American Revolution Podcast
361 episodes - English - Latest episode: about 1 month ago - ★★★★★ - 278 ratingsAmerican Revolution Podcast explores the events of the American Revolution, from beginning to end. It publishes weekly. Be sure to check out the related blog for access to pictures, maps, and links to more useful information on each week's episode. https://blog.amrevpodcast.com
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Episodes
Episode 100 The Declaration of Independence
June 09, 2019 09:00 - 30 minutesWe review the Declaration line by line and explain what it means. Visit my site at https://blog.AmRevPodcast.com for more text, pictures, maps, and sources on this topic. Book Recommendation of the Week: American Scripture: Making the Declaration of Independence, by Pauline Maier Online Recommendation of the Week: Revolutions Podcast, by Mike Duncan Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Episode 099 Drafting the Declaration
June 02, 2019 09:00 - 28 minutesThe Continental Congress appoints a committee headed by Thomas Jefferson to draft a declaration while debate over independence continues. After Congress approves the Declaration with modifications, it is distributed to the world, then later signed. Visit my site at https://blog.AmRevPodcast.com for more text, pictures, maps, and sources on this topic. Book Recommendations of the Week: What Did the Declaration Declare, by Joseph Ellis (ed) & The Fourth of July and the Founding of America, by P...
Episode 098 Voting for Independence
May 26, 2019 09:00 - 28 minutesIn the spring of 1776, the Second Continental Congress struggles to reach a unanimous vote on independence. Visit my site at https://blog.AmRevPodcast.com for more text, pictures, maps, and sources on this topic. Book Recommendation of the Week: Signing Their Lives Away, by by Denise Kiernan and Joseph D'Agnese Online Recommendation of the week: Online Liberty Library oll.libertyfund.org Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Episode 097 A Coup in Philadelphia
May 19, 2019 09:00 - 28 minutesRadicals in Philadelphia overthrow the conservative colonial government. They install radicals just in time to get Pennsylvania to support independence. For more text, pictures, maps, and sources, please visit my site at AmRevPodcast.Blogspot.com. Book Recommendation of the Week: The Revolution Is Now Begun: The Radical Committees of Philadelphia, 1765-1776, by Richard Alan Ryerson Online Recommendation of the Week archive.org Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Episode 096 The Battle for Sullivan's Island
May 12, 2019 09:00 - 29 minutesGeneral Henry Clinton and Commodore Peter Parker attempt to capture Fort Sullivan in the harbor of Charleston South Carolina. Although Continental General Charles Lee attempts to abandon the fort, the fort commander Colonel William Moultrie refuses. The British fail take the fort and must retreat back to New York without any military success. Visit my site at https://blog.AmRevPodcast.com for more text, pictures, maps, and sources on this topic. Book Recommendation of the Week Crescent Moon O...
Episode 095 The Battle of Trois-Rivières (Three Rivers)
May 05, 2019 09:00 - 27 minutesGeneral Sullivan takes command in Canada, only to be overwhelmed by the British reinforcements commanded by Generals Carleton and Burgoyne. The Continentals attack the British at Three Rivers, only to be repelled. Even more devastating is smallpox still ravaging the army. With General Arnold's assistance the Army successfully retreats back to New York largely intact. Visit my site at https://blog.AmRevPodcast.com for more text, pictures, maps, and sources on this topic. Learn more about your ...
Episode 094 War at Sea, Battle of Turtle Gut Inlet
April 28, 2019 09:00 - 28 minutesElements of the Continental Navy as well as a hoard of privateers harass and battle with the British Navy up and down the East coast. Naval Commodore John Barry emerges and an early naval hero. Visit my site at https://blog.AmRevPodcast.com for more text, pictures, maps, and sources on this topic. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Episode 093 The Dave Mathews Band Breaks Up
April 21, 2019 09:00 - 27 minutesGeneral Washington struggles to set up defenses in New York despite Tories all around him. The Continental army riots with NY Prostitutes after they murder two soldiers. The Army discovers and shuts down a plot to murder Washington ahead of the British invasion. One soldier is hanged and mayor David Mathews is taken into custody. Visit my site at https://blog.AmRevPodcast.com for more text, pictures, maps, and sources on this topic. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adcho...
