryland delegate to the Continental Congress, Samuel Chase, informed Congress of the situation in February of 1777. “The Tories in Sussex [Delaware], Somerset, and Worcester Counties, have been assembling for some days. They have 250 men collected at Parker’s Mill, about nine miles from Salisbury, and tis reported they have three field pieces, which they received from the Roebuck [44- gun British man-of-war], with some men, with the intention to seize the magazine and destroy the property of the Whigs…. There are three men of war in the bay, one at the Tangiers, one at Smith’s Point, and one in the middle…. I must repeat the necessity of a representation.”16 The insurrection continued to grow until Brigadier General William Smallwood, the commander of Maryland’s army, arrived on the Eastern Shore with three thousand soldiers; this quickly put an end to the Loyalist uprising.17 Smallwood described the Tory uprising as a movement that uses “religion as a cloak for their nefarious designs.”18

After the Patriots reestablished control on the Eastern Shore, Eastern Shore Loyalists largely went underground, some fled, and most chose to keep quiet. However, James Chalmers, not the type to stay quiet, left for New York in June 1777, where he helped advise Howe on his upcoming campaign. Chalmers had traveled through New Jersey in April and informed Howe of the weakness of Washington’s army. Chalmers informed Howe [through his aide-de-camp] that he believed Washington’s army could be defeated with relative ease, thereby clearing a path to Philadelphia, which was Howe’s goal for the upcoming campaign. In August of 1777, Howe’s army continued its journey through Maryland. After Howe’s army reached the capital of Philadelphia, they had fought in a series of engagements, diminishing its strength. It became clear to Howe that more troops were needed to guard Philadelphia and the surrounding region. Chalmers had supported Howe during the march through Maryland by procuring horses from Loyalists for Howe’s army.19 This partnership may have convinced Howe that large numbers of potential Loyalist recruits could form provincial regiments. On October 8, 1777, Howe issued a proclamation that appeared in the Pennsylvania Ledger:

Whereas for the more speedy and effectual suppression of the unnatural rebellion subsisting in North-America, it has been thought proper to levy a number of Provincial Troops, thereby affording to his Majesty’s faithful and well-disposed subjects, inhabitants of the colonies, an opportunity to co-operate in relieving themselves from the miseries attendant on anarchy and tyranny, and in restoring the blessings of peace and order with just and lawful government. As a reward for the promptitude and zeal of his Majesty’s faithful subjects who may enter into the corps now raising. I DO HEREBY, in consequence of authority to me given by his Majesty, promise and engage, that all persons who have, or do hereafter inlist into any of the said Provincial Corps, to serve for two years, or during the present war in North America, and shall continue faithfully to serve in any engagements, shall,, after being reduced or disbanded, obtain, according to their respective stations, grants of the following quantities of vacant lands in the colonies wherein their corps have been or shall be raised, or in such colony as his Majesty may think fit. Every non-commissioned officer- 200 acres. Every private soldier- 50 ditto.20 It was decided that James Chalmers would lead his own Loyalist regiment. With a pen stroke, Howe created three provincial units: the Roman Catholic Volunteers, the First Battalion of Pennsylvania Loyalists, and the First Battalion of Maryland Loyalists. Chalmers commanded the First Battalion of Maryland Loyalists and successfully recruited 336 troops for the regiment. Although small compared to other Loyalist provincial regiments, Chalmers fared much better than the 132 men raised by the Pennsylvania Loyalists Battalion and the 180 men of the Roman Catholic Volunteers. Though the Catholic Loyalists and the Pennsylvania Battalion of Loyalists are significant in their own right, this narrative will focus more specifically on Chalmers and his First Battalion of Maryland Loyalists.

