Category: Revolutionary War

Southside Revolutionary Virginia 1775 Tour – October 12, 2019

On By erwpostIn Battlefields & Historic Places, Battles, Campaigns, Emerging Revolutionary War, Preservation, Revolutionary WarLeave a comment

From our friends at the American Revolution Round Table of Richmond 

Tour Leader –  Dr. Patrick H. (Pat) Hannum, Professor, Joint Forces Staff College, National Defense University, Lt Col USMC (Ret)

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Great Bridge Battlefield (courtesy of Great Bridge Battlefield & Waterways History Foundation)

This tour will visit three critically important Revolutionary War sites, in the modern Cities of Norfolk, Virginia Beach and Chesapeake, in order to help inform the important events and explain how the Whig Government ousted the Royal Governor, Lord Dunmore, and British military forces from the State of Virginia. These events largely unfolded in the fall of 1775 and culminated with the destruction of the City of Norfolk in early 1776. Strategically important, these events led to near uncontested Whig control of the State of Virginia for three and one-half years. The British defeat at Yorktown in October 1781 traces its roots to the critical decisions and decisive actions of the Whig Governments of Virginia and North Carolina in the fall of 1775.  We will visit: Continue reading “Southside Revolutionary Virginia 1775 Tour – October 12, 2019” →

August in Lexington, Massachusetts

On By erwpostIn Battlefields & Historic Places, Emerging Revolutionary War, Memory, National Park Service, Personalities, Revolutionary War, Uncategorized, Women1 Comment

From our friends at the Lexington Historical Society, a few events to mark on your calendar if going to be in that area of the country. Click here for more information about the events below.

On Thursday, August 8th at 7:00 p.m. at the Lexington Depot
I Am An Honest Woman: Female Revolutionary Resistance 

Most women had limited opportunities for political action during the American Revolution. While some of the lower classes could take to the streets, “genteel” women had to find more subtle ways to support the Patriot cause, while maintaining the illusion of domestic contentment. Dr. Emily Murphy, National Park Service curator and living historian, will discuss the “Daughters of Liberty” and their political accomplishments. These women were able to take an active role in the Revolution by politicizing traditional female activities, like spinning flax into linen to create homespun fabric in protest of British imports. A group of 50 protesting Bostonian men would incite a riot, but who would cross a crowd of dutiful housewives showing off their domestic skills?

Saturday, August 31, 12:00 – 4:00 p.m., across from Battle Green on Harrington Road
Lexington’s Spinning Protest

On the exact 250th anniversary of the 1769 spinning protest in Lexington, come to a reenactment of that important event! There will be spinners in period dress, interpreters sharing information about the craft of spinning, the political climate of the time and the British goods boycott that sparked the 1769 spinning bee. Plus, a preview of our 2020 Buckman Tavern exhibit on women and political protest. Free and open to the public.

Press Release: US Founding Father may have contributed to forgotten ship wreck – study

On By erwpostIn Civilian, Emerging Revolutionary War, Memory, Navy, Personalities, Preservation, Revolutionary WarLeave a comment

Benjamin Franklin, one of the Founding Fathers of the United States, could have contributed to a forgotten shipwreck narrative, according to new research.

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Benjamin Franklin

Based on studies of Franklin’s early life as a printer, Dr Hazel Wilkinson claims there are clues which provide information about Benjamin Franklin’s activities during his first visit to London as an 18-year-old printer.

Dr. Wilkinson – from the University of Birmingham, in the UK – suggests a previously unobserved connection between the young Franklin and Richard Castelman, an English theatre manager with an intriguing past. Continue reading “Press Release: US Founding Father may have contributed to forgotten ship wreck – study” →

Unfinished Business?

On By Phill GreenwaltIn Emerging Revolutionary War, Revolutionary War, Southern Theater3 Comments

While prepping for a few summer programs I was re-reading The Road to Guilford Courthouse, The American Revolution in the Carolinas by John Buchanan.

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The Road to Guilford Courthouse by John Buchanan

In his prologue, Buchanan states the following premise:

“But that tragedy [the American Civil War] is of far less interest than the American Revolution. The Revolution was the most important event in American history. The Civil War was unfinished business. The armies of the Revolutionary War were small but the stage global, the characters larger than life. The American Revolution was the first of the great modern revolutions, arguably the most important, and certainly the only one that did not end in tyranny or one-party rule.” 

