Historical Dictionary of the American Revolution

Terry M. Mays is associate professor of political science at The Citadel where he has taught since 1992. He has written several books in the fields of history and political science.

This third edition of the Historical Dictionary of the American Revolution expands upon the material its predecessors provided. The massive volume contains maps, a chronology, an introduction, period sketches of some of the Revolution’s notable figures, text of some important documents, information regarding battle sites today, and a dictionary that boasts more than 1,000 entries. The chronology begins with the Molasses Act (1733) and ends with George Washington’s resignation as commander in chief in 1783. The entries are alphabetical, and cross references to other entries are distinguished in bold. Appendix A presents five documents of interest, including “The Declaration of Independence” and the “Treaty of Paris.” Appendix B provides a list of some battle sites that can be visited today along with a brief description and URL for further information. The extensive bibliography is broken into 16 sections with multiple entries in each as well as URLs for websites with further information from each of the 13 original colonies. This book should be on every historian’s bookshelf.