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Forgotten Patriots

Forgotten Patriots – African American and American Indian Patriots of the Revolutionary War: A Guide to Service, Sources, and Studies

Click here to download a free PDF of the
Forgotten Patriots research guide

The second edition of Forgotten Patriots (2008) identifies over 6,600 names of African Americans and American Indians who contributed to American Independence and is a nearly five-fold expansion in pages over the 2001 edition. Now available as a free PDF download, this 874 page document contains details of the documented service of the listed Patriots, historical commentary on happenings of the time, an assortment of illustrations, and an extensive bibliography of research sources related to the topic.

Following an introduction that provides context to the service of these often overlooked Patriots and the challenges faced in documenting their service, the book organizes its findings into chapters that include historical commentary, sources cited, names of identified Patriots and a bibliography directly related to each state and region of the country. Additional chapters also cover miscellaneous naval and military records, foreign allies, and the West Indies.

Seven appendices are included to elaborate on topics not often addressed in other publications:

  • Map of the Enslaved Population, 1790 Census
  • Documenting the Color of Participants in the American Revolution
  • Names as Clues to Finding Forgotten Patriots
  • The Numbers of Minority Participants in the Revolution
  • Glossary of Terms Used
  • Master List of Source Abbreviations Used in This Book
  • Contacting the DAR

Just as important to researchers will be the vast array of thousands of sources found in the book’s extensive bibliography that provides a roadmap for those seeking to discover even more information on the topic.

The Forgotten Patriots research guide is an indispensable tool for students, scholars, historians, and genealogists interested in the important contributions of African Americans and American Indians in America’s fight for Independence. On an additional level, the hope is that it will also encourage the female descendents of these patriots to join the important volunteer and educational work of the DAR.

Forgotten Patriots - African American and American Indian Patriots of the Revolutionary War: A Guide to Service, Sources, and Studies is out of print, however, the entirety of the information can be downloaded for free as a PDF document.

The DAR Library continues to seek new opportunities to expand the Forgotten Patriots project. A supplement to this book includes additional names and documentation and can be downloaded for free as a PDF document - Forgotten Patriots Supplement 2008-2012.

For more information and to read excerpts from the book, visit the Forgotten Patriots page of the DAR Library section.


State Source Guides for Genealogists and Historians

The DAR Library has a series of publications that focus on research in each of the original states during the period of the American Revolution. The series is designed to provide detailed information on the availability of manuscript and archival material that exists for each state for the period of the Revolutionary War, along with listings of historical and genealogical studies that have been published and which supplement the original sources.

The source guides are available as printed volumes as well as downloadable PDF documents. Researchers who prefer to not purchase a hard cover book are able to purchase the PDF in able to download the entire text of each publication for use on their home computer, laptop and other electronic devices. Visit the DAR Store Online to see which editions are currently available.

Pennsylvania in the American Revolution: A Source Guide for Genealogists and Historians

Pennsylvania in the American Revolution: A Source Guide for Genealogists and Historians provides detailed information on the availability of manuscript and archival material that exists for the Keystone State for the period of the Revolutionary War along with listings of historical and genealogical studies that have been published and which supplement the original sources. It is the most extensive gathering of such information ever published, and researchers will find it an essential resource with which to identify materials and studies located in many scattered libraries and archives. The book comprises more than 1,140 pages including table of contents and text pages.

The Pennsylvania volume is now available in PDF format for purchase from the DAR Store Online.


Connecticut in the American Revolution: A Source Guide for Genealogists and Historians

Connecticut in the American Revolution: A Source Guide for Genealogists and Historians provides detailed information on the availability of manuscript and archival material that exists for Connecticut for the period of the Revolutionary War along with listings of historical and genealogical studies that have been published and which supplement the original sources. It is the most extensive gathering of such information ever published, and researchers will find it an essential resource with which to identify materials and studies located in many scattered libraries and archives. 

The Connecticut volume is now available in PDF and printed format for purchase from the DAR Store Online.


North Carolina in the American Revolution: A Source Guide for Genealogists and Historians

North Carolina in the American Revolution: A Source Guide for Genealogists and Historians provides detailed information on the availability of manuscript and archival material that exists for North Carolina and Tennessee for the period of the Revolutionary War along with listings of historical and genealogical studies that have been published and which supplement the original sources. It is the most extensive gathering of such information ever published, and researchers will find it an essential resource with which to identify materials and studies located in many scattered libraries and archives. 

The North Carolina volume is now available in PDF format for purchase from the DAR Store Online.


Massachusetts and Maine in the American Revolution: A Source Guide for Genealogists and Historians

Massachusetts and Maine in the American Revolution: A Source Guide for Genealogists and Historians provides detailed information on the availability of manuscript and archival material that exists for the state for the period of the Revolutionary War along with listings of historical and genealogical studies that have been published and which supplement the original sources. It is the most extensive gathering of such information ever published, and researchers will find it an essential resource with which to identify materials and studies located in many scattered libraries and archives. The book comprises more than 966 pages including text pages, map pages, and an index to the text.