The Men of the Regiment

The First Battalion of Maryland Loyalists was made up of a diverse group of men, each with their own motivations for joining the regiment. As with many lesser-known regiments, little is known about the privates. However, historians know the regiment’s officers well. Phillip Barton Key was studying law in Annapolis when the rebellion began. Key allegedly refused numerous attempts to persuade him to swear an oath of allegiance to the Patriots. He refused again in 1777. Fearing Patriot retribution, Key fled to Philadelphia in December, where he joined the regiment. Key’s brother, John Ross Key, had joined the Continental Army as an officer. It is likely that having a family member on the Patriot side lessened the risk of retaliation against Phillip Barton Key at the war’s end, allowing Phillip Barton Key to return to civilian life with relative ease after the war. Ironically, Phillip Barton Key was the uncle of Francis Scott Key, who wrote the Star-Spangled Banner decades later, during the British attack on Baltimore in 1814.21

Irish-born Baltimore physician Patrick Kennedy fled to Philadelphia after the Patriot victory at Trenton, believing that harassment of Tories would increase. Kennedy was proven correct when his doctor’s office was ransacked for his medical supplies. Kennedy received one of the first captain’s commissions in Chalmers’ regiment.22 Another of the captains commissioned in the regiment was the Virginian, Dr. Alexander Middleton. Like many Loyalists who refused to swear oaths of allegiance, Middleton was jailed briefly before fleeing to Philadelphia in late 1776, where he cared for Loyalist prisoners after seeing the alarming conditions in which they were confined. Middleton bided his time until the British arrived in September, when he could, at last, be open about his beliefs. He quickly met up with Chalmers, received a captain’s commission, and recruited 52 men into the unit. However, Middleton fell from his horse while pursuing the Patriots. The injury was severe and forced him to resign his commission and sail to England with his family. Perhaps this was the first sign of the bad luck that would plague the regiment’s future.23

Well-known Eastern Shore Loyalists Levin Townsend and Isaac Costen arrived in Philadelphia in the spring of 1778 and were commissioned as lieutenant and captain. Calbe Jones, the former sheriff of Somerset County on the Eastern Shore, also arrived and soon received an officer’s commission in the regiment. Chalmers also recruited John MacDonald from the Forty-Second Royal Regiment of Highlanders and appointed him major in the Maryland Loyalists Battalion. Chalmers likely sought out MacDonald because of his military experience.24

The Reverend John Patterson was released in March 1778 after being confined in Baltimore. He immediately fled to Philadelphia, where Chalmers named him the regiment’s pastor. Fourteen-year-old William Augustus Bowles traveled from Western Maryland to Philadelphia and bought himself an ensign’s commission in Chalmers’ regiment. Bowles was energetic and adventurous. He did not know it then, but his future held plenty of adventures. As word trickled out, more men began to join the regiment, primarily from Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Maryland. From November 1777 to late spring 1778, the regiment continued to grow and began drilling its companies. Once the regiment was together, it received its uniform. The uniform closely resembled that of British regulars. The regiment was issued red coats with olive-colored facings. The buttonholes were decorated with white lace. The rest of the uniforms consisted of a white waistcoat and breeches, with black linen half-gaiters designed to protect shoes and stockings from mud and dirt. Little information exists regarding the arms and accouterments issued to the regiment. Complete uniformity was rare at this stage in the war forboth Loyalist provincial units, such as Chalmers’ regiment, and much of the Patriot forces.25

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“Atlas of Independence” now available in audio

On November 1, 2026October 30, 2026 By Chris MackowskiIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

Atlas of Independence: John Adams and the American Revolution, part of Savas Beatie’s Emerging Revolutionary War Series, is now available as an audiobook. You can find it at Audible and Amazon, and it will soon be available from iTunes.

As a former radio announcer “back in the day,” I love recording the audio editions of my own books. That background actually has a huge influence on my writing style. It affects the rhythm and cadence and diction of my writing. As I write, I read my prose out loud to be sure it’s smooth and clear. It’s amazing how a sentence might look okay on the page but then clunk as it comes off the tongue. If it comes off the tongue smoothly, though, it will definitely read smoothly on the page.

