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J.L. Bell and Rick Herrera
The British Empire Strikes Back
In the spring of 1776, Congress tasked General George Washington and the newly-created Continental Army with defending New York City against an impending British Invasion. Washington commanded the largest field army he would ever lead during the war, some 25,000 Continentals, provincial troops, and militiamen. In July 1776, over 30,000 British soldiers and German auxiliaries landed on Staten Island. Over the summer, British forces bested the rebellious Americans time after time and pursued them across the Jerseys, into Pennsylvania. The Revolution seemed doomed. On Christmas Day, 1776, the Continentals and Pennsylvania militia struck back. Over the course of ten days, they reversed the course of the Revolution by through victories at Trenton (twice!) and Princeton. They ignited the Forage Wars in New Jersey and forced General Sir William Howe to give up all that his army had taken in New Jersey. Over the course of ten days, Washington and the army saved the Revolution.
Lee and Mary will join John and Rick to also talk about our upcoming program in Trenton on November 6-8, The Pursuit of History: The British Empire Strikes Back, which is part of our travel series, The Pursuit of History for America’s 250th.
Advance reading available now in PDF form:
The New York Campaign 1776 by one of our guests, Rick Herrera
The New Jersey Campaign 1776 – 1777 by Steve Eliot
We’ve featured both authors in previous History Camp Discussions, including …
- J.L. Bell — Beyond the Thirteen: The American Colonies That Stayed with Britain
- Ricardo A. Herrera, PhD — Feeding Washington’s Army: Surviving the Valley Forge Winter of 1778
[Broadcast on September 10, 2026; recorded earlier.]
J. L. Bell (boston1775.blogspot.com) is the author of The Road to Concord: How Four Stolen Cannon Ignited the Revolutionary War, the National Park Service report “Gen. George Washington’s Home and Headquarters — Cambridge, Massachusetts,” and numerous articles. He maintains the Boston 1775 website, offering daily postings of history, analysis, and unabashed gossip about Revolutionary New England.
Ricardo A. Herrera, PhD, began his career as an armor and cavalry officer in the U.S. Army. He is Senior Historian, George Washington Leadership Institute, George Washington Presidential Library, and Professor Emeritus, U.S. Army War College. An award-winning historian, Rick Herrera is the author of Feeding Washington’s Army: Surviving the Valley Forge Winter of 1778; For Liberty and the Republic: The American Citizen as Soldier, 1775–1861; and of numerous articles and essays. His forthcoming book is the tentatively titled, A Most Uncommon Soldier: The Life, Letters, and Journal of Edward Ashley Bowen Phelps, 1814–1893, an edited collection to be published by the University Press of Kansas. A graduate of Marquette University (PhD, 1998) and the University of California, Los Angeles (BA, 1984), Herrera has taught at Mount Union College and Texas Lutheran University.
