"In the language of the Holy Writ, there is a time for all things. There is a time to preach and a time to fight. And now is the time to fight." With those words Rev. John Muhlenberg stepped from his pulpit, removed his clerical robe, and revealed the uniform of a Colonial officer. He then marched off to war. These are stories about ministers that became chaplains in the American army during the Revolution. Most of these men were not content with just administering to the spiritual needs of the troops, but they also took up the musket for the cause of liberty. These ministers provided eyewitness accounts of the Battles of Lexington and Concord, life on a prison ship, the burning of New York City, the Battle of Rhode Island, the execution of Major Andre, and many more events. The dedication of these men can be summed up in the words of thirty nine year old Chaplain Caleb Barnum as he lay dying on his deathbed, "That if I had a thousand lives I would willing lay them down on my country's cause."

Tracing the political, ideological, and constitutional arguments from the imperial crisis with Britain and the drafting of the Articles of Confederation to the ratification of the Constitution and the political conflict between Federalists and Jeffersonians, The American Revolution, State Sovereignty, and the American Constitutional Settlement, 1765-1800 reveals the largely forgotten importance of state sovereignty to American constitutionalism. Contrary to modern popular perceptions and works by other academics, the Founding Fathers did not establish a constitutional system based upon a national popular sovereignty nor a powerful national government designed to fulfill a grand philosophical purpose. Instead, most Americans throughout the period maintained that a constitutional order based upon the sovereignty of states best protected and preserved liberty. Enshrining their preference for state sovereignty in Article II of the Articles of Confederation and in the Tenth and Eleventh Amendments to the federal constitution, Americans also claimed that state interposition-the idea that the states should intervene against any perceived threats to liberty posed by centralization-was an established and accepted element of state sovereignty.

Often referred to as "the voice of the Revolution," Patrick Henry played a vital role in helping to launch the revolt of the American colonies against British rule. An early and compelling Revolutionary orator, Henry played an active part in the debates over the founding of the United States. As a leading anti-federalist, he argued against the ratification of the Constitution, and at the state level, he opposed Thomas Jefferson's Statute of Religious Freedom in Virginia. In both his political triumphs and defeats, Henry was influential in establishing the nature of public discourse for a generation of new Americans. In this concise biography, John A. Ragosta explores Henry's life and his contributions to shaping the character of the new nation, placing his ideas in the context of his times. Supported by primary documents and a supplementary companion website, Patrick Henry: Proclaiming a Revolution gives students of the American Revolution and early Republic an insightful and balanced understanding of this often misunderstood American founder.

In The American Revolution, 1760 to 1790: New Nation as New Empire, Neil York details the important and complex events that transpired during the creation of the enduring American Republic. This text presents a global look at the emerging nation's quest to balance liberty and authority before, during, and after the conflict with Great Britain, from the fall of Montreal through the Nootka Sound controversy. Through reviewing the causes and consequences of the Revolutionary era, York uncovers the period's paradoxes in an accessible, introductory text. Taking an international perspective which closely examines the diplomatic and military elements of this period, this volume includes: Detailed maps of the Colonies, with important battle scenes highlighted Suggestions for further reading, allowing for more specialized research Comprehensive international context, providing background to Great Britain's relations with other European powers Brief in length but broad in scope, York's text provides the ideal introductory volume to the Revolutionary War as well as the creation of American democracy.

The tactic of kidnapping enemy leaders, used in the recent wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, dates to the American Revolution. George Washington called such efforts ""honorable"" and supported attempts to kidnap the British commander-in-chief, Benedict Arnold and a future king of Great Britain. Washington was targeted at his Morristown headquarters by British dragoons who crossed the frozen Hudson River. New Jersey Governor William Livingston went to considerable lengths to avoid being abducted by the Loyalist raider James Moody. This book covers attempted and successful abductions of military and civilian leaders from 1775 to 1783.