Spending so much time with John and Abagail Adams was a delight when I wrote the book, and I enjoyed the chance to spend more time with them as I recorded the audiobook. I admit, it was a little daunting trying to give voice to a man who was known by his contemporaries as the voice of the Revolution!

I hope you enjoy spending time with John and Abigail as much as I did. And as you listen, I want to say “thanks” for letting me spend a little time with you, too.

Hessian Origins of the Headless Horseman

On October 31, 2026October 2, 2026 By erwguestIn 1776, America 250, Battles, Emerging Revolutionary War, Memory, Personalities, Revolutionary War4 Comments

Emerging Revolutionary War welcomes back guest historian Evan Portman

“The Headless Horseman Pursuing Ichabod Crane” by John Quidor
(Google Art Project)

It’s a scene familiar and frightening to most American schoolchildren. A headless horseman riding down a dark road, his jack-o’-lantern face alight.

But the Headless Horseman is not strictly an American legend. In fact, it probably didn’t even originate in America. An Irish legend tells of a rider who allegedly carries his severed head under his arm and wields a whip made of the spines of human corpses. A similar revenant is said to haunt the Rhenish valleys of Germany. Thus, it is no surprise that an American twist on the headless horseman tale emerged from the revolutionary era—and the imagination of Washington Irving.

Irving’s life was intertwined with the history of the American Revolution. He was born in Manhattan in 1783 the same week that the city learned of the Treaty of Paris, which ended the Revolutionary War. Of course, Irving’s namesake was the hero of the revolution, George Washington. Irving briefly met the father of the country when he was only 6 years old in 1789, when Washington came to New York City for his inauguration as president. It is therefore no surprise that Irving decided to base his version of the horseman on Revolutionary War lore.[1]

Published in 1820, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow follows Ichabod Crane, a tall, lanky, superstitious man from Connecticut who had traveled to Sleepy Hollow (just outside of Tarrytown, New York) to become a schoolmaster. Much to Crane’s fright, the town is said to be haunted by “the ghost of a Hessian trooper, whose head had been carried away by a cannon-ball, in some nameless battle during the Revolutionary War.”[2] Despite this, the timid but ambitions teacher quickly infatuates himself with the young lady, Katrina Van Tassel, but competes for her attention with the brawny Abraham “Brom Bones” Van Brunt.

On the way home from a gathering at Katrina’s house, Crane encounters a lone rider who appears to be headless. Recalling the ghost stories he had heard, Crane gallops across a bridge that the horseman reportedly cannot pass. But just as he crosses the bridge, the rider strikes him with what seems to be a severed head. The following morning, Crane’s horse arrives home without him, and all that is left by the bridge is a smashed pumpkin. Brom Bones marries Katrina, and the narrator is reluctant to accept whether the stunt was orchestrated by Van Brunt himself or that the Headless Horseman might truly haunt the valley of Sleepy Hollow.

The Headless Horseman of Irving’s imagination might have grown from one of the European myths of old, but the legend may also have origins rooted in the history of the Revolutionary War.

Washington Irving by Charles Robert Leslie

In 1776, British Gen. William Howe had slowly but surely pushed Washington’s Continental Army from Long Island to Upper Manhattan over the course of three months. After a daring escape across the East River, Washington’s army narrowly avoided destruction and lived to fight another day. That day came on October 28, as Howe attempted to encircle the Continental Army. Washington withdrew his forces to White Plains where he fought a valiant, but unsuccessful, defensive battle.

During that battle, British cannons bombarded the Continental lines, and several American guns responded in what became a brief artillery duel. According to Maj. Gen. William Heath, this counter-battery fire decapitated one of the Hessian soldiers. “A shot from the American cannon at this place took off the head of a Hessian artillery-man,” he recorded in his diary on November 1, 1776.[3] Perhaps this fellow became the inspiration for Irving’s headless horseman, or the author based him on one of the other Hessian casualties of the New York Campaign.

