a certain darkness is needed to see the stars @opinionated-revolutionary - Tumblr Blog

The Big List of American Revolution/Colonial Era Recommendations

This is a list put together by me, Patroclus. It is a list of books, shows, etc. about the American Revolution and life during the Colonial Era. I think this may be most helpful to those just getting started in the Amrev community, but I think everyone can find something new here! (I know I definitely did 😅)

Shoutout to @ms-march @betseys-bosom @tallmadgeandtea @henryshybitchclinton and @elrondsscribe for helping! This list wouldn’t be complete without you guys! (If you ever want to make an addition, just DM me! I’m always happy to add more!)

Books:

•1776-This book is a narrative of the year 1776 in the American Revolution. I think it would be a good read for those unfamiliar with the Revolution that wish to learn more.

•George Washington’s Secret Six: The Spy Ring That Saved The American Revolution-If you like Turn or are interested in historical espionage, this is a great book to start with. This book focuses on the Culper Spy Ring that gave Washington about British movements in New York.

•Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power-A great single-volume biography that covers Jefferson’s life from start to finish. Meacham tells of Jefferson’s life in a way that is engaging and informational. Winner of the Pulitzer Prize.

•Monticello: The Official Guide to Thomas Jefferson’s World-The official Monticello Estate guidebook published by National Geographic that reflects upon Jefferson, his home, and his world. Features iconic and little known stories about Jefferson and events at Monticello.

•Founding Mothers-The stories of the brave women who fought the revolution just as valiantly as the men. Drawing upon information from personal correspondence and private journals, we learn about the struggles and triumphs of women such as Abigail Adams, Mercy Otis Warren, Deborah Read Franklin, Eliza Pinckney, Martha Washington, and more

•Valley Forge-The story of the winter at Valley Forge and how it transformed the Continental army.

•American Rebels-A book on the intertwined lives of the Hancock, Quincy, and Adams families, and the role each member played in sparking the flames of revolution.

•1774: The Long Year of Revolution-A book tracing the critical year of 1774 and the changes that took place from the Boston Tea Party to the First Continental Congress to the Battles of Lexington and Concord.

•Washington’s Secret War-The story of George Washington and the secondary war he faced during December of 1777; the one upon his reputation as a general and patriot.

•Revolutionary Mothers-A book illustrating the vital role women took during the war. Women of the Revolution were most active at home, but Berkin shows that women also fought and helped on the front lines, as in the story of Margaret Corbin.

•General Washington’s Commando-A book about Benjamin Tallmadge, his role in the Revolution, and the vital role he played as a spy master for General Washington.

•George Washington’s Indispensable Men-This book covers the lives of some of the 32 men that served as Washington’s aides during the war-including Alexander Hamilton, Tench Tilghman, and more.

Primary Sources

•A Narrative of a Revolutionary Soldier-The memoir of Joseph Plumb Martin. Martin joined the continental army at age 15. This documents his life as a common soldier, and is considered one of the most important primary historical sources for the Revolution.

•Memoir of Benjamin Tallmadge-Colonel Benjamin Tallmadges account of his experiences during the Revolutionary War. This edition sheds more light on his espionage activities than what was given in his original memoirs.

•Letters From an American Farmer-A series of letters written by French American writer J. Hector St. John de Crèvecœur. These letters describe certain provincial situations, manners, customs not generally known, and convey some idea of the late and present circumstances of the British colonies in North America.

British Perspective

•The Men Who Lost America-An account of the Revolution told from the perspective of the British war leaders.

•Those Damned Rebels-A report of the war from the British perspective created by using firsthand accounts, journals, letters from British officers in the field, and reports from colonial governors.

•George Washington’s Opponents-Essays written by historians on figures such as Nathaniel Greene, Benedict Arnold, Marquis de Lafayette, and more for the American side. On the British side, Thomas Gage, Sir William Howe, Charles Lord Cornwallis, and several others.

•The Green Dragoon-A (free!) book on the lives of Banastre Tarleton and Mary Robinson.

•Cornwallis: The American Adventure-A (free!) book on the life of Charles Cornwallis.

•The Howe Brothers and the American Revolution-As the title suggests, this is a (free!) book about the Howe brothers during the American Revolution.

•Portrait of a General-A (free!) book about Sir Henry Clinton.

•The Traitor and the Spy-A (free!) book on John Andre and Benedict Arnold and their role in the war.

•John Burgoyne-A (free!) book on John Burgoyne.

•Mischianza-(Free!) book on the triumph felt upon leaving America unconquered.