Tracing the political, ideological, and constitutional arguments from the imperial crisis with Britain and the drafting of the Articles of Confederation to the ratification of the Constitution and the political conflict between Federalists and Jeffersonians, The American Revolution, State Sovereignty, and the American Constitutional Settlement, 1765-1800 reveals the largely forgotten importance of state sovereignty to American constitutionalism. Contrary to modern popular perceptions and works by other academics, the Founding Fathers did not establish a constitutional system based upon a national popular sovereignty nor a powerful national government designed to fulfill a grand philosophical purpose. Instead, most Americans throughout the period maintained that a constitutional order based upon the sovereignty of states best protected and preserved liberty. Enshrining their preference for state sovereignty in Article II of the Articles of Confederation and in the Tenth and Eleventh Amendments to the federal constitution, Americans also claimed that state interposition-the idea that the states should intervene against any perceived threats to liberty posed by centralization-was an established and accepted element of state sovereignty.

Aaron Burr - Revolutionary War hero, third vice president of the United States and a controversial figure of the early republic - was tried and acquitted of treason charges in 1807, and thereafter departed for self-imposed exile in Europe, his political career in ruins. Adrift in Paris for 15 months, he led a marginal existence on the run from creditors and the courts, getting by on handouts. While other Americans in Paris enjoyed official status that insulated them from life in the capital, Burr dreamed up fruitless schemes and pawned his possessions, yet remained in high spirits, enjoying Parisian theater and cafes. He shopped, flirted, paid for sex and associated with friends old and new while gathering the resolve to return to America. Burr's Paris journal is a rare item, with only 250 unexpurgated copies printed in 1903. In it he relates his fascinating stories and describes Parisian life at the height of Napoleon's power. Drawing on Burr's journal and other sources, this book provides a self-portrait of the down-and-out Founding Father abroad.

In the era of the Early Republic, Americans determined the meaning of their Revolution and laid the foundation for the United States' later emergence as a world power. This bookprovides students with an explanation of the major events and developments of one of the most important periods in American History. Focusing on the years between the Revolution and the Civil War, From Confederation to Nation presents a narrative of the era's political history along with discussions of the significant social and cultural changes that occurred across the Union's first six decades. Taking a broad approach which examines economic changes, religious influences, political reform, cultural challenges, and racial and gender inequalities in the Early Republic, Atkins' text is useful for a vast array of critical perspectives. From Confederation to Nation presents an accessible introduction to the Early American Republic that offers readers a solid foundation for more advanced study.

In eighteenth-century America, information about a woman's life and accomplishments was very difficult to discover, but some woman were avid letter writers or devoted journal keepers, and thankfully some of those letters and journals were saved. These woman include Mary Gray Bidwell, a quiet country woman who had a front row seat on the war and the formation of the new nation. Elizabeth Edwards Burr whose husband founded Princeton University and her son was the second Vice President of the United States (and tried for treason). Lavinia Deane Fisk, widowed during the Revolutionary War, her second marriage triggered a fire storm that led to a revolutionary war in the Congregational Church. The Widow Bingham who fought to live as a man becoming the first woman to have a tavern license, build a business substantial enough to send her son to college and serve on formerly all-male civic committees. Abigail Williams Sergeant Dwight, a Tory: the story of the Royalists during the War is not often told. The war years changed the lives of each of these women and perhaps their lives changed our new country.

In 1779 the fledgling U.S. naval fleet suffered a catastrophic defeat against the British in the waters of the Penobscot Bay, losing forty ships in a battle that was expected to be a sure victory for the Americans. Commodore Dudley Saltonstall was blamed for the debacle and ultimately court-martialed for his ineptitude. In this groundbreaking book George E. Buker defends Saltonstall providing compelling evidence that he was not to blame for the loss and that in fact the court-martial was rigged against him. Buker s conclusions foster a reassessment of Saltonstall s naval strategies and shed new light on the political maneuvers of the time."

Known for his influential role in the debates that established the founding documents of the United States, Benjamin Franklin was not only an astute politician, but also an Atlantic citizen whose commitment to the American cause was informed by years spent in England and France. The life of this iconic founder provides an ideal opportunity for students to take a closer look at eighteenth century colonial society and the contested formation of the early American nation.

In this carefully contextualized account, Nathan R. Kozuskanich considers the many facets of Franklin s private and public lives, and shows how Franklin grappled with issues that still concern us today: the right to bear arms, the legacy of slavery, and the nature of American democracy. In a concise narrative bolstered by supporting primary documents, "Benjamin Franklin: American Founder, Atlantic Citizen" introduces students to the world of the burgeoning United States and enables them to understand the journey from imperial colonies to an independent nation dedicated to the premise that all men are created equal."