By late autumn in 1776, the area south of the Bronx River had become a veritable no-man’s-land. That included Westchester County, where Tarrytown—the setting of the legend—is located. Scores of Loyalist militiamen, British infantry, and Hessian Jägers roamed the countryside and skirmished with Patriots, vigilantes, and raiders. Irving’s specter could have been based on one of the feared Hessian soldiers who patrolled and “haunted” Sleepy Hollow during the war. His legend also might have grown from the alleged headless Hessian corps discovered near Tarrytown after the battle of White Plains. The corpse was later buried in the Old Dutch Burying Ground, where other inspirations for characters in Irving’s story can be found.[4]

Regardless of its origins, the headless horseman and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow looms large in our collective memory, even two centuries later. Perhaps the “Galloping Hessian,” as Irving called him, still patrols the quiet roads of Sleepy Hollow, 250 years after his untimely demise. I, for one, don’t want to find out!

[1] Donna Davies, “Halloween History: The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” New York Historical Quarterly, October 24, 2019, accessed September 2026, https://www.nyhistory.org/blogs/halloween-history-the-legend-of-sleepy-hollow-2.

[2] Washington Irving, “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” in The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent., (New York: C. S. Van Winkle, 1820), 425.

[3] William Heath, Memoirs of Major General William Heath, (New York: William Abbatt, 1901), 73.

[4] Jonathan Kruk, Legends, and Lore of Sleepy Hollow & the Hudson Valley, (Charleston, SC: History Press, 2011), 117–118.

Rev War Revelry: “Act Worthy of Yourselves: A Novel of Dr. Joseph Warren and an American Rebellion” with Salina Baker

On October 30, 2026 By Rob OrrisonIn 1775, Rev War RevelryLeave a comment

This Sunday, November 1, 2026 at 7pm, ERW welcomes back historian and author Salina Baker as we discuss the life and role Dr. Joseph Warren. Salina’s newest novel titled “Act Worthy of Yourselves: A Novel of Dr. Joseph Warren and an American Rebellion,” focuses on the life of influential Patriot Dr. Joseph Warren. Relying on primary source material from Warren and his contemporaries, Baker provides insight into Warren’s personal life and his role in leading the “Sons of Liberty” in Boston. Warren is considered by many to be the main figure in organizing the resistance to British policies in the colonies.

Baker has joined us before with her previous novel on General Nathanael Greene titled “The Line of Splendor.” Salina is a multiple award-winning historical fiction author, presenter, and historian of the American Revolution. She has done presentations at places such as History Camp Boston, Valley Forge, Washington Crossing Historic Park, the General Nathanael Greene Homestead, Cowpens National Battlefield, Camden Revolutionary War Visitor Center, and Sons of the American Revolution/Daughters of the American Revolution chapters. She has also been interviewed on podcasts including Revolution 250, American Revolution Podcast, and Emerging Revolutionary War. In addition, she writes articles for the Journal of the American Revolution.

This Rev War Revelry is recorded, it will be posted to our Facebook and You Tube pages on Sunday, November 1st at 7pm. Grab a drink and toast Dr. Warren!

Faith, Duty, and War: A Review of Avellina Balestri’s All Ye That Pass By Trilogy

On October 28, 2026October 31, 2026 By Ben PowersIn 1777, Book Review, British Leadership, Personalities, saratogaLeave a comment

*The Burial of General Simon Fraser after the Battle of Saratoga, 1777,* by John Graham, The National Army Museum

Avellina Balestri’s All Ye That Pass By trilogy is a deeply researched, thoughtfully constructed work of historical fiction set during the American Revolutionary War. Through the experiences of Edmund “Ned” Southworth, a young soldier serving in the British Army a protégé of General John Burgoyne, Balestri explores questions of faith, identity, morality, and military duty against the backdrop of a conflict that divided families, communities, and nations.