YouTube:

•Townsends-The YouTube channel for Jas Townsend and Son. Videos focused on the colonial period, living history, historical recipes and more. Very well made and well informed videos + interviews with experts.

•Spies, Espionage, And Secret Writing In 1770’s-An interview from the Townsends channel with expert Brian Allison on some of the spy techniques used in the Revolution. If you like Turn, I definitely recommend this video.

•Spanish Military Hospital 1784-An interview from the Townsends channel that discusses a Spanish military hospital operating in the 18th century, their methods, and how the Spanish were the most advanced in medicine at the time.

•Colonial Williamsburg-The official YouTube for the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. They have many videos on many different topics of Colonial life/Amrev with people practiced in their field.

•Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello-The official Monticello YouTube. This information of course focuses on Jefferson’s life and the lives of everyone living at Monticello during his life.

•George Washington’s Mount Vernon-The official Mount Vernon YouTube channel. Focuses on how the estate operated and the lives of Washington, his family, and the enslaved people living on the property.

•Victoria and Albert Museum-Official YouTube of V&A Museum. Explore historical and contemporary art and design from many of the worlds richest cultures.

•JamestownRediscovery-YouTube channel for Historic Jamestowne, the first permanent English settlement in America.

Period Clothing:

•James Townsend and Son-This is the store that is owned by the Townsend YouTube channel. They have a great selection for not just clothes, fabrics, and sewing patterns, but many other period appropriate items you may need. They do customizations and have great customer service.

•Prior Attire-This is a small business based in the UK that makes good quality period clothing. They also do bespoke orders. They make clothes for many different periods, not just the colonial era.

•Pinsent Tailoring-A tailor based in the UK that makes bespoke period clothing that’s crafted with much historical accuracy. Zack (the owner) will make clothes ranging from the mid 1600’s to the 1920’s, but his area of expertise is with Georgian and Regency period clothing.

•American Duchess-A company that produces historical shoes and reproductions.

•LBCC-An Etsy store that sells historical apothecary items including cosmetics, hair care, beauty care, and more.

•Wm Booth, Draper-Sells fabrics (linen, hemp, wool, etc.), 18th and 19th century sewing patterns, books, and more.

•Burnley and Trowbridge-Provides reproduction textiles, notions, sewing tools, and accessories.

•Samson Historical-Provides historical reproductions of clothing, accessories, home goods and more.

•Penny River-Garments and accessories based off of paintings and research. Garments are machine sewn with hand finishing to give them the proper historical look. Fully hand sewn items can be made upon request.

•Sign of the Gray Horse-Reproduction and historically inspired jewelry.

•Fikars Finest-Clothes ranging from the French and Indian War to the 1800’s. Made to be historically accurate and durable. Does make custom orders.

•Erins Creative Designs-Vintage and historical clothing, and cute and functional accessories.

•Yosa-Makes historical embroidered accessories (and masks!!).

Other:

•Brigade of the American Revolution-A non-profit living history association recreating the life and times of the common soldier during the Revolution. Elements of all armies are represented (Continental, Militia, British, Loyalist, German, French, Spanish, and Native American forces along with women, children, and other civilian roles.) The Brigade hosts military encampments, tactical exercises, social activities and more.

animatedtext

reallybadblackoutpoems

alexander hamilton (2004) - ron chernow

“adam sandler hamilton”

vive-la-revolution

amrev, but aesthetic

alexander hamilton: ink-stained fingers, the crackling of a fire, the crashing of waves, the sound of a pen scratching paper, half-finished books

john laurens: the clashing of swords, small smiles, flickering candlelight, the low hum of a full tavern, sunflower fields, bloodstained handkerchiefs

marquis de lafayette: gold buttons, smoke from a discharged gun, sun showers, late-night laughter, bright eyes

george washington: blue ribbons, the sound of horse hooves hitting ground, leather-bound books, talks around a campfire

thomas jefferson: the smell of old books, soft music, early mornings, spilled ink, open fields, rolling hills, a music box winding down

eliza schuyler: dying candles, unopened envelopes, the faint sound of laughter, morning dew, fields of wildflowers

tallmadgeandtea

If I have to see this y’all do too

produmpsterfire

So my 7th graders are learning about the Declaration of Independence. I assigned them the task of writing their own break up letter using the outline of the DOI.

