Category Archives: Book Review
Review: Rebels at Sea: Privateering in the American Revolution by Eric Jay Dolin, (New York: Liveright, 2022)
Compared to the rest of the literature on the American Revolution, the war at sea gets relatively little attention. Eric Jay Dolin has joined a small cadre of writers and historians trying to rectify that shortfall. In his latest book, Dolin takes … Continue reading
“Rev War Revelry” Author Interview: Andrew Waters
Like a modern-day Nathanael Greene or Edward Carrington, Andrew Waters spends his days trekking the waterways of the Carolina high country. Just like those famous military leaders, Andrew Waters does the surveying of these waterways and their tributaries for his … Continue reading
Review: Noble Volunteers: The British Soldiers Who Fought the American Revolution by Don Hagist
Don Hagist is one of our foremost American authorities on the common British soldier during the American Revolution. His latest book, Noble Volunteers: The British Soldiers Who Fought the American Revolution, is an institutional portrait of the British army that … Continue reading
Review: To The End of the World, Nathaniel Greene, Charles Cornwallis, and the Race to the Dan by Andrew Waters
Writing over thirty years after the fact, Henry “Light Horse Harry” Lee summed up the events of February 14, 1780 with the line, “Thus ended, on the night of the 14th of February, this long, arduous, and eventful retreat” (190). … Continue reading
Review: Tecumseh and the Prophet: The Shawnee Brothers Who Defied a Nation by Peter Cozzens
Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness made their way into the American revolutionary project most explicitly in the second paragraph of the Declaration of Independence. So, I hope you’ll forgive my taking of liberties in reviewing a book that starts … Continue reading
Review: Anatomy of a Massacre: The Destruction of Gnadenhutten, 1782, by Eric Sterner
Emerging Revolutionary War welcomes back guest historian Gabe Neville. In his first book, Anatomy of a Massacre: The Destruction of Gnadenhutten, 1782, Eric Sterner has taken on a difficult subject. Racial violence is something many writers would shy away from … Continue reading
“Rev War Revelry” Author Interview: John Maass
In March 1781, General Charles Lord Cornwallis finally caught up with his antagonist, General Nathanael Greene and his joint Continental and militia forces in North Carolina. On March 15, 1781, the British scored a pyrrhic victory over the American forces, … Continue reading
Review: Russell Mahan, The Kentucky Kidnappings and Death March: The Revolutionary War at Ruddell’s Fort and Martin’s Station, Kindle ed. (West Haven, UT: Historical Enterprises, 2020).
In the summer of 1780, Captain Henry Bird crossed the Ohio River with some 800 Native Americans from various British-allied tribes and two companies of soldiers from Detroit (roughly 50 Canadians and Tories and a mixed group of regulars from … Continue reading
“Rev War Revelry” Author Interview: Christian McBurney
The hottest part of the hotttest temperature engagement in the American Revolution happened on June 28, 1778 at Monmouth Court House in New Jersey. The portion that gets the most attention out of this entire battle was the supposedly heated … Continue reading
Review: James Monroe: A Life by Tim McGrath (New York: Dutton, 2020)
Tim McGrath has written two award-winning winning books about the early history of the United States Navy: Give Me a Fast Ship and John Barry. For his third book, he switched gears to tackle an oft-overlooked soldier, lawyer, politician, and … Continue reading