American Revolution War

Contrary to popular belief, the American Revolutionary War was not a limited and restrained struggle for political self-determination. From the onset of hostilities, British authorities viewed their American foes as traitors to be punished, and British abuse of American prisoners - both tacitly condoned and at times officially sanctioned - proliferated.

Discover the fascinating history of the Fishkill Supply Depot, a strategic supply depot during the Revolutionary War.

Baron Johann de Kalb: The Life and Legacy of the German Major General Who Fought in the American Revolution profiles one of the Revolutionary War’s most famous soldiers. You will learn about de Kalb like never before.

Seven Virginians, the culmination of a lifetime of erudition by one of America's leading historians, reveals the integral role played by seven major Virginians before, during, and after the American Revolution: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, George Mason, Patrick Henry, and John Marshall.

It’s 1753, and troubling news comes to Russell’s Ridge. Susanna Russell longs to escape her valley home. When war breaks out, she gets her wish to study in fabulous Williamsburg. But she realizes she’s lost something important along the way. Something - and someone. James Paxton is studying for the ministry. But when violence threatens the valley, his path becomes clouded. What is God’s will for his life? The answer is alarming - and impossible.

In 1770, the fuse of revolution is lit by a fateful command - "Fire!" - as England's peacekeeping mission ignites into the Boston Massacre. The senseless killing of civilians leads to a tumultuous trial in which lawyer John Adams must defend the very enemy who has assaulted and abused the laws he holds sacred. The taut courtroom drama soon broadens into a stunning epic of war as King George III leads a reckless and corrupt government in London toward the escalating abuse of his colonies.

In March to Independence: The American Revolution in the Southern Colonies, 1775-1776, historian Michael Cecere, consulting primary source documents, examines how Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia ended up supporting the colonies to the north, while East Florida remained within the British sphere.

In 1785, a young American named James Leander Cathcart is kidnapped at sea and carried as prisoner to the maverick North African statelet of Algiers. The piratical corsairs of Algiers have decided to exploit the vulnerability of the United States by seizing its mariners and holding them for ransom. Today, the name of James Leander Cathcart has been all but forgotten.

Harris' Brandywine is the first complete study to merge the strategic, political, and tactical history of this complex operation and important set-piece battle into a single compelling account. More than a decade in the making, his sweeping prose relies almost exclusively upon original archival research and his personal knowledge of the terrain. Told largely through the words of those who fought there, Brandywine will take its place as one of the most important military studies of the American Revolution ever written.

The Revolutionary War is raging, and 12-year-old Christopher Hawkins runs away to follow his dream of being a sailor and a patriot. During his first sea adventure, the British capture his ship. Quick-witted Christopher escapes at his first opportunity. At 17, Christopher joins another American privateer ship but is soon captured by the British. This time, he is delivered to the notorious British ship HMS Jersey, the war’s deadliest prison. Armed with only courage, cunning, and a sense of humor, Christopher Hawkins will face death unless he can escape from his British captors twice more.

I was born on December 17, 1760, in Plympton, Massachusetts. My name is Deborah Sampson. I have six brothers and sisters. I wonder in the future if I will change my name? How do you like my dress and hair ribbon?

The Battles of Lexington and Concord were the first battles of the American War of Independence, an introduction into years of combat that would pit the forces of the Thirteen Colonies against the world’s mightiest empire - Great Britain. The events of April 19, 1775, have been commemorated in poetry and have become part of the sweeping legend of the American fight for independence.

Americans are more familiar with his signature than with the man himself. In this spirited account of John Hancock's life, Brooke Barbier depicts a patriot of fascinating contradictions—a child of enormous privilege who would nevertheless become a voice of the common folk; a pillar of society uncomfortable with radicalism who yet was crucial to independence. Orphaned young, Hancock was raised by his merchant uncle, whose business and vast wealth he inherited—including household slaves, whom Hancock later freed. By his early thirties, he was one of New England's most prominent politicians.

The Spurgin family of North Carolina experienced the cataclysm of the American Revolution in the most dramatic ways—and from different sides. This engrossing book tells the story of Jane Welborn Spurgin, a patriot who welcomed General Nathanael Greene to her home and aided Continental forces while her loyalist husband was fighting for the king as an officer in the Tory militia.

Henry Lee learnt to ride before he was five, joined Washington's Army at nineteen, and was appointed Captain of the Fifth Troop of Virginia Dragoons at twenty. At twenty-two, Colonel Lee took command of a mixed cavalry and infantry unit known as "Lee's Legion"—the finest offensive team in the Continental Army. Nicknamed "Light-Horse Harry" for his raids on British supply wagons, the young Virginian quickly earned a reputation for horsemanship and distinguished himself as one of the most skilled and courageous cavalry officers of the American Revolution.

In this extensively researched Revolutionary War historical fiction novel, award-winning author and lawyer Stephen Yoch presents the thrilling story of America’s most notorious traitor. Benedict Arnold was one of America’s greatest heroes and perhaps the best tactical general of the Revolution. Arnold was totally committed to the Cause. Indisputably brave, he won pivotal battles against British forces that saved the Revolution. Yet, horrible wounds, a loyalist bride, and nasty political infighting all drove him into the welcoming arms of the British.

There are many legends about the great Davy Crockett. In the movies people claim he could ride lightning, leap over rivers and fight wildcats with his bare hands. In the 2004 movie The Alamo, it is suggested that he was more cowardly than the legends, and if it was his choice, he would “slip over the wall” and escape. They also suggest that he only wore his famous coon skin caps because the actor who portrayed him did. Other stories claim he was an absolutely fearless warrior who loved a good fight.

Benedict Arnold committed treason—for more than two centuries, that's all that most Americans have known about him. Yet Arnold was much more than a turncoat—his achievements during the early years of the Revolutionary War defined him as the most successful soldier of the era. God Save Benedict Arnold tells the gripping story of Arnold's rush of audacious feats—his capture of Fort Ticonderoga, his Maine mountain expedition to attack Quebec, the famous artillery brawl at Valcour Island, the turning-point battle at Saratoga—that laid the groundwork for our independence.

In late December 1776, the American War of Independence appeared to be on its last legs. General George Washington's continental forces had been reduced to a shadow of their former strength, and the British Army had chased them across the Delaware River into Pennsylvania. Desperate times call for desperate measures, however, and George Washington responded to this crisis with astonishing audacity. On Christmas night 1776, he recrossed the Delaware as a nor'easter churned up the coast, burying his small detachment under howling sheets of snow and ice.

In his presidential Farewell Address of 1796, George Washington presented a series of maxims to guide the construction of a wise foreign policy. He believed, as did generations of his adherents, that if the United States stayed true to the principles he discussed, the country would eventually attain national greatness and international respectability. By focusing on the enduring influence of the Farewell Address on 19th-century Americans, and on their abiding devotion to Washington, Jeffrey Malanson brings the Address back into the spotlight for 21st-century listeners.