Some of the people/things they are breaking up with:

Donald Trump

Their best friend

Google Home

Tom Holland

Their past selves

Santa Clause

Their mom

Their math teacher

Their bedtime

Superman

Billie Eilish

6ix-9ine (for being a pedophile)

That one guy at Walmart who just has to talk to you

Their Xbox

Matt Damon (spelled Matt Demon)

Covid-19

Coca-Cola

Their period

The school-provided hand sanitizer that smells like burning rubber

Anime girls

God

All left shoes

Alexander Hamilton (they were devastated to learn that he owned slaves)

PewDiePie

Ariana Grande

Ron DeSantis (our governor)

School

Their baby sister (for puking on their iPhone)

opinionated-revolutionary

I’m sorry, but this is one of the funniest things I’ve ever read

valend

mansplain

manipulate

male wife

the-reynolds-pamphlet

a fun challenge for hamilton fans

shut the fuck up about "uwu turtle boi laurens" or "sassy macarani boi thomas" and start researching the actual historical figures behind the story and recognize their horrible sides. and don't you fucking dare to say "iTs jUsT a MusIcAl" because that's incredibly disrespectful to the memories and legacy of these people.

look up alexander hamilton's slave trade and how he benefited off of human lives getting sold. look up john laurens' thought of feminism and his disregard for women and transgender people. look up sally hemings, who was tortured for years by thomas jefferson and bore him children against her will.

think about what these historical figures did. no it is not just a musical. it's based off of historical facts. stop venerating slavers and rapists and misogynists. learn to recognize their flaws along with their good sides.

edit: so I really feel like this post needs some clarifications

This isn't about the casual musical fans. You can still like the musical. Nobody is gatekeeping you from enjoying the music. I really should have been clear when I was typing, I was not calling out your causal interest in a Broadway production.

I was pointing out that it's unacceptable to put these people on pedestals. To venerate and worship them and overlook their flaws. To glorify the crimes they committed. Yes, most of the horrible things that happened are not included in the musical. But, taking Jefferson as an example, would this kind of thing be acceptable?

Thomas Jefferson was a literal RAPIST who raped his 14 year old slave continuously. Even though that wasn't included in the musical, he is still established as a slave owner (in Cabinet Battle #1). Taking something like this and glorifying it is insulting to the memories of Sally Hemings and the countless others who suffered. Slavery isn't a joke. It isn't something for you to make an edgy fic out of.

Please learn to recognize the flaws in both the musical and the characters. Please stop fetishizing and sexualizing POC celebrities. Please stop fetishizing mlm relationships and reducing gay characters to "uwu smol gay". This isn't just a fandom preference. It's incredibly harmful and racist to sexualize people like this.

Of course, for the idolizing, the fault also lies in the musical itself, not the fandom. But it was behaviour like the above that was putting me on edge, and I was asking fans to do at least a little bit of research. You don't have to spend hours upon hours, or know absolutely every little thing about the characters, but at least recognize their bad sides.

Here's an article that talks about it a little bit more

eccentwrit

How Stands the Glass Around? (Instrumental)

Visit Original Link

So apparently A. Hamilton and A. Burr actually ran into each other during a social function (anniversary dinner of the Cincinnati) about a week before they were scheduled to duel. Awkward :/

During the party Hamilton was apparently “more than usually affectionate” and enthusiastic whereas Burr was “silent, gloomy, [and] sour”. Burr was not happy to be there. At all.

And while Hamilton was socializing and entertaining, at one point someone asks him to sing (idk, I guess that was a thing people did). Not one to disappoint a crowd, Hamilton complied, choosing to sing his favorite song (allegedly this was the only song people ever knew him to sing). It was basically an old army song. He finished, people were satisfied, and no one thought twice about any of it for the rest of the night.

Except for Burr.

Something about that song freaked Burr out.

Because Aaron Burr, who would have rather not been there or really mingled with Hamilton at all, stopped what he was doing to listen in mute, rapt attention.

The problem: we don’t actually technically know what song Hamilton sang to trigger such a reaction.

There have been several suggestions tossed around during the years, but it seems the most likely candidate is “How Stands the Glass Around?” (x)

Reading the lyrics its easy to see how this could be Hamilton’s favorite song- it’s basically all about the hardships of war leading up to either death or a bottle.

It’s also easy to see why such a song would unnerve Burr with a duel looming in his near future.

I tried to find an ‘authentic’ version of the song on youtube, but I couldn’t find anything like what I wanted. So, I tracked down the earliest sheet music for it I could find (x) and played it on the piano.

Here’s the lyrics:

How stands the glass around? For shame, ye took no care, my boys! How stands the glass around? Let mirth and wine a-bound. The trumpets sound, The colours they are flying, boys, To fight, kill, or wound: May we still be found Content with our hard fare, my boys, On the cold, cold ground.