Known for his influential role in the debates that established the founding documents of the United States, Benjamin Franklin was not only an astute politician, but also an Atlantic citizen whose commitment to the American cause was informed by years spent in England and France. The life of this iconic founder provides an ideal opportunity for students to take a closer look at eighteenth century colonial society and the contested formation of the early American nation.

In this carefully contextualized account, Nathan R. Kozuskanich considers the many facets of Franklin s private and public lives, and shows how Franklin grappled with issues that still concern us today: the right to bear arms, the legacy of slavery, and the nature of American democracy. In a concise narrative bolstered by supporting primary documents, "Benjamin Franklin: American Founder, Atlantic Citizen" introduces students to the world of the burgeoning United States and enables them to understand the journey from imperial colonies to an independent nation dedicated to the premise that all men are created equal."

This book shows how the predominantly national focus that characterises studies of the United States after 1783 can be integrated with global trends, as viewed from the perspective of imperial history. The book also argues that historians of European empires have much to gain by considering the United States after 1783 as a newly-decolonised country that acquired overseas territorial possessions in 1898 and remained a member of the Western 'imperial club' until the mid-twentieth century. The wide-ranging synthesis by A. G. Hopkins, American Empire: A Global History (2018), provides the starting point for contributions that appraise its main theme and take it in new directions. The first three chapters identify fresh approaches to U.S. history between the Revolution and the Civil War, suggesting ways in which the United States can be considered as a newly-decolonised country, examining shifting meanings of the term 'empire,' and reassessing the character of continental expansion. The second group deals with initiatives and responses in the Philippines and Cuba, reconsidering the character of nationalism in two of the most important overseas territories that were either ruled directly or controlled indirectly by the United States, and placing it an international context. The third group examines the exercise of U.S. power in the twentieth century, identifying aspects of international law that have been overlooked and reviewing the extensive literature on the controversial themes of the Cold War and informal empire after 1945. The ten chapters in this edited volume bring together noted specialists on the history of international relations, the United States, and the insular empire it ruled in the twentieth century. The chapters were originally published as articles in a special issue of The Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History.

General Washington's Commando explores the dynamic Revolutionary War career of Benjamin Tallmadge whose multi-faceted career included operations as a dragoon commander, intelligence and counter-intelligence officer and master of combined land-sea operations. Tallmadge fought in the Battles of Long Island, White Plains, and Germantown and defended the Patriot population in the no-man's-land of Westchester County against British and Tory raiders. After Washington rewarded him with his own legion, he unleashed bold raids on British-occupied Long Island from his bases in Connecticut. All the while, he ran Washington's most active espionage ring in New York and Long Island. Reversing roles, he played a key role in foiling Benedict Arnold's plot to betray the American stronghold of West Point to the British. Tallmadge's Revolutionary service graphically illuminates the struggle in the region which witnessed the most continuous, relentless, often pitiless, fighting of the struggle. In particular, the book describes the internecine quality of the fighting in politically divided Long Island and Westchester and details how the struggle continued without letup even after Yorktown. Though Tallmadge's fascinating post-war career receives careful attention, the book focuses on his Revolutionary War service.

This book consists of seven stand-alone accounts of individuals who operated as spies during the American Revolutionary War. They were not trained as covert agents, which meant they had to develop their skills and techniques on their own, often while in the midst of the enemy where discovery meant almost certain death for them, and suffering and hardship for their family and friends. Five of them spied for the American cause and two spied for the British. Not all were motivated by patriotism, and not all escaped capture, yet their often painfully gained experience benefited future operatives and operations. They all were daring, intelligent and resourceful, and each had an unusual personality. Their labours resulted in battlefield victories, thwarted enemy plots, and significantly changed the conduct of the war, yet in spite of their efforts and their riveting stories, they and their deeds have remained relatively unknown.

