Four ships of the Continental Navy slowly coasted along the eastern seaboard of England. Led by John Paul Jones’s Bonhomme Richard, the Alliance, Pallas, and Vengeance moved with the slight south-westerly wind. Jones and his small squadron had been hunting British ships for months with middling success, capturing a few prizes, including the sloop HMS…

Streets, parks, towns, and cities are named for her husband, but Martha Washington’s grace and tenacity are also worthy of remembrance. Not much is known about the country’s first “first lady,” even from her own correspondence. She burned most of the letters between her and her husband, George, soon after he died. But the few…

The unparalleled events of George Washington’s life could fill half a dozen biographies of men with standard accomplishments. It is natural that his exploits as a revolutionary general and president would overshadow his early experiences in the French and Indian War. But without these initial achievements, the later ones would not have been possible. During…

In the early years of the American Revolution, after the British evacuated Boston and took control of New York, the area encompassing historical Westchester and Dutchess counties in lower New York Colony became a uniquely dangerous zone, particularly for residents. The little region wedged between Long Island Sound and the Hudson River, and farther to…

Every schoolchild once knew the story by heart: how a beleaguered George Washington became one of the sole surviving officers in a massacre that killed most of his army, but left him unscathed. How he took command when his general fell, rallied his troops as two horses were shot out from under him, and walked…

In the fall of 1777, Gen. George Washington’s army was reeling from the crushing defeat it suffered in Pennsylvania. British troops had won the battles of Brandywine and Germantown and occupied Philadelphia. Seeking a winter haven for his disheartened soldiers, Washington settled on Whitemarsh, Pennsylvania. But because it is so close to Philadelphia, the troops…

Commentary Canadian governments, both Liberal and Conservative, have initiated groups, subgroups, and committees that don’t receive a lot of media attention. That’s not surprising, but a committee specifically dedicated to helping craft a national apology would seem to be an unlikely candidate for inclusion. If you ever felt this way, think again. On June 23,…

Benjamin Franklin ranks among the most popular of the Founding Fathers, and for good reason: He was a larger-than-life scientist, inventor, diplomat, and above all, cunning politician and staunch advocate for the right of Americans to cast off British shackles and chart their own course. But beyond his inventions, his advocacy as delegate to the…

It was December 1777, one of the bleakest times during the Revolutionary War. The Continental Army had won a few battles; however, morale suffered as they had also lost a few crucial battles, such as the Battle of Long Island, the Battle for New York, the Battle of White Plains, and the Battle of Bennington….

Modern American society still talks about and references the American Revolution all the time. Its battlefields are well preserved and marked, its literature is still invoked in modern political campaigns and speeches, its symbols and quotes and prominent figures are everywhere in stone and bronze and steel and ink—at least for now. Perhaps the individual…