Why, soldiers, why Should we be melancholy, boys? Why, soldiers, why? Whose business ‘tis to die! What! sighing? fie! Damn fear, drink on, be jolly boys! ‘Tis he, you, or I; Cold, hot, wet, or dry, We’re always bound to follow, boys, And scorn to fly.

‘Tis but in vain, (I mean not to upbraid you, boys), ‘Tis but in vain For soldiers to complain: Should next campaign Send us to Him who made us, boys, We’re free from pain; But should we remain, A bottle and kind landlady Cures all again.

(Damn, some of those lines… talk about dramatic irony amirite? No wonder Burr was unsettled. As far as ‘swan songs’ go, Hamilton’s is… haunting.)

operahousehomicide

CHARLES LEE FACTS

1. Started his military career (active duty) when he was 14 years old.

2. Spoke fluent Greek, Latin, French, Spanish, Italian, and German.

3. Inherited what we now know is mental illness, which manifested itself in moodiness and a choleric temper. As Lee himself later admitted, he suffered from a “distemper of … mind”.

4. Five of his siblings died.

6. Married a Canadian Indian during the French and Indian War.

7. Was dubbed by the Canadian Indians “Boiling Water”, a reference to his temper.

8. Was badly wounded defending Ft. Ticonderoga, and when brought back to Long Island to heal, got into a fight with the army surgeon, who then tried to assassinate him.

9. Tried to form two new colonies in the area we know of as Illinois.

10. While serving in the Polish army, he nearly froze to death in the Balkan mountains.

11. Still serving for Poland, he also survived an earthquake in Constantinople.

12. Dueled an Italian officer, who he shot dead, but lost two fingers in the process of doing so.

13. Called King George III a “dolt”.

14. Only decided Washington was a weak leader when, at Congress’ pressuring, Washington lost over 3,000 men and tons of supplies when he lost Fort Washington instead of retreating with it as Lee had suggested.

15. Washington ordered him to retreat across New Jersey from New York, so, because he was mad, Lee left the army’s column, took a few men with him to a tavern, rented several prostitutes, and was promptly captured by the British the next morning.

16. Owned a Pomeranian named Mr. Spada, which he made Abigail Adams shake its paw.

sonofhistory

Today In History: July 2nd 1776, the Second Continental Congress, in Philadelphia, adopts Richard Henry Lee’s resolution for independence from Britain. The vote is unanimous, with only New York abstaining.

revolutionary-pirate

I saw a really great commercial from Ancestry.com on TV just last night where they recreated the scene in that painting using the descendants of the original signers of the declaration and it gave me chills.

john-laurens

Left: The Attack Upon the Chew House by Howard Pyle, depicting an attack during the Battle of Germantown in October 1777

Right: Cliveden (Chew House) in June 2021

This was the house that John Laurens tried to set on fire:

“Stretching for two miles along both sides of Shippack Road, Germantown could be approached by four different routes. On 4 October, the American army divided into four columns that each marched on one of the four roads. If the plan went according to schedule, the columns would enter the town at 5:00 a.m. Traveling with the Major General John Sullivan’s main column on Shippack Road, John Laurens eagerly anticipated experiencing the thrill of battle for the second time in three weeks. At around 5:00 a.m., the army encountered the British pickets. After an exchange of fire, the pickets retreated, with the Americans in hot pursuit. As the shooting began, Laurens was hit ‘by a Musket Ball, which went through the fleshy Part of his right Shoulder.’ Ignoring the slight wound, he pressed on with the other troops. A dense fog, blended with smoke, reduced visibility to less than fifty yards, making it difficult to distinguish friend from foe. About an hour after the initial shots, Sullivan’s troops came upon a large stone house owned by Benjamin Chew. Over one hundred redcoats had slipped inside, closed the shutters, and blocked the doors. From the second story, they fired on the approaching Americans with deadly accuracy.

At this point, Washington and his officers discussed their next step. They could either neutralize the house and press on or demand that the British surrender, and launch an assault if they refused. Brigadier General Henry Knox, the chief of artillery, favored the latter course, and Washington deferred to his opinion. When an officer approached the dwelling with a white flag to summon the garrison to surrender, the redcoats responded by shooting and fatally wounding him. The Americans then brought up six-pound cannon to reduce the temporary fortification to rubble, but the balls merely bounced off the sturdy stone walls.

The stalemate called for desperate measures, or so concluded a vigorous and impetuous young Frenchman, the Chevalier de Mauduit Du Plessis. Out of the group of American officers, Du Plessis singled out John Laurens, another man more amenable to action than deliberation. Du Plessis proposed to Laurens a daring plan. Why not gather straw from a nearby stable, pile the straw against the front door, and set it ablaze? If cannon proved ineffectual, the young men reasoned, perhaps the redcoats could be forced out by fire. As John gathered the straw, Du Plessis forced open the shutters of a ground floor window and climbed on the sill. Inside the house, a British officer, armed with a pistol, demanded to know what Du Plessis thought he was doing. ‘I’m only taking a walk,’ the Frenchman replied with bravado. As the officer commanded Du Plessis to surrender, another redcoat walked in the room and fired a shot, but hit his comrade by mistake, whereupon Du Plessis quickly made his escape. John, who had approached the door with sword in hand, also withdrew, but received ‘a Blow in his Side from a spent Ball,’ a minor injury that only caused swelling.”

John Laurens and the American Revolution by Gregory D. Massey

ciceroprofacto

More fun facts from the tour:

The Chew family lived in the house until ~ early 1970s except a brief, 20-year interlude directly after the war when the son of Benjamin Chew convinced his father to sell the property. The family was loyalist and avoided the Philadelphia area during the aftermath of the war, wanting to stay away from politics. When the house went back on the market, they bought it back and passed it down through the family.

Because the family lived in the house so recently and it remained continuously functional as a home, much of the furniture is either furniture that belonged to the family in the 20th century or items returned to the house by relatives when it joined the National Trust.

The family added several additions including a kitchen extension on the kitchen dependency in 1765, a colonnade between the kitchen dependency and the main house in 1775, an estate office and residence in the washhouse dependency, a two-story kitchen renovation behind the colonnade from 1867-1868, and an upstairs bathroom which sits on columns in the rear of the house in 1921.

The roof of the house has massive stone urns which Benjamin Chew had imported as decorations. In order to support them, the front of the house is ~20″ thick of stone facing which prevented the cannonballs Massey is mentioning from having desired effect. If the Americans had attacked the side of the mansion, their canons may have breeched the house, but there were not likely sappers on site to determine that the house was constructed that way because the French engineers that were assisting the American army at the time were focused on the Delaware River defenses at the time of the battle.

The Chew family kept some pieces of original furniture and carriages in a carriage house in the rear of the property which was set on fire in 1970 by arsonists, creating a diversion for a nearby church fire. Included in the damage was the original doors of the house which the Americans attempted to breach through.

Howard Pyle, the artist of the painting that @john-laurens added, also painted The Death of Colonel John Laurens and Man of the Hour about John Laurens’s contributions during the war.

Massey’s references for his description of the battle come from Washington by Freeman, The Glorious Cause by Middlekauff, War of the Revolution by Christopher Ward, Travels in North America by Chastellux, and an anonymous writing in the South-Carolina and American General Gazette.

winterburning-zip

When you finish reading a really long fic and don’t know what to do with yourself

ao3commentoftheday

ciceroprofacto

I just want to thank u for your posts about Eliza. I know u don't want to talk about her, but it's so good to see that I'm not the only one who thinks she wasn't that great. I see so many people idealizing her, making her seem like this amazing woman who could do no wrong, and I thought people were going to kill me when I said once that I didn't like her that much. And of course, the fact that I belive in the Laurens/Hamilton relationship makes my opinion on her invalid, according to some people

There’s nothing helpful about glorifying her or her relationship with Alexander. If you don’t like her morality or the dynamic of their relationship, so what?

There’s no point of superior feminism you can gain from denying a woman the human agency to be flawed, and there’s nothing inherently wrong about finding a woman uninteresting for her personality.

if anything, it’s better to have enough of a grasp of her personality to know she’s not a character you like. It would be worse to pretend you like her just for public approval without actually considering the scales of her personality traits and whether those features interest you. That would not only make you a liar but cheapen the value you’re placing in her personality- in a way, allowing you to erase that she even has one.

And, I think you’re perfectly justified to decide you don’t like Eliza. I’ve openly said I have no interest in her character because she has a genuine interest in domesticity- both historically and in the musical. Children, marriage, and home-making isn’t a topic that I personally find compelling and I’m entitled to my own narrative interests. I also stop caring about Alexander when he talks about his domestic life, so at least I’m consistent.And, I’ll remind everyone Hamilton doesn’t even pass the Bechdel Test. For me, it feels worse to see women in media whose only purpose is to revolve around men and make a diversity statement than it is to not see them at all. It takes representation from just being discouragingly absent to actively uncomfortable. I’m perfectly capable of filling the blanks myself if a woman is offered as a blank slate or if there’s some good reason she’s only interacting with men, but when she’s filled in for me in a limiting way- as someone who chooses to revolve around men, it’s like the canon is telling me it’s okay that women are included but only as accessories to the more important plot.Like in the case of Angelica, despite her political shrewdness and obvious feministy message in the play, I still don’t enjoy her character because her independent agency is sacrificed to make her yet another love interest. By that I mean, she makes no impact on the progression of the story besides to deny her interest in Alexander- but that effects no one but her (and arguably Eliza). The only thing that songs like ‘The Schuyler Sisters’ and ‘Satisfied’ do for me is emphasize wasted character potential and tease the idea of having strong female characters.

revolutionary-pirate

That's so interesting about John Trumbull, thanks for answering! And just... of /course/ he would brag and conveniently leave off the 19 days part, I don't blame you for making a point to mention it lmao, I would too. Do you mind if I ask what the duties of the aides were? I'm new to this particular branch of history but it's fascinating... I never would have expected that there were so many of them!

I don’t mind at all! I probably should have talked about the duties of the aides-de-camps, like, months ago, but I never got around to it so I’m glad you asked so that I’d finally sit down and do it (even though it took me forever to get to your ask because I’ve been busy and it’s a lot to talk about) xD I’ll break it down into parts because the answer is probably a lot longer than you thought it would be xD [While I mostly work from the Context of Washington, all the other generals also had aides that were similarly tasked in many ways] :

Headquarters

Drafting, copying, editing, translating, and docketing letters.

This is the most well-known duty of the aides-de-camp. I like to call them Washington’s Ghost Writers for this reason. The bulk of their jobs was, in large part, doing letter related things. Over 12,000 letters and orders were “written by” Washington during the course of the Revolution and he wouldn’t have been able to do it without his aides.

Often times Washington would dictate a letter that they would write down, or he would just inform them of what needed to be addressed and the aide would take care of it themselves.

With the involvement of the French in the Revolution, translation became invaluable. Several of Washington’s aides were fluent in French and it fell to them to communicate with their French allies.

Aides fluent in French included Tilghman, Hamilton, Laurens, and B. Walker.

Another facet of this is determining whether or not a letter is worth Washington’s attention.

Washington is a busy man. Washington would ultimately go over

In one instance, his aides refused to accept a letter from General Howe of the British simply because it did not properly address George Washington as “General.”

They would also edit each other’s letters if necessary.

Communicating with Congress, while technically falling under the previous duty, is important enough to specify on its own.

The aide assigned the duty would occasionally write to Congress, keeping them updated on the goings-on of the army, actions that have occurred, the movements of the enemy, the state of the army, requests etc.

This duty was, for the most part, assigned to Robert Hanson Harrison, being Military Secretary. In most cases when you find a letter written to “Inform Congress” of anything, it’ll be either from Harrison directly or be from Washington but in Harrison’s handwriting. When he’s not available, the task gets delegated to Tilghman, him being assistant Secretary and all. If neither of them can do it then the task falls to someone else like Hamilton or, on occasion, Meade, as far as I’ve seen.

Attending/Recording meetings and councils

Being his staff, many of Washington’s Aides and Secretaries would attend meetings with him inside and outside of camp.

The aide’s unique position allowed them the privilege of being privy to every single action, plan, decision, movement etc. of the War that was made by George Washington.

An aide (usually Harrison) or few would always be present with Washington at every meeting, Council of War, secret discussion, or whatever other occasion required Washington’s presence.

Whenever Washington would leave camp for a meeting, many in his flock of aides would follow.

At these meetings, it’s understood that the aides (mostly Harrison as Militar Secretary) occasionally played an active role at the table in advising, discussion, and decision making

The military secretary would also often be tasked with writing down the minutes of the proceedings.

Hosting/entertaining guests

Another duty of the aide-de-camp at Headquarters was hosting dinners.

The aides-de-camp would serve and entertain the guests at dinner time.

They would also give the toast, the task rotating around the Military Family.

Some Generals would even have their aides be the ones to serve dinner and make sure everyone’s cups remain filled.

In some cases, the aides would refuse to be subjected to that kind of work (e.g. Richard Varick telling Benedict Arnold straight up that he will not be his maid because he does not have time for that shit with his law studies)

Entertaining Guests and Hosting Dinners was one of the jobs that overwhelmed John Trumbull. It put you into contact with a lot of powerful and influential people - and there was a lot of pressure not to fuck it all up. You had to be at the top of your game because much of those people were of the social elites and the highest ranking in the army and your actions reflected back on Washington. Trumbull had overwhelmingly felt like he didn’t belong there.

Battlefield

On the battlefield, the aides weren’t even armed with anything more than a pistol and a sword because they were not expected to engage in fighting, they had other important duties to attend to.

Reconnoitering

Washington would often rely on his aides-de-camp to go out and gather intel on the enemy’s troop movements and of the battlefield in general, especially whenever he was lacking in mounted troops. (e.g. the Battle of Monmouth)

The reconnoitering was done by the aides both in and out of battle.

Hovering

Wherever Washington went on the battlefield, his flock of aides not delegated a task at the moment followed. People would often remark “The General did/went ____ attended by his flock of aides” when moving about the battlefield

This was because they needed to be near Washington so that when Washington issued an order, they’d be able to gallop off in an instant to relay the message to those it was for or do whatever it is that Washington needed them to do in that moment.

Advising/Assisting Washington

When Washington debated a plan of action, his aides would provide him with their input or find someone that they knew would be able to assist him in making a decision.

Carrying, delivering, and issuing information/orders in the field

Aides were frequently on the move during battle, traveling between divisions in order to relay information and make sure that all of the generals remained on as much the same page as possible.

They also had the authority to issue orders if the situation called for it and there was no other higher authority to give them at the time.

Rallying troops

The best way to explain this is to provide an example: At the Battle of Monmouth, Washington sent out all of his aides to rally the confused troops, quickly and efficiently forming them into a line of battle as directed.

Saving Washington’s life when he’s being a tad too daring for anyone’s comfort.

Washington had a tendency to put himself where it’s a wee bit (Read: extremely) dangerous and his aides would sometimes have to be the ones to go out and reign him back a little bit if they could convince him to go. (Convincing Washington to take himself out of danger was a battle all on its own.)

Field Missions

Delivering Letters

If a letter was important enough, an aide delivered it to the recipient personally.

Important letters to Congress and/or big news was a major one for this category.

When important battles happened, an aide would deliver the news himself. (e.g. Gates’s Aide, Wilkinson, after winning Saratoga, Washington’s aide Tilghman after winning Yorktown, etc.)

If an aide delivered a letter it gave the letter a weight of importance and immediacy. You better open the letter immediately, read it, and respond to it right now.

Delivering personal letters from Washington or the other aides was also a thing that an aide might do. But, usually, if an aide was carrying personal letters than he was probably going on leave.

If they’re heading that way, anyway, might as well take the letters with them, y’know? Kind of thing.

Escort

It generally fell to one of the aides to provide escort for Martha Washington and whoever was with her to/from camp or wherever it was that she was going. Not always for the duration of the whole journey, she had other escorts it’s just that when Washington got news that she would be arriving soon, an aide was usually sent out to meet her and travel with her the rest of the way to camp.

Another example of this is Richard Kidder Meade escorting Charles Lee back to camp after he was released in a prisoner exchange during Valley Forge.

The aides would also occasionally provided escort for prisoners, but not often. You were a pretty high profile prisoner if an aide was escorting/watching you because these dudes are busy as fuck and were needed for other things.

As mentioned above, Reconnoitering

Aides occasionally sent out to get a lay of the land and see what they can find of the enemy outside of battle as well.

Super top secret missions and shit

Honestly, have no idea what any of this was specifically aside from the fact that it happened at least once with Meade and that they were never put to paper because it was too risky to write them down.

Special Missions

Occasionally Aides were sent out to complete specific tasks out in the field. e.g.:

Joseph Reed was sent out to form the Washington’s Cruisers, a small naval force created by Washington in the absence of a Continental Navy not yet authorized by Congress.

Alexander Hamilton and Caleb Gibbs sent out to meet Gates in Albany and get him to send to Washington troops/reinforcements.

John Laurens was sent to Rhode Island to be the liaison between the recently arrived French Fleet and the American forces there.

Unique Tasks

Not all tasks were universal. Washington was adept at tailor-making tasks to fit each of his aides’ unique skill sets in order to get the most out of them and their service. This wasn’t always the case, some tasks were entirely circumstantial but here’s a rundown on what some of those things looked like:

Military Secretary

As I’ve mentioned throughout this, there were actually two separate job titles among the aides: Military Secretary and Aide-de-Camp.

Military Secretaries were given the rank of Colonel

There were only four Military Secretaries over the course of the War: Joseph Reed, Edmund Randolph, Robert Hanson Harrison, and Jonathan Trumbull Jr.

I’ve mentioned some of their duties already but others include things like:

Robert Hanson Harrison, when he wasn’t going with Washington out of camp, running Headquarters in Washington’s absence, acting kinda like a pseudo-Chief of Staff in that regard.

He brought the aides their work, got them up in the morning, made sure they were on task and that their work was getting done etc.

