American Revolutionary War

The Compromise of 1790

The Compromise of 1790

The Compromise allowed for the founding of the new nation's capital, Washington D.C.

In one of Lin Manuel Miranda’s catchiest tunes in the musical Hamilton, Hamilton’s doppelganger Aaron Burr sings longingly about being in “the room where it happens,” on the inside, shaping momentous actions.  Anyone who has spent time around political types will...

Cornwallis, by Richard Middleton

Cornwallis, by Richard Middleton

A masterful new biography from Richard Middleton

Charles Cornwallis, Lord Cornwallis, is remembered as one of the salient military leaders of the American Revolution, blamed for the British defeat at Yorktown that marked the beginning of the end of the Revolution. Yet as Richard Middleton´s masterful new biography...

Richard Middleton on Cornwallis

Richard Middleton on Cornwallis

The author of a new biography dispels myths about Charles Cornwallis, the commander who surrendered to George Washington.
Richard Middleton

Richard Middleton, Charles, 1st Marquis Cornwallis is probably most well-known for his disastrous military leadership during the American War of Independence. Was he really a terrible commander?  Cornwallis’s career as a field commander certainly began badly when he...

The Surrender of Cornwallis: A Path to Progress

The Surrender of Cornwallis: A Path to Progress

Charles Cornwallis has a reputation as a disastrous military leader up against George Washington, but he was a progressive administrator in Ireland and India.
Richard Middleton

As the light began to fade on 2 January 1777, a group of red-coated figures gathered in discussion on a small hill overlooking the village of Trenton, New Jersey. The urgency of their deliberations was emphasised by the rumbling sound of nearby musketry and cannon...