The Massachusetts and Maine volume is now available in PDF and printed format for purchase from the DAR Store Online.


Virginia in the American Revolution: A Source Guide for Genealogists and Historians

Virginia in the American Revolution: A Source Guide for Genealogists and Historians provides detailed information on the availability of manuscript and archival material that exists for the state for the period of the Revolutionary War along with listings of historical and genealogical studies that have been published and which supplement the original sources. It is the most extensive gathering of such information ever published, and researchers will find it an essential resource with which to identify materials and studies located in many scattered libraries and archives. The book comprises more than 1,330 pages including text pages, map pages, and an index to the text.

The Virginia volume is now available in PDF format for purchase from the DAR Store Online.


Rhode Island in the American Revolution: A Source Guide for Genealogists and Historians

Rhode Island in the American Revolution: A Source Guide for Genealogists and Historians provides detailed information on the availability of manuscript and archival material that exists for the Ocean State for the period of the Revolutionary War along with listings of historical and genealogical studies that have been published and which supplement the original sources. It is the most extensive gathering of such information ever published, and researchers will find it an essential resource with which to identify materials and studies located in many scattered libraries and archives. The book comprises more than 550 pages including table of contents, text pages, map pages, and an index to the text.

The Rhode Island volume is now available in PDF and printed version for purchase from the DAR Store Online.


Georgia in the American Revolution: A Source Guide for Genealogists and Historians

Georgia in the American Revolution: A Source Guide for Genealogists and Historians provides detailed information on the availability of manuscript and archival material that exists for the state for the period of the Revolutionary War along with listings of historical and genealogical studies that have been published and which supplement the original sources. It is the most extensive gathering of such information ever published, and researchers will find it an essential resource with which to identify materials and studies located in many scattered libraries and archives. The book comprises more than 300 pages including text pages, map pages, and an index to the text.

The Georgia volume is now available in PDF version for purchase from the DAR Store Online.


South Carolina in the American Revolution: A Source Guide for Genealogists and Historians

Sourth Carolina in the American Revolution: A Source Guide for Genealogists and Historians provides detailed information on the availability of manuscript and archival material that exists for the state for the period of the Revolutionary War along with listings of historical and genealogical studies that have been published and which supplement the original sources. It is the most extensive gathering of such information ever published, and researchers will find it an essential resource with which to identify materials and studies located in many scattered libraries and archives. The book comprises more than 545 pages including text pages, map pages, and an index to the text.

The South Carolina volume is now available in PDF version for purchase from the DAR Store Online.


New York in the American Revolution: A Source Guide for Genealogists and Historians

New York in the American Revolution: A Source Guide for Genealogists and Historians provides detailed information on the availability of manuscript and archival material that exists for New York State for the period of the Revolutionary War along with listings of historical and genealogical studies that have been published and which supplement the original sources. It is the most extensive gathering of such information ever published, and researchers will find it an essential resource with which to identify materials and studies located in many scattered libraries and archives. The PDF comprises more than 700 pages including table of contents, text pages, map pages, and an index to the text.

Click here to view a preview.

New York in the American Revolution: A Source Guide for Genealogists and Historians is available in printed version or as a PDF download through the DAR Store, visit dar.org/darstore or call the store toll-free at 888-673-2732 to order your copy.


Women in the Revolutionary Era

America's Women in the Revolutionary Era 1760-1790: A History Through Bibliography

Revolutionary WomenAmerica’s Women in the Revolutionary Era 1760-1790: A History Through Bibliography, edited by Eric G. Grundset, is an authoritative guide to women’s and girls’ lives in the era of the American Revolution. DAR Library researchers made an effort to locate every relevant published resource about Revolutionary women possible, including books, articles, dissertations and online documents, in order to aid researchers, understand existing literature and illuminate gaps to encourage future research. This encyclopedic bibliography is sorted in several ways to make it as useful as possible, including by topic, geography and a chronology that shows how historians’ understanding of these women and girls has developed over time.

The book documents sources about America’s women from the famous to the obscure. Researchers discovered references to some unique women, such as one woman who lived as a hermit in a cave on the border of Connecticut and Massachusetts, along with documentation about famous, influential women and, most importantly, a great wealth of resources describing the daily lives of regular women of different races and classes. This focus on “average” women was a driving force of the research behind the book, which aims to find resources that paint a holistic picture of life in the revolutionary era.

Volume one contains many subject chapters including ones on general studies, African American Women, Native American Women, women in the family and society, women as mothers and their children, women’s health, women’s work in the home and elsewhere, women’s rights, religious experiences, women’s cultural life and activities, the creative activities of women in literature and writing, historical fiction, women and textiles, and women and girls in the many aspects of the war effort.

The second volumes takes a geographical approach to the broad subject incorporating materials from volume one with other locally-specific studies. It is arranged by state and region and provides extensive listings of books, articles, dissertations, theses, and other writings on the roles of women and girls across the emerging United States.

Volume three provides a listing of all of this information by author and a separate chronological section showing the development of the published literature in this field of study from the late eighteenth century to the present.

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