There were also Assistant Secretaries.

When Washington and many of the staff had to leave camp to travel with the commander-in-chief, an assistant secretary was generally left behind to forward letters and keep things going a bit in headquarters while Washington was away.

Prisoner Exchange

When the prisoner exchange committees were formed, Robert Hanson Harrison was made a commissary and went out with others to negotiate prisoner exchanges with the British. Alexander Hamilton also became a commissary of prisoner exchange alongside him.

Caleb Gibbs

Gibbs is a bit of a unique case. He was Captain of Washington’s Guard and given aide-de-camp privileges and duties without ever being appointed one. He had a range of unique duties in addition to the other aides’ duties thanks to his actual job and those include

scoping out the best defensible position and choosing where Washington was to make his headquarters based on that.

Managing the household

Handling the Military Family’s finances.

He and his men screening visitors and anyone who approached headquarters in general so that the other aides wouldn’t have to be distracted from their work and so that they could keep the premise secure.

Organizing/was on night watch.

Overseeing the security of all of their papers and baggage

Things more suited for a post about the Life Guard than this one.

Richard Varick

Despite being an aide-de-camp, Varick never resided at Headquarters as an aide. Instead, he was holed up in a little house in Poughkeepsie with a few assistants and all of Washington’s correspondence written over the course of the war.

Varick’s job as an aide was the compiling of what has come to be known as the Varick Transcripts. He organized and then transcribed every single piece of paper that came and went from headquarters, compiling them into 44 volumes, each 300+ pages long, over the course of two and a half years, finishing at the close of the war.

Washington called him his “Recording Secretary” and assigning Varick with the task of organizing and copying his papers was him showing the rest of the world the amount of trust and faith he had in Varick, his character, and his innocence during the Benedict Arnold debacle.

Pierre Penet

Was a French Merchant and appointed honorary aide-de-camp. He came to America to arrange a deal for supplying Washington with goods and then requested the privilege to be Washington’s aide so that he could conduct his business in Washington’s name while wearing the uniform of a continental soldier and the green sash of the aides despite never intending to come back to America while the war was still going on. The request was granted and Penet was made an aide.

John Walker

An interesting case. Virginia’s Executive Council wanted an agent in Headquarters so that would regularly report to them the situation in the Continental Army. Washington was hesitant and also knew that if he accepted then all the other states would want that, too, but he couldn’t delegate the task to anyone in the staff, so the Virginia Executive Council nominated Walker and he was made an aide-de-camp while Walker’s real mission remained a secret. He didn’t stick around for long.

Richard Kidder Meade

Directly interacting with the soldiers at times.

This wasn’t something that the aides commonly did and is something that, as far as my research has extended at this point, was unique to him.

The Orderly Books from Valley Forge stated things like

Officers report to Meade their troop numbers and the lists of all troops that have joined or reenlisted in their companies/regiments since the beginning of April.

Officers were to report to Meade for directions on how and where to build their huts

He was assigned Field Officer of the Day on multiple occasions (~once a month during Valley Forge) and I have yet to find any other of Washington’s staff in any orderly book having been assigned this task.

Tasks include what was essentially Policing Camp

Receiving reports from officers on watch/guard

doing rounds to make sure they were doing their jobs

Parading troops

Drilling troops

Surveilling Troops and camp sutlers to make sure they were behaving themselves.

Sent out scouts and arranged patrols

reported to the Commander-in-Chief anything of note that day.

That probably gets the gist of it. I might have missed something in there but I’m pretty sure I’ve covered everything that’s important. Examples are also not all-inclusive lists, they’re just examples. The unique tasks section falls under that distinction as well. I’m really glad that you’ve taken enough of an interest in this particular branch of history to ask about it! But yeah, there were a lot of them. The war was long and the task was difficult. It wasn’t a job many particularly wanted, but it was a good job to have thanks to the immense networking capabilities that it offered which could help a guy vertically climb their way into other positions if they so desired. There were some that were perfectly content with the job, though.32 is just the number of aides Washington had over the course of the war!! Each of the other generals also had numerous aides, so there’s a lot of them.Again, sorry this took me so long to answer!! There was a lot and I have been busy.I’d provide all my sources but I don’t have time to hunt down where I got all my information from since I just spewed this information out cold, but I know a lot of what’s knocking around in my brain comes from Lefkowitz’s book, George Washington’s Indispensable Men. Stuff on Field Officers of the Day came from Ward’s Washington’s Enforcers. And what didn’t come from those places probably came from what I’ve gathered/absorbed/inferred/concluded from my own research.