Revolution War History

George Rogers Clark was a famous general in the Revolutionary War, and his explorations served as the inspiration for his younger brother William, the leader of the famous Lewis and Clark expedition. Now you can read about the boyhood of Roger and share in the first adventures of this lifelong hero.

On December 26, 1941, Secret Service Agent Harry E. Neal stood on a platform at Washington's Union Station, watching a train chug off into the dark and feeling at once relieved and inexorably anxious. These were dire times: As Hitler's armies plowed across Europe, seizing or destroying the continent's historic artifacts at will, Japan bristled to the East. The Axis was rapidly closing in. So FDR set about hiding the country's valuables.

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.

Snowden emphasizes the role of liberty and democracy in motivating the colonists to seek independence from Great Britain, while also examining social and economic factors that shaped the Revolution. The book's writing style uses the Biblical language of King James, which was popular at the time and suggests solemn attention to the listener.

Yorktown was a former tobacco trading post now in decline, not much bigger than a large village. But Yorktown was tucked away on the northern edge of the York peninsula in rural Virginia, and in 1781 it became the site of a brief siege between two small armies, fought with all the decorum and formality of 18th century European warfare. About 5,000 British and Germans faced perhaps 18,000 Americans and French. After only three weeks the smaller garrison surrendered, tired and low on ammunition.

When Thomas Jefferson wrote his epitaph, he listed as his accomplishments his authorship of the Declaration of Independence and the Virginia statute of religious freedom, and his founding of the University of Virginia. He did not mention his presidency or that he was second governor of the state of Virginia, in the most trying hours of the Revolution. Joseph Ellis, author of American Sphinx, focuses on other parts of Jefferson's life but wrote that his actions as governor "toughened him on the inside."

While history teaches that successful revolutions depend on participation by the common man, the establishment of a stable and independent United States first required wealthy colonials uniting to disrupt the very system that had enriched them, and then funding a very long war. While some fortunes were made during the war at the expense of the poor, many of the wealthy embraced the goal of obtaining for their poorer countrymen an unprecedented equality of opportunity, along with independence.

In the closing months of WW1, with the world exhausted and depleted by a long a brutal war, fifteen nations cobbled together an army of nearly 200,000 men and embarked on one of the most extraordinary and ambitious military ventures of the twentieth century. The Intervention in Russia's civil war was spearheaded by Britain, her colonial forces and allies. It was designed to stop the Bolsheviks in their tracks, reinstate conservative regimes in the Russian Empire and ensure that Germany did not fill the power vacuum which the Russian Revolution had created.

From David Price, author of The Road to Assunpink Creek, follow along on the journey of Delaware's Revolutionary War hero, John Haslet, and the legendary regiment he commanded during the 1776 campaign of George Washington's army. This is the story of Colonel John Haslet, an Irish immigrant to the American colonies who made the ultimate sacrifice while fighting for his adopted country. During this pivotal moment in America's war for independence against Great Britain, a newborn nation struggled to survive against a militarily superior force deployed by a mighty empire.

Plenty of unusual characters came to the colonies to participate in the war, with many sporting dubious titles such as the Baron de Kalb, but perhaps none arrived in a more unique way than John Paul Jones...and his aggression became the stuff of legend. While the British accused him of being a pirate, he was feted by the Americans and French during the war before joining the Russian navy after the war.

On October 7, 1777, Benedict Arnold rode out against orders and led an American assault against British forces led by General John Burgoyne in one of the climactic battles of the Revolution at Saratoga, the ultimate turning point of the war. Near the end of the most important American victory of the Revolution, Arnold's leg was shattered by a volley that also hit his horse, which fell on the leg as well. Arnold would later remark that he wish the shot had hit him in the chest.

The Revolutionary War is one of the most important events in US history, but many people's stories have gone untold. These people wrote about their beliefs, fought in battles, spied on their enemies, and more. Discover the remarkable people who lived during the Revolutionary War.

Young Abigail suffers greatly from the way she is being raised by her mother, for whom a woman's only place is in the kitchen. At the same time, her father's dedicated fight for freedom also ignites in her a passion for the American Revolution. When news of her father's death reaches her, she has a falling out with her mother. Soon after, Abigail goes on her way to fight for freedom and independence, like her father had done. On the way, she encounters the young English deserter Edward, who has come to the realization that he went to war for the wrong ideals.

At the height of the Cold War in the 1950s, the United States government unleashed covert operations intended to weaken the Soviet Union. As part of these efforts, the CIA committed to supporting Russian exiles, populations uprooted either during World War Two or by the Russian Revolution decades before. No one seemed better prepared to fight in the American secret war against communism than the uprooted Russians, whom the CIA directed to carry out propaganda, espionage, and subversion operations from their home base in West Germany.

Recommended listening for all Americans as well as for foreigners seeking to gain historical wisdom and insight, this magisterial and lucid history of America, from the beginning to the present, is written with a lighter touch by a respected historian.

George Washington didn't really walk around with a mouthful of wooden teeth. Those are real teeth and pearl inlays in Washington's dentures. A recent study by Mary Thompson suggests Washington experimented with early dental transplants. He purchased replacement teeth from his slaves for 13 shillings (roughly $50 in 2015 money).

Deborah Sampson longs to break free. To be much more than a girl is allowed to be. Caught up in her country’s fight for independence, 18-year-old Deborah declares her own independence. She soon enlists in George Washington’s Continental Army, signing on as Robert Shurtliff. A young lady can’t battle the British—a man can! But being a soldier is hard, dangerous work. Can she keep her identity a secret? Can she prove herself in combat? Will she win her battle to choose her own path?

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?

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.

The proud Virginian entered the war in uncertain times, and there were understandable doubts about how well he could lead soldiers, but through a combination of skill and luck, he became one of his country’s earliest and foremost military heroes. After the war, he would go on to a distinguished political career, and he would find himself caught up in civil unrest toward the end of his life.