The Civil War is the most written about subject in American history, but is it the most important? Is it just the book-end of the American Revolution and was just wrapping up “unfinished business” as Buchanan writes.

Do you agree with the author? Disagree? Conversations and perspectives help shape our recollections and allows for fresh outlooks and critical observations into our shared past. So, feel free to comment below with your thoughts, opinions, and/or insights!

 

 

Press Release: Veterans Dig History in Groundbreaking Project at Saratoga Battlefield

On By erwpostIn Battlefields & Historic Places, Memory, National Park Service, Preservation, Revolutionary WarLeave a comment

From our friends at American Battlefield Trust (ABT), for more information about the ABT click here.

ABT

 

Iraq, Afghanistan and Vietnam veterans have returned to the battlefield.  But instead of the Middle East or Southeast Asia, they are mustering at Saratoga National Historical Park where they will be applying their military knowledge and newly learnt archaeological skills to conduct a field survey at the famous Revolutionary War battlefield.

Approximately 33 veterans will participate in the project created by the American Veterans Archaeological Recovery (AVAR) in cooperation with the American Battlefield Trust and the National Park Service (NPS).  Working together, they will attempt to verify revolutionary-era troop locations during the 1777 battle while aiding participants’ transition back to civilian life.  AVAR recruits veteran participants through social media, and specifically targets those who feel isolated and disconnected after leaving service; the organization predominantly recruits veterans from recent conflicts, such as Iraq and Afghanistan, with a young average participant age of 35. Continue reading “Press Release: Veterans Dig History in Groundbreaking Project at Saratoga Battlefield” →

Battle of Fort San Carlos – Westernmost Battle of the American Revolution

On By Phill GreenwaltIn Battlefields & Historic Places, Campaigns, Civilian, Common Soldier, Memory, Revolutionary War7 Comments

St. Louis, Missouri is considered the gateway to the west for the United States beginning in the 19th century. In the 18th century, St. Louis was not on the radar of many in the burgeoning United States.

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Western Reach of the Revolution, wayside informational tablet at Gateway Arch National Park (author collection)

However, the westernmost engagement of the American Revolution unfolded in the town of St. Louis, crushing British designs to conquer the territory from the Spanish, who were allied with the French and thus the United States.

On May 26, 1780, a hodgepodge force of 300 townsfolk, free and enslaved blacks, French settlers, and Spanish soldiers rallied to defend their town from the advance of a combined British and Native American force. Continue reading “Battle of Fort San Carlos – Westernmost Battle of the American Revolution” →

Committees of Safety and the Revolutionary War: King’s District, New York

On By erwguestIn Civilian, Continental Leadership, Memory, Militia (Patriot) Leadership, Northern Theater, Personalities, Politics, Revolutionary War3 Comments

Emerging Revolutionary War welcomes guest historian Kieran O’Keefe. 

While the most famous scenes of the American Revolutionary War involve major battles or deliberations in Congress, the driving force behind the Revolution within small towns were committees of safety. As the war progressed and British authority dissipated, these committees became the effective government in most localities until the formal establishment of state governments. They had responsibilities such as regulating the economy, suppressing loyalists, procuring military supplies, raising revolutionary forces, and overseeing civil and criminal justice. Despite their ubiquity, it is rare to find the records of a committee completely intact. One such exception is the King’s District Committee of Albany County, New York, whose minutes survive in the Library of Congress.

The First Continental Congress created the committee system when it adopted the Continental Association in 1774. The Association called for the non-importation, non-consumption, and non-exportation of goods between the colonies and Great Britain, Ireland, and the British West Indies. This boycott was to put economic pressure on Britain to repeal the punitive Coercive Acts, which punished Massachusetts for the Boston Tea Party by closing the port of Boston and bringing the colony under tighter royal control with the aid of British redcoats. The Continental Association also stated that “a committee be chosen in every county, city, and town, by those who are qualified to vote for representatives in the legislature, whose business it shall be attentively to observe the conduct of all persons touching this association.” These committees were to ensure that all Americans adhered to the boycott stipulated in the Association. Committees began forming throughout the colonies in late 1774 and soon took on a greater role than originally designed, frequently seizing the reins of local government. The committees were unusually democratic. They generally consisted of about five men who were popularly elected, and many members were from the middling ranks of society with no prior political experience.

