News
“Without Farther Effusion of Blood”: William Howe, Complicated Commander-in-Chief
Posted on January 27, 2026
On January 27, 1776—250 years ago today—Sir William Howe was commanding a city under siege. He had arrived in Boston in May 1775 as second in command to General Thomas Gage, the commander of...
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“For Keeping & Taking Care of a Sick Soldier”: Sickness in Canada and at Ticonderoga
Posted on January 26, 2026
Serving in the army in 1775 carried physical dangers with it, including obvious threats like combat, but also the invisible threat of illness. More American soldiers died of disease than of battle...
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Ticonderoga’s British Garrison Imprisoned in Connecticut
Posted on January 23, 2026
In January 1776, Fort Ticonderoga had been in American hands for more than eight months. The days when it was staffed by a British garrison from the 26th Regiment of Foot led by Captain William...
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“Such Pieces as Will Most Gratify His Customers”: Patriotism in a Massachusetts Newspaper
Posted on January 19, 2026
On January 19, 1776—250 years ago today—John Mycall of Newburyport, MA was going it alone. In 1775 he had partnered with Henry-Walter Tinges as a publisher of the Essex Journal and New-Hampshire...
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An Army’s Paperwork: Captain Waterman Clift Settles His Accounts
Posted on January 4, 2026
In January 1776, a new year was beginning, and so was a new iteration of the Continental Army. The enlistments of men who had signed up to serve at the war’s start had expired, and those who had...
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Up the Kennebec River with Benedict Arnold and Oliver Hanchett
Posted on December 19, 2025
In December 1775 outside the walls of Quebec City, General Richard Montgomery’s American army was staging a siege. Included in the siege forces was a company of Connecticut volunteers commanded by...
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The Noble Train of Artillery: Henry Knox Reports from Lake George
Posted on December 17, 2025
250 years ago today—December 17, 1775—Henry Knox’s Noble Train of Artillery had completed the first step of its journey, traveling from Fort Ticonderoga to the southern edge of Lake George. The...
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Over the Lake or Through the Woods: Colonel James Holmes Plans for Winter Prisoner Transport
Posted on December 16, 2025
In December 1775, American troops were besieging Quebec City, the capital of the British province of Quebec. The American forces had faced troubles since the start of their invasion, which multiplied...
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“To Be Mustered, Without Delay”: The Massachusetts Militia Fills the Gap
Posted on December 1, 2025
250 years ago this month, General George Washington had a problem. The Continental Army campaigning in Boston and in Canada was made up of men who had agreed to serve through the end of 1775. The end...
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Henry Knox Gets Good News From Boston: The Capture of the Nancy
Posted on November 30, 2025
250 years ago today—November 30, 1775—Henry Knox was just south of Albany, traveling north towards Fort Ticonderoga. The mission with which he had been entrusted, transporting captured British...
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The Education of Henry Knox
Posted on November 26, 2025
There is no Revolutionary hero so connected with books as Henry Knox. A bookseller before the war, he is indelibly associated with the printed word’s relationship to military practice. This is...
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A Noble Train?
Posted on November 24, 2025
Today, we often refer to Henry Knox’s expedition to bring guns from Ticonderoga to Washington’s army in Boston as the “Noble Train.” Nowadays reading the word “train” conjures up images...
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