The Revolutionary War

The Battle of Kings Mountain 1780-With Fire and Sword

Kings Mountain began in the hearts and minds of people-of a king and his makers of policy, of generals, and of "rabble" who had no policy but some very firm beliefs. For the British, the message of Kings mountain was a bitter harvest of mistaken judgment and misplaced hopes. To the Americans, it was a revelation of possible ultimate victory. After Kings Mountain no one would claim again that there was an untapped reserve of loyalist sentiment out there in the hinterlands waiting to be gathered into royal ranks. At Kings Mountain they were ready to settle the matter once and for all.

John Paul Jones' Memoir of the American Revolution

This being the account of John Paul Jones and his involvement in the Revolutionary War as presented to King Louis XVI of France.

"At the beginning of the war, during the year 1775, I was charged with fitting out the small squadron which Congress had placed under the command of Mr. Hopkins, commander of the American navy; and I hoisted with my own hands (on board the Alfred, flagship of the commander in chief) the American flag, then unfurled for the first time."

Marines in the Revolution: A History of the Continental Marines in the Revolutionary War 1775-1783

On 10 November 1775 the Second Continental Congress authorized the raising of two battalions of Marines. From this small beginning we have seen the United States Marine Corps grow into a powerful force for the nation's security. In this volume, through the actions and words of the participants, we read of a small Marine force which promptly challenged Great Britain's control on both land and sea. This is their story.

Soldier - Statesmen of the Constitution

This volume represents an important part of the U.S. Army Center of Military History's contribution to the celebration of the Bicentennial of the Constitution. This Bicentennial, like the anniversary of the Declaration of Independence in 1976, is producing a resurgence of interest on the part of the Army, the scholarly community, and the general public in understanding the formation of our republic and the principles on which it is based. The mission of the Center of Military History is very explicit in such matters. In part, we are to "serve the Army and the nation by ensuring the complete and appropriate use of military historical experience relevant to professional issues of today and tomorrow." To mark the Bicentennial of the Declaration of Independence, we produced five volumes on the role of the Army in the Revolution. In 1987, through this volume and a series of lectures and brochures, we are taking a systematic look at the evolution of the role of the U.S. military as defined by the Constitution, focusing in particular on the individual parts played by key Revolutionary War veterans- the Soldier-Statesmen- in the shaping and elaboration of that role. Today's servicemen and women can hear a special resonance in the stirring words of the Constitution's Preamble. They are the inheritors of the responsibility to serve the government of the people by providing for the common defense, a responsibility that closely binds them to the intentions of the Soldier-Statesmen of two hundred years ago who penned those words. The Constitution is revered by all of us, but no more so than by the men and women in uniform who have given their solemn oath to "defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic." To them especially we dedicate this book, with the hope that it will strengthen their devotion to the Constitution and increase their appreciation for the contribution made by their military forebears, not only to independence but also to the art of governance.