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15 books match the query 'Hagist, Don N.'

cover of British Soldiers, American War: Voices of the American Revolution

British Soldiers, American War

Voices of the American Revolution

Donald N. Hagist

Westholme Publishing, 2012

Advisor for Ken Burns The American Revolution on PBS®
Nine Rare and Fascinating First-Person Profiles of Soldiers Who Fought for the British Crown
Much has been written about the colonists who took up arms during the American Revolution and the army they created. Far less literature, however, has been devoted to their adversaries. The professional soldiers that composed the British army are seldom considered on a personal level, instead being either overlooked or inaccurately characterized as conscripts and criminals. Most of the British Redcoats sent to America in defense of their government’s policies were career soldiers who enlisted voluntarily in their late teens or early twenties. They came from all walks of British life, including those with nowhere else to turn, those aspiring to improve their social standing, and all others in between. Statistics show that most were simply hardworking men with various amounts of education who had chosen
the military in preference to other occupations. Very few of these soldiers left writings from which we can learn their private motives and experiences.
British Soldiers, American War: Voices of the American Revolution is the first collection of personal narratives by British common soldiers ever assembled and published. Author Don N. Hagist has located first-hand accounts of nine soldiers who served in America in the 1770s and 1780s. In their own words we learn of the diverse population—among them a former weaver, a boy who quarelled with his family, and a man with wanderlust—who joined the army and served tirelessly and dutifully, sometimes faithfully and sometimes irresolutely, in the uniform of their nation. To accompany each narrative, the author provides a contextualizing essay based on archival research giving background on the soldier and his military service. Taken as a whole these true stories reveal much about the individuals who composed what was, at the time, the most formidable fighting force in the world.
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cover of Invisible Lives: British Soldiers' Wives in the American Revolution

Invisible Lives

British Soldiers' Wives in the American Revolution

Don N. Hagist

Westholme Publishing, 2026

She was stabbed by her drunken husband on a storm-tossed ship in the North Atlantic. She forgave him before she died—and history never recorded her first name. Mrs. Whitlow, wife of a British soldier, is just one of the thousands of women who followed their husbands to war during the American Revolution. These women lived in the barracks and camps and endured the hardships of garrisons and campaigns in an unfamiliar and often hostile land. They faced the challenges with fortitude, proving themselves resourceful, industrious, and intrepid, but their involvement in the conflict that founded the United States has been largely lost to history. Incidents and brief mentions abound in the military writings and iconography of the era, but stories of individual lives are nearly nonexistent, which has caused this large population to be almost entirely overlooked. 

Combining archival research with deeply human storytelling, Invisible Lives: British Soldiers’ Wives in the American Revolution by Don N. Hagist brings together, for the first time, the myriad glimpses of these wives to tell the larger story of how they lived, worked, suffered, and survived as women in a foreign war. Drawing on court martial proceedings, muster rolls, marriage licenses, newspaper notices, and rare surviving letters, this meticulously researched work reconstructs the lives of women who were present in every theater of the Revolutionary War. What emerges is a portrait of remarkable resilience. These women crossed oceans, survived sieges, nursed the wounded, and raised children in the chaos of an eighteenth-century war. These many moments come together to provide a more complete and invaluable picture of British soldiers’ wives and their place in the army and the surrounding society. For readers of women’s history, military history, and the American Revolution, this is an overdue and deeply moving reckoning with the lives history had left behind.

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cover of Journal of the American Revolution 2017: Annual Volume

Journal of the American Revolution 2017

Annual Volume

Todd Andrlik

Westholme Publishing, 2017

The Journal of the American Revolution, Annual Volume 2017, presents the journal’s best historical research and writing over the past calendar year. The volume is designed for institutions, scholars, and enthusiasts to provide a con­venient overview of the latest research and scholarship in American Revolution studies.
The forty-six articles in the 2017 edition include:
Why the British Lost the Battle of Sullivan’s Island by C. L. Bragg
The Tiger Aids the Eaglet: How India Secured America’s Independence  by Richard Sambasivam
How Yorktown Almost Couldn’t Afford to Happen by John Smith
Was Richard Stockton a Hero? by Christian M. McBurney
The Southern Expedition of 1776: The American Revolution’s Best Kept Secret by Roger Smith
Religious Liberty and Its Virginia Roots by Alex Colvin
Mount Vernon During the American Revolution by Mary V. Thompson
Why God is in the Declaration but not the Constitution by Anthony J. Minna
Colonel Tench Tilghman: George Washington’s Eyes and Ears by Jeff Dacus
The Stockbridge-Mohican Community, 1775–1783  by Bryan Rindfleisch
Two Years Aboard the Welcome: The American Revolution on Lake Huron by Tyler Rudd Putman 
 
