Back The American Revolution: Writings from the War of Independence 1775–1783

The American Revolution: Writings from the War of Independence 1775–1783

Edited by John Rhodehamel

“[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

Overview
Table of Contents
Contributors

Overview

Interviews Nation-building in a war of insurgency: Rick Atkinson on the American Revolution

Drawn from letters, diaries, newspaper articles, public declarations, contemporary narratives, and private memoranda, this Library of America volume brings together over 120 pieces by more than seventy participants and eyewitnesses to create a unique literary panorama of the War of Independence. Beginning with Paul Revere’s own narrative of his legendary ride in April 1775 and ending with a moving account of George Washington’s resignation from the command of the Continental Army in December 1783, the volume contains writing that describes the major events of the conflict—the early battles of Lexington, Concord, and Bunker Hill; the failed American invasion of Canada; the 1776 campaign in New York and New Jersey; the crucial battle of Saratoga; the bitter fighting in the South and along the western frontier; and the decisive triumph at Yorktown.

Included are writings by famous figures—Washington Franklin, Jefferson, Benedict Arnold, John and Abigail Adams—and by lesser known participants: Samuel Blachley Webb describing courage and panic at Bunker Hill; Sarah Hodgkins writing longingly to her absent soldier husband; Jabez Fitch recounting the last hours of a wounded American officer in Brooklyn; Albigence Waldo chronicling the privations and miseries of Valley Forge; Otho Holland Williams recording with appealing candor American defeats and victories in South Carolina. The volume also contains writings by American Loyalists and by British officers and officials serving in America that provide provocative insights into the losing side of an epochal conflict. All selections are written by people who were in America at the time of the conflict.

The American Revolution also includes a chronology of events, biographical and explanatory notes, and an index.

John Rhodehamel, volume editor, is Norris Foundation Curator of Early American Historical Manuscripts at the Huntington Library in San Marino, California. He is the author of The Great Experiment: George Washington and the American Republic and editor of George Washington: Writings for The Library of America.

This Library of America series edition is printed on acid-free paper and features Smyth-sewn binding, a full cloth cover, and a ribbon marker.

The American Revolution: Writings from the War of Independence is kept in print by a gift from Mary Carr Patton to the Guardians of American Letters Fund, made in memory of her father, James J. Patton.
Table of Contents

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
Contributors

Abigail Adams
John Adams
Anthony Allaire
Ethan Allen
John André
John Armstrong
Benedict Arnold
Josiah Atkins
Robert Auchmuty
Isaac Bangs
William Barton
John Bowater
Thomas Brown
John Burgoyne
Robert Campbell
Landon Carter
George Rogers Clark
Charles Cornwallis
Nicholas Cresswell
J. Hector St. John Crèvecoeur
Oliver De Lancey
Stephen De Lancey
Ebenezer Denny
John Dickinson
William Digby
Eliphalet Dyer
William Feilding
Jarez Fitch
Philip Vickers Fithian
Benjamin Franklin
Thomas Gage
John Glover
Robert Gray
Nathaniel Greene
Alexander Hamilton
Joseph Hodgkins
Sarah Hodgkins
Thomas Jefferson
John Paul Jones
Henry Laurens
John Laurens
James McHenry
Frederick MacKenzie
Thomas Mifflin
Daniel Morgan
Robert Morton
William Moultrie
Peter Oliver
Thomas Paine
John Peebles
Francis Rawdon
Anna Rawle
Joseph Reed
Enos Reeves
Paul Revere
James Robertson
Thomas Rodney
Isaac Senter
Ambrose Serle
Samuel Shaw
Henry Strachey
Benjamin Trumbull
St. George Tucker
Albigence Waldo
George Washington
Martha Washington
Samuel Blachey Webb
Otho Holland Williams
Sarah Wister
William Woodford

add to cart

32.00 List Price: $40.00 (Save: 20%) Free shipping

Or buy from our partners

Buy the eBook

Phone orders: 1-800-964-5778 Request product #201261

ISBN: 978-1-88301191-8 874 pages

LOA books are distributed worldwide by Penguin Random House

N° 123 Library of America Series

Subscribers can purchase the slipcased edition by signing in to their accounts.

Related Books

The American Revolution: Writings from the Pamphlet Debate 1764–1776 (boxed set)

John Adams: Revolutionary Writings 1755–1775 LOA N°213

John Adams: Revolutionary Writings 1775–1783 LOA N°214

The Debate on the Constitution (boxed set)

Thomas Paine: Common Sense, The Crisis, and Other Writings from the American Revolution (Paperback Classic)

Library of America

Curator

A champion of America’s great writers and timeless works, Library of America guides readers in finding and exploring the exceptional writing that reflects the nation’s history and culture.

Learn More

Publisher

From poetry, novels, and memoirs to journalism, crime writing, and science fiction, the more than 300 volumes published by Library of America are widely recognized as America’s literary canon.

Browse our books Subscribe

Non-Profit

With contributions from donors, Library of America preserves and celebrates a vital part of our cultural heritage for generations to come.

Support our mission