Episode 092 State Constitutions, Part 2
April 14, 2019 09:00 - 28 minutesFollowing the Declaration of Independence, most of the remaining States adopt new Constitutions. We examine why Massachusetts took so long and why Connecticut and Rhode Island did not even bother with one. Visit my site at https://blog.AmRevPodcast.com for more text, pictures, maps, and sources on this topic. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Episode 091 State Constitutions, Part 1
April 07, 2019 09:00 - 29 minutesIn 1775 and 1776, even before officially declaring independence, the colonies begin adopting constitutions. We see many of the principles later found in the Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution showing up in these first attempts at self-government. Visit my site at https://blog.AmRevPodcast.com for more text, pictures, maps, and sources on this topic. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Episode 090 Battle of the Cedars
March 31, 2019 09:00 - 28 minutesGeneral John Thomas takes command of Continental forces around Quebec. Despite his efforts, the Continentals must withdraw as the British relief fleet arrives in spring 1776. An American force surrenders to an inferior force at an outpost known as the Cedars, leading to scandal and courts martial. Visit my site at https://blog.AmRevPodcast.com for more text, pictures, maps, and sources on this topic. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Episode 089: Washington Moves to New York
March 24, 2019 09:00 - 27 minutesIn the months between the time the British evacuate Boston and land in New York, Washington had plenty of time to work with his army to build up defenses around New York City and to confer with leaders in Philadelphia. Visit my site at https://blog.AmRevPodcast.com for more text, pictures, maps, and sources on this topic. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Episode 088 British War Plans 1776
March 17, 2019 09:00 - 28 minutesThe North Ministry settles on a plan to send an overwhelming force. They will shock and awe the colonists into submission. General Howe will command an army of 32,000 regulars and Hessians supported by his brother Admiral Howe commanding over 10,000 sailors and Marines. A secondary force of 8000 under General Burgoyne will go to Quebec and fall under the command of General Carleton. The Howe brothers will capture and occupy New York City, then expand out from there. They also will serve as Pe...
Episode 087 Canada Spring 1776
March 10, 2019 09:00 - 28 minutesFollowing the failed attempt to take Quebec City, the Continentals keep a token force around the city. General Benedict Arnold recovers from his wounds while he fights with his fellow officers over what to do next. General David Wooster pulls rank and takes command of Quebec, forcing Arnold to leave. Visit my site at https://blog.AmRevPodcast.com for more text, pictures, maps, and sources on this topic. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Episode 086 The Evacuation of Boston
March 03, 2019 09:00 - 27 minutesAfter the Continentals capture Dorchester Heights, the British Army and Navy must leave Boston right away. Loyalists crowd onto ships and escape to Halifax. Gen. Howe spares the city in exchange for the Continentals not firing on the city or the fleet during the evacuation. Visit https://blog.AmRevPodcast.com for more text, pictures, maps, and sources on this week's episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Episode 085 Dorchester Heights
February 24, 2019 09:00 - 28 minutesThe Continental Army occupies Dorchester Heights overnight, surprising the British and forcing them to evacuate Boston. Visit https://blog.AmRevPodcast.com for more text, pictures, maps, and sources on this week's episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Episode 084 The Continental Navy Raids the Bahamas
February 17, 2019 09:00 - 27 minutesThe Continental Congress builds a small fleet to take on the British Navy. The new commander of the Continental Navy begins his command by disobeying orders to confront the British Navy directly. Instead, he launches a raid on the Bahamas to collect needed arms and ammunition. Visit https://blog.AmRevPodcast.com for more text, pictures, maps, and sources on this week's episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Episode 083 Continental Congress Winter 1776
February 10, 2019 09:00 - 28 minutesDelegates to the Continental Congress, including conservatives, begin to consider independence as a realistic option. Lord Drummond sails to Philadelphia in a well intentioned but poorly conceived attempt to broker a peace deal. Congress blames General Schuyler for the failures in Canada and moves around some of its generals. It sends Silas Deane to France to open up diplomatic negotiations with the new King Louis XVI of France. Visit https://blog.AmRevPodcast.com for more text, pictures, map...