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cover of Journal of the American Revolution 2018: Annual Volume

Journal of the American Revolution 2018

Annual Volume

Don N. Hagist

Westholme Publishing, 2018

The Journal of the American Revolution, Annual Volume 2018, presents the journal’s best historical research and writing over the past calendar year. The volume is designed for institutions, scholars, and enthusiasts to provide a convenient overview of the latest research and scholarship in American Revolution studies. The forty-one articles in the 2018 edition include:

Anti-Indian Radicalization in the Early American West, 1774–1795 by Darren R. Reid
The Setauket Raid, December 1777 by Phillip R. Giffin
The 3rd New Jersey Regiment’s Plundering of Johnson Hall by Philip D. Weaver
A Proposed Alliance of the Knights of Malta and the United States of America by Bruce Ware Allen
Country Crowds in Revolutionary Massachusetts: Mobs and Militia by Ray Raphael
Lafayette: An Acerbic Tongue or an Incisive Judge of Character? by Gene Procknow
Admiral Rodney Ousts the Jews from St. Eustatius by Louis Arthur Norton
Preventing Slave Insurrection in South Carolina & Georgia, 1775–1776 by Jim Piecuch
The “P” is for Profit: Revolutionary War Privateers and the Slave Trade by Michael Thomin
The Remarkable Spanish Pilgrimage of John Adams by John L. Smith, Jr.
Thomas Paine, Deism, and the Masonic Fraternity by Shai Afsai
A Fresh Look at Major Patrick Ferguson by Wayne Lynch
Displaced: The Donation People of 1775 by Katie Turner Getty

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cover of Journal of the American Revolution 2019: Annual Volume

Journal of the American Revolution 2019

Annual Volume

Don N. Hagist

Westholme Publishing, 2019

The Year’s Best Articles from the Leading On-Line Source of New Research on the American Revolution and Founding Eras
The Journal of the American Revolution, Annual Volume 2019, presents the journal’s best historical research and writing over the past calendar year. The volume is designed for institutions, scholars, and enthusiasts to provide a convenient overview of the latest research and scholarship in American Revolution and Founding Era studies. The thirty-eight articles in the 2019 edition include: 
Join, or Die: Political and Religious Controversy Over Franklin’s Snake Cartoon by Daniel P. Stone
The Connecticut Captivity of William Franklin, Loyalist by Louis Arthur Norton
Revisiting the Prayer at Valley Forge by Blake McGready
John the Painter: Terrorist for America by Lars Hedbor
Who Picked the Committees at the Constitutional Convention? by David O. Stewart
Norfolk, Virginia, Sacked by North Carolina and Virginia Troops by Patrick H. Hannum
Elias Hasket Derby: The Privateer Who Pioneered the Russian Trade by Nick Deluca
Benedict Arnold’s Master Plan (for British) Victory by John Knight
China and the American Revolution by Simon Hill
Moravians in the Middle: The Gnadenhutten Massacre by Eric Sterner
Slavery Through the Eyes of Revolutionary Generals by Gene Procknow
Our Man in Minorca: Lewis Littlepage, American Volunteer with the Spanish Armed Forces by Larrie D. Ferreiro
Patrick Tonyn: Britain’s Most Effective Revolutionary-Era Royal Governor by Jim Piecuch
Jefferson’s Reckoning: The Sage of Monticello’s Haunting Final Years by Geoff Smock
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cover of Journal of the American Revolution 2020: Annual Volume

