The American Revolution: Writings from the War of Independence

"[P}owerful, startling and a subtle but profound challenge to much that we think we know about the founders and their era."—Los Angeles Times

• Paul Revere: Memorandum on Events of April 18, 1775
       The War Begins: Massachusetts, April 1775
• Frederick MacKenzie: Diary, April 18-21, 1775
       The British Retreat from Concord: Massachusetts, April 1775
• Thomas Gage to the Earl of Dartmouth, April 22, 1775
       "Fire from every Hill, Fence, House, Barn": Massachusetts, April 1775
• John Dickinson to Arthur Lee, April 29, 1775
       A Pennsylvanian Reacts to Lexington and Concord: April 1775
• Peter Oliver: from "The Origin & Progress of the American Rebellion"
       A Tory View of Lexington and Concord: Spring 1775
• George Washington: Address to the Continental Congress, June 16, 1775
       Washington Accepts Command: Philadelphia, June 1775
• John Adams to Abigail Adams, June 17, 1775
       Washington's Appointment: June 1775
• Eliphalet Dyer to Joseph Trumbull, June 17, 1775
       An Appraisal of Washington: June 1775
• Samuel Blachley Webb to Joseph Webb, June 19, 1775
       Battle of Bunker Hill: Massachusetts, June 1775
• George Washington to Burwell Bassett, June 19, 1775
       "Imbarkd on a tempestuous Ocean": June 1775
• John Adams to Abigail Adams, June 23, 1775
       Washington Leaves for Boston: June 1775
• Peter Oliver: from "The Origin & Progress of the American Rebellion"
       A Tory View of Bunker Hill: Summer 1775
• Benjamin Franklin to William Strahan, July 5, 1775
       "You are now my Enemy": July 1775
• The Continental Congress: Address to the Six Nations, July 13, 1775
       An Appeal to the Iroquois: July 1775
• Abigail Adams to John Adams, July 16, 1775
       A Visit with Washington: July 1775
• Lord Rawdon to the Earl of Huntingdon, August 3, 1775
       A British Account of Bunker Hill: August 1775
• Ethan Allen: from "A narrative of Col. Ethan Allen's captivity"
       An American Defeat in Canada: September 1775
• To the Virginia Gazette, November 24, 1775
       Response to Lord Dunmore's Proclamation: November 1775
• William Woodford to Edmund Pendleton, December 5, 1775
       Slaves Fighting with the British: Virginia, December 1775
• Martha Washington to Elizabeth Ramsay, December 30, 1775
       The Continental Army Outside Boston: December 1775
• Isaac Senter: Journal, November 1-December 31, 1775
       The Invasion of Canada: 1775
• Sarah Hodgkins and Joseph Hodgkins, February 1-20, 1776
       A Continental Officer and his Wife Correspond: February 1776
• John Bowater to the Earl of Denbigh, March 25, 1776
       The British Evacuate Boston: March 1776
• Abigail Adams to John Adams, March 31, 1776
       "Remember the Ladies": March 1776
• Peter Oliver: from "The Origin & Progress of the American Rebellion"
       A Tory View of the Siege of Boston: Fall 1775-Spring 1776
• John Adams to Abigail Adams, July 3, 1776
       Congress Votes for Independence: July 1776
• The Declaration of Independence
       Philadelphia, July 4, 1776
• Isaac Bangs: Journal, July 10, 1776
       New York Celebrates Independence: July 1776
• Landon Carter: Diary, June 26-July 16, 1776
       Slaves Join the British: Virginia, Summer 1776
• Ambrose Serle: Journal, July 12-23, 1776
       The British Fleet Arrives at New York: July 1776
• Joseph Reed: Memorandum on Meeting Between George Washington and James Paterson, July 20, 1776
       Washington Refuses to Negotiate: New York, July 1776
• Benjamin Franklin to Lord Howe, July 20, 1776
       "It is impossible we should think of Submission": July 1776
• Henry Laurens to John Laurens, August 14, 1776
       Events in South Carolina: Summer 1776
• Philip Vickers Fithian: Journal, August 11-30, 1776
       The Continental Army at New York: August 1776
• Jabez Fitch: Diary, August 27-28, 1776
       Battle of Long Island: August 1776
• Henry Strachey: Memorandum on Meeting Between Lord Howe and the American Commissioners, September 11, 1776
       A British Peace Plan Fails: September 1776
• Ambrose Serle: Journal, August 22-September 15, 1776
       British Victories at New York: Summer 1776
• Philip Vickers Fithian: Journal, September 15, 1776
       Battle of Kips Bay: New York, September 1776
• Benjamin Trumbull: Journal, September 15-16, 1776
       Kips Bay and Harlem Heights: New York, September 1776
• Frederick MacKenzie: Diary, September 20-22, 1776
       The Burning of New York: September 1776
• Robert Auchmuty to the Earl of Huntingdon, January 8, 1777
       Capture of Fort Washington: New York, November 1776