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Discovering White Plains

On October 28, 2026October 28, 2026 By Bert DunkerlyIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

I have always had a particular interest in the New York City Campaign of 1776. Over the years I have been able to visit the battlefields and historic sites associated with these events. While it is easy to focus on the loss of so many sites with the city’s growth (definitely true), I enjoy the challenge of finding remnants of the past in the urban landscape.

Following the capture of New York City by the British on August 27, 1776, Washington pulled his battered forces north, into Westchester County. He chose the village of White Plains to make his next stand. Anchoring his army on the Bronx River, his troops prepared a line of defense astride the road coming up from New York. The army’s left rested on Hatfield Hill and Horton’s Mill Pond, and their center was on Purdy Hill. The entire line was three miles long. Washington made his headquarters at the Jacob Purdy house, which still stands. He then moved to command from the Anthony Miller house, a bit to the north.

On the extreme right of the American line was Chatterton Hill’s, which dominated the area and which two regiments of militia occupied (one from Massachusetts and one from Connecticut). Farmers had constructed stone walls atop the hill and the militia used these convenient barriers for their defensive position.

General Washington was late to recognize the importance of Chatterton’s Hill, but on the morning of October 28 he sent General Alexander McDougal’s brigade there, consisting of the 1st New York, 3rd New York, and 19th Continental Regiments. Haslett’s Delaware and Smallwood’s’ Maryland Regiment were also dispatched to the hill.

When McDougal arrived the Americans deployed with the 19th Continental on the far left, the two New York regiments next in line then the Maryland Regiment, and the militia on the far right. The Delaware Regiment was in reserve. The total American strength on the site was about 2,000 troops. About twelve artillery guns supported them.

In the meantime General William Howe deployed his army to attack. He focused on hitting the American right on Chatterton Hill. Other troops under Colonel Carl von Donop (consisting of five German units) moved against the American center, and General Alexander Leslie with four British regiments (the 5th, 28th, 25th, and 49th) attacked the American left. Another force of Germans under Colonel Johann Rall assisted on the left. Rall’s command included the regiments Rall, Knyphausen, and Lossberg.

Major Benjamin Tallmadge wrote of American preparations: “. . . breastworks were improvised… cornstalks pulled from the fields were stacked with the clods of earth on the bottoms facing the enemy, quickly creating defenses that looked much stronger than they were.” On the morning of October 28, Geneal William Heath wrote of the approaching British, “The sun shown bright, their arms glittered, and perhaps troops never were shown to more advantage than these now appeared.”

On Chatterton’s Hill, Captain William Hull of the 19th Continental Regiment wrote,
Having taken our position, we discovered, at a distance, the approach of the British army. Its appearance was truly magnificent. A bright autumnal sun shed its full lustre on the polished arms, and the rich array of dress and military equipage gave an imposing grandeur to the scene as they advanced in all the pomp and circumstances of war to give us battle. . .”

The first British troops to attack Chatterton’s Hill were the 28th and 35th Regiments. Crossing the Bronx River, which was about waist deep, they moved up the wooded slope. Colonel John Haslett recommended to McDougall that he sent troops forward to meet the attack. The Maryland Regiment and 3rd New York went forward and stopped the British cold.

In the meantime Colonel Rall brought up his German units to the left, beyond the American line, and hit them in the flank. His attack fell on the two militia regiments, who broke in confusion. The Germans then engaged the Maryland and New York regiments. McDougall’s entire command was soon forced back. Haslet’s Delaware Regiment provided covering fire while the remaining troops retreated to the north, and were the last to leave the hill. Haslet wrote of his Delaware troops, “the left of the regiment took post behind a fence on top of the hill with most of the officers, and twice repulsed the light troops and horse of the enemy, but finding themselves deserted on all hands, and the continued column of the enemy advancing we also retired.”

The next day the Americans improved their fortifications. British reinforcements arrived on October 30, and Howe prepared to attack again, but on the 31st Washington withdrew to the north. Although not particularly bloody or complex, I’ve always found the battle interesting. Losses were 217 American and 233 British/German.