Journal of the American Revolution 2020

Annual Volume

Don N. Hagist

Westholme Publishing, 2020

The Year’s Best Articles from the Leading On-Line Source of New Research on the American Revolution and Founding Eras
The Journal of the American Revolution, Annual Volume 2020, presents the journal’s best historical research and writing over the past calendar year. The volume is designed for institutions, scholars, and enthusiasts to provide a convenient overview of the latest research and scholarship in American Revolution and Founding Era studies. The thirty-six articles in the 2020 edition include: 
Bernard E. Griffiths: Trumpeter Barney of the Queen’s Rangers, Chelsea Pensioner—and Freed Slave by Todd W. Braisted
The Declaration of Independence: Did John Hancock Really Say that about his Signature?—and Other Signing Stories by J. L. Bell
Les Habitants: Collaboration and Pro-American Violence in Canada, 1774–1776 by Sebastian van Bastelaer
Misadventures in the Countryside: Escape from a British Prison Ship by Katie Turner Getty
The Revolutionary Memories of New York Loyalists: Thomas Jones and William Smith, Jr. by Cho-Chien Feng
The East India Company and Parliament’s “Fateful Decision” of 1767 by Steven Neill
Massachusetts Privateers During the Siege of Boston by Alexander Cain
The Constitution Counted Free Women and Children—And It Mattered by Andrew M. Schocket, with Kinzey M. McLaren-Czerr and Colin J. Spicer
How Magna Carta Influenced the American Revolution by Jason Yonce
Putting a Price on Loyalty: Mary Loring’s List of Losses by John Knight
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cover of Journal of the American Revolution 2021: Annual Volume

Journal of the American Revolution 2021

Annual Volume

Don N. Hagist

Westholme Publishing, 2021

The Year’s Best Articles from the Leading On-Line Source of New Research on the Revolution and Founding Eras
The Journal of the American Revolution, Annual Volume 2021, presents the journal’s best historical research and writing over the past calendar year. The volume is designed for institutions, scholars, and enthusiasts to provide a convenient overview of the latest research and scholarship in American Revolution and Founding Era studies. The thirty-four articles in the 2021 edition include: 
Alexander Hamilton’s Missing Years: New Discoveries and Insights into the Little Lion’s Caribbean Childhood by Ruud Stelten and Alexandre Hinton
The Lenape Origins of an Independent America: The Catalyst of Pontiac’s War, 1763–1765 by Kevin A. Conn
Impeachment: The Framers Debate and Discuss by Ray Raphael
The First Efforts to Limit the African Slave Trade by Christian M. McBurney
What Killed Prisoners of War?—A Medical Investigation by Brian Patrick O'Malley
The Mysterious March of Horatio Gates by Andrew Waters
Minorcans, New Smyrna, and the American Revolution in East Florida by George Kotlik
Stony Point: The Second Occupation, July–October 1779 by Michael J. F. Sheehan
A Demographic View of North Carolina Militia and State Troops, 1775–1783 by Douglas R. Dorney, Jr.
The Revolutionary War Origin of the Whistleblower Law by Louis Arthur Norton
Mapping the Battle of Eutaw Springs: Modern GIS Solves a Historic Mystery by Stephen John Katzberg
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cover of Journal of the American Revolution 2022: Annual Volume