This book presents profiles of sixteen individuals born and raised in countries other than America who voluntarily joined the revolutionary cause. These men were writers, soldiers, merchants, sailors, guerilla fighters, pirates, financiers, and cavalry leaders. Each profile discusses the personal experiences that influenced the volunteer leader's decision to fight for the fledgling country, the sacrifices endured for the benefit of the Revolutionary Cause, and the unique talents each contributed to the war effort. Their participation helped ensure the perpetuation of the ideals and values of the American republic.

The American Revolution-an event that gave America its first real "story" as an independent nation, distinct from native and colonial origins-continues to live on in the public's memory, celebrated each year on July 4 with fireworks and other patriotic displays. But to identify as an American is to connect to a larger national narrative, one that begins in revolution. In Popular Media and the American Revolution, journalism historian Janice Hume examines the ways that generations of Americans have remembered and embraced the Revolution through magazines, newspapers, and digital media. Overall, Popular Media and the American Revolution demonstrates how the story and characters of the Revolution have been adjusted, adapted, and co-opted by popular media over the years, fostering a cultural identity whose founding narrative was sculpted, ultimately, in revolution. Examining press and popular media coverage of the war, wartime anniversaries, and the Founding Fathers (particularly, "uber-American hero" George Washington), Hume provides insights into the way that journalism can and has shaped a culture's evolving, collective memory of its past. Dr. Janice Hume is a professor and head of the Department of Journalism in the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Georgia. She is author of Obituaries in American Culture (University Press of Mississippi, 2000) and co-author of Journalism in a Culture of Grief (Routledge, 2008).

The American Revolution Reader is a collection of leading essays on the American revolutionary era from the eve of the imperial crisis through George Washington's presidency. Articles have been chosen to represent classic themes, such as the British-colonial relationship during the eighteenth century, the political and ideological issues underlying colonial protests, the military conflict, the debates over the Constitution, and the rise of political parties. The volume also captures how the field has been reshaped in recent years, including essays that cover class strife and street politics, the international context of the Revolution, and the roles of women, African Americans and Native Americans, as well as the reshaping of the British Empire after the war. With essays by Gordon S. Wood, Mary Beth Norton, T.H. Breen, John M. Murrin, Gary B. Nash, Woody Holton, Rosemarie Zagarri, John Shy, Alan Taylor, Maya Jasanoff, and many other prominent historians, the collection is ideal for classroom use and any student of the American Revolution.

This book posits that the American Revolution - waged to form a ""more perfect union"" - still raged long after the guns went silent. Eight major fugitive slave stories of the antebellum era are described and interpreted to demonstrate how fugitive slaves and their abolitionist allies embraced Patrick Henry's motto ""Give me Liberty or Give me Death"" and the principles enshrined in the Declaration of Independence. African Americans and white abolitionists seized upon these dramatic escapes and captures to exhort citizens to complete the Revolution by extending liberty to all Americans. Casting fugitive slaves and their slave revolt leaders as heroic figures, this book provides a broader interpretation of American Revolutionaries seeking freedom for themselves and their enslaved brethren.

The American South is so identified with the Civil War that people often forget that the key battles from the final years of the American Revolution were fought in Southern states. The Southern backcountry was the center of the fight for independence, but backcountry devotion to the Patriot cause was slow in coming. Decades of animosity between coastal elites and backcountry settlers who did not enjoy accurate representation in the assemblies meant a complex political and social milieu throughout this turbulent time.

The Battles of Kings Mountain and Cowpens brings to light the world of the Southern backcountry that engendered its role in the Revolutionary War. With careful attention to political, social, and military history, Walker concentrates on the communities and events not typically covered in books on the Revolutionary War. Through government documents, autobiographies, correspondence, and diaries, The Battles of Kings Mountain and Cowpens gives students of the Revolution an important new perspective on the role of the South in the resolution of the fighting.

An interdisciplinary collection of comparative essays which look at aspects of the thought of Edwards and Franklin and consider their places in American culture.

