The Revolutionary War was not a polite conflict between orderly troops and gentlemanly officers. Civilians on the home front suffered considerably. This account depicts the ugly side of the War for Independence, where roving bands of robbers, known as banditti, plagued the countryside in areas not fully under the control of either army.

Regardless of their political sympathies, American civilians lived in terror of these well-armed gangs of looters, who frequently engaged in torture, arson, and murder. The players in this sordid tale, chiefly motivated by greed, chose their victims indiscriminately and then returned to sanctuary. Many civilians fled their homes, leaving large sections of New York, Georgia, and the Carolinas as no-man's-land, where near anarchy and the complete disruption of civilian justice only abetted the success of the marauders.

Ward details the activities of the most prominent banditti and looks at the horrors and devastation of their actions. His account challenges readers to look beyond the set-piece battles and even past the guerrilla activities, to examine what life was like for those caught between the lines.

The first biography of one of George Washington's most able and controversial generals examines the military career of William Maxwell from British army commissary to commander of the New Jersey Continental troops in major northern battles and campaigns and numerous confrontations with British incursionary forces into New Jersey. As Washington's first commander of the light infantry troops, Maxwell had crucial roles in the battles of Cooch's Bridge (Iron Hill), Brandywine, Germantown, Monmouth, and Springfield, and led the New Jersey brigade in the Sullivan Indian expedition. Maxwell and his brigade frequently served as a probing arm for Washington's army. This book addresses the role of Maxwell as commander and describes the participation and ordeals of his New Jersey brigade. It offers insights into the quality of leadership both of Washington and the officer corps in general, giving a rare view of the Revolutionary War at the brigade level and the politics of command.

The War for Independence had substantial impact on the lives of all Americans, establishing a nation and confirming American identity. This book focuses on a conflict which was both civil war and revolution, and assesses how Americans coped with the shock waves and met the challenge of adapting to the ideals of Independence and Republicanism. While the war effected political reconstruction and brought economic self-sufficiency and expansion, it also had a negative side in the oppression of dissenting and ethnic minorities. The text seeks to highlight the effect of the war on the lives of those who lived through it.

A kind of sub-society existed in Richmond, as in other urban areas, of tricksters, swindlers, confidence men and certain thieves. By looking at the lower sort of deception and crime, one can gauge a fringe society. The indefatigable crime reporters of Richmond's newspapers, always with a bit of humor or pathos, give glimpses of a wide variety of misbehavior. Much of the goings-on are derived from the proceedings of the Police Court, which tried misdemeanors and presented felony cases for trial at a higher court. The period under consideration has been describe as the ""Golden Age of the Con"", when hordes of gamblers, thieves, swindlers, and confidence men plied their trade across the country. Richmond proved a fairly accommodating place for the enterprising petty criminal. Of over two dozen activities considered, topics range from clairvoyants to body-snatchers. Special events such as fairs, conventions, and commercial promotions attracted a traveling criminal element to the city. Richmond's tightly-packed population (the most congested city in the United States), the large number of the very poor, and the substantial immigrant population aided the ease of victimization. The under-staffed police had all that they could do to keep up with the chicanery and crime.

Virginia's capital city knew poverty, injustice, slavery, vagrancy, substandard working conditions, street crimes, brutality, unsanitary conditions, and pandemics. One of the biggest stains in the city's past was the spectacle of public executions, attended by throngs. Thousands, including the old and the very young, reveled in a carnival-like atmosphere. This book narrates the history of the executions--hangings, and during the Civil War also firing squads--that formed a large part of Richmond's entertainment picture. Revulsion slowly mounted until the introduction of the electric chair. The history has a cast of unusual characters--the condemned, the crime victims, family members, the executioners, and not least an 182 pound gallows dog. Harry M. Ward is the William Binford Vest Professor of History Emeritus and scholar-in-residence at the University of Richmond.

Richmond in the late 19th century was not the genteel peaceful community historians have made it. Virginia's capital was cosmopolitan, boisterous and crime-ridden. Some two hundred saloons served the city's poor and from 1905 to 1915 there was an official red light district. The police had their hands full with drunks and riffraff, and a variety of street urchins and waifs--most of whom were very poor--found themselves on the wrong side of the law. The juvenile delinquents of Richmond--some barely out of infancy--were held accountable in the Police Court. A juvenile court system was not established until the 1920s. Presiding over the Police Court for 32 years was Justice John Jeter Crutchfield who, though unlearned in the law, functioned like a biblical Solomon but with great showmanship. The Police Court attracted many tourists and some of Virginia's literary figures cut their teeth writing newspaper coverage of the proceedings, vying with each other for the most hilarious slant. What emerges from the public record is an amusing and touching picture of what life was really like in the post-Reconstruction urban South.

The War for Independence had a substantial impact on the lives of all Americans, establishing a nation and confirming American identity. "The War for Independence and the Transformation of American Society" explores a conflict which was both civil war and revolution and assesses how Americans met the challenges of adapting to the ideals of Independence and Republicanism. Focusing on the climate of war itself and its effects on the lives of those who lived through it, this book includes discussion of:
*Recruitment and Society
*The Home Front
*Constraints on Liberty
*Women and family during the war years
*African Americans and Native Americans
Harry M. Ward offers a fascinating account of the wider dimension to the meaning of the American Revolution.

The phrase "American Revolutionary War Hero" usually brings to mind George Washington, John Paul Jones and other famous officers. Heroes, however, existed throughout the ranks during the Revolution, and many made their marks without ever receiving proper recognition. These portraits of 28 Virginia Revolutionary soldiers expand the historical record of those who have earned the appellation of hero. Whether as infantryman, cavalryman, marine, militiaman, spy, frontier fighter or staffer, all performed with distinction that contributed to victory. Here are a strongman who performed superhuman feats during battle; a woman who fought as a soldier; and a militiaman who sounded an alarm. Some gave their lives, others were terribly wounded, but all demonstrated heroism beyond the call of duty and deserve to have their stories told.

Harry M. Ward examines the formative years of the Department of War as a microcosm of the development of a centralized federal government. The Department of War was unique among early government agencies, as the only office that continued under the same administrator from the time of the Confederation to government under the Constitution. After the peace was established with Britain, citizens were suspicious of keeping a standing army, but administrator Benjamin Lincoln's efficient administration did much to dispel their fears. Henry Knox was the second Secretary, and he faced the problem of maintaining peace on the frontier, as his tiny army twice lost battles with Indians. It was only after the Whiskey Rebellion and Shay's Rebellion, that the young nation fully comprehended the importance of a maintaining a national military.