Journal of the American Revolution 2022

Annual Volume

Don N. Hagist

Westholme Publishing, 2022

The year’s best articles from the leading on-line source of new research on the Revolution and Founding eras
The Journal of the American Revolution, Annual Volume 2022, presents the journal’s best historical research and writing over the past calendar year. The volume is designed for institutions, scholars, and enthusiasts to provide a convenient overview of the latest research and scholarship in American Revolution and Founding Era studies. This year's articles are:
Massachusettensis and Novanglus: The Last Great Debate Prior to the War by James M. Smith
Wampum Belts to Canada: Stockbridge Indian Ambassadors’ Dangerous 1775 Peace Mission by Mark R. Anderson
Ethan Allen’s “Motley Parcel of Soldiery” at Montreal by Mark R. Anderson
The Devil at the Helm: A Quote That Went Astray by Don N. Hagist
Thomas Knowlton’s Revolution by David Price
Major Robert Rogers and the American Revolution by Scott M. Smith
La Petite Guerre and Indian Irregular Manner of War: Siblings, But Not Twins by Brian Gerring
George Washington and the First Mandatory Immunization by Richard J. Werther
French Adventurers, Patriots, and Pretentious Imposters in the Fight for American Independence by Arthur S. Lefkowitz
The Cherokee-American War from the Cherokee Perspective by Jordan Baker
The Numerical Strength of George Washington’s Army During the 1777 Philadelphia Campaign by Gary Ecelbarger and Michael C. Harris
A Reconsideration of Continental Army Numerical Strength at Valley Forge by Gary Ecelbarger and Michael C. Harris
American Indians at Valley Forge by Joseph Lee Boyle
The Discovery of a Letter from a Soldier of the First Rhode Island Regiment by Christian McBurney
“The Predicament We Are In”: How Paperwork Saved the Continental Army by Mike Matheny
Sir Henry Clinton’s Generalship by John Ferling
The Varick Transcripts and the Preservation of the War by Justin McHenry
“A Mere Youth”: James Monroe’s Revolutionary War by John A. Ruddima
Haitian Soldiers at the Siege of Savannah by Robert S. Davis
George Washington’s Culper Spy Ring: Separating Fact from Fiction by Bill Bleyer
Texas, Cattle, Cowboys, Ranchers, Indian Raids, and the American Revolution by George Kotlik
The Odyssey of Loyalist Colonel Samuel Bryan by Douglas R. Dorney, Jr.
“She Had Gone to the Army . . . to Her Husband”: Judith Lines’s Unremarked Life by John U. Rees
The Yorktown Tragedy: George Washington’s Slave Roundup by Gregory J. W. Urwin
Such as are Absolutely Free: Benjamin Thompson’s Black Troopers by Todd W. Braisted
The King of Sweden: Friendly Foe of the United States by Richard Werther
Shifting Indian Policy of the Articles of Confederation by John DeLee
Justice, Mercy, and Treason: John Marshall’s and Mercy Otis Warren’s Treatments of Benedict Arnold by Ray Mirante
A Chance Amiss: George Washington and the Fiasco of Spain’s Gift Diplomacy by Elisa Vargas
The Constitutional Convention Debates the Electoral College by Jason Yonce
Respected Citizen of Washington City: The Mystery of  Will Costin, Freed Mount Vernon Slave by David O. Stewart
The Impeachment of Senator William Blount  by Andrew A. Zellers-Frederick
Instinctive Temporary Unity: Examining Public Opinion During the Whiskey Rebellion by Jonathan Curran
“Good and Sufficient Testimony”: The Development of the Revolutionary War Pension Plan by Michael Barbieri

[more]
cover of Journal of the American Revolution 2023: Annual Volume

Journal of the American Revolution 2023

Annual Volume

Don N. Hagist

Westholme Publishing, 2023

The year’s best articles from the leading on-line source of new research on the American Revolution and Founding Eras

The Journal of the American Revolution, Annual Volume 2023, presents the journal’s best historical research and writing over the past calendar year. The volume is designed for institutions, scholars, and enthusiasts to provide a convenient overview of the latest research and scholarship in American Revolution and Founding Era studies. Chosen by the Journal's editorial board, this year's articles are:

Charles Thomson and the Delaware by James M. Smith
Benjamin Franklin’s Unconventional Marriage to Deborah Read by Nancy Rubin Stuart
Governor William Franklin: Sagorighweyoghsta, “Great Arbiter” or “Doer of Justice” by Joseph E. Wroblewski
One of the “Powers for Good in the World:” Mercy Otis Warren by James M. Deitch
The British Soldiers Who Marched to Concord, April 19, 1775 by Don N. Hagist
Virginian Ned Streater, African American Minute Man by Patrick H. Hannum
The 1775 Duel Between Henry Laurens and John Faucheraud Grimké by Aaron J. Palmer
Washington’s Final Retreat: Asylum? by Alexander Lenarchyk
George III’s (Implicit) Sanction of the American Revolution by M. Andrew Holowchak
Edward Hand’s American Journey by David Price
Jemima Howe, Frontier Pioneer to Wealthy Widow by Jane Strachan
Hell’s Half-Acre: The Fall of Loyalist Crean Brush by Eric Wiser
Thomas Plumb, British Soldier, Writes Home from Rhode Island by Don N. Hagist
Unraveling the Beginning and Final Phasesin the Emergence of the French Alliance by Marvin L. Simner
Marinus Willett: The Exploits of an Unheralded War Hero by Richard J. Werther
Point/Counterpoint, 1777 Style: Dueling Proclamations from Israel Putnam and William Tryon by Todd W. Braisted
Did George Washington Swear at Charles Lee During the Battle of Monmouth? by Christian McBurney
Black Drummers in a Redcoat Regiment by Don N. Hagist
Under the Banner of War: Frontier Militia and Uncontrolled Violence by Timothy C. Hemmis
Rhode Island Acts to Prevent an Enslaved Family from Being Transported to the South by Christian McBurney
British Soldier John Ward Wins Back His Pocketbook by Don N. Hagist
Anthony Wayne’s Repulse at Bull’s Ferry, July 21, 1780 by Jim Piecuch
Two Hurricanes One Week Apart in 1780 by Bob Ruppert
Top Ten Weather Interventions by Don N. Hagist
The Fruits of Victory: Loyalist Prisoners in the Aftermath of Kings Mountain by William Caldwell
Top Ten Quotes by Francis Lord Rawdon by Todd W. Braisted
Russia and the Armed Neutrality of 1780 by Eric Sterner
Prelude to Yorktown: Washington and Rochambeau in New York by Benjamin Huggins
The Abdication(s) of King George III by Bob Ruppert
Jemima Howe: Two Competing Captivity Narratives by Jane Strachan
The Articles of Confederation—A Silver Lining by Richard J. Werther
Undeceived: Who Would Write the Political Story of the Revolution? by James M. Smith
Partisan Politics and the Laws Which Shaped the First Congress by Samuel T. Lair
“Characters Pre-eminent for Virtue and Ability”: The First Partisan Application of the Electoral College by Shawn David McGhee
Weaponizing Impeachment: Justice Samuel Chase and President Thomas Jefferson’s Battle Over the Process by Al Dickenson
Insurrection and Speculation: A Farmer, Financier, and a Surprising “Sharper” Seeded the Constitution by Scott M. Smith
Natural History in Revolutionary and Post-Revolutionary America by Matteo Giuliani
A Great Englishman? British Views of George Washington, from Revolution to Rapprochement by Sam Edwards

 

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cover of Journal of the American Revolution 2024: Annual Volume

Journal of the American Revolution 2024

Annual Volume

Don N. Hagist

Westholme Publishing, 2024

The year’s best articles from the leading on-line source of new research on the Revolution and Founding eras

The Journal of the American Revolution, Annual Volume 2024, presents the journal’s best historical research and writing over the past calendar year. The volume is designed for institutions, scholars, and enthusiasts to provide a convenient overview of the latest research and scholarship in American Revolution and Founding Era studies. 

Contents
By Stratagem and Hard Fighting: The Improbable Capture of Eleven British Ships by Mark R. Anderson
Remember Baker: A Green Mountain Boy’s Controversial Death and Its Consequences by Mark R. Anderson
John Hancock’s Politics and Personality in Ten Quotes by Brooke Barbie
The Return of Samuel Dyer: An Attempted Assassination in Revolutionary Boston by J. L. Bell
The Secrets of Samuel Dyer by J. L. Bell
Two Encounters: Captain Abraham Van Dyck, the ”Negro Man,” and Prince Pitkin by Benjamin L. Carp
The French Army in Williamsburg, Virginia, 1781–1782 by Michael Cecere
The Delcastle Cannonball by Walter A. Chiquione
Thomas Paine on Popular Government in America: Evolution of a Radical’s Thinking by Jett Conner
How the (First) West Was Won: Federalist Treaties that Reshaped the Frontier by Brady J. Crytzer
George Washington’s Information War by Benjamin George
British Soldiers Wounded at Eutaw Springs by Don N. Hagist
Emily Geiger’s Fabulous Ride by C. Leon, Harris, Harriet Imrey, Conner Runyan
Thomas Jefferson and the Conditions of Good History: Writing About the American Revolution by Andrew M. Holowchak
Mercy Otis Warren: Revolutionary Propagandist by Jonathan House
Captain James Morris of the Connecticut Light Infantry by Chip Langston
Danger at the Breach by Doug MacIntyre
Attended with Disagreeable Consequences: Cross-Border Shopping for Loyalist Provisions, 1783–1784by Stuart Lyall Manson
Smallpox Threatens an American Privateer at Sea by Christian McBurney
“The Modern American Wallace:” Relics, Revolutions, and Revolutionaries by Shawn David McGhee
“Those Noble Qualities”: Classical Pseudonyms as Reflections of Divergent Republican Value Systems by Shawn David McGhee
George Washington’s “Rules of Civility”: An Early American Literary Mystery by Shawn David McGhee
Reframing George Washington’s Clothing at the Second Continental Congress by Shawn David McGhee
John Adams and Nathanael Greene Debate the Role of the Military by Curtis F. Morgan, Jr.
The Perfidious Benjamin Church and Paul Revere by Louis Arthur Norton
Algernon Sidney and the American Revolution by David Otersen
Eutaw Springs and the Ambiguity of Victory by David Price
Charles Lee—The Continental Army’s Most Prolific Essayist General by Gene Procknow
Charles Lee’s First Inklings of Fractious American Political Battles by Gene Procknow
The Highs and Lows of Ethan Allen’s Reputation as Reported by Revolutionary-Era Newspapers by Gene Procknow
“Earned By Veteran Intrepidity”: Spencer’s Ordinary, June 26, 1781 by Conor Robison
William Walker Crosses Kings Ferry by Michael J. F. Sheehan
Early Presidential Elections: The Questionable Use of Electors to Correct Voter Imbalances by Marvin L. Simner
The Purpose of the Electoral College: A Seemingly Endless Controversy by Marvin L. Simner
Captain Luke Day: A Forgotten Leader of ”Shays’s Rebellion” by Scott M. Smith
Engaging the Glasgow by Eric Sterner
Smallpox by Inoculation: The Tragedy of New York’s Rosewell Beebe by Philip D. Weaver
The “Western Forts” of the 1783 Treaty of Paris by Richard J. Werther
Clark versus Livingston: Pettiness, Paper Money, and Elections by Eric Wise
Burlington 1776: The Forgotten Opportunity by Colin Zimmerman
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cover of Journal of the American Revolution 2025: Annual Volume