• George Washington to Lund Washington, December 10 and 17, 1776
       The American Retreat: Pennsylvania, December 1776
• Thomas Paine: The American Crisis, Number I, December 19, 1776
       Philadelphia, December 1776
• Thomas Rodney: Diary, December 18-25, 1776
       Defending Philadelphia: Pennsylvania, December 1776
• George Washington to John Hancock, December 27, 1776
       Battle of Trenton: New Jersey, December 1776
• Thomas Rodney: Diary, January 2-4, 1777
       Battle of Princeton: New Jersey, January 1777
• Nicholas Cresswell: Journal, January 5-17, 1777
       News of Trenton: Virginia, January 1777
• Jabez Fitch: Narrative
       American Prisoners in New York: August 1776-January 1777
• John Peebles: Diary, February 13-24, 1777
       Skirmishing in New Jersey: February 1777
• Abigail Adams to John Adams, March 8, 1777
       Hardship in Massachusetts: March 1777
• John Burgoyne: Proclamation, June 23, 1777
       "The Vengeance of the State": New York, June 1777
• William Digby: Journal, July 24-October 13, 1777
       The Saratoga Campaign: New York, July-October 1777
• John André: Journal, August 31-October 4, 1777
       The Fall of Philadelphia: Pennsylvania, August-October 1777
• John Glover to Jonathan Glover and Azor Orne, September 21 and 29, 1777
       Battle of Freeman's Farm: New York, September 1777
• John Adams to Abigail Adams, September 30, 1777
       Congress Flees Philadelphia: September 1777
• Samuel Shaw to Francis Shaw, September 30, October 3, 13, and 15, 1777
       Battle of Germantown: Pennsylvania, October 1777
• Robert Morton: Diary, September 16-December 14, 1777
       Occupation of Philadelphia: September-December 1777
• Sarah Wister: Journal, October 19-December 12, 1777
       The Continental Army at Whitemarsh: Pennsylvania, October-December 1777
• George Washington: General Orders, December 17, 1777
       The Army Seeks Winter Quarters: Pennsylvania, December 1777
• Albigence Waldo: Diary, December 11-29, 1777
       The Army Moves to Valley Forge: Pennsylvania, December 1777
• John Laurens to Henry Laurens, January 14 and February 2, 1778
       A Proposal to Free and Arm Slaves: January-February 1778
• John Laurens to Henry Laurens, May 7, 1778
       News of the French Alliance: Valley Forge, May 1778
• Ambrose Serle: Journal, March 9-June 19, 1778
       The British Abandon Philadelphia: March-June 1778
• The Continental Congress: Response to British Peace Proposals, June 13-17, 1778
       York, Pennsylvania, June 1778
• Henry Laurens to Horatio Gates, June 17, 1778 "The Door is shut": June 1778
• John André: Journal, June 16-July 5, 1778
       The British Retreat to New York: New Jersey, June-July 1778
• James McHenry: Journal, June 18-July 23, 1778
       The American Advance: New Jersey, June-July 1778
• John Laurens to Henry Laurens, June 30 and July 2, 1778
       Battle of Monmouth: New Jersey, June 1778
• J. Hector St. John Crèvecoeur: Narrative of the Wyoming Massacre
       Frontier Warfare: Pennsylvania, July 1778
• Peter Oliver: from "The Origin & Progress of the American Rebellion"
       A Tory View of Frontier Warfare: Summer 1778
• George Washington to Henry Laurens, November 14, 1778
       Opposing a proposal to invade Canada: November 1778
• George Washington to Benjamin Harrison, December 18, 1778
       The Weakness of Congress: December 1778
• Stephen De Lancey to Cornelia Barclay De Lancey, January 14, 1779
       The Fall of Savannah: Georgia, January 1779
• George Rogers Clark: Narrative of the March to Vincennes
       Capture of Vincennes: Illinois Country, February 1779
• Alexander Hamilton to John Jay, March 14, 1779
       "To give them their freedom with their muskets": March 1779
• George Washington to Henry Laurens, March 20, 1779
       Arming Slaves "a moot point": March 1779
• Samuel Shaw to Francis and Sarah Shaw, June 28, 1779
       Depreciation of Continental Currency: New York, June 1779
• "A Whig": To the Public, July 30, 1779
       Banishing Tories: Philadelphia, July 1779
• William Barton: Journal, August 27-September 14, 1779
       War Against the Iroquois: New York, August-September 1779
• John Paul Jones to Benjamin Franklin, October 3, 1779
       Battle in the North Sea: October 1779
• William Moultrie: Journal, April 2-May 12, 1780
       The Siege of Charleston: South Carolina, April-May 1780
• The Sentiments of a Lady in New-Jersey, July 12, 1780
       Aiding the Continental Army: July 1780
• Otho Holland Williams: Narrative of the Battle of Camden
       An American Rout: South Carolina, August 1780
• Royal Gazette: "Strayed...a whole Army," September 16, 1780
       A Loyalist Satire: New York, September 1780