Two of the principal commanders here were dead within two months. Rall was the commander of the Trenton garrison when Washington’s forces struck on December 26 and was mortally wounded. Haslet fell at Princeton on January 3. Another, von Donop, fell a year later at Red Bank.

Chatterton’s Hill in the 1880s, showing the rapid suburban growth overtaking the landscape at that time. Scarsdale Historical Society.

I first visited the battlefield with my friends Mike and Jen in the late 1990s. Jen was stopping to see her grandparents in White Plains. While she visited her relatives, Mike and I went out to explore the area, and found a remnant of the American defense line, and a historic marker. It was so exciting, right in the middle of a busy of a city downtown we found a tangible remnant of the past!

On subsequent visits to the area I found Chatterton’s Hill, the main area of fighting. Today it has a small park with historic makers, one of the few tangible things to see from the battlefield. I’ve also found Washington’s two headquarters sites at the Purdy and Miller houses.

Today the Miller House is preserved and open for tours, as is the Purdy House. The Battle of White Plains Park on Chatterton’s Hill includes several historic markers and preserves a remnant of the original terrain. A monument with a replica cannon stands not far from the train station in White Plains.

Learn more about this historic event in Mark Maloy and Dan Welch’s new book on the 1776 New York campaign: Conquer or Die, out this November!

Maryland Loyalists in the American Revolution: Politics, War, and Exile

On October 20, 2026October 20, 2026 By erwguestIn 1775, 1776, 1777, British Leadership, Emerging Revolutionary War, Loyalist, Memory, Militia (Loyalist) Leadership, Personalities, Revolutionary War3 Comments

Emerging Revolutionary War welcomes back guest historian Drew Palmer of Revolutionary Maryland

Part I

The historical memory of the Revolutionary War in Maryland generally focuses on the state’s Patriots. Men such as Otho Holland Williams and John Eager Howard are remembered fondly for their committed, heroic military service to the American cause. Politically, men such as Charles Carroll and William Paca—both signers of the Declaration of Independence and Maryland Patriots—are remembered for their commitment to the cause. Studying and remembering these men is vital to understanding Maryland’s role in the conflict. However, the Revolutionary War was a civil war. A civil war that made men from the same states sworn enemies. Though Maryland is rightly known as a state that contributed immensely to the Patriot cause, both ideologically and materially, it had a sizable and vocal minority of Loyalists who took it upon themselves to fight against the Patriot cause. Just like Maryland Patriots, Maryland’s Loyalists supported their cause both politically and militarily.

Maryland Loyalist courtesy of Don Troiani Art

Geography and Religion

The strength of Loyalist sentiment depended on where you were in Maryland. Baltimore, Annapolis, and the surrounding area mostly favored the Patriots. After the Patriot Committees of Correspondence in Baltimore and Annapolis developed their own networks of communication and governance, they strictly enforced conduct among people living within their areas of control. Anyone deemed an enemy “to the cause of liberty” faced strict legal and extralegal proceedings, along with harsh punishments. Though the Patriot cause already preached ideals of liberty, free speech, and self-governance, Patriot governments ironically cracked down hardest on political dissent early in the conflict. The accused dissenters were expected to beg for forgiveness before a Patriot tribunal.

Many such instances occurred in Baltimore in 1775, when James Dalgleish, a merchant, was accused of saying, “that as soon as the English troops shall land here, he will join them against the Americans, it being a folly for him to longer deny his principles.” The Baltimore Committee of Correspondence deemed Dalgleish dangerous to the cause and an “incurable enmity to this country.” Dalgleish was summoned before a tribunal where he had to beg for forgiveness and blamed his Loyalist speech on his drinking. The Continental Congress declared Dalgleish an “enemy to the liberty of Americans.” Out of fear of violent retribution, Dalgleish fled Baltimore and was never seen again.1