Episode 082 The Battle of Moore's Creek Bridge
February 03, 2019 09:00 - 28 minutesGeneral Henry Clinton leaves Boston to secure the southern colonies. His plan is to meet up with a fleet of regulars coming from Britain under the commend of General Cornwallis. These regulars will serve as a rally point for loyalists to enlist and reclaim the colonies for the King. The British send two recruiting officers to western North Carolina, where they raise several thousand recruits. The Patriots learn of the organization of loyalist regiments. They send Continentals under Col. James...
Episode 081 Common Sense
January 27, 2019 09:00 - 29 minutesThomas Paine arrived in America in 1774 with a head full of radical ideas: abolition, women's rights, republicanism, and independence. This British immigrant was more radical than most Americans. His publication of Common Sense in January 1776 is widely credited with pushing public opinion in favor of independence. Visit https://blog.AmRevPodcast.com for more text, pictures, maps, and sources on this week's episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Episode 080 The Knox Expedition
January 20, 2019 09:00 - 28 minutesGeneral Washington appoints Henry Knox Commander of Artillery. His first mission is to find some artillery to command. Knox hauls 59 artillery pieces from Fort Ticonderoga to Boston. These will prove instrumental in ending the Siege of Boston. Visit https://blog.AmRevPodcast.com for more text, pictures, maps, and sources on this week's episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Episode 079 The Battle of Quebec
January 13, 2019 09:00 - 27 minutesGeneral Montgomery and Colonel Arnold make a desperate attempt to take Quebec City before their soldiers' enlistments expire at the end of 1775. Despite a brave attack, the attack fails, leaving the Continental Army in Canada in tatters. Visit https://blog.AmRevPodcast.com for more text, pictures, maps, and sources on this week's episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Episode 078 Advancing on Quebec
January 06, 2019 09:00 - 28 minutesGeneral Arnold demands the surrender of Quebec, but the last minute arrival of local defenders gives them the courage to hold out. Arnold pulls back and links up with General Montgomery so that the combined force can assault the city together. Visit https://blog.AmRevPodcast.com for more text, pictures, maps, and sources on this week's episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Episode 077: The Dunmore Proclamation and the Southern War
December 30, 2018 09:00 - 28 minutesVirginia Governor Lord Dunmore proclaims that slaves who abandon their rebel masters and join the British army can earn their freedom. Dunmore attempts to recruit a loyalist army of both black and white Virginians. He fights a pitched battle at Kemp's Landing and Great Bridge. Unable to hold land, his forces retreat to ships offshore. At the end of 1775, the British also burn and abandon Norfolk. In South Carolina, patriots attack and scatter loyalist militia around Ninty-Six i the western in...
Episode 076 Arnold's March to Quebec
December 23, 2018 09:00 - 29 minutesBenedict Arnold leads a force across the New England wilderness to attack Quebec from an unexpected direction. More than half of his force does not make it through the deadly march. Visit https://blog.AmRevPodcast.com for more text, pictures, maps, and sources on this week's episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Episode 075 Continental Congress Autumn 1775
December 16, 2018 09:00 - 28 minutesCongress accepts that it is in for a long term fight. It creates a Navy and Marine Corps and a southern army. It explores diplomacy with France and sends a diplomat to work with the Iroquois. It also recommends that the colonies create forms of government based on the will of the people. To pay for all this, it prints lots more paper money. Visit https://blog.AmRevPodcast.com for more text, pictures, maps, and sources on this week's episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.f...