• Benedict Arnold: To the Inhabitants of America, October 7, 1780
       Arnold Justifies His Actions: New York, October 1780
• Benedict Arnold to Lord Germain, October 7, 1780
       A Report on the Continental Army: New York, October 1780
• Alexander Hamilton to John Laurens, c. October 11, 1780
       Arnold and Major André: New York, September-October 1780
• Robert Campbell: Narrative of the Battle of King's Mountain
       South Carolina, October 1780
• George Washington: Circular to the State Governments, October 18, 1780
       An Appeal for New Troops: October 1780
• Anthony Allaire: Diary, October 7-November 25, 1780
       A Loyalist Prisoner: South Carolina, October-November 1780
• Eno Reeves: Letterbook Extracts, January 2-17, 1781
       Mutiny of the Pennsylvania Line: New Jersey, January 1781
• Oliver De Lancey: Journal, January 3-21, 1781
       British Attempts to Exploit the Mutiny: New Jersey, January 1781
• George Washington to Philip Schuyler, January 10, 1781
       "The event, which I have long dreaded": January 1781
• Nathanael Greene to Alexander Hamilton, January 10, 1781
       The Plight of the Southern Army: South Carolina, January 1781
• Nathanael Greene to Catherine Greene, January 12, 1781
       "The distress and misery that prevails": South Carolina, January 1781
• Thomas Jefferson: Narrative of Arnold's Raid, January 13, 1781
       The British Attack Richmond: Virginia, January 1781
• Daniel Morgan to Nathanael Greene, January 19, 1781
       Battle of Cowpens: South Carolina, January 1781
• George Washington to Robert Howe, January 22, 1781
       Mutiny of the New Jersey Line: New Jersey, January 1781
• Royal Gazette: "Our Last Will and Testament," January 31, 1781
       A Loyalist Satire of Congress: New York, January 1781
• Nathanael Greene to George Washington, February 9, 1781
       Cornwallis Invades North Carolina: February 1781
• Nathanael Greene to Joseph Reed, March 18, 1781
       Battle of Guilford Courthouse: North Carolina, March 1781
• Nathanael Greene to George Washington, March 18, 1781
       Prospects for Defeating Cornwallis: March 1781
• Nathanael Greene to Thomas Jefferson, April 28, 1781
       An Appeal for Support from Virginia: April 1781
• Ebenezer Denny: Journal, May 1-15, 1781
       The Pennsylvania Line Marches South: May 1781
• Thomas Brown to David Ramsay, December 25, 1786
       The War in Georgia: November 1778-June 1781
• Josiah Atkins: Diary, June 5-July 7, 1781
       The Campaign in Virginia: June-July 1781
• Ebenezer Denny: Journal, June 18-July 7, 1781
       Skirmishing in Virginia: June-July 1781
• James Robertson to William Knox, July 12, 1781
       The British Consider Occupying Yorktown: July 1781
• Otho Holland Williams: Narrative of the Battle of Eutaw Springs
       South Carolina, September 1781
• Ebenezer Denny: Journal, September 1-November 1, 1781
       The Yorktown Campaign: Virginia, September-November 1781
• St. George Tucker: Journal, September 28-October 20, 1781
       Siege of Yorktown: Virginia, September-October 1781
• James Robertson to Lord Amherst, October 17, 1781
       The British Relief Expedition Sets Sail: New York, October 1781
• Lord Cornwallis to Henry Clinton, October 20, 1781
       Cornwallis Surrenders: Virginia, October 1781
• Anna Rawle: Diary, October 25, 1781
       Victory Celebrations in Philadelphia: October 1781
• Robert Gray: Observations on the War in Carolina
       Partisan Warfare in the South: May 1780-February 1782
• William Feilding to the Earl of Denbigh, August 10, 1782
       New York Loyalists Fear Peace: August 1782
• Ebenezer Denny: Journal, January 4-December 13, 1781
       The War Ends in South Carolina: January-December 1782
• John Armstrong: The Newburgh Address, c. March 10, 1783
       An Officer Urges Disobedience to Congress: New York, March 1783
• George Washington to Joseph Jones, March 12, 1783
       Political Intrigue and the Army: New York, March 1783
• George Washington: Speech to the Officers, March 15, 1783
       "The flood Gates of Civil discord": New York, March 1783
• Samuel Shaw to the Rev. Eliot, c. April 1783
       Washington at Newburgh: New York, April 1783
• A New York Loyalist to Lord Hardwicke, c. Summer 1783
       Loyalist Emigration: New York, Summer 1783
• George Washington and Thomas Mifflin: Speeches in the Continental Congress, December 23, 1783
       Washington Resigns His Commission: Annapolis, December 1783
• James McHenry to Margaret Caldwell, December 23, 1783
        "The revolution just accomplished": Annapolis, December 1783

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