Continental Congress

Patriots’ Great Day: The Battle of Sullivan’s Island

By Earl Echelberry

By 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

Continental Congress

Benedict Arnold’s Invasion of Canada

By Earl Echelberry

Fresh 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

Continental Congress

To Field an Army: A Short History of the Draft

By Mike Haskew

The 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

Continental Congress

Commodore John Barry: Naval Hero of the American Revolution

By Neil Cosgrove

Most histories of the American Revolution give the fledgling Patriot navy only one hero: John Paul Jones. While not begrudging Jones’s recognition, it seems unfair to represent the Continental Navy with a single fighting captain. Read more

Continental Congress

Benjamin Franklin in the American Revolution

by Mike Haskew

By the time the American colonies declared their independence from Great Britain on July 4, 1776, Benjamin Franklin was 70 years old. Read more

Continental Congress

American Revolution Timeline: Prelude to War

The American Revolution was more than just a war; it was a policial and social upheaval with ramifications that continue to affect the world today. Read more

Continental Congress

Female Revolutionary War Heroes: the Front Lines and at Home

by Mike Haskew Martha Custis Washington: General’s Wife and First Lady

Martha 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

Continental Congress

Greene’s Gamble at Hobkirk’s Hill

By Daniel Murphy

In late March 1781, American Maj. Gen. Nathanael Greene sought to make the best of a bad situation. Read more

Continental Congress

Monmouth: Longest Battle of the American Revolution

By Eric Niderost

On 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

Continental Congress

William Washington in the American Revolution

By Arnold Blumberg

William Augustine Washington was born on February 28, 1752 in Stafford County, Va. The eldest son of Bailey Washington, William was destined to be the paladin of the Southern cavalry during the American War of Independence. Read more

Continental Congress

The Brooklyn Campaign: The Battle of Long Island

By James E. Held

For General Washington and his Continental Army the situation had become desperate. The ink had hardly dried on the Declaration of Independence when 30 British warships and 400 transports under Admiral Lord Richard Howe sailed unchallenged past the Sandy Hook lighthouse to the Tory stronghold of Staten Island. Read more

Continental Congress

New York’s Grenadier Company During the American Revolution

by Marko Zlatich

Among the many local units composing Washington’s army at the Battle of Long Island was the Grenadier Company of New York. Read more

Continental Congress

General Washington: Keeping the Continental Army Intact At Morristown

By David Michlovitz

Despite never having gained the mythological fame of Valley Forge, the encampment of the Continental Army at Morristown, New Jersey, over the winter of 1779-80 was a horrendous trial, worse for the men than that at the Pennsylvania hollow, and dire for the revolutionary cause. Read more