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The King’s District Committee record book (author collection) 

Continue reading “Committees of Safety and the Revolutionary War: King’s District, New York” →

Book Review: Revolutionary: George Washington at War by Robert L. O’Connell

On By Eric SternerIn Book Review, Continental Leadership, Memory, Personalities, Revolutionary War, Uncategorized1 Comment

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Robert L. O’Connell, Revolutionary: Washington at War, e-book, (New York: Random House, 2019), $32 in hardback.

O'Connell's Washington

Robert L. O’Connell is best known for asking “big” questions.  Armed with a PhD in history and a lengthy career in the intelligence community, his books Of Arms & Men: A History of War, Weapons, and Aggression (1989) and Ride of the Second Horseman: The Birth and Death of War (1995) tackled the origins, nature, and future of warfare. In the last decade, however, he has turned his sights on more specific targets: Hannibal at Cannae, William Tecumseh Sherman, and, most recently, George Washington.  Released earlier this year, O’Connell’s Revolutionary: George Washington at War is just the latest work to tackle the martial aspects of George Washington’s life and career.

Continue reading “Book Review: Revolutionary: George Washington at War by Robert L. O’Connell” →

Announcing the First Emerging Revolutionary War Symposium!

On By Rob OrrisonIn Armies, Arms & Armaments, Battles, British Leadership, Campaigns, Civilian, Common Soldier, Continental Congress, French and Indian War, Memory, Militia (Loyalist) Leadership, Militia (Patriot) Leadership, Minute Men, Northern Theater, Personalities, Politics, Preservation, Revolutionary War, Uncategorized, WomenLeave a comment

Mark your calendars for September 28, 2019!  Emerging Revolutionary War is excited toPrint announce that we are partnering with Gadsby’s Tavern Museum and The Lyceum of Alexandria, VA to bring to you a day long Symposium focusing on the American Revolution.

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Gadsby’s Tavern Museum

Alexandria is George Washington’s hometown and we feel is a great place for us to start this new endeavor. Historic “Old Town” Alexandria is home to dozens of museums and historic sites as well as great pubs, restaurants and shops. Gadsby’s Tavern Museum is the premier 18th century tavern museum in the country and is host to the famous annual George Washington Birthnight Ball.  The Lyceum: Alexandria’s History Museum will be our host location. Today The Lyceum serves as the City’s history museum and is a center of learning through lectures, demonstrations and exhibits.

This year’s theme is “Before They Were Americans”  and will highlight several topics

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The Lyceum

about the years leading up to the American Revolution. Our speakers include: Phillip Greenwalt, Katherine Gruber, William Griffith, Stephanie Seal Walters and Dr. Peter Henriques as the keynote. Registration will open on July 1, 2019 through AlexandriaVA.gov/Shop or by calling 703-746-4242. Stay tuned as we highlight each of our speakers and their topics.

 

 

Announcement: Tours of Camden Battlefield and Hobkirk’s Hill

On By erwpostIn Battlefields & Historic Places, Emerging Revolutionary War, Memory, Monuments, Revolutionary War, Southern TheaterLeave a comment

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From our friends at the Southern Campaigns of the American Revolution comes this announcement of a Corps of Discovery tour that will cover the battles mentioned above. Led by historians David P. Reuwer and Charles B. Baxley, this comprehensive tour will be held on May 4, 2019.

Joining Reuwer and Baxley will be Dr. Tray Dunaway who will talk about the restoration forestry that has taken place at Camden Battlefield that has returned the field to the approximate look it did during the battle in August 1780. Also part of the day will be the historians guiding the tour of Hobkirk’s Hill, which includes Bill Denton, Rick Wise, Tom Oblak, and Guy Wallace.

Updates on the Historic Camden Foundation and the Liberty Trail will be part of the day as well which will start at 10:00 a.m. at the Historic Camden Revolutionary War Site and conclude at around 4:00 p.m. after the touring of Hobkirk’s Hill.

The tours are free and more information about the day can be found here.

Hope you can join our friends and fellow historians in South Carolina on May 4th!