Journal of the American Revolution 2025

Annual Volume

Don N. Hagist

Westholme Publishing, 2025

The year’s best articles from the leading on-line source of new research on the Revolution and Founding eras

The Journal of the American Revolution, Annual Volume 2025, presents the journal’s best historical research and writing over the past calendar year. The volume of thirty-five articles is designed for institutions, scholars, and enthusiasts to provide a convenient overview of the latest research and scholarship in American Revolution and Founding Era studies.
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cover of Noble Volunteers: The British Soldiers Who Fought the American Revolution

Noble Volunteers

The British Soldiers Who Fought the American Revolution

Don N. Hagist

Westholme Publishing, 2025

Advisor for Ken Burns The American Revolution on PBS®
Winner of the 2020 American Revolution Roundtable of Philadelphia Book of the Year
Redcoats. For Americans, the word brings to mind the occupying army that attempted to crush the Revolutionary War. There was more to these soldiers than their red uniforms, but the individuals who formed the ranks are seldom described in any detail in historical literature, leaving unanswered questions. Who were these men? Why did they join the army? Where did they go when the war was over?
    In Noble Volunteers: The British Soldiers Who Fought the American Revolution, Don N. Hagist brings life to these soldiers, describing the training, experiences, and outcomes of British soldiers who fought during the Revolution. Drawing on thousands of military records and other primary sources in British, American, and Canadian archives, and the writings of dozens of officers and soldiers, Noble Volunteers shows how a peacetime army responded to the onset of war, how professional soldiers adapted quickly and effectively to become tactically dominant, and what became of the thousands of career soldiers once the war was over. 
    In this historical tour de force, introduced by Pulitzer Prize winner Rick Atkinson, Hagist dispels long-held myths, revealing how remarkably diverse British soldiers were. They represented a variety of ages, nationalities, and socioeconomic backgrounds, and many had joined the army as a peacetime career, only to find themselves fighting a war on another continent in often brutal conditions. Against the sweeping backdrop of the war, Hagist directs his focus on the small picture, illuminating the moments in an individual soldier’s life—those hours spent nursing a fever while standing sentry in the bitter cold, or writing a letter to a wife back home. What emerges from these vignettes is the understanding that while these were “common” soldiers, each soldier was completely unique, for, as Hagist writes, “There was no ‘typical’ British soldier.” 
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cover of Roger Lamb's American Revolution: A British Soldier's Story