James Christie, another merchant from Baltimore, faced ridicule and ousting from the Baltimore Committee of Observation for saying in a letter that, “we are in such terrible confusion here with our politics, there is no depending on anything, and that makes me wish myself out of this province. We have some fanatical spirits among us, who do everything in their power to run things to the utmost extremity, and they are gone so far, that we moderate people are under a necessity of uniting for our own defense, after being threatened with expulsion and loss of life.”2 Christie was arrested, deemed an enemy to liberty and the people of America, and, “banished from the province forever.”3 Early in the conflict, it was not realistic to be an outspoken Loyalist in most of the Baltimore and Annapolis region due to organized systems of punishment for speaking against the Patriot cause. Outspoken Loyalism was minimal in the greater Baltimore and Annapolis regions. Maryland’s Eastern Shore, on the other side of the Chesapeake Bay, was a different story.

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“Road to Revolution” Seminar at Fort Ligonier

On October 15, 2026 By William GriffithIn Emerging Revolutionary War1 Comment

Only three weeks are left to register for the “Road to Revolution” Seminar on November 6-7! Emerging Revolutionary War is excited to partner with Fort Ligonier for this seminar focusing on the early years of the Revolutionary War and connections to the French and Indian War in western Pennsylvania. Saturday’s speaker lineup includes ERW’s very own Dan Welch, as well as renowned authors Michael Harris, Kevin Weddle, and other great presenters. More information about the event and how to register can be found here. We hope to see you there!

Rank-and-File Research

On October 3, 2026October 2, 2026 By Phill GreenwaltIn America 250, Battles, Common Soldier, Emerging Revolutionary War Symposium, Memory, Personalities2 Comments

A quick Google search reveals that approximately 230,000 men served in the Continental Army during the eight years of the American Revolutionary War. A handful of those rank-and-file soldiers are well known, like Joseph Plumb Martin. A smattering of junior officers, like John Eager Howard or Robert Kirkwood, Jr. usually ring a bell of memory for those enthusiasts of the Revolution. Of the 73 generals that received, earned, or were granted commissions in the Continental Army more names are what we colloquially refer to as “household names.” Thousands more served in militias and on the water with the fledgling Continental Navy or aboard privateers.

I would not be raising a contentious point when I say that the majority of the men who donned the Continental uniform, fought, froze, starved, were wounded, and/or survived are lost to history. Through a myriad of reasons and mostly not from any fault of theirs. That is why, when doing research, especially with the aid and power of the internet, finding personal accounts, reminiscent, and battlefield stories, the Revolutionary era historian gets excited. That excitement generated this post.

While researching in general, for posts to bring to you, and for potential upcoming publications, I came across, naturally, the website for the National Archives. Many of you have accessed the site and/or visited the archives in Washington D.C. to do primary research. Nothing new to elaborate with on that point. However, I was intrigued by a new–to me–section of the website research section. The page was labeled “Citizen Archivist Dashboard, Stories from the Pension Files.”

Robert Elliott Pension File scan (courtesy of the National Archives)

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Rev War Revelry: Battle of Pell’s Point and White Plains

On September 30, 2026September 30, 2026 By Rob OrrisonIn 1776, New York Campaign, Northern Theater, Personalities, Preservation, Rev War RevelryLeave a comment

Join us Sunday, October 4th at 7pm as we continue our series on the 250th of the New York Campaign. We welcome back ERW authors Mark Maloy and Dan Welch as they cover the events from the Battle of Harlem Heights to the Battle of White Plains. In the fall of 1776, George Washington struggled to keep his army together and keep the British Army at bay. From the strategic to the tactical, and what to see there today, this will be a revelry you will not want to miss.

This Revelry will be LIVE on our Facebook page, so join in on the conversation via the chat!

Also, be sure to pre-order Mark and Dan’s new book on the New York Campaign “Conquer or Die: The 1776 New York Campaign” at: https://www.savasbeatie.com/conquer-or-die-the-1776-new-york-campaign/#product-description