Episode 074 Occupied Boston 1775
December 09, 2018 09:00 - 28 minutesThe British in Boston suffer through a miserable winter. The Continental Army keeps them stuck in the city. New England privateers make it extremely difficult to receive food and supplies from the sea. Hundreds die of disease as everyone suffers greatly. The British navy does little to provide assistance. Its destruction of the village of Falmouth only enrages the Americans. Britain recalls General Gage and Admiral Graves putting General Howe and Admiral Shuldham in charge. Visit https://blog...
Episode 073 Siege of Boston, Autumn Edition
December 02, 2018 09:00 - 28 minutesGeneral Washington gets frustrated by the lack of a plan to attack Boston. He also squelches his first mutiny. He sends Col. Benedict Arnold to Quebec and Col. Henry Knox to Fort Ticonderoga. He uncovers a British spy among one of the most trusted patriot leaders. Most of all he struggles with how to keep the army from going home over the winter. Visit https://blog.AmRevPodcast.com for more text, pictures, maps, and sources on this week's episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit meg...
Episode 072 Siege of St. Jean
November 25, 2018 09:00 - 26 minutesGenerals Schuyler and Montgomery launch an attack from Fort Ticonderoga into British controlled Canada. They lay siege Fort St. Jean. After several months they capture the fort and take prisoner nearly all British regulars in Canada. Afterwards, the Americans capture Montreal without a fight. British Commander Guy Carleton dons a disguise and escapes back to Quebec. He prepares to defend the city against the American forces. Visit https://blog.AmRevPodcast.com for more text, pictures, maps, a...
Episode 071 Britain Prepares to Crush a Rebellion
November 18, 2018 09:00 - 29 minutesOver the winter of 1775-76, the Ministry in Britain decides to use overwhelming force to put an end to colonial resistance. The King refuses to receive the Olive Branch Petition and makes clear that he supports Parliament in this fight and calls for the use of force to suppress colonial treason. He also starts recruiting German speaking mercenaries to supplement the British Army. The ministry also dumps General Gage and Secretary Dartmouth, replacing them with General Howe and Secretary Germa...
Episode 070 Ousted Governors and Bermuda Powder Raid
November 11, 2018 09:00 - 29 minutesActive patriot groups shut down all royal control of all colonies and arrest or expel their royal governors. The colonies also conduct a raid on Bermuda to acquire more gunpowder for the cause. Visit https://blog.AmRevPodcast.com for more text, pictures, maps, and sources on this week's episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Episode 069: The South Joins the War
November 04, 2018 09:00 - 29 minutesOver the summer of 1775, the southern colonies throw out their royal governments and take control. Virginians fight off a British raid on Hampton. Carolinians capture forts and munitions. The Mecklenburg Resolves declare independence. Georgia patriots fight loyalists for control of the colony. Visit https://blog.AmRevPodcast.com for more text, pictures, maps, and sources on this week's episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Episode 068 Congress' Olive Branch Petition
October 28, 2018 09:00 - 29 minutesIn the summer of 1775, after creating a the Continental Army and making Washington its commander, Congress makes one final effort for peace, sending the King the Olive Branch Petition. After that, Congress focuses on the war at hand, drafting a Declaration on the Necessity of Taking up Arms. It organizes committees to run military affairs and creates a new Post Office. Congress also rejects Parliament's Conciliatory Proposition before it adjourns for the rest of the summer. Visit https://blog...
Episode 067: Washington Takes Command
October 21, 2018 09:00 - 29 minutesNewly appointed General George Washington arrives in Cambridge to take command of what is now the Continental Army. He is shocked by the lack of discipline and the fact that his army has almost no ammunition. He quietly attempts to rebuild his army and collect more arms and ammunition. His hopes of a quick and successful offensive against the regulars on Boston are quickly dashed. Visit my site at https://blog.AmRevPodcast.com for more text, pictures, maps, and sources on this topic. Learn m...
