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A hotheaded patriot lawyer whose cheeks would become so red when arguing a point, he was nicknamed ‘Old Bacon Face.’[1] An aggressive proponent of independence, thirty-three-year-old Samuel Chase was chosen to represent Maryland in the First Continental Congress, September 5, 1774. In the Second Congress, he rebelled against his conservative colony that favored peaceful concessions …
Scopholites was a derogatory name given to mainly South Carolina backcountry Loyalists, or ‘King’s Men,’ during the American Revolution by rebellious colonials calling themselves patriots. A form of propaganda, the term united patriot frontiersmen who lumped all who favored the Crown to be defined as enemies. The moniker’s origins ran from a notorious cattle thief, …
The Battle of Block Island, April 6, 1776, was between the British 20-gun frigate HMS Glasgow and the first fleet launched by an infant United Colonies Navy, led by its first commander, Commodore Esk Hopkins. Some scholars considered the contest a British victory, while most concur the battle was a draw. Four American ships, all …
Hugh Gaine was the leading newspaper publisher in New York City and its most successful printer during the time of the American Revolution. He was often accused for his absence of moral fiber, choosing which side of the rebellion to back as easily as one would pick which hat to don for a day’s outing. …
On November 10, 1775, the future United States Marine Corps was officially born. The Second Continental Congress authorized the raising of two battalions of Continental Marines to be drawn from General George Washington’s army outside Boston. They would be commanded by one colonel, two lieutenant colonels, and two majors, with the subordinate officers chosen along …
The quick and dirty history of toilet paper begins with toilet paper out of the picture. Not even in colonial America did our charming ‘bear’ bottoms experience a soft and perfumed wipe after one’s ‘necessary.’ That came decades later. In fact, the first toilet paper had chips and splinters which cuddly blue bears would not …
The Battle of Barbados, March 7, 1778, was one of the largest joint Continental and State Navy operations of the war. The frigate USS Randolph, under Captain Nicholas Biddle, former British naval officer, was besting a double decker ship-of-the-line, when the American tragically exploded after a spark entered the powder magazine. Three Hundred and one …
Crawford’s Defeat, also known as the Battle of Sandusky, May 25 – June 12, 1782, ended in the rout of around 500 Pennsylvania militia by an equal number of Native Americans; mainly Wyandot and Lenape Delaware, with some Shawnee, Ojibwe, Odawa, and Potawatomi, including a company of Butler’s Rangers. The Sandusky Expedition by Pennsylvania settlers, …
The Moravian or Gnadenhutten Massacre, March 8, 1782, resulted in the vicious rape and murder of 96 Moravian Native Americans by Pennsylvania militia settlers in the closing months of the American Revolution. The converted Christian Lenni-Lenape and Mohicans were mostly old men and women and children. Innocent pacifists, because of their commitment to non-violence, they …
By John Pezzola Known as the Battle of the Hook or Gloucester Point, this engagement became the most significant cavalry clash of the American Revolution. If victorious, the British forces could have provided a means for Cornwallis’s army to escape from the siege at Yorktown across the York River. The battle took place on Wednesday, …
On September 12, 1782, Elizabeth Zane, age seventeen, braved death in a solo dash over open ground to retrieve a keg of gunpowder stored in a nearby blockhouse. Her action helped save her family and friends from certain death, becoming a wilderness legend in her own time. On September 11, 1782, a strong force of …
December 1782 and the roar of cannon and crash of massed muskets were silenced. After seven years of war, opposing armies in America watched and waited for peace. But a civil war still raged. Splintered between rebellious patriots and loyal kings’ men, causes had morphed into hatred with vengeance the driving force. Before the doors …
It is always a pleasure to share Ken Bohrer’s photographs with our readers and this, his 100th blog. Considered among if not the best photographer in his field, Mr. Bohrer has spent decades recording American Revolution reenactments. Thank you Ken for your skill and keen eyes from all of us at Revolutionary War Journal. It’s …
Major General Robert Howe (c. 1732 – December 14, 1786) is not known for his accomplishments, but what he had failed to achieve. In fairness to the only major general in the Continental Army from North Carolina, he was given an impossible task that few men could press on to success. Unfortunately, General Howe was not one …
What occurred at Matthews Bluff and Wiggins Hill epitomized the hatred and violence that raged across the deep south in the closing chapters of the American Revolution. Families and neighbors torn apart by a cause unleashed the worst of humanity. Pillaging, destruction, and savagery by both sides spawned vengeance that fed upon itself. Matthews Bluff, …