Overview & History - Revolutionary War

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Prelude to Civil War: Americans slaughtered their countrymen in the Battle of Waxhaws
It was an unlikely encounter: British Lt. Col. Banastre Tarleton had led 270 American Tories over a hundred miles on foot and horseback in 54 hours, hoping to catch rebel soldiers after their failure to rescue Charleston. But the sudden skirmish in woodlands in the Waxhaw area became a grim footnote of another war fought during the Revolution: an American civil war. "In the South, it became common to have Americans against Americans, with communities and even families divided just as in the later Civil War," says John Ferling, the author of "Almost a Miracle: The American Victory in the War of Independence."
by usnews.com :: 2008-07-02 :: Overview & History

The Revolution From The History Channel - 13 part documentary
The Revolution is a 13-part documentary series that shows the stories behind America's struggle for Independence. It begins with the roots of the rebellion and takes you through all the years of the war and even through George Washington becoming President. In 1776 the Declaration of Independence is signed and America is born, but not without troubles. Many believe the new country will not make it, and crisis after crisis seems to show them right. It is the right person at the right time that gambles it all on a adventurous plan to save America. That man is George Washington as he takes his army across the Delaware to take on the frightening Hessian Army.
by blogcritics :: 2008-01-04 :: Overview & History

American Creation: Triumphs and Tragedies by Joseph Ellis
Joseph Ellis doesn't like the direction academic history has been taking, and he resents the violence the ivory-tower crowd has done to the reputations of the "revolutionary generation." In "American Creation" he strikes a balance between laudable achievement and blameworthy failure in America's founding. Among the achievements he includes American independence, the creation of the American republic, and the blurring of national and state sovereignty in the Constitution. The main failures he identifies are the survival of slavery and the brutal treatment of American Indians. "Indian removal was the inevitable consequence of unbridled democracy in action."
by boston :: 2007-10-31 :: Overview & History

Fusiliers: Eight Years with the Redcoats in America by Mark Urban
Fusiliers follows the 23rd Regiment (which served the whole campaign and left behind many first-hand accounts) during the 8 years of the American War of Independence (1775-1783). Despite a reputation for courage earned in the Seven Years' War, the British redcoats had proved to be nervous. Matters improved with the arrival of a new Commander-in-Chief General Sir William Howe, and with the new tactics and dress regulations: the soldiers relied on the bayonet, and advanced with 18-inch gaps. The benefits were reaped in the battle for Long Island (1776) when the 23rd (aka the Royal Welch Fusiliers) played a key role in the defeat of a much larger American force.
by telegraph :: 2007-10-26 :: Battles & Battlefields

1776: The Illustrated Edition by David McCullough
David McCullough, one of the finest historians writing today, published "1776" in 2005 to great critical acclaim. There are now 2.6 million copies in print. With this illustrated edition, the author expands on that pivotal year - or "darkest year" as he calls it - and makes the book a visual treat as well as an intellectual one. In the original edition, he could make the Revolutionary War interesting to the average reader by analyzing primary sources and collecting anecdotes with grace. He uses letters and diaries effectively and causes the personalities of the war - like King George III, Lord North and General Henry Clinton - to jump off the page.
by deseretnews :: 2007-09-10 :: Overview & History

South's role in the America's independence
Article no longer available from the original source.
People are aware of the South's role in the Civil War - but fewer realize the region was pivotal in the war for America's independence. While the final major battle of the American Revolutionary War at Yorktown, Va., may have led to Britain's surrender, it was the battles in the South - notably in South Carolina - that weakened British efforts and won independence for the 13 colonies. It's part of the lesson over 40 history teachers heard, as they trekked across the state's battlefields as part of "Patriots and Redcoats: The American Revolution in the Southern Back Country."
by thestate :: 2007-07-22 :: Overview & History

Modern Historians Confront the American Revolution - Long article
What were the causes of the American Revolution? The older view, dominant in the first 2-3 decades of the twentieth century, laid greatest emphasis on the conflict of constitutional ideas, on the fact that the American colonists saw the actions of Great Britain after 1763 as interfering with their constitutional rights as Englishmen. The "Progressive" historians, dominant in the 1930s, added another dimension, economic, to the analysis of the causes of the American Revolution. The struggles over the British attempt to impose taxes, mercantile restrictions, and a monopoly over the importation of tea into the colonies.
by lewrockwell :: 2007-05-13 :: Overview & History

September 28, 1781: The Beginning of the End
For 6 years, the specter of defeat had dogged General George Washington's every thought. As advantage after advantage slipped away, the coffers dried up, and the most promising general betrayed the Revolution, it looked more and more like He and his motley army would lose their fight for independence. But in September 1781, on a hilltop he had feared he might never see again, Washington could finally breathe a sigh of relief. On Sept 28, 1781 he and his allies would reach Yorktown. There he would score his first - and last - major offensive victory. The siege at Yorktown would win the American Revolution.
by americanheritage :: 2006-09-30 :: Overview & History

1776 - a good year for a revolution
1776 by David McCullough. It was a good year for a revolution, 1776. Not that it started well for those traitors to the crown. They fought the legal government of the 13 colonies and, later, on 2 July the Continental Congress took the revolutionary step of voting to "dissolve the connection" with Britain. It was a dangerous move - fighting the most powerful nation on earth. King George was angry. He ordered the insurrection stopped. His choice of commanders, Lord George Germain, thought the rebellion best crushed with a "decisive blow". Now, 236 years later, the early part is myth and history, the glorious Revolution has been forgotten.
by blogcritics :: 2006-09-30 :: Overview & History

The Glorious Cause: A Novel of the American Revolution
The Glorious Cause describes the grand strategy of the english and american generals in the revolutionary war. A map of the major battles does little to reveal what the people who were in charge were thinking. Why did the british spend so much time in capturing new york? Why then move across new jersey to philadelphia, with Washington's army at their heels all the way? Why did Cornwallis allow himself to be bottled up at yorktown? The reader with interest in these tactical mysteries will find the answers, but little else. Jeff shaara has limited talent, but the one thing he does quite well is describing the movements of armies on the march.
by bookreporter :: 2006-09-28 :: Overview & History

Most Revolutionary War battles were staged at New Jersey
During New Jersey's final years as a colony, more Revolutionary War battles and skirmishes were staged there than in any other future state. Yet when Americans hear the story of the Revolution, the role of the Garden State is somewhat "underappreciated." The U.S. House of Representatives recognized the state's often overlooked historical significance, by passing a bill that designates parts of 14 New Jersey counties as the Crossroads of the American Revolution National Heritage Area. The Heritage Area encompasses more than 250 nationally registered Revolutionary War sites.
by nj :: 2006-07-27 :: Battles & Battlefields

Revolutionary War News is an edited review of hand-picked news and articles related to American War of Independence 1775-1783.