American Revolution
African American Revolutionary War Heroes: 1st Rhode Island
In 1778, the Rhode Island legislature passed a law that allowed black slaves to enter the war in order to gain their freedom. Read more
American Revolution
American Revolution
Female Revolutionary War Heroes: the Front Lines and at Home
by Mike Haskew Martha Custis Washington: General’s Wife and First LadyMartha Custis Washington, wife of General George Washington, came to the winter quarters of her husband’s army each winter of the Revolutionary War. Read more
American Revolution
Blood on the Village Green: Battle at Concord
“Soldiers, don’t fire!” In the half light of dawn on April 19, 1775, war was breaking out on a New England town common, and Major John Pitcairn of His Majesty’s Marine Forces was trying to stop it. Read more
American Revolution
Halberds and Spontoons
By David A. NorrisPikes and most similar pole weapons disappeared from European armies by the early 1700s. After all, bayonets let each man convert his flintlock into a pike that fired bullets. Read more
American Revolution
Benjamin Church Created America’s First Ranger Force
By Don HollwayWhen John Sassamon’s murdered body floated up under the ice of Assawompsett Pond, Plymouth Colony, in January 1675, few Puritan homesteaders could have foretold it would lead to the bloodiest war, per capita, in American history. Read more
American Revolution
Deliverance on the Delaware
By Robert HeegeThe grim-faced men waiting to take their places in the boats were already chilled to the bone, the winter winds whipping mercilessly through their makeshift, threadbare uniforms as they silently formed up along the icy Pennsylvania riverbank. Read more
American Revolution
West Point Museum and Hyde Park: New York’s Greatest Military History Museums
By Mason B. WebbThe West Point Museum, located in Olmsted Hall and adjacent to the Visitor Center at the United States Military Academy, about an hour’s drive north of New York City, contains what is considered to be the oldest and largest diversified public collection of military artifacts in the Western Hemisphere. Read more
American Revolution
The National Museum of the Marine Corps
By Al HemingwayTwenty miles outside Washington, D.C., at Quantico, Virginia, motorists traveling on Interstate 95 will come upon an unusual building that is clearly visible, day or night. Read more
American Revolution
Bunker Hill: “Lick Them Once More Boys!”
By Arnold BlumbergA stark dichotomy was evident among the Americans defending Breed’s Hill on June 17, 1775. One type of provincial soldier stood ready to give his life in defense of liberty that day. Read more
American Revolution
The Citizen-Soldier: Militia in Early America
by Donald Roberts IIBritish colonization of the New World transplanted many British institutions to America. Besides the political and social beliefs seeded in the colonies, military ideals were also implemented. Read more
American Revolution
African American Revolutionary War Heroes: Boston to Yorktown
by Mike HaskewAlthough a large number of colonial slaves fled their condition of involuntary servitude seeking freedom through service to the British Army, an estimated 5,000 African Americans served in the Continental Army during the American Revolution. Read more
American Revolution
Colonel John Allen and the River Raisin Debacle
By Stuart W. SandersIt had been eight years since Jane Logan Allen’s husband, Colonel John Allen, had departed with his regiment. Read more
American Revolution
Greene’s Gamble at Hobkirk’s Hill
By Daniel MurphyIn late March 1781, American Maj. Gen. Nathanael Greene sought to make the best of a bad situation. Read more
American Revolution
The Canadian Military Heritage Museum
By Jerome BaldwinThe Canadian Military Heritage Museum in Brantford, Ontario, has a four-part mission: to collect, preserve, and display artifacts pertaining to the military history of Canada; to maintain and manage a museum for the purpose of education; to display the artifacts at community events; and to honor the fallen and all veterans who have served and are still serving in the Canadian military. Read more
American Revolution
Monmouth: Longest Battle of the American Revolution
By Eric NiderostOn June 19, 1778, Continental soldiers marched out of Valley Forge, happy to leave the rough wooden cabins where they had spent a miserable winter; cold, hunger, and disease had been their constant companions. Read more
American Revolution
The Glorious First of June
By David A. NorrisBritish Admiral Lord Richard Howe, standing on the quarterdeck of his 100-gun ship of the line Queen Charlotte, snapped his signal book shut on the morning of June 1, 1794. Read more
American Revolution
Slugfest at Eutaw Springs
By John PezzolaIn the early morning hours of September 8, 1781, drums rolled and fifes played in Maj. Gen. Nathanael Greene’s camp in the High Hills of southeastern South Carolina. Read more
American Revolution
John Graves Simcoe: a Queen’s Ranger in the American Revolution
By Mike PhiferBritish Army officer John Graves Simcoe wanted to command a corps of irregular troops. He believed that there were opportunities in “the service of a partisan” that taught a man habits of self-dependence and prompt decision making rarely found in the duties of a subordinate officer. Read more
American Revolution
Fire By Volley: European Musketry at War
By Gustav PersonOn the snowy field of Mollwitz, Poland, on April 10, 1741, newly installed King Frederick II of Prussia faced a formidable army of Austria. 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