An indispensable resource for investigating America's War for Independence, this book provides a comprehensive yet concise narrative that combines the author's original perspectives with the latest scholarship on the subject. Without the War for Independence and its successful outcome for the patriots, the course of American development-our institutions, culture, politics, and economics-would have run in radically different directions. From any perspective, the War for Independence was one of the seminal events of national history. This book offers a clear, easy-to-read, and complete overview of the origins of the imperial crisis, the course of the war, and the ultimate success of the movement for independence. It also emphasizes the human cost of the struggle: the ferocity of the fighting that stemmed from the belief among participants on all sides that defeat was tantamount to cultural, political, and even physical extinction. The narrative encompasses the author's original insights and takes advantage of the newest scholarship on the American Revolution. The book includes primary documents and biographical sketches representative of the various participants in the revolutionary struggle-for example, private soldiers, senior officers, loyalists, women, blacks, and Indians-as well as famous speeches and important American and British official documents. The edited documents offer readers a sense of the actual voices of the revolutionary struggle and a deeper understanding of how primary documents serve historians' narration and interpretation of long-ago events. The result is a new synthesis that brings a deeper understanding of America's defining struggle to an informed public readership as well as college and high school students. Offers readers an incisive view of the ferocity of the war and the human cost of independence Documents how and why the Continental Army became a racially integrated army, something America would not see again until the Korean War Explains how a colonial rebellion in America became part of a world war

The Grand Strategy, the imaginative plan to divide the rebellious American colonies, ended in disaster. On October 17, 1777, General Sir John Burgoyne, alone, unaided and stranded in the American wilderness, capitulated with his army at Saratoga in upper New York State. It was the 'turning point' of the Revolution, which culminated four years later in the British surrender at Yorktown. Creasy wrote of Saratoga: 'Nor can any military event be said to have exercised more important influence upon the future fortunes of mankind...' Who blundered? For nearly two centuries, Lord George Germain, the 'maladroit' minister, has been blamed, together with the Commander-in-Chief, Sir William Howe; but Burgoyne, 'Gentleman Johnny' as his affectionate troops called him, has largely escaped criticism. Only in the late 1960s had a full assessment become possible, by the publication of all the correspondence that passed between these men. Originally published in 1971, from his study of these letters, and by his visit to the campaign area, author Rupert Furneaux questions this long accepted view. The British disaster resulted, he says, not because anyone particularly blundered, or from any 'pigeon-holed' despatch, but rather because no one bargained that thousands of ordinary American citizens would rally to bar Burgoyne's path. Experienced frontier-fighters and skilled marksmen, they mowed down the closely-ranked Redcoats and the German mercenaries, who had all been trained for European battles. Saratoga heralded a new age of warfare, which Europeans took another hundred years to learn. It was also far more than a British defeat; it was an American victory, the decisive battle whereby they won the right to run their own lives without interference from Europe - and with incalculable consequences.

During the evening of April 7, 1862, twenty-four men infiltrated the Confederate lines below Shelbyville, Tennessee, and travelled by separate routes toward Atlanta. Their goal was to steal a train and head north for Chattanooga, disrupting rail service between the two cities by burning bridges, tearing up track, and cutting telegraph wires. If successful, they would isolate Chattanooga and facilitate its capture and further Union raids into Alabama. The raid failed, and on June 18, 1862, seven of the raiders were hanged as spies in Atlanta. Four months later eight escaped from prison. The remaining six languished in a Southern prison until they were paroled in March 1863. Eight days later they were presented the first Medals of Honour. Among this group was Cpl. William Pittenger. Shortly after the war, Pittenger composed an account of the raid, a book enlarged over subsequent editions and supplemented from various sources to become the most well known and best-regarded account. A 1925 edition was given the more popular title The Great Locomotive Chase. The story of the Andrews raid is fascinating because of the dogged persistence of one man - William Fuller, the conductor of the stolen train who relentlessly pursued the raiders. He chased them on foot, by handcar, and by locomotive, even running the engine in reverse at speeds up to ninety miles an hour. Daring and Suffering is a reproduction of the 1887 edition of Pittenger's account, duplicated exactly as it appeared at that time, with the exception of a brief introduction by Col. James G. Bogle.

Originally published in 1967 this book tells the full story of the breach between the United States and Great Britain and the pivotal role played by Benjamin Franklin in both the declaration of independence and the American Treaty. Accessibly written, and richly illustrated with half-tones and maps, this is an introductory text which will be of use to both A Level students and as an introductory text for under-graduates.