Episode 066: The British Take Bunker Hill
October 14, 2018 09:00 - 29 minutesAfter ferrying thousands of regulars across Boston Harbor, General William Howe begins his attack on Bunker and Breed's Hills late afternoon on the afternoon of June 17, 1775. The regulars launch three bloody assaults to dislodge the provincial troops before the British break the American lines. The provincials retreat only after running out of ammunition. They lose nearly 450 soldiers, including General Joseph Warren. The British take more than twice that number in casualties, far more than ...
Episode 065: The Provincials Occupy Bunker Hill
October 07, 2018 09:00 - 28 minutesWhen the Provincials get word that the British plan to occupy the no man's land at Bunker Hill and Dorchester Heights, they send Massachusetts and Connecticut militia to build defenses on Bunker Hill. The soldiers instead build the defenses on Breed's Hill, a smaller hill just next to Bunker Hill. The British take most of the following day moving regulars across Boston Harbor to attack the defenses with overwhelming force. The provincials use the extra time to reinforce and extend their def...
Episode 064: The Second Continental Congress Begins
September 30, 2018 09:00 - 29 minutesIn May 1775, the Second Continental Congress begins after the war has already started. Delegates must play catchup. They have to decide whether they will support the war and what their goals are. Delegates agree to send one more petition to the King in hopes of pulling out a peace deal. Most delegates though, realize this is pointless. Congress supports the war. The only debate is whether victory means full independence, or simply a better guarantee of colonial rights. Congress creates a Co...
Episode 063 Buzzard's Bay and Machias
September 23, 2018 09:00 - 26 minutesWith the British army sitting in Boston, the navy needs to provide supplies and prevent supplies from reaching the Provincials. An attempt to capture a ship at Buzzard's Bay fails as locals overtake the small British task force and take them prisoner. Similarly, when the British send a ship to protect two merchant vessels providing firewood for Boston, locals again capure the ships. They kill several of the British and take the rest prisoner. Visit my site at https://blog.AmRevPodcast.com for...
Episode 062: The Three Headed Cerberus in Boston
September 16, 2018 09:00 - 27 minutesEven before word of Lexington and Concord reached London, the Ministry decided they would need to up their game in the colonies. They did not send Gen. Gage all of the reinforcements he wanted, but they did send some soldiers and marines for the start of the 1775 fighting season. Along with them, the Ministry sent three new Major Generals to support Gage, traveling together aboard the HMS Cerberus. All three men, William Howe, Henry Clinton, and John Burgoyne would go on to play larger roles ...
Episode 061: The Battle of Chelsea Creek
September 09, 2018 09:00 - 27 minutesIn the first weeks of the Siege of Boston in 1775, the Provincial Army appears to be more of a disorganized mob than an army. Men do not obey officers. Units from one colony would not obey orders from another. No real chain of command exists. Further, the lack of uniforms, supplies, ammunition, and other logistical problems created their own problems. Soldiers on both sides begin to die from disease. The only real fighting at this time is over islands in Boston Harbor that contain food and ha...
Episode 060: Securing Lake Champlain
September 02, 2018 09:00 - 27 minutesFollowing Benedict Arnold and Ethan Allen's capture of Fort Ticonderoga, Arnold seizes several ships and attacks Fort St. Jean in Quebec. With the captured ships, he forms his own navy on Lake Champlain. The British nearly capture Allen as he attempts to follow Arnold's raid and secure the fort. As word of the men's exploits get back to officials in New England and Philadelphia, more moderate politicians replace both officers out of fear that their actions will prevent politicians from negoti...
Episode 059: Taking Fort Ticonderoga
August 26, 2018 09:00 - 25 minutesBenedict Arnold develops a plan to capture Fort Ticonderoga in New York in order to get cannon for Boston. Before leaving for Massachusetts, he tells several men in his home colony of Connecticut about his plan. These Connecticut men organize a force with Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain Boys, who live only a few miles from the fort. Arnold, unaware of this plan, gets approval from the Massachusetts army to raise a force in Western Massachusetts to attack the fort. Upon learning that Allen ...
Episode 058: Slavery and Liberty
August 19, 2018 09:00 - 27 minutesFor most of the colonial period, slavery is surprisingly uncontroversial. As the American Revolution begins, colonists start to question the institution of slavery In the north, broad acceptance of slavery evaporates quickly after patriots demand that all men are born basic rights to liberty. Even in the north, slavery would not end for many more years though. In the south, where slave are much more critical to the economy, colonists prove unwilling to bend on the issue. Many in the deep so...
Episode 057: Regulars and Provincials
August 12, 2018 09:00 - 26 minutesAs the Siege of Boston opens in 1775, this episode takes a look at the command structure and life as a British Regular, and compares that to the Provincial army of militiamen around Boston. Visit my site at https://blog.AmRevPodcast.com for more text, pictures, maps, and sources on this topic. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Episode 056: The Shot Heard 'Round the World
August 05, 2018 09:00 - 27 minutesThe Siege of Boston begins as soon as the regulars retreat back to Boston following the battles at Lexington and Concord. The New England Provincial army springs up overnight from minutemen and militia units throughout New England. In the days that follow, Patriots and regulars record their accounts of the battles. The Patriots rush their accounts across the continent and over to London, spreading their version of events first. Word of the fighting encourages Patriots across the continent tha...
Episode 055: British Retreat from Lexington and Concord
July 29, 2018 09:00 - 24 minutesBy the afternoon of April 19, 1775, having completed his search and destroy mission to Concord. Lt. Col. Smith finds himself facing a twenty mile gauntlet back to Boston. Thousands of angry militia stand ready to attack. His men are exhausted and running low on ammunition. His column barely makes it back to Lexington, where Lord Percy's relief column saves them from surrender. The combined force then faces its own running battle before finally returning to the safety of Charlestown. The regul...
Episode 054: British Advance on Lexington and Concord
July 22, 2018 09:00 - 21 minutesOn the evening of April 18, 1775, Lt. Col. Smith leaves Boston via Charlestown. His goal is to seize and destroy munitions in Concord. Delays prevent his force from leaving Charlestown before Paul Revere and other riders alert the countryside. At around dawn on April 19, the regulars confront a group of militia on Lexington Green. The regulars at Lexington are an advance company led by a young Lieutenant. They fire on the militia before the main column arrives. When Col. Smith arrives, he sto...
Episode 053: Paul Revere Rides
July 15, 2018 09:00 - 21 minutesAs Gen. Gage prepares to deploy a brigade of regulars to Concord, the Patriots activate their warning system. Joseph Warren deploys William Dawes and Paul Revere to alert countryside. The riders alert the militia and reach Lexington, while avoiding British patrols. They warn Samuel Adams and John Hancock at Lexington before continuing their ride. On the road to Concord, a British patrol captures Revere. Dawes gets thrown from his horse during his escape. But a third rider, Samuel Prescott, co...
Episode 052: Salem Alarm & Hearts and Minds
July 08, 2018 09:00 - 21 minutes - 19.5 MBIn February 1775, Gage attempts to grab a cache of Patriot cannon in Salem. Col. Alexander Leslie leads a regiment of regulars on what is supposed to be a surprise sail up the coast and a fast dash to Salem to grab the guns. Alert patriots run ahead of the soldiers and remove the weapons before the regulars arrive. After a brief standoff, the regulars return to Boston empty handed. A few weeks later, Boston commemorates the 5th anniversary of the Boston Massacre. Interaction with soldier...
Episode 052: Salem Alarm & Hearts and Minds
July 08, 2018 09:00 - 22 minutesIn February 1775, Gage attempts to grab a cache of Patriot cannon in Salem. Col. Alexander Leslie leads a regiment of regulars on what is supposed to be a surprise sail up the coast and a fast dash to Salem to grab the guns. Alert patriots run ahead of the soldiers and remove the weapons before the regulars arrive. After a brief standoff, the regulars return to Boston empty handed. A few weeks later, Boston commemorates the 5th anniversary of the Boston Massacre. Interaction with soldiers lea...