Roger Lamb's American Revolution

A British Soldier's Story

Don N. Hagist

Westholme Publishing, 2022

Featured in Ken Burns The American Revolution on PBS®
Of all the British soldiers who served in North America during the American Revolution, none wrote more about his experiences than Roger Lamb. He certainly had a lot to say: his service in two of the most important campaigns—the 1777 Saratoga campaign and the 1781 campaign through the Carolinas to Virginia—put him in the thick of some of the war’s most famous battles. Moreover, he was twice captured and twice escaped, making his way through hostile territory to rejoin the British army. Later in his life he wrote two books chronicling these experiences in great detail. Hundreds of British soldiers went through similar ordeals, sharing in the campaigns, the battles, the captivities, the escapes, but none recounted any aspect of these activities in the level of detail that Lamb did.
The first edition of this book, published in 2004, combined all of Roger Lamb’s first-hand recollections from his two books, An Original and Authentic Journal of Occurrences during the late American War, from its Commencement to the Year 1783 (Dublin, 1809) and Memoir of his Own Life (Dublin, 1811). Since that publication, two more important documents written by Lamb have come to light—an intelligence report written in 1782 recounting details of one of his escapes, and a “commonplace book” kept later in his life to record a vast range of memories, thoughts, and observations. Roger Lamb’s American Revolution: A British Soldier’s Story combines all of the material from these four sources pertaining to Lamb’s career as a soldier, from the time he joined the army to his departure from it, plus his recollections of childhood and post-military life. The result is the most comprehensive first-hand account by a British soldier in the American Revolution, an essential record for understanding the war in its totality.
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cover of The Revolution's Last Men: The Soldiers Behind the Photographs

The Revolution's Last Men

The Soldiers Behind the Photographs

Don N. Hagist

Westholme Publishing, 2015

Advisor for Ken Burns The American Revolution on PBS®
The Stories of the Final Six Surviving Soldiers Who Fought in the American Revolution
During the Civil War that threatened to tear the United States apart came the realization that only a handful of veterans of the American Revolution still survived—men who had fought the war that created the nation. Six of these men were photographed and interviewed for a book by Reverend E. B. Hillard that appeared late in 1864. Their images have captivated generations since then; but—through a combination of faded memories and the interviewer’s patriotic agenda—the biographies accompanying these amazing photographs were garbled and distorted, containing information that ranged from inaccurate to implausible. Now for the first time the military careers of these men have been researched in detail using a wide range of primary sources. The result is a new perspective on the actual service of these soldiers, from enlistment to discharge, along with new details of their relatively quiet postwar lives. The Revolution’s Last Men presents the original biographical interviews published in 1864, pension depositions and other first-hand accounts given by each man later in life, and an up-to-date biography examining each soldier’s service and discussing the inaccuracies and uncertainties of the previously published accounts. To complement the photographs taken in 1864, original drawings depict the men as they may have appeared when they were soldiers, using current research on military artifacts and material culture. Also included are additional photographs of some of the men that were not part of the 1864 collection but taken when their status as the last known survivors of the American Revolution made them celebrities. While the photographs of these aged veterans continue to inspire, this book puts their service into perspective and allows these men to be appreciated for who they really were and for their great and unique service to their country.
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cover of Wives, Slaves, and Servant Girls: Advertisements for Female Runaways in American Newspapers, 1770–1783

Wives, Slaves, and Servant Girls

Advertisements for Female Runaways in American Newspapers, 1770–1783

Don N. Hagist

Westholme Publishing, 2007

A Surprising Source of Information About a Largely Forgotten Segment of the Colonial Population
In an age when individuals could be owned by others, people were lost and found just like other property. Indentured servants and slaves absconded from the custody of their masters, and their value prompted the masters to seek their return. Wives ran from abusive husbands or into the arms of another. Newspapers in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries carried large numbers of advertisements offering rewards for the return of runaways or announcing the detention of fugitives. Each ad provided a description of the individual and often included some circumstances of their elopement. The overall effectiveness of these advertisements cannot be measured, but the sheer number of ads suggests they were perceived as useful tools by those who placed them. What could not have been known at the time was the substantial contribution to history that these ads make. The descriptive advertisements provide textual snapshots of thousands of individuals who would otherwise be lost to history, people whose names might not otherwise be recorded. In Wives, Slaves, and Servant Girls: Advertisements for Female Runaways in American Newspapers, 1770–1783, historian Don N. Hagist focuses on the American Revolutionary period to provide a striking portrait of a substantial but largely forgotten segment of the population. Comprised of four hundred advertisements presented chronologically, the volume provides invaluable descriptions of women’s clothes, footwear, jewelry, physical appearances, education, nationalities, occupations, and other details.
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