"A history of Charlotte, NC and Mecklenburg County, NC during the American Revolution"--

Among His Troops: Washington's War Tent in a Newly Discovered Watercolor provides an eyewitness view of the Revolutionary War. A chance find of the only known wartime image of General George Washington's headquarters tent, the original of which is on display at the Museum of the American Revolution, inspired this exploration of the fortunes of the Continental Army between the last major victory at Yorktown in 1781 and the final peace in 1783. Washington's grand encampment on the Hudson River at Verplanck's Point, New York in 1782 showed the French that the United States was still a formidable ally against Great Britain.Based on the Museum's first special exhibition of the same name, Among His Troops brings together the newly discovered panoramic watercolor of the Verplanck's Point encampment and a watercolor of the Continental Army's fortress at West Point, both painted by French-born military officer and eyewitness Pierre Charles L'Enfant. These paintings, paired with original objects from the encampments, reveal the proud, yet precarious situation of Washington's army as the Revolutionary War neared its end.

This is a comprehensive history of one of the greatest mysteries in American history--did Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, declare independence from Great Britain more than a year before anyone else? According to local legend, on May 20, 1775, in a log court house in the remote backcountry two dozen local militia leaders met to discuss the deteriorating state of affairs in the American colonies. As they met, a horseman arrived bringing news of the battles of Lexington and Concord. Enraged, they unanimously declared Mecklenburg County "free and independent" from Great Britain. It was known as the "Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence" ("MecDec" for short). A local tavern owner named James Jack delivered the MecDec to the Continental Congress, who found it "premature." All of this occurred more than a year before the national Declaration of Independence. But is the story true? The evidence is mixed. John Adams believed the MecDec represented "the genuine sense of America" while Thomas Jefferson believed the story was "spurious." This book sets out all of the evidence, pro and con.

Co-Winner of the 2022 Harry M. Ward Book Prize From celebrated historian John Ferling, the underexplored history of the second half of the Revolutionary War, when, after years of fighting, American independence often seemed beyond reach. It was 1778, and the recent American victory at Saratoga had netted the U.S a powerful ally in France. Many, including General George Washington, presumed France's entrance into the war meant independence was just around the corner. Meanwhile, having lost an entire army at Saratoga, Great Britain pivoted to a “southern strategy.” The army would henceforth seek to regain its southern colonies, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia, a highly profitable segment of its pre-war American empire. Deep into 1780 Britain's new approach seemed headed for success as the U.S. economy collapsed and morale on the home front waned. By early 1781, Washington, and others, feared that France would drop out of the war if the Allies failed to score a decisive victory that year. Sir Henry Clinton, commander of Britain's army, thought “the rebellion is near its end.” Washington, who had been so optimistic in 1778, despaired: “I have almost ceased to hope.” Winning Independence is the dramatic story of how and why Great Britain-so close to regaining several southern colonies and rendering the postwar United States a fatally weak nation ultimately failed to win the war. The book explores the choices and decisions made by Clinton and Washington, and others, that ultimately led the French and American allies to clinch the pivotal victory at Yorktown that at long last secured American independence.

After the end of the Revolutionary War in New York, ten-year-old Charlotte witnesses the deportation of Loyalists, including her cousin's family.

Baroness von Reidesel and the American Revolution: Journal and Correspondence of a Tour of Duty, 1776-1783