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American Revolution

The first episode of "Lucy Worsley Investigates: The American Revolution" premieres on April 7, with the second installment following on April 14. Note: The upside-down Union Jack as seen here was in the original publicity photograph provided by PBS.

America's 250th Anniversary

In a New Documentary, One of Britain’s Most Famous Historians Reframes the American Revolution as a ‘Messy Divorce’

Lucy Worsley’s PBS series highlights the emotional fallout of the conflict, with a focus on the British perspective

The Philadelphia, a flat-bottomed gunboat, served briefly at the Battle of Valcour Island in October 1776. Thanks to Smithsonian conservators, the Philadelphia is coming back to life in the National Museum of American History.

America's 250th Anniversary

The Gunboat ‘Philadelphia’ Lasted One Day in Battle. It’s Still Telling Us About the Revolution 250 Years Later

The 29-ton ship went to war against the British, then sat at the bottom of Lake Champlain for 160 years. Now it’s a relic of ragged glory

An illustration of British General John Burgoyne addressing a group of his Native allies

America's 250th Anniversary

Native Nations Fought in the American Revolution to Protect Their Ancestral Lands. After the War, Settlers Seized Their Territory Anyway

The conflict divided the six tribes of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, most of whom decided to join the British. The former allies clashed at the Battle of Oriskany in New York in 1777

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America's 250th Anniversary

The Spirited Revolutionary Who Led the Fight for Independence in Corsica Also Inspired America’s Colonial Rabble-Rousers

Pasquale Paoli was a “small fish fighting an entire empire.” Four thousand miles away, the founding fathers were watching and taking notes

"By the way, in the new code of laws which I suppose it will be necessary for you to make, I desire you would remember the ladies," Abigail Adams wrote on March 31, 1776.

America's 250th Anniversary

Abigail Adams Asked Her Husband to ‘Remember the Ladies’ as He Drafted America’s Laws. Here’s What She Really Meant

She wrote the letter that would come to define her legacy on March 31, 1776. But 250 years later, Americans are misinterpreting her open-ended request

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There's More to That

The Real Story Behind Abigail Adams’ ‘Remember the Ladies’ Letter

Americans who turned the letter written by the future first lady into a suffragist rallying cry may have misunderstood her intentions

British soldiers met at Lydia Darragh's house in Philadelphia, presenting the perfect opportunity for the Quaker woman to eavesdrop on their battle plans.

America's 250th Anniversary

A Quaker Woman Eavesdropped on British Soldiers Plotting a Surprise Attack—and Surreptitiously Warned George Washington

Lydia Darragh defied her commitment to pacifism by spying during the American Revolution

This 1804 depiction of Jane McCrea's death cemented a dramatized version of her killing in the public imagination.

America's 250th Anniversary

A Native Soldier Allied With the British Killed a Young White Woman in 1777. Propaganda Transformed Her Into a Martyr of the American Revolution

The patriots weaponized Jane McCrea’s death to demonize their enemies and paint Indigenous people as uniquely violent

Caitríona Balfe as Claire Fraser (left) and Sam Heughan as Jamie Fraser (right) in season one of "Outlander"

Based on a True Story

The Final Season of ‘Outlander’ Is Here. See the Most Iconic Kilts, Gowns and Other Costumes From the Time Travel Drama

An exhibition at the American Revolution Museum at Yorktown showcases 26 ensembles from the Starz series’ first four seasons

A 19th-century painting of the siege of Yorktown, with the Marquis de Lafayette depicted to the right of George Washington (center, right). A popular story suggests that Lafayette ordered the Continental fife and drum corps to play “Yankee Doodle” as the defeated British soldiers marched out to surrender after the battle.

America's 250th Anniversary

‘Yankee Doodle’ Was One of America’s Earliest Protest Songs. But Its Origins Are Shrouded in Mystery

Historians have debunked many of the popular theories surrounding the tune’s creation. Still, its legacy as a patriotic anthem endures

Michael Douglas as Benjamin Franklin in the Apple TV+ series "Franklin"

America's 250th Anniversary

What Are the Best TV Shows About the American Revolution? A Historian Outlines Five of His Favorites

The scholar’s picks include “Turn: Washington’s Spies,” “John Adams” and “Franklin”

People view the Declaration of Independence and other documents at the National Archives in Washington, D.C.

Ten of the Most Exciting Ways to Commemorate America’s 250th This Year

Our country’s birthday bash includes exhibitions, historical reenactments, a massive potluck and more

As a 26-year-old colonel, Washington stood between confused Virginian troops to stop their fire.

America's 250th Anniversary

A Skirmish Early in George Washington’s Military Career Helped Define Him. It Could Have Killed Him

New evidence helps resolve enduring mysteries about a 1758 incident that nearly cost the future president his life—and shaped his views on the battles yet to come

Our most-read stories of the year spotlighted a Eugène Delacroix painting, horseshoe crabs, the Dionne quintuplets and more.

Ten Top Smithsonian Stories of 2025, From Eerie Clay Puppets With Detachable Heads to a New Look at the American Revolution

The magazine’s most-read articles of the year included a deep dive on the Scopes “monkey trial,” an interview with award-winning documentarians and a profile of quintuplets who found fame during the Great Depression

The oil portrait is one of Gilbert Stuart's Athenaeum-type paintings of Washington.

One of the George Washington Portraits That Inspired the Image on the $1 Bill Could Sell for Up to $1 Million

Artist Gilbert Stuart made numerous paintings of the first president. The copy that’s up for sale was commissioned by James Madison in 1804

Smithsonian magazine's picks for the best history books of 2025 include We the People, The Stolen Crown and Medicine River.

The Best Books of 2025

The Ten Best History Books of 2025

Our favorite titles of the year resurrect overlooked histories and examine how the United States ended up where it is today

The Green Dragon Tavern, a coffeehouse in Boston that served as a meeting place for the Sons of Liberty

America's 250th Anniversary

In Colonial America, Patriots Flocked to Coffeehouses to Debate Politics and Sow the Seeds of Revolution

These storied establishments served up more than just hot drinks. They acted as intellectual hubs and meeting places for dissenters

A John Trumbull painting of the death of General Hugh Mercer at the Battle of Princeton in 1777

America's 250th Anniversary

Ken Burns Says His New Documentary Forced Him to Revisit Everything He Thought He Knew About the American Revolution

Ahead of the PBS production’s premiere, the legendary filmmaker and co-director Sarah Botstein share insights on their research process and the surprising, long-overlooked stories featured in the six-part series

A 1976 postcard features an illustration of the burning of Norfolk. 

In January 1776, Virginia’s Port City of Norfolk Was Set Ablaze, Galvanizing the Revolution. But Who Really Lit the Match?

Blaming the British for the destruction helped persuade some wavering colonists to back the fight for independence. But the source of the inferno was not what it seemed

A romanticized depiction of the execution of Nathan Hale on September 22, 1776

America's 250th Anniversary

Nathan Hale, the Doomed Patriot Spy, Probably Never Said ‘I Only Regret That I Have but One Life to Lose for My Country’ Before His Execution

The young Connecticut schoolmaster’s intelligence-gathering mission was ill-fated from the start. But after he was hanged by the British in September 1776, his story became the stuff of legend

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