On September 25, 1775, Ethan Allen of Vermont was captured during the Battle of Longues-Pointe, his failed attempt to wrest Montreal from the British. After his storied capture of Fort Ticonderoga (with Benedict Arnold!) on May 10, 1775, Allen was instructed by the Continental Army to organize a loc…

In June 1776, Thomas Jefferson, sequestered in a Philadelphia boarding house, drafted the Declaration of Independence as an "expression of the American mind." Just weeks later, on July 2, Congress voted for independence, formally adopting the Declaration on July 4. As Americans prepare to celebrate…

The experiences of women in wartime have been less well documented than those of men. Their contributions, their sufferings and heroism merit closer attention. The wealth of digitized primary sources in Readex collections offer fresh opportunities for researchers to study women who lived through, and often participated in, conflicts across multiple centuries and continents. In this post, we will touch on the diverse roles played by women in American wars from the early days of settlement through the middle of the 19th century. The earliest European settlements in North America conflicted...

In a world where cellphones and wristwatches are ubiquitous, it’s anachronistic to ask somebody what time it is. We’re immersed in time, and the evidence of its passage is all around us.Of course, timekeeping wasn’t always so formalized and accessible.For centuries, timepieces were rare, delicate, u…

In this environment of uncertainty and privation, it is unsurprising that some soldiers would find solace in humor. One such man was Captain Henry A. Ellis, 15th U.S. Infantry, who commanded Fort Garland.