American Revolution
To Field an Army: A Short History of the Draft
By Mike HaskewThe call of a nation on its civilian population either to create a military force or to augment a standing army is virtually as old as civilization itself. Read more
American Revolution
American Revolution
Major General Braddock’s March on Fort Duquesne
By Colonel John P. Sinnott AUS (Ret.)Seldom was the hand of fate so clearly exposed in the affairs of men as it did during the French and Indian War when Maj. Read more
American Revolution
Battle of Kings Mountain: an American Patriot Victory in the Carolinas
By James K. SwisherThe brightly uniformed soldiers that George III of England dispatched to subjugate the rebellious citizens of his North American colonies were at that time possibly the world’s best. Read more
American Revolution
Northwest Indian War: Marching Against Little Turtle
By Robert A. LynnIn the 1780s the Founding Fathers of the United States didn’t so much revise the old Articles of Confederation as devise an entirely new government as set forth in the Constitution. Read more
American Revolution
The Frigate Sailing Ship: Pride of The British Royal Navy
By John D. GreshamLooking back on the age of fighting sail, a common image is that of battles between huge ships of the line, led by such famous admirals as Nelson and Collingwood. Read more
American Revolution
Duel in the Backwoods
By James K. SwisherRichard Hovenden of His Majesty’s British Legion Dragoons cautiously urged his tired horse through a parklike expanse of tall trees that marked the entrance to a South Carolina country crossroads junction called locally “Hannah’s Cowpens.” Read more
American Revolution
The Culper Spy Ring: The American Revolution’s Great Secret
By Peter KrossThe American Revolution was a proving ground for American spy operations. General George Washington’s use of deception, covert activities, secret inks, and informers was a model for future spymasters. Read more
American Revolution
Lord Dunmore’s War: The Battle of Point Pleasant
By James K. SwisherIn the lengthening shadows of a late October afternoon, a column of tired marchers attired in dusty, fringed hunting dress emerged from the trees along the north bank of the Kanawha River, raising an exhilarating shout upon sighting its confluence with the Ohio. Read more
American Revolution
Continental Army Captain Nathan Hale
By Kevin SeabrookeOn the night of September 16, 1776, young Nathan Hale, a captain in the Continental Army, set out across Long Island Sound from his native Connecticut on the armed sloop Schuyler. Read more
American Revolution
The Battle of Oriskany: Into the Trap
By Donald Roberts IIThe year 1776 ended on a high note for Washington’s Continental Army despite its earlier devastating defeats on Long Island and Manhattan. Read more
American Revolution
George Washington and Lord Cornwallis at Germantown
By Eric NiderostOn a gloomy Friday morning, September 26, 1777, an advance party of the British Army marched into Philadelphia to take possession of the city. Read more
American Revolution
Revolutionary War Weapons: The American Long Rifle
By David Alan JohnsonBy the mid-1700’s, the American long rifle had acquired an almost supernatural reputation. To the British troops who were unfortunate enough to come up against it in combat during the Revolutionary War, the rifle was more an affliction than a weapon. Read more
American Revolution
Showdown at Guilford Courthouse
By William E. WelshAmerican militiamen with their lungs heaving, hearts pounding, and eyes bulging with terror ran for their lives as soon as the British and Hessian troops in their bright red and blue uniforms came ashore at Kips Bay on Manhattan Island. Read more
American Revolution
The Redoubts At Yorktown
By Jessica J. SheetsAt nightfall on October 14, 1781, 150 British and Hessian soldiers sheltered in two small earthen fortifications at Yorktown, Virginia. Read more
American Revolution
Patriots’ Great Day: The Battle of Sullivan’s Island
By Earl EchelberryBy the early 1770s, with a full century of settlement already behind it, Charleston, S.C., had come into its own as a thriving urban center. Read more
American Revolution
The History of the U.S. Coast Guard
By Blaine TaylorOn August 4, 1790, at the urging of Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton, the United States Congress authorized the construction of 10 armed revenue cutters. Read more
American Revolution
David Bushnell’s Turtle: The World’s First Submarine
By Brandt HeatheringtonThe world’s first combat submarine was something of an afterthought on the part of its creator. The revolutionary craft, known as the Turtle for its odd profile, was the progeny of David Bushnell, who was born in 1742 in West Saybrook, Conn. Read more
American Revolution
The Pen & the Sword: A Brief History of War Correspondents
By Roy Morris Jr.Men have been reporting their wars almost as long as they have fighting them. The first prehistoric cave drawings depicted hunters bringing down wild animals, and spoken accounts of battles, large and small, formed the starting point for the oral tradition of history. Read more
American Revolution
The Hessians Are Coming!
By Joseph C. Salamida“He is at this time transporting large armies of foreign mercenaries to complete the works of death, desolation and tyranny,” Thomas Jefferson said of King George III in the Declaration of Independence. Read more
American Revolution
Benedict Arnold’s Invasion of Canada
By Earl EchelberryFresh from his capture of Fort Ticonderoga, Colonel Benedict Arnold in the summer of 1775 lobbied hard to the Continental Congress for authorization to lead an expedition to the lower St. Read more
