Resources for the American Revolution?

Zelenka · Feb 23, 2008

I've been trying to write my WIP in various different versions for well over a year, none of those versions have been any good and I think it's time to shelve it. I'm thinking maybe I'm not ready to write it right now, or maybe it was just a daft idea in the first place. Anyway, I've got an idea that's been nagging me for a while now and I'm planning a few days in the library to do some reading and see whether it's worth following through on, perhaps get a few more ideas.

So, can anyone recommend a good source of information on the American Revolution, for someone who has only a basic knowledge of the events etc? Are there any real 'standard texts' or historians you would personally recommend? (I had a look in the stickie but I couldn't see much for this time period there).

HeronW · Feb 23, 2008

try Google, your local library, any local groups that do AmRev reinactments, museums on battle sites, etc.

Zelenka · Feb 23, 2008

HeronW said:
try Google, your local library, any local groups that do AmRev reinactments, museums on battle sites, etc.

I'm in Scotland, not the US, so there aren't any battle sites within easy reach or AmRev re-enactment groups.

As I said in the original post, I am going into the library over the next few weeks to treat myself to some reading, but I wondered if there was anything specific I should look out, anything people would particularly recommend.

Puma · Feb 23, 2008

There are a variety of standard things and some not so standard - The Most Dangerous Man in America about Ben Franklin and The Diplomacy of the American Revolution are two non-standard that pop in my mind. You might also look at Common Sense by Thomas Paine (aide de Camp to Nathaniel Greene who was second to Washington).

If you want information on specific events or battles, there's a lot available on the internet - even the records of who was with Washington at Valley Forge. The Tri-Valleys website has a lot of information about some of the obscure battles like the Wyoming Massacre and if I remember correctly the SugarLoaf Massacre.

You might try going to Rootsweb (genealogical website), then to a state of interest for you and seeing what sorts of information the states have posted. Cyndi's List is another excellent genealogical site with a lot of historical information available.

Of course, a lot depends also on whether you're looking at this from a British or American perspective. I'm, of course, thinking of the American perspective. Puma

Jersey Chick · Feb 23, 2008

Thomas Fleming's Liberty is a great book.

If one can have a favorite war, the American Revolution is mine. If you want, PM me and I'll dig through my shelves for the titles - I've got a ton of them.

Zelenka · Feb 23, 2008

Puma said:
There are a variety of standard things and some not so standard - The Most Dangerous Man in America about Ben Franklin and The Diplomacy of the American Revolution are two non-standard that pop in my mind. You might also look at Common Sense by Thomas Paine (aide de Camp to Nathaniel Greene who was second to Washington).

If you want information on specific events or battles, there's a lot available on the internet - even the records of who was with Washington at Valley Forge. The Tri-Valleys website has a lot of information about some of the obscure battles like the Wyoming Massacre and if I remember correctly the SugarLoaf Massacre.

You might try going to Rootsweb (genealogical website), then to a state of interest for you and seeing what sorts of information the states have posted. Cyndi's List is another excellent genealogical site with a lot of historical information available.

Of course, a lot depends also on whether you're looking at this from a British or American perspective. I'm, of course, thinking of the American perspective. Puma

Provisionally I'm thinking it'll be British, but I'd want to get as rounded a view as possible before I went anywhere with it. It's quite daunting taking on a new period. I've noted those titles for my 'to read' list and I'll check out the other sources. I hadn't thought about geneological sites. Thank you.

Jersey Chick said:
Thomas Fleming's Liberty is a great book.

If one can have a favorite war, the American Revolution is mine. If you want, PM me and I'll dig through my shelves for the titles - I've got a ton of them.

Thank you, much appreciated!

san_remo_ave · Feb 23, 2008

I found 1776 by David McCullough a good read and different perspective on events.

Completely agree with Puma's recommendation on Common Sense

Autobiography of Ben Franklin for first hand account

Do you have a city, region or state in mind for your story? There can be quite a difference in mentality, culture and lifestyle depending upon where your setting is.

Don't forget that many residents believed themselves to be British and were not in agreement with the revolutionaries. Many packed up and left.

Zelenka · Feb 23, 2008

sanremoave said:
I found 1776 by David McCullough a good read and different perspective on events.

Completely agree with Puma's recommendation on Common Sense

Autobiography of Ben Franklin for first hand account

The library has two out of those three (1776 is out until April, apparently, but it's not that expensive on Amazon, might treat myself). Thanks for the recommendations!

Do you have a city, region or state in mind for your story? There can be quite a difference in mentality, culture and lifestyle depending upon where your setting is.

Don't forget that many residents believed themselves to be British and were not in agreement with the revolutionaries. Many packed up and left.

At the moment I'm thinking the American part of it will be sort of Virginia-ish. My tentative plan is to start in London and then move over there as my plot thickens. Sorry, I'm a bit vague at the moment as I'm still forming the story and I have a feeling the ideas I have will all change once I start researching properly anyway.

funidream · Feb 23, 2008

REDCOATS AND REBELS The American Revolution Through British Eyes by Christopher Hibbert

ColoradoGuy · Feb 23, 2008

My favorite all-around source is Robert Middlekauff's The Glorious Cause. It's part of the Oxford History of the United States series, so it should be easily available where you are.

Zelenka · Feb 23, 2008

funidream said:
REDCOATS AND REBELS The American Revolution Through British Eyes by Christopher Hibbert

Someone in the university must be studying this - that one's out until May.

ColoradoGuy said:
My favorite all-around source is Robert Middlekauff's The Glorious Cause. It's part of the Oxford History of the United States series, so it should be easily available where you are.

Ah, we have that and no one's borrowed it. I'm fairly sure that's the one I'd found on Amazon and was considering actually.

This is great though, I have a nice little list building up. I haven't done a sit-in at the library for a while. Looking forward to this.

Puma · Feb 23, 2008

Hi Jess - This is sort of an off the wall. You probably recall my historical story about Ohio in the early 1800's. One of the interesting characters is supposed to have been the drummer/piper for George Washington (and he was with Washington at Valley Forge). This man was born in Ireland in 1726, fought in the British Army, moved to Virginia, and then enlisted in one of the Virginia Regiments during the Revolution.

You could get some really interesting conflicts going between those who had moved to the states and those who had stayed loyal to Britain.

And yes, Sanremoave hit a very good point on the internal conflict in the colonies between the loyalists and the rebels. It happened in all the colonies and there's a lot of documentation about it on the internet.

Think you might have a good idea materializing here. Puma

Zelenka · Feb 23, 2008

Puma said:
Hi Jess - This is sort of an off the wall. You probably recall my historical story about Ohio in the early 1800's. One of the interesting characters is supposed to have been the drummer/piper for George Washington (and he was with Washington at Valley Forge). This man was born in Ireland in 1726, fought in the British Army, moved to Virginia, and then enlisted in one of the Virginia Regiments during the Revolution.

You could get some really interesting conflicts going between those who had moved to the states and those who had stayed loyal to Britain.

And yes, Sanremoave hit a very good point on the internal conflict in the colonies between the loyalists and the rebels. It happened in all the colonies and there's a lot of documentation about it on the internet.

Think you might have a good idea materializing here. Puma

I'm quite excited about the whole thing, to tell the truth. That is a good place to start looking for conflict, and actually I have a few new ideas from that, which I can add to my list of things to keep in mind when I do my reading.

At the moment I'm really just gathering as many ideas as I can - I've a vague outline of the plot and main character but other than that, it's all still out there to be discovered. I haven't worked on something 'new' for a long time though - it's all been editing / reworking old ideas for about a year now - so this is a lot of fun.

And, it was actually the 'Reversal' challenge that got me thinking of it! This all started off as an idea for a short story. Yet again, though, my brain refused to acknowledge the word 'short'.

san_remo_ave · Feb 24, 2008

JessRamage said:
At the moment I'm thinking the American part of it will be sort of Virginia-ish. My tentative plan is to start in London and then move over there as my plot thickens.

Cool! I was born in Virginia (raised in Maryland) and I'm familiar with the northern part of the state. You'll certainly want to check into Williamsburg, then. It's a lovely, living history type of town. Here's the official link. Check out the Digital History link, too. Tons of great photos, clips, maps, archaeological excavations, etc.

There's also the James River plantation culture which were initially indigo and tobacco producers. And don't forget several influential Revolutionary Virginians: Thomas Jefferson (the link to his beautiful home, Monticello) and, of course, George Washington (the link to his beautiful home, Mount Vernon, which is located on the Potomac River across from modern day Washington, DC). Their sites are bound to have tons of great info on lifestyle, politics, etc in addition to the men themselves).

One of these days I'll get to the Rev War story I have rolling about in my subconsious....

pdr · Feb 24, 2008

Thank you for those links...

I'll get them transfered into the Resources sticky.

Zelenka · Feb 24, 2008

Oh, thank you for the links! I'll get into those when I get back from classes.

Snowstorm · Mar 31, 2008

Jess, if you're able to go to east coast libraries or museums, try their archives. There's tons of information buried there. Few people, I think, try these out-of-the-way places. Letters, journals, photos, compiliations of information that's not bound, etc., or may have been donated by families. If you have a university that has a rare books library, those also have very old books that just can't be found anywhere else.

I like these sources because they're not the standard books or items on the Internet. The perspective is very personal. The books that may not be available anywhere can give you insight not found elsewhere.

I interned at the University of Wyoming's Toppan Rare books library (fanTAStic place) and found a nonfiction book written after the Civil War by a woman who carried on the family farm. There was an engraving depicting a black woman offering the main character, a white woman, money until the white woman until she got back on her feet! Incredible. This book was brought to the attention of the African American Studies department, who came right over to inspect the book.

Good luck and I'm envious at your research opportunities.

Resources for the American Revolution?

Zelenka

Going home!

HeronW

Down Under Fan

Zelenka

Going home!

Puma

Retired and loving it!

Jersey Chick

Up all night to get Loki

Zelenka

Going home!

san_remo_ave

Back at it

Zelenka

Going home!

funidream

ColoradoGuy

I've seen worse.

Zelenka

Going home!

Puma

Retired and loving it!

Zelenka

Going home!

san_remo_ave

Back at it

pdr

Zelenka

Going home!

Snowstorm

Baby plot